Lake was born and raised on Kauai, Hawaii. She is of Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese, German, Irish and English descent. Her name "Sànoe" means "The Mist of the Mountains."[citation needed]
Lake was 15 years old when she was discovered by a manager on the beach of Oahu's North Shore when she came in from surfing. Soon after she began working as a model internationally. Lake had a successful career working as a professional model outside of the action sports industry; however, she became dissatisfied with the modeling industry stating that it often felt "shallow and empty."[citation needed]
Lake was the face used to launch the brand Roxy. The early Roxy campaigns that featured Sanoe were shot by the New York fashion photographer Dewy Nicks. The campaigns are credited for helping to create a new genre within the surfing industry for females by broadening their representation outside of competitive surfing.[citation needed]

Return to Sanoe Lake Autograph Profile