every once in a while, i sit down and think about how the heck i know so many people in japan. there are a few key players that made it happen and kinsan is one of them. it was back in 1992 during the ASP contest in Miyazaki. i lost earlier that day so i went exploring in the night life later that night. i walked into a loud bar and smelt something funny. i see martin potter and start talking to him. i ask him what that smell was. it smelt like hair burning or something. then the japanese guy walks up to me and says “hey, what’s up brah?” it was kinsan.
ever since then, i’ve seen kinsan all over the place. and everybody’s been telling me that he’s the best surf photographer in japan. back then, kinsan only took the elite surfers on trips all over the world.. i use to pick up surfing world magazine and dream to be in there.
then about 4 years later, i was surfing 8-10′ sunset and after i kicked out of a wave, i saw kinsan in the channel shooting photos. we started talking and he said “hey, there is an open slot for the upcoming tahiti trip next month. wanna go?” what? me? he said “yeah, you, shuji kasuya, and mar ono.” i remember that day clearly because i paddled straight in after that. why? because i didn’t want to get hurt and blow the chance of a lifetime. i drove home in pure excitement and called my sponsors that day. they gave me the green light and the rest is history. welcome to kinsan’s world….
ever since then, i’ve gone on many trips with kinsan all over the world. and throughout the years, i’ve met many awesome people through him. i always look back and am really thankful of the wonderful people i connected with from him. so here it is. i hardly say this to kinsan because it’s a guy thing. but i’ll do it. “thank you kinsan for making a lot of my dreams come true. and most important, thank you for connecting me with the wonderful people around you. i’ll never forget it.” this is a photo of the wild side of kinsan. i’ve seen this so many times and it just gets funnier and funnier…
