Patti Zhou, 14, Is Surfing’s Next Big Thing (Video)

A while back, a few clips started circulating on social media.

They showed a pint-sized Patti Zhou, then just barely in the double digits, launching massive and exceptionally stylish aerials in a wave pool. A collective who the hell is this? washed over the surf world. The clips were shared widely; the buzz had begun.

Nowadays, with Patti being 14, those who follow these sorts of things know who she is. Or, at the very least, they’ve seen what she can do in a pool. And below, in Sun Bum’s latest profile video of Patti – who was named after Patti Smith – we dive deeper.

As a dual-sport athlete, Patti is turning heads in both snowboarding and surfing, with eyes set on the Olympics for both disciplines. As she told Olympics.com:

“I see myself going to the Olympics in snowboarding but after snowboarding I’ll try to get there in surfing as well. Try to get a title or something.

"Surfing and snowboarding feel very alike; you can fly, and the sensation of flying is amazing. For me, the similarity between these two sports is that I can communicate with nature through them. Surfing is about communicating with the ocean, and snowboarding is about connecting with the mountains.”

And when she’s not in the snow, Patti’s gaining the attention of surfing greats as well. Like Mason Ho, who crossed paths with her in Japan.

“The reason I wanted to go surf with her, was because I heard she’s Chinese,” says Mase in the video above. “I’m Chinese from my dad’s side. We grew up with so much respect. To be with Patti, there’s that saying, ‘real recognize real.’ I just wanna ride with her. I know we could level each other up.”

Mase added:

“The first time I ever really seen or heard anything of Patti was a video on Instagram. Patti was flying through the air. I was like, ‘the world is getting crazy.’ She was doing some airs that I was like, ‘I wouldn’t mind doing that air myself.’ Then, right after, I saw a clip of her snowboarding. She’s like a hybrid.”

Keep an eye on this kid.