Special to SURFER by Mikey Nixon.
It’s lunchtime for me in BC and just after dinner for Sanoa Dempfle-Olin somewhere in South Africa. With Natural Selection Surf’s strict media embargo, the goofy-footed phenom is rightfully cagey about her exact whereabouts. But Sanoa, ever-gracious, humors me with a 30-minute phone call and shares what she can about the contest before the conversation drifts away from Natural Selection and hones in on the background that got her there in the first place.
The 21-year-old was raised amongst the temperate rainforests and white-sand beaches of Tofino, British Columbia. She was born in the family home, just steps away from the beachbreak that, for better or worse, shapes almost every Canadian surfer that resides on the West Coast. Cox Bay, baby. It’s anything but world-class. But hot damn, it produces some talented surfers.
Sanoa’s no exception. And neither is her older sister Mathea, who Sanoa shadowed through the cold water line-ups at home before striking out on her own. In the last few years, Sanoa has evolved into a competitive surfing machine, posting solid results in both regional QS and global Challenger Series events. She also threw herself over the ledge at Teahupo’o as Canada’s sole surfing representative at the last Olympic Games. And now she’s the first Canadian to be invited to Natural Selection Surf.
“The last 10 days we’ve been remote on the west coast of South Africa, which is such an incredible part of the world to explore,” said Sanoa when I caught her on the phone. “It was one of those trips where, given other circumstances, you might never get to explore these waves or this coastline, never mind with a setup like this and with the awesome crew of people we’ve had.”
With the competition wrapped, Sanoa, the rest of the athletes and the crew know exactly who won. Chances are there’s even been an unofficial celebration. But the rest of us will have to wait until September 25th, when the comp airs on Redbull TV, to find out who prevailed in NST’s non-traditional competitive format.
Sanoa got the nod to go up against former Natural Selection Surf champ Milla Coco Brown, former finalist Kirra Pinkerton and NST rookie, Eden Walla. As is often the case, the call-up came with very little notice: “It was a dream to have been there, but I didn’t even know that zone so it wasn’t even on my bucket list,” says Sanoa. “It was very a last-minute opportunity that popped up for me and it was booked before I could even know where I was going.”
Kyler Vos / Red Bull Content Pool
Nate Laverty, Sanoa’s longtime filmer, friend and adopted family member, has his own insights about why Sanoa accepted the invite.
“If Natural Selection wasn’t a contest and they just invited a crew to go there just to do a sick piece, 95% of me thinks she wouldn’t go on that trip. I actually don’t think there’s a chance, not with her schedule.”
But Sanoa says otherwise: “I was keen to go was because it wasn’t a contest, even though technically it was, but it was more like a free surf trip, which is something that I don’t often get the opportunity to do.
That sentiment echoes the general vibe of the Natural Selection Tour, whether it’s snowboard, ski, bike or surf. The event feels more like a progression session than it does a contest.
“It wasn’t that same cutthroat feeling that you feel at some surf competitions,” says Sanoa.
Anthony Fox / Natural Selection Tour
But Laverty’s definitely right about Sanoa’s schedule. As with any surfer intent on moving through the ranks towards the WCT, her passport gets a lot of stamps. She’d actually been to South Africa less than a month earlier when she snagged 11th place at the Ballito Open Challenger Series Event. Then, after she went back to South Africa with NST Surf, she flew to Oceanside, California for the Super Girl Surf Festival where she turned heads with a lofty heat score in the round of 64.
At time of writing, she just posted a 17th place finish at the Pantin Classic Galicia Pro and, more notably, her best result of the ‘26/27 season: a 5th place finish at the Norte Surf Fest in Porto that earned her 2760 points.
“She’s a powerhouse,” says local Tofitian legend Peter Devries. “That’s definitely her trademark. She’s an extremely powerful surfer.”
Sanoa’s overall prowess, which includes her ability to eviscerate waves on both forehand and back, has been sharpened by mentorship from Devries.
“I think even just having him to watch in the day-to-day surf at our beachbreaks, just having such a high level of surfing around to aspire to is incredible,” says Sanoa of Devries. “And then on top of that, he’s so generous with his knowledge and with helping myself and pretty much anyone he can out.”
To Mane / Red Bull Content Pool
Sanoa was also blessed with the ultimate mentor—her older sister Mathea—who happily showed her what’s possible on a surfboard. Just two and half years older than Sanoa, Mathea’s ability to win contests, stack clips and commit to heavy waves has gained her recognition in the international surf community.
“Mathea’s surfing is based off of feeling and her connection to enjoyment,” says Sanoa. “Whether she’s in heavy slabs or gliding on her longboard, she has grace and just is so connected to the enjoyment that surfing different waves and different boards brings her.”
Mathea and Kalum Temple Bruhwiler (another apex Canadian surfer who Sanoa counts as a mentor) recently had a baby girl.
“Getting to just fall in love with my niece and see [Mathea] be such an amazing mom in all the ways that she’s an amazing big sister has been the most beautiful thing,” says Sanoa.
And while we’re on the topic of moms, Sanoa’s quick to shout out the family’s matriarch, Dionne.
“She’s always been my biggest supporter,” says Sanoa.
Anthony Fox / Natural Selection Tour
With a couple wins and an 11th place overall ranking in the 25/26 WQS season, Sanoa has proven that she she’s a viable threat in traditional surf contests. But how did she do at Natural Selection Surf?
“I mean, unfortunately for us living [in Tofino], you don’t get really that much experience in tubes. So if it’s a straight-up tube contest, especially heavy backside tubes, that could be a challenging scenario for her,” says Devries. “But hopefully they find some lefts too because I know she’s got that experience at Teahupo’o and surfing heavier lefts around the world.”
Thanks to the latest reveal from the NST crew, we know that the event was held across five different sessions and that the surfers build their scores throughout the competition. But we, as the audience, don’t yet know the full range of waves in which the invitees competed. Through the NST social channels, we’ve had glimpses of a near-maxed-out beachbreak, multiple broken boards and the crew’s epic camping set-up.
“Our campsite was right out front of a world-class beachbreak in a zone that Grant “Twiggy” Baker and a handful of other people have explored,” says Sanoa.
Related: After Epic South African Score, Natural Selection Surf Reveals Judges
Given the clues we’ve received so far, it’s safe to chalk the contest up as a score. And with the success of the inaugural Natural Selection Surf, we know we’re in for a good show.
“I’m so excited to see it come out on the 25th because I’m still so curious to see what it looks like through their lens,” says Sanoa. “It’s almost like I get to relive it, so that’ll be really fun.”
For now, we’re left guessing how Sanoa might have fared in the conditions. She’s certainly no stranger to beachbreaks and we know the crew contested in a spicy one. But, so long as Mother Nature greenlit their plan, the whole event was meant to take place across a variety of different set-ups.
“I think surfing new waves and getting thrown into new lineups teaches you so much and is so great,” says Sanoa. “So I feel like I learned a lot on this trip in that area. But I would say hollow waves would be the area that I really want to work on the next handful of years.”
That learning process is already underway at home. Sanoa’s put in time at one of the Tofino area’s most notorious slabs: a wildly unpredictable righthander that tends to spook the uninitiated…
Related: 12 Surfers, 10 Days, South Africa: Natural Selection Surf’s 2026 Lineup Is Here
“I’ve gone now with plenty of surfers who aren’t from here and been there for their first surfs,” says Laverty. “And they just pull back on waves all day because they’re like ‘I don’t get it. It’s so shallow. I don’t even want to take off.’”
But Sanoa, in part due to guidance from Devries, has started to feel more at home there.
“This wave is hard,” says local lensman Marcus Paladino in a post on Instagram. “It’s a long way to get to, it’s fickle, shallow, obviously cold, and the positioning is always a bit shifty. I’ve [been up there] a few times with Sanoa over the years, and it’s been awesome to see how much she’s learned, grown, and started charging since the first time she came up here way back in the day.”
Now whether or not that will translate to Natural Selection Surf is yet to be seen. All waves aside, it goes without saying that Sanoa would’ve been more comfortable in South Africa’s frigid temperatures than the other competitors. But no matter what happened out there, it’s safe to say that doors are opening up for Sanoa. And so too are those hollow tubes.
Related: Reefs, Slabs, and Rough Diamonds on South Africa’s West Coast