Paddleboard Racer
Kieran Grant
Speeds through silence to reach the top
by Lisa Gallo
Kieran Grant , a 23-year-old competitive stand up paddleboard ( SUP ) racer and surfer , was born profoundly deaf , but that hasn ’ t stopped him from reaching first place in one of the biggest regions of the World Paddle Association . Florida grown , Kieran started surfing at age nine and was competing by age 11 . The Garden of Life ® ambassador transitioned to SUP surfing and racing a couple of years ago , and finished 13th out of 50 at the 2015 Stand Up World Tour Hawaii Opener . His parents , Mike and Zoe Grant , didn ’ t discover that Kieran was deaf until he was two½ years old , when they noticed he hadn ’ t started to speak .
“ Deaf children have great coping strategies ,” Mike said . “ They ’ re very visual , and they fill in the blanks as needed . So , unfortunately , we didn ’ t catch it until later .”
Kieran was diagnosed and fitted for hearing aids , which he wore until he was 10 . Then , his father made the decision to enroll him and his younger sister Abby , also profoundly deaf , into Clarke School for Hearing and Speech in Jacksonville , Florida . The following summer , Kieran had a procedure to receive a cochlear implant . Different from a hearing aid which amplifies sound , a cochlear implant processes sound . However , Kieran cruises
Photo Credit : Lori Griffith
through every SUP competition without his implant . “ When he ’ s in a field of competitors where you would hear all sorts of sounds — crashing waves , cheering voices — he doesn ’ t hear one thing ,” Mike said . “ It ’ s the only experience he knows .”
Before each race , Kieran fuels up with a smoothie made with Garden of Life Organic Plant Protein . He recovers with another scoop of protein and follows it up with Wobenzym ® N to keep his joints in tip-top shape .
When he ’ s not competing year-round with his younger brother , Fisher , Kieran works with his father and spends time with his girlfriend . He was also among the top five SUP surfers in the world invited to Costa Rica to star in an SUP surfing film . As for Kieran ’ s future , he plans to keep riding waves around the world . “ I want to travel a lot , compete in as many SUP races as I can , and be the top guy out there one day ,” he said .