Aku Eats Oahu : a closer look : Go Naminori!

Go Naminori!

Aloha!

12/7/08 - Talk about living your dream! About ten years ago, I remember seeing a friend of mine from high school, Kirby Fukunaga, at the gym one evening. It seemed the same ‘ol conversation we’ve all had many times before – “How’s everything, whatcha doin’ these days (work), have you seen so-and-so around?” Stuff like that. Easy enough.

Turns out, he’d been a Pro Surfer, doing the Pro Circuit in, of all places – Japan! Whaaa? Who even knew there were waves in Japan? Of course, surfing up there is not quite like down here in Hawaii, with our year-round sun, gorgeous water, consistent swells, and all the other benefits we are so blessed with in the islands. But make no mistake about it - Japan does have some killer swells. For any doubters out there, check out this shot of Kirby doing Shikoku Island:

(4/19/09 Revision) - Oops! This is one of the pics that got lost because it was attached to my old site that just went down! Sorry! I'll see Kirby again this summer when he comes back from one of his many months-long, world-wide trips! I'll ask him then if he can dig-up that sick picture of him in that giant wave - for now I just pulled out a shot of him pulling inside from his recent blog entries from the Mentawai islands, where he's at right now, living on a boat with a bunch of pro surfer friends! Doesn't get any better! One day... That's all I can say!!!

And I thought it was Brad Kaneshiro who'd be rushing freight-train barrels like this (not the Mentawai's pic above, but the original Shikoku pic, which saw Kirby riding the face of a giant triple this size!), although he (Brad) probably seen his share of these, too! Anyhow, after competing and establishing himself on the Pro Circuit for quite a while, my friend actually begged his sponsors to get out, opting instead for a life of free surfing, where you no longer compete for points and get famous, but where companies pay to send you to breaks all over the world just so they can do promo's and take pictures of you ripping! Eventually, he finally got his wish of this much more creative, hang loose, non-competitive (aggro) environment, which led to an even deeper life of travel and adventure most of us can only dream about (not that he wasn't living one already!). The Maldives, Tahiti, the Mentawai's, Bali, Vietnam, the Philippines, the North Shore - you name it, he's surfed it all! And this ain't no beach bum-style of living, either! To give you an idea of just how big free surfing can be, the latest big name to leave the contests and rush into the world of free surfing, instead, was none other than... Andy Irons!

Kirby looks just like he did in high school, except maybe three or four inches taller! And more importantly, he's still the same fun-loving guy inside, too! Ever since I knew him, he was always laughing, joking, and hard-charging into something or another, a free spirit that lived life to the hilt and with no regrets. Hanging out with him was like entering into a whirlwind, with activity upon activity 24-7, whether it was surfing, fishing, diving, partying, or soupin' up his VW Bug or big, yellow Squareback - I still remember many a drunken moment in that loud-as-a-Harley beast! The only thing for certain with this guy was that there was no such thing as a dull moment! And believe you, me, till this very day, things haven't changed one bit!

It was only about two-and-a-half years ago that he began a site called Go-Naminori (surf, in Japanese), blogging about his own surf/lifestyle experiences. Soon enough, the site also began hosting the experiences of many others as well, from fellow Pro Surfers and Photographers to local big-names like surfer and shaper Wade Tokoro, long-board specialist Kekoa Uemura, body-boarder Jeff Hubbard, and beautiful, young, and rising surf/model star, Kelia Moniz!

His website, www.go-naminori.com, now has over 20 different bloggers, each contributing personal stories and pictures from their own respective worlds. Just a warning, though - this site is addictive! Kirby's daily posts are wild and crazy enough, but to have the rest, as well? You'll get lost in the alluring lifestyle of pro and up-and-coming wave-riders, mostly from Japan and Hawaii, who have some of the most enviable lives anyone could ever have! Since there are so many different bloggers, the home page is pretty busy, so for a straight-shot to Kirby's blog, which is, by far, the most popular, and up-dated every day, go to www.go-naminori.com/kirbyfukunaga, where you'll see action like this next pic of Kirby free-diving Indo just a matter of months ago, with a perfect shot, right in the head! Miss the brain, and you're going for one long and crazy ride, for sure, not to mention a whole lotta lost sashimi!

(4/19/09 Revision) - Sorry again, same thing here! This next ulua is only a quarter of the size of the one in the original shot. It was one of 5 more ulua, along with a bunch of others, that he speared in just a couple of days in the Mentawai's - dinner for the whole crew! After is a giant ono they also sliced-up.

I remember in high school when I almost drowned after Kirby took me out diving one day. It didn't matter to either of us that I didn't know how to swim yet! Just one of those things that happen in youth, I guess. I was hoping for a learn-quickly moment, but it didn't really come...

Anyhow, I'm writing about Kirby because he's been helping me with a bunch of things regarding my own site, giving me pointers, and showing me just how big things can get! Each and every day, Go-Naminori gets about 25,000 hits, even more when he happens to be galavanting off to some far-off, exotic destination (as if his home of Hawaii isn't "far off and exotic" to all 6.7 billion people in this world, minus the slightly over million that live here!).

I know I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was transferring aku-eats-oahu to a whole new site, which will be light-years better and called Aku Eats, instead. It's getting really, really close to finishing, so just hang tight a little while more!

And thanks again to Kirby! You'll hear more about him and Go-Naminori in the future, but do go and check out the site - you'll love it!

Thanks for stopping by, and as always, keep it positive and live your dreams every day! One day, brah - one day!!!

Aloha till next time,

Aku

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