i went to the airport last night to welcome back the World Champions! yes, hawaii is the champions of surfing! it took a team effort and it was good to see this tight and solid team. 22 years ago when i went to the world contest, things were different. it was every man for himself back then. surfing was never a team sport and now that i see these kids surfing like a team, it makes me happy. everybody comes home happy!
i’m super proud of my family! my 3 nephews and brother in law all represented hawaii in a respectful way. to win the gold as a family makes me feel like i won a gold medal too. i’m so proud of these kids. they were raised by two great parents and if it wasn’t for their support of surfing, none of these kids would be here today. neither would i. and the cool thing is we all know it. i couldn’t be a happier uncle right now. once again, congratulations to the moniz family. uncle is really proud of you guys!
i’m also proud of this girl mahina maeda. her parents are both japanese nationals living in hawaii. mahina made the finals and made both hawaii and japan proud! good job mahina!
i want to thank Hawaii News Now for coming down to report about the hawaiian team. when i first got there, i thought i was in the wrong airport because i didn’t see anybody around waiting. then i finally found the gate and there were about 10 people there. i was shocked! surfing was born in hawaii, surfing is a billion dollar business in hawaii, surfing is culture in hawaii. i bet the Duke would have been pissed! where the heck was all the media? where the heck was everybody? where were all the sponsors? where were all fans? as happy as i was to see the champions come home from a long successful trip from the other side of the world, i was sad to see so little support from our community. so when Hawaii News Now showed up, it made me respect them a lot more. these kids deserve more, these kids deserve a parade! i’m so proud to be a surfer from hawaii right now! good job again team hawaii!
my 3 nephews portfolios just quadrupled with this gold medal! the next step is a professional career! i’m so excited for them!
last, for all you young surfers in hawaii, japan, and all around the world. never say never! go for the gold!
