Hawaiian South Shore December Newsletter
TOYS FOR TOTS David Kelly | Owner, Hawaiian South Shore
Most of my childhood was spent growing up overseas in the Far East. We moved around a lot because my dad was in the Marine Corps and was always deployed somewhere. Mom would work evenings to help make ends meet. I remember for Christmas she would often make clothes for us or even remake old clothing into something new. She picked that up from my grandmother, who owned a used clothing store after the war. Grandma would get clothes from the GI’s, which is what they used to call military personnel (short for “government issue”). We were lucky a couple of times during Christmas when Dad’s good friend (whom we called uncle) took us to Toys for Tots. I don’t remember too much about it accept checking out the old pictures of Hobo Kelly, Marines in dress blues and Santa Claus. The holidays always remind me to help Toys for Tots or any charities. It not only stokes the children, but also gives hope to the parents and makes them realize that people do care. It uplifts their spirits and hopefully empowers them to raise good kids, who will help build a strong future where everyone can prosper. For those of you who don’t know about Toys for Tots, it is a program run by the US Marine Corp intended to distribute toys to children whose parents can’t afford to buy them gifts at Christmas. The program was started in 1947 by a reservist named Major Bill Hendricks and continues in its mission today. It’s stated goal is to “deliver, through a new toy at Christmas, a message of hope to less fortunate youngsters that will assist them in becoming responsible, productive, and patriotic citizens.” Growing up around Marine Corp families, we were always surrounded by a tight-knit community where people helped each other out without expecting thanks or even acknowledgment. They just did things to take care of others, and then went on with life, while keeping an eye out for others who needed a hand. I think that this type of generosity and care for others is the true meaning of Christmas. I encourage you all to look for ways that you can give back this holiday season. Mele kalikimaka!Check out the Puddle Jumper HPs & RNF Retros.
We have a lot of new C4 Technology!
ROGER PINCHES
For those of you who missed the newsletter last month, we have recently been spending some time with author Roger Pinches. He is a mover and shaker in the Australian surf industry. Pinches helped run marketing and team events at JA Surf Shop in Adelaide, which held the original Australian license for O’Neill and Golden Breed. Over the years, he worked on a variety of groundbreaking ad campaigns and traveled all over Australia where he would attend events with some of the world’s top surfers, like Wayne Lynch, Gerry Lopez, Jeff Hakman and Reno Abileira. He worked at the heart of the Australian surf industry and has seen and experienced a lot of the history that makes up the foundation of our sport. Pinches is releasing a new coffee table book called “Rare Breed – Damn It, We Did It First”. The book shares some of the history, and serves as a tribute, to the industry pioneer to Jack O’Neill. Jack O’Neill has had a huge impact not only on Pinches’ life (as an O’Neill brand rep in Australia), but also all our lives as surfers. After all, he invented the wetsuit, which is one of the most essential surf equipment pieces in existence! In addition to the number of previously untold stories from the golden age of surfing, the book will also include artwork created during Pinches’ tenure as marketing/art manager for JA Surf Shop, O’Neill and Golden Breed. The ad below depicts a scene from the 1976 Bells Beach contest in which team rider Jeff Hakman (pictured) ended up winning. The photos in this ad were taken by Pinches in 1976, while the team was traveling and surfing in Byron Bay. Art and design by Roger Pinches. Ad for Surfer, Surfing World & Tracks Magazine in US & Australia.
“Jack O’Neill was surfing,” says Piches. “That was true even before he invented the wetsuit. Jack epitomized that is good about our hobby. His wetsuit was simply the culmination of his desire to stay in the water longer and get more out of the surfing experience. While surfing continues to change, that one thing remains true that our desire to get the ultimate from ourselves and the ocean. This is the O’Neill experience and is the best thing we as surfers can offer. The stories in this book are dedicated to Jack O’Neill and his family and are my way of saying thank you for their contribution to our sport and my life.”
HAWAIIAN SOUTH SHORE MEMBER OF THE MONTH
Randy Komai
When and what got you into surfing?
Started surfing when I was in 5th grade. We live by the ocean, so fishing, diving, boating and surfing was automatic.
Did you have a time period you weren’t surfing?
I did layoff out of high school because it got boring and I bought a big boat and was deep sea fishing instead.
If so when and why did you start back up?
When I was in my thirties I came back, and I was fishing and surfing. Missed surfing so I got the bug again.
What is your favorite thing about surfing?
Just being out in the water and hanging with friends. And of course, laying down some turns.
Where is your favorite place to eat after surf?
Saigon Noodle House
What is your favorite item?
Pho or one of plates.
What other hobbies do you have besides surfing?
Fishing from shore and my 18’ Whaler.
What do you do for work?
District sales manager NAPA Hawaii
Tell us about the board you recently bought. What model and size, and how do you like the ride?
Just bought a 5’8” round nose fish redux in eps/epoxy. Only used it a few times, so still trying to get used to it but so far so good.
YOGA POSE OF THE MONTH: MALASANA
- Keep your knees happy by making sure that your knees are pointed in the same direction as your toes.
- Don’t worry if your heels don’t touch the ground. This may change over time as you practice more. If it doesn’t, it’s not something to worry about.
- Bring your hands into prayer pose and use your elbows to press against your inner thighs. This provides a little leverage to help you lift your torso and thereby deepen the stretch.
BACK-FOOTED VS. FRONT-FOOTED SURFING
If you talk to enough people about surfing, you are bound to hear the terms “back-footed surfer” and “front-footed surfer.” While these terms are self-explanatory, there is a lot more riding on them than their simple definitions. Different boards and different styles of surfing work better with front and back-footed surfing, so it’s worthwhile taking a closer look at the two approaches. Prior to the invention of the thruster, most boards being ridden were single fins and twins. Most of them were voluminous with the widest points of the board farther forward than midpoint. While these boards could be ridden from just about anywhere (and often saw surfers moving their feet around on their boards while riding waves), they were predominantly surfed off the front foot. This approach is more driving and forward-focused, while emphasizing down-the-line speed and lateral rail turns. The invention of the thruster turned the entire paradigm on its head. These lower-volume, higher-rockered boards were loose and maneuverable. The cluster of three fins at the back of the board allowed for aggressive, vertical, top-to-bottom surfing. The back-foot surfing approach is facilitated by standing with your back foot over the fin cluster and weighting/driving the board heavily on the back foot. While back-footed surfing is certainly more common, front-footed surfing is not entirely lost to history. Some of the wider, flatter, hybrid modern shapes lend themselves to front-footed surfing, such as Firewire Chumlee model. Predominantly front-footed surfers find that these boards work well for them, while those who prefer a back-footed approach seem to struggle on them. The Lost Puddle Jumper and Puddle Fish on the other hand, are wide, flatter boards that still tend to maintain their back-footed feel. These boards tend to be faster down the line and a bit more forgiving and user-friendly, while still maintaining much of the maneuverability of the modern high-performance thruster. Since they have many of the characteristics of a standard shortboard. many people find it easy to transition back to back-footed surfing when they swap back to their normal high-performance boards. Regardless, of your style of surfing, we at Hawaiian South Shore have a wide range of boards that cater to just about every approach. Stop on by and take a look!STAYING HEALTHY BY STAYING DISTRACTED
The holidays are here and for a lot of us that means eating. Lots of eating! There’s nothing better than Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, and I can’t wait for some of the ono grinds I’ll be enjoying in the next few weeks. I’m sure I’ll probably enjoy a bit too much in fact. One of my friends once told me that Thanksgiving isn’t over until you hate yourself, and that the same rule applies for Christmas dinner too (that one made me laugh). Overeating isn’t something we do only on holidays. Overeating and obesity have become chronic problems in the US, and here in Hawaii. While beautiful people come in all shapes and sizes, the reality is, that many of us could improve our surfing (and our health) by losing a few pounds. Shortly after the indulgence of Christmas comes the New Year’s resolutions. One of the most common resolutions is to lose weight. If that is one of your resolutions in 2019, maybe it’s time to look at a new strategy or distraction. I recently read an article about a researcher who found that he had gained a lot of unwanted weight and decided he needed to do something about it. As a scientist, he understood that weight management is all about caloric intake and the balance of your calories in versus calories out. So, he decided to take a threepronged approach to losing weight. First, he adopted an 80/20 diet, so 80 percent of his calories came from healthy, wholefood sources and the other 20 percent he could eat whatever he wanted. This ensured that the majority of his food was healthy, without depriving himself of foods that he loved (as deprivation often causes people to break their diets). The second part of the weight loss campaign was exercise. The more we exercise, the more calories we burn. Of course, as surfers, our entire hobby involves exercise. Sometimes it can be easy to get a bit lazy with our surfing, riding bigger boards than we need and talking story rather than keeping busy in the lineup. If this sounds familiar, try to find other cross-training activities that not only help you burn calories, but also specifically help you get fitter for surfing (such as paddling, yoga, Pilates, etc.). The third part of the researcher’s weight loss program was the one that interested me the most, is distraction. Like many of us, he found that when he was inactive and lazy, he often fell into bad snacking habits. For instance, when he was watching television, he often ate snacks even though he wasn’t hungry. Meanwhile, when he was working on his coursework for his master’s degree, he stayed super busy and focused that he didn’t snack so much. He decided that he needed to minimize the down time by keeping himself busy and distracted. This way, he would not only be more productive and accomplish more in life, it also prevented him from mindlessly snacking. The three-pronged strategy worked for the researcher (he lost nearly 50 pounds!) and it can work for the rest of us too. If your New Year’s resolution is to get back into shape so you can surf and live your best, try a bit of healthy distraction. There’s no telling what you might accomplish!CHECK OUT THE PUDDLE JUMPER HPS AND RNF RETROS.
WE HAVE A LOT OF NEW C4 TECHNOLOGY!
Marcus Oshiro, the former Wahiawa district representative, who picked up a Lost Puddle Fish. He’s working his way down to a shorter board. The Puddle Fish is a perfect board to do this on.
SUPER STOKED TO SEE LYNDIE IRONS (THE LATE ANDY IRONS WIDOW) AND PAT TENORE (FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT OF RVCA) PICKING UP FINS FOR LYNDIE’S SON AXEL.
“I am extremely pleased with my experience at HSS. Very knowledgeable and friendly staff. Hooked me up with the perfect board for me. I will absolutely continue to shop here.”
CHRISTMAS MEMBERS ONLY SALE!!!
We’re really stoked that you’re a member! We like hooking you up sometimes, so stop in and check out the sales and remember we have plenty parking, yeah. I also know we have plenty construction too, but you can park across the street at the former Sport Authority and they just knocked the warehouse down to make a parking lot. After you shop, go check out Starbucks or Jamba. Since Starbucks is one of the busiest, I use the app to preorder, but if you don’t mind the lines move fast at the place. The staff over their have things wired. So here are some specials we have going on for you!
The Vissla Boardshorts are made of high-quality materials that are eco-friendly and functional.
Enjoy our Christmas Special: 20% OFF VISSLA BOARDSHORTS
The Lockbox made by our Japanese friends. This one is large enough to fit most car remotes.
Enjoy our Christmas Special: 20% OFF HAWAIIAN SOUTH SHORE LOCKBOX
The Hawaiian South Shore Hybrid 2mm Wet Rashguard.
Enjoy our Christmas Special: 20% OFF HAWAIIAN SOUTH SHORE WET RASHGUARD
I’ve been happy with mine and we’re on our 3rd reorder in about two months. Words getting around, the thing works!
The sunglasses made for watersports lovers!
Enjoy our Christmas Special: 20% OFF OCEAN SUNGLASSES
