Born in May 1977, Duane was taught to swim by his mother, to surf by his father, and to value a life of surfing from his uncle Bruce. At 4 years old he surfed in the Haleiwa Menehune Championships and the Rell Sunn Menehune Championships at Makaha Beach, which set the stage for his professional surfing career that took off when he was 16. Oxbow became his sponsor and for the next 22 years, he blazed a trail across the world bringing an inspirational surfing style that represented Hawaiʻi and the legacy of surfing in a unique way.
In 2010 Duane DeSoto took the Oxbow ASP World Longboard Championship by beating Antoine Delpero. By posting the event's highest scores on record and taking five heat victories he was able to achieve his lifelong dream at the one place responsible for his success––in his words, "Makaha is a place of mana, its a gathering pace for people who are passionate about the ocean ... I totally know [my success] is because of the privilege I had growing up in Makaha."
A devoted family-man, Duane is now working to support the next generation of local and Native Hawaiian youth to build a deep and abiding passion for the sea through his non-profit Nā Kama Kai (Children of the Sea)––which works to empower youth by creating, conducting and supporting ocean-based programs, specifically targeting ocean safety and conservation awareness in order to increase the capacity of youth in the community through Hawaiian values, culture and environmental education.
Recently, Duane sailed aboard the Hōkūleʻa on a once in a lifetime opportunity to participate in a 4-year-long initiative to circumnavigate the globe by non-instrument navigation. He sailed from Aotearoa to Australia across the Tasman Sea, along with crew led by master navigator Bruce Blankenfeld.