Kevin Wallis

Kevin Wallis

Lead Forecaster


Surfline

Honolulu, HI USA


Having fun your whole life is a pretty powerful motivator.

Videos

By Roadtrip Nation

Kevin Wallis

Milestones

My road in life has been direct.
He grew up over an hour away from the beach, but all he wanted to do when he grew up was live at the beach.
As he went to school at Claremont McKenna University, he decided he wanted to be a lifeguard.
As he got more into lifeguarding, surf forecasting kept tugging at him; he always wanted to know more about it.
Got his degree in psychology, which he doesn’t use directly, but he says the writing and communication skills still help him.
Says that truthfully, many nights he should’ve spent studying, he was up late looking at wave science and forecasts.
When he started at Surfline, he made next to no money; says if you love something, you should be willing to work for cheap.
He worked weekends, holidays, crazy hours, but he stuck with it because he loved it—and he could still surf in his free time.
Seventeen years later, he says if he could tell his teenage self what his future job would be, young him would be “stoked!”
Keep following my journey

Career

Lead Forecaster

I am a surf forecaster who works with big-wave surfers and consults on World Tour events.

Career Roadmap

Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Action Sports
Environment & Nature
Accomplishing Goals

Day to Day

Forecasting a challenging, but exceptional swell; interacting with my co-workers and hopefully getting out in the water for a few waves!

Advice for Getting Started

Here's the first step for college students

Discover what you really love and pursue it.

Recommended Education

My career is related to what I studied. I'd recommend the path I took:

certification
Associate's Degree
Psychology, General
undergrad
Bachelor
Meteorology

Hurdles

The Noise I Shed

From Myself:

"I don't know enough to get this job. "

Challenges I Overcame

Learning Issues

Interviewed By

Setting Course

Setting Course

Science, tech, engineering, arts, and math careers in Hawaii