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How has the ocean shaped the person you’ve become? 

It’s fashioned it completely. It’s who I am. Growing up here in Hawai'i, surrounded by the ocean and great watermen and women and fishermen and sailors and divers, you can’t help but be influenced or get swept up in that. I certainly did, and I feel so blessed and fortunate. Growing up here, you could run around in shorts and a t-shirt and bare feet all year round and hop in the water without worrying about wrestling on a wetsuit. Since it’s an island, there’s always some sort of wave somewhere, the wind’s blowing offshore somewhere, and we’re just so lucky, so when I found out that I could get paid going to the beach all day as a lifeguard, I said, ‘sign me up!’  

I knew I was taking a vow of poverty when I signed up to be a lifeguard, but lifeguarding has given me so many opportunities to connect with communities all over the world. So, to answer your question, the ocean gave me lifeguarding. The ocean gave me bodysurfing, and now, it’s given me an opportunity—with all this time on my hands—to go snorkeling and beachcombing and get creative in the garage. Then, I get to go to coastal towns and have pop-up shows and meet friends from around the world. It’s really fun.  

I love that. And what’s something the ocean has taught you that no classroom ever could? 

Patience. I’d get a little impatient and drowsy in classrooms. Something about those fluorescent lights and a talking head droning on and on. I don’t think they teach like that anymore, but the ocean has taught me patience and that the tide will turn, so to speak, and whatever is going on in life, good or bad—ride it, enjoy it while you can, or take a deep breath and let it pass. There’ll be a lull and along comes something else. 

That’s some wisdom, right there. 

The ocean has helped me keep my head above water in life, you know? Just knowing that I have it to go to as a refuge, recreation, time-out, spirituality, physical fitness... Sometimes we all know that life gets a little hectic on land, and it’s different for everyone, but I think we all need a little timeout or a sanctuary of sorts, and the ocean has certainly provided that. I feel like I don’t have to be surfing. I don’t have to be ripping. The waves don’t have to be perfect. I can be swimming. I can be beachcombing. I can be snorkeling. I can be bodysurfing one-foot mush burgers, and it still scratches that itch for me. 

What inspires you to make art in the way that you do?

The biggest compliment I’ve ever received on my art is, ‘Wow, I’ve never seen anything quite like this before.’ So, if I can create or recreate something that’s original—and, it’s hard to be original in this day and age—then maybe that inspires me. Maybe that’s just sort of my nature. I decided to become a bodysurfer instead of board surfer. All my private school pals became bankers, lawyers, doctors, dentists, and politicians, and I decided to zig instead of zag and become a lifeguard out at the North Shore. So, I feel like what I’m creating or recreating with these objects is just something unique or different, and it gives me pleasure. There are a lot of beachgoing, oceangoing people that seem to enjoy it, too, so it’s a win-win. 

Do you have any particularly favorite ‘gifts from the sea’ and when someone looks at your art, what do you hope that they might feel or understand?   

It would have to be the surfboard fins. The older, the better. Most of my work is surfboard fin-based, because that’s what I find a lot of. So, maybe they think about the energy that one of these fins has. Like, how many waves did it ride? Whose board was it on? Was the guy ripping and catch a million waves, or did he forget to screw it in tight on his very first go-out? There’s so many stories that these fins tell. The real crusty ones have been sitting at the bottom of the ocean for months or years, and I think of the millions and millions of waves that’ve washed over these things—they’ve been these little magnets or totems. 

They’ve been around this ocean energy for a really long time, so, I hope if people look at my work, they’ll go, ‘Wow, that shit’s been around for a while, and it’s kind of cool, and if we take care of our surfboards, they could last a lifetime.’ But if we don’t take care of them, they usually end up here. So, I also hope they’re thinking, ‘Boy, us surfers can leave a lot of crap in the ocean if we aren’t careful.’ 

Totally. And what are some ways that folks can help to change that cycle of consumption and waste? 

Become Zen Buddhists? [laughs] Less is more. No, really. Our American society of consumerism is just staggering, and you can’t help but be impacted by the social media and advertising on television and magazines and your phones…it’s staggering. Buy new, buy more… Look, I had a grandma who lived through the Depression, and she was very thrifty, and she saved giftwrapping paper, string, shoeboxes—just because it was perfectly good. You didn't have to throw it away. You could use it again. She wore the same clothes, and when they had holes, she mended them herself. I think that’s sort of been a bit of a philosophy in my life: that less is more.  

Maybe that’s why I chose a lifeguarding job, and I drive old beater cars. You don’t need much. I think bodysurfing reflects that, too. Basically, all you need is a pair of fins. You don’t even need a board. You got your body. 

Has your relationship with the ocean evolved at all as you’ve seen our coastlines change? 

I mean, we’re always evolving. Every day, hopefully, we’re getting a little older and wiser and more sensitive or more knowledgeable about what’s going on, and once again, that’s a big reason I do the beach cleanups and beachcombing—to sort of raise awareness to how much crap ends up in the ocean and washes ashore here. The whole global warming and erosion of our beaches around the world is scary and staggering in my lifetime. It’s crazy how many beaches have been cut away and trees and fences and backyards have fallen into the sea. Portions of Kamehameha Highway on the windward side constantly need shoring up. I don't remember extreme weather king tides when I was a kid, but we certainly have them now. I guess I’m a firm believer in science and global warming, and I wish more people were. 

You’ve spent a lifetime looking at the ocean and I assume listening to it. What’s the ocean telling us lately? 

Today, it’s saying, ‘look how f--king beautiful I am! What are you doing sitting in your living room on your ass drinking coffee and talking? Hop in, you idiot!’ [laughs] Nah, I’m very happy that I got wet this morning, and the ocean is there for our inspiration. It’s there for our pleasure. It’s there for our exercise. It’s there for our peace of mind, and it’s telling us to use it and appreciate it, but don’t put so much crap in it, and maybe don’t pillage the shit out of it with industrial fishing, you know?  

It’s a big playground out there, and sometimes, as adults, we forget how important play is. I’ve heard Thomas Campbell say that, as kids, we’re always kind of drawing and creative and playing with toys and making models and things like that. Then, somehow, we get too busy or we run out of time, but that’s still part of our genetic makeup: our chemistry to create and make things. 

Speaking of artists like Thomas, are there any that inspire your own work?  

Well, Thomas Campbell is an old, dear friend, and his body of work is just insane, whether it’s stitchery or photography or film or painting or ceramics… Thomas is a huge inspiration to me because he’s a legit artist. It’s what he does, you know? He works his ass off. The amount of shows around the world that he has is just phenomenal, and he’s just so low profile about it. Besides him, I do get inspired by all my surf photographer friends, who I’ll either see standing behind a tripod, or my big white head is in the foreground of their Pipeline shots. [laughs] Those guys are hardworking artists, too, trying to capture the magic. 

When you hear the phrase Find Your Outerknown, what does that mean to you personally? 

To me, it means: be yourself. Regardless of what your phone is telling you or what advertising or television is telling you. It’s: what is going to make you happy? What is going to float your boat? What is going to give you peace of mind or serenity, or be comfortable in your own skin? We’re all different, and we’re all very unique, so, celebrate it! Don’t hide it. Don’t try to fit in. We all got to get along, but we can all sort of be unique in our own individual selves, so long as we’re humble and respectful of what others are doing. 

It’s a big, huge, beautiful, bountiful world out there, and the possibilities are endless for who you want to be, what you want to do. Use today’s technology to your advantage, or throw it all away and go back to Mother Nature. So, finding your Outerknown, it’s finding that balance in life. I find my Outerknown in the ocean. It’s my sanctuary. It’s my church. It’s my gym. It’s my museum. It’s my gallery. It’s given me everything.   

Love that. Any pieces you’ve been particularly psyched on from Outerknown? 

My blanket speedo? Nah, nah, nah. Here in Hawai'i, I love my boardshorts. The APEX Evolution trunks. It’s a t-shirt culture here, so I love those comfy organic Sojourn tees they make that are soft and very livable. But make no mistake, I love putting on a fancy dress shirt and a pair of pants and going out at night, too. I just feel very appropriately dressed wherever I go with an Outerknown nighttime wardrobe.