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I didn’t really do contests in Japan. I started here for the Menehune contest and then I ended up doing HSAs. When was that? I was splitting my time — my first contest was, I think, 7 years old. I got sixth place and I won a surfboard in the raffle. I didn’t really like surfing up until that contest. Why didn’t you like surfing at that time? My Dad is a big wave surfer, so he doesn’t really know what’s small and what’s big for me. He would push me into waves that were super big for me, but like super small for him, and I would get really scared and didn’t really like surfing, but then my friends started contest surfing. What’s it like growing up a Wakita here on the North Shore? My Dad’s really good friends with everyone who surfs at Pipe, so he introduces me. I’ve met a lot of good guys there, so that’s probably the most good thing to being a Wakita. But he’s also a big wave surfer, so everyone’s like, “Oh, if you’re a Wakita you
can charge.” I don’t really like surfing big waves, but I try. I’ll go to Sunset or Haleiwa. What are some of the lessons you got from your Dad or anyone else that you use a lot, for surfing or for life? When I was really small, I entered the Makaha contest, the Menehune. I got really scared in the first heat, and then Carissa Moore was signing the posters and she wrote “Never give up, live your dreams.” That was right after my first heat, and then I won that contest. I was maybe 8. Who are your sponsors? Volcom, Blue EcoSystem, Tokoro, Handy, Dove wetsuits, FCS, Nixon, North Shore Surf Shop, and Go Pro. My Dad was sponsored by Dove, so that wasn’t really my first one but it came down to me. FCS was my first one when I was maybe 12. Final words for the Freesurf audience? Everything starts with a dream, because if you don’t dream where you want to be then you can’t see yourself being there.