Born and raised on Maui in Hawaii, Kai is a professional big wave surfer and ocean enthusiast. Excelling at a world class level in Stand Up Paddling, Windsurfing, Foiling and Kiting Kai is regarded as the ultimate waterman. His middle name is actually Waterman! Kai is also known for his large ocean cleanups. Working with LoveTheSeaPlasticFree as they use his personal decommissioned navy boat and access the remote shores of maui gathering 1000's of pound of plastic debris. Kai brings his influence and passion to A New Earth Project and a commitment to a clean ocean environment.

Hawaii's Vaihiti Mahana is leading the next wave of Hawaiian women as they make their mark and claim their place in the line-up. Equally as passionate about the traditions and preservation of the Hawaiian Islands, Vaihiti brings a powerful voice to a New Earth Project.

Costa Rica's Carlos Munoz is a journeyman pro surfer who has qualified for the 2022 WSL World Championship Tour after a 12-year campaign. Proving that grit and perseverance are keys to success. We are thrilled to have Carlos on board as our first international Advocate for A New Earth.

Gregarious, fun-loving and passionate about the heath of our global oceans, professional surfer and entrepreneur Koa Smith personifies the qualities it takes to make a daily difference where he lives and plays.

From his first ski run at Squaw Valley at the age of 2, Cody Townsend knew he had found his passion. He spent his early years chasing legends like Shane McConkey and Kent Kreitler around his home mountain before being recognized in his own right as an up-and-coming big mountain skier. Since turning pro more than a decade ago, Cody has constantly pushed the limits of fun and adventure.

Most recently Cody has embarked on a truly remarkable adventure story unfolding in real time. Called The FIFTY, Cody is currently nearing completion of a multiple season effort to climb and ski the fifty most challenging, beautiful, and classic backcountry ski lines in North America. While this project's completion will stand as one of the biggest accomplishments in the history of skiing, Cody remains committed throughout to the highest embodiment of skiing and delights in the journey of exploration, relentless passion in the company of friends, and having one hell of a good time with every up and down along the way!

We are very excited to welcome Kimmy Fasani as our first pro-snowboarder on our ANEP Global Advocate team. Fasani has been a pioneer in women’s snowboarding since she became the first woman to land a double backflip in the park and the powder in 2011. That same year she signed with Burton to become the face of the snowboard powerhouse’s AK line, and is still a sponsored-Burton ride to this day. She has appeared in dozens of snowboarding film segments, graced the cover and pages of snowboarding magazines, and continues to push the level of progression in her sport.

This time last year, Fasani was just three months removed from a diagnosis of aggressive stage 3 inflammatory breast cancer, for which she would receive 10 months of treatment—six rounds of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy and 30 rounds of radiation. The treatments made her sick, and Fasani wasn’t able to snowboard—something she’s been doing since she was nine and competitively since she was 15.

In October 2022, Kimmy and her husband Chris Benchetler started the Benchetler Fasani Foundation to provide a meaningful connection to the outdoors for those who have suffered loss or hardship by experiencing the healing properties found only in nature.

The legacy Barton Lynch has built for himself within the professional surfing world over the last three decades is testament to a strong work ethic, sharp intellect and irrepressible social conscience.

Emerging from the famous breaks of Manly in Sydney’s Northern beaches his presence as a competitive force in the surfing community began with an impressive junior career. Breaking out from dominating Australian waves, Lynch flourished victory after victory across the Pro Junior, JJJ Junior and Australian Professional Surfing Association tour. With 15 years on the ASP tour and 17 WCT victories to his name, Lynch retired from competition at the end of 1997. His greatest competitive moment could not have been more perfectly scripted, as he surfed the perfect tubes of Hawaii’s famed Pipeline, to take out the 1988 Billabong Pro and the World Title. The next chapter of his life by the board and in public was just set to take off.

Lynch’s accolades bolster the range of his achievements on the surfboard and off. Receiving the Association of Surfing Professionals’ Sportsman Award (1995) and the ASP Service to the Sport Award (1997); as well as being inducted into the Australian Surfing Hall of Fame (1998), the Australian Sporting Hall of Fame (2000) and the Huntington Beach Surfing Walk of Fame (2017), Lynch is the epitome of Australian sporting success on the global stage.

A champion for disabled sportspeople and a variety of charities, Lynch’s philanthropic work has seen him establish strong partnerships with both the Surfrider Foundation and the Disabled Surfers Association for over 30 years, the latter of which Lynch is a Patron. Dedicating years to raising money and awareness of both organizations throughout the global surf community, Lynch’s work in championing such causes has been a highlight of his career. As well as his work with Surfrider and the DSA, Lynch has also been involved with projects run by the Variety Club, Waves 4 Water, SurfAid, the Aboriginal Medical Service in Redfern and the Humpty Dumpty Foundation. He spent 10 years on the ASP board as a surfers’ representative and a passionate advocate for surfers rights in the marketplace.

Having earned a reputation as a tactical competitor as well as a forthright and articulate spokesman for the sport, Lynch also enjoys his role as a WSL commentator regarded as ‘the voice of surfing’, he brings his wealth of knowledge to the sport for new and longtime audiences around the world. He is also a published writer, with credits including Inside Sport, Surfing World, Japan Surfing World, Tracks Magazine and Australian Snowboarder.

Founding The Surfers Group (TSG) in 1997, Lynch developed a community within the surf space that offers services specializing in high performance consultancy & coaching, Media and Event Production (BL’s Blast Off), experiential travel and more.

As a role model, coach and strong mentoring figure for surfers of all levels, from the recreational to current surf champions and young talent on the rise, Barton Lynch thrives on passing on his knowledge and experience to anyone who wants to improve their skills and improve their performance in and out of the water.

Lynch has had the unique experience of both surfing and coaching State and National teams in the surf State of Origin and the Australian national team at the ISA World Surfing Games. To date, Lynch has worked with an impressive list of renowned surf athletes including Sally Fitzgibbons, Kolohe Andino, Ella Williams, Koa Smith, Laura Enever, Wade Carmichael, Soli Bailey. More recently, he has had a hand in guiding the careers of current bright stars of the WSL circuit including Mahina Maeda and Vahine Fierro, as well as working closely with the Canadian Olympic Team. “Barton’s coaching of Mahina has been crucial in her development.” Kid Peligro

Now, Barton Lynch is busier than ever. Splitting his time between Sydney’s Northern Beaches, Oahu’s North shore and his extensive travel commitments with The Perfect Wave Travel, The Surfers Group, and WSL. Since his retirement, Lynch’s hunt for the perfect wave has remained a driving force in his life. Chasing waves the world over is an undying passion for Lynch, and the importance of remaining creative when it comes to his craft is an element of surfing Lynch continues to thrive on.

Post-professional career, Lynch has dedicated his life to a broader idea of what surfing can be and enjoying discovering new territory. Now exploring a new chapter of life on the board, Lynch continues to indulge in his own passions which include big wave tow surfing, foiling, snowboarding and riding just about anything he can get his hands on. He lives with his wife Holly, daughter Tamarin and son Lion.

A proud Hunkpapa Lakota and passionate skier, Connor Ryan was born and raised on the Arapaho, Cheyenne and Ute homelands at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. He considers these places among his biggest inspirations and closest relatives. Connor seeks to decolonize, reconnect and learn to better honor all his relations through adventure and activism. Skiing is his dance and prayer, a ceremony of its own. Lakota traditional ecological knowledge helps Connor understand the true value of the sacred land and water we ski on in deeper and more tangible ways.

He has devoted his life and platform to rediscovering how traditional Indigenous culture and ecological knowledge can shape our relationship to the lands we relate to through skiing, life, and adventure.

Connor has shared his stories and experiences in person and through media (films, words and photos) with universities and businesses in order to seek collective paths to a better future for all our relations. 

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Powder Magazine
Outdoor Sportswire

World-renowned pro freeskier, Chris Benchetler, grew up in the shadows of California’s eastern Sierra Nevada range where his skiing and art making evolved organically in concert with the natural world. Though skiing is still very much a way that Chris expresses himself, he also relies heavily on his artwork as a means of self-expression.

One of his most artful collaborations was the 2019 award-winning film, Fire On The Mountain, narrated by Hall of Fame basketball player and self-professed Deadhead, Bill Walton. Now comes the next chapter- a unique cinematic vision, featuring a group of world class athletes who discover a profound connection between the Earth’s energy & riding the pulse of the universe through sport, music, art, ocean & mountain exploration. All taking place at night, set to the timeless music of the Grateful Dead. Mountains of the Moon promises to transport viewers to a world of infinite beauty & possibility, ultimately celebrating our shared humanity & connectedness.