Poenaiki Raioha was born in Tahiti into a family of surfers. Under the wing of his grandfather, a very experienced surfer, Poenaiki quickly transformed into a surfing prodigy. He didn’t try paddle surfing until he was 14 years old but didn’t waste any time and immediately began competing on the international circuit, joining the waterman league for the Stand-Up World Tour in 2011.

Since then, Poe has proved himself as one of the best SUP surfers of his generation. At just 17-years-old, Poe was crowned the World Champion of the ISA World Championships. In 2018 he ranked as vice-champion of the APP World Tour but came back in 2019 to snatch the world title after a legendary performance around the world.