Hawaiian Downwind SUP Foiler Simeon Ke Paloma Takes on Les Ailes de St Tropez

As Downwind SUP foiling rapidly gains traction worldwide, a few pioneering athletes stand out, both for their skills on the water and their dedication to building a global community around the sport. Hawaiian waterman Simeon Ke Paloma is one of those athletes. Born and raised in Hawaii, Simeon’s connection to the ocean runs deep. His journey began in outrigger canoe paddling, leading him to explore downwinding, and ultimately to the thrill of SUP foil. Today, he’s the founder of Voyager Foiler, a brand that not only promotes SUP foiling but also embodies the values of adventure and camaraderie.

This year, Simeon joined two back-to-back events in France, with the second edition of Les Ailes de Saint Tropez (ed. “the Wings of St Tropez”), set on the French Riviera, quickly emerging as a world-class SUP foil competition. In this interview, we dive into Simeon’s experience in Saint Tropez, his journey with Voyager Foil, and his thoughts on where the future of SUP foil downwind is heading.

Hi Simeon, can you share your journey as a waterman and how you got into foiling and more specifically SUP Foil Downwinding? What drew you to this sport?

Hi Mathieu and TotalSUP readers. I grew up in Hawaii where our lives are centered around the ocean and being in the ocean.  I grew up playing sports and in the ocean surfing, fishing, bodysurfing and  canoe paddling.

Canoe paddling led me to downwinding.  I became very competitive in highschool, and began racing in the open ocean in the OC-1 and the OC-6 racing molokai every year and travelling around the world to race and compete.  It was during this time I learned so much about downwinding, how to read the bumps, how to become comfortable and how to read the ocean.

I have been lifeguarding the past 15 years, and I work in Waikiki on the jet ski rescue team.  When I saw one of my coworkers with a foil board, I was interested to try because it looked so funny when people would have big wipeouts. At first that was my enjoyment, I never intended to get into foiling at all.  Having fun and being entertained by this new surf sensation and how impossible it felt to catch and ride waves above the water.  The more I went I got better and started catching the longest waves of my life.  I started to visualize surfing the ocean bumps with the foils.  We then ventured out with our prone boards and would catch waves and pump to the windline and downwind down the coast 5-6 km at a time.  It was fun and consequential because if you fell, there would be no solution to get on foil again, and you would make a long paddle back in to restart or surrender.  As we continued to grow in our downwind foiling, we started to hunger for longer and more adventurous runs, and realized SUP foil was the best practice and safest way to achieve this.  And since then, our love, passion and community for SUP Downwind has exploded!  We learned so much, failed so much, felt all the emotions of fear, struggle, joy, excitement and more, and made so many new friendships along the way. It has been a true voyage!

Can you share more about your life story, lifestyle and foiling routine at home?

I am a father of 3 boys, been married to my highschool sweetheart for 13 years now and counting, and work as a lifeguard for 15 years.  My life is centered around family, the ocean, foiling and friendships.  I have one of the best jobs in the world where I help people, have great co-workers, and can be in the ocean everyday.  We don’t make a lot of money as lifeguards, but we are rich in life and happiness, which allows me to be a great father, friend, husband and it keeps me young.  Whenever the wind is up, we are always foiling downwind with the crew with 8-12 people at a time each run and sometimes more.  We learn together, try new runs together, try new gear together and it’s so fun to explore this sport with a group of solid humans.  It’s been special to enter this new outlook and lifestyle.

You were part of the competition at LAST – Les Ailes de Saint Tropez. How would you describe your overall experience in the event?

The Saint Tropez race was one of the best races I have been a part of.  The logistics, accomodation, venue, good energy, and good conditions checked off all the boxes.  Fred and the organizers really catered to the racers in a way I haven’t felt or experienced.  The coastline is beautiful, the bumps and ocean energy reminded me of Hawaii and the competition was amazing.  I see this as a staple race in the future for our sport.  The venue was amazing too, being able to come in and relax, eat and hang out at the Sailing club added to the full experience.

The conditions for the first run were reportedly epic. Can you take us through your race?

We took a lengthy but comfortable boat ride upwind and up the coast to chase the wind.  The entire time I was drooling at the bumps and I knew they were gonna be so fun and challenging to ride.  My board was a little waterlogged and heavy from Crozon (ed. the Crozon Foil Festival which took place on the other side of France the previous weekend), so it took me a few minutes to pop up, but once I was able to get on foil it was an amazing run from start to finish.  I was connecting bumps at high speed the whole time, riding the Eagle x 700.  I took an outside line and didn’t realize how many people I had passed until I came to the finish line and realized it was only Tom, Kai, and Thomas, who had finished just before me.  This was my first time foiling in the Mediterranean and it exceeded all my expectations!  It reminded me of our run back home on the North shore similar in distance and similar in bump speed, energy and size. I can’t wait for my next session in the Med!

Being from Hawaii, how would you describe the development of SUP foil downwind in your home region? How does it compare to other parts of the world?

Hawaii is a unique place because we are a small island and we have a unique family style culture, also known or described as the Aloha spirit.  When Voyager Foiler and the crew were taking off it was a special moment of creating new friendships, stoke, challenges and achievements.  It was so exciting to live this together.  What I realized as I travel is that it’s not like this in areas around the world.  People learn on their own in extreme conditions so they don’t have that crew vibe.  Or people shuttle differently in vans or something.  We shuttled and piled into the back of trucks so many of the moments we were crammed together and got to really know each other sharing our stories and stoke with each other before we got into the water.  We also learned at an early time so we all struggled together. Equipment was developing as our skills were developing, so we were bonded in sharing all of our struggles and success with each other.

Would you agree that 2024 marks a big shift for SUP foil downwind competition, for instance with the Triple Crown in Hawaii, or the two French events we’ve add back-to-back this month. What are your thoughts on where the sport is heading?

Yes, I agree completely.  The sport is growing exponentially. There are more people around the world getting into it, new places to downwind and many more places to discover, and the competition is growing each year.  2 years ago Maui to Molokai had 7 competitors including myself and a few boys from Oahu, and the others from Maui and Australia.  This year the event sold out with over 100 signups in the first hour. I still see this number getting to at least 3- 4 times bigger in the next year and beyond. Race organizers will have to limit the entrants because there will be too many people for them to cater to.

You are behind Voyager Foil, which seems to be a lot of things at once. Can you tell us more about the scope of activities present and future, inspiration behind the brand and its connection to your passion for foiling?

From the early moments of downwinding on Oahu, I knew it was going to be something very special.  So I made sure to capture it and record it and develop the good energy behind the crew.  I was convinced that this was the best sport, it merged surfing’s most innovative technology with the ancient form and practice of voyaging and having an intimate relationship and flow with the ocean.

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At first, I never intended to become a brand, but I made some hats for the first voyagers, to create some identity.  Then it turned into a craze.  People wanted to buy shirts and hats, and they would promise me they wouldn’t wear it until they made their first downwind run. I laughed because I was flattered they took the Voyager movement so seriously, I knew there was something special there. For several years we continued to grow and get more people into the sport and put out good, positive videos on social media to spread the stoke and encourage people on their journey.

This last year we decided to put on several Downwind camps, and it has been a big passion to help, encourage, create new relationships, downwind new places, and inspire many new people.  So stoked and grateful that foiling has opened up this new journey.  Looking ahead, we look forward to continuing to build the downwind community, put on great events in downwind camps and races, and continue to inspire and influence people around the world.  It’s been life changing and an amazing journey that I am happy to be a part of. Keep voyaging!

Get ready for LAST – Les Ailes de St Tropez 2025 from October 7 to 12. For more information!
www.ycsainttropez.com/last2025
www.instagram.com/lesailessainttropez/
www.instagram.com/voyager_foiler/