Arriving at his Parents home, we were greeted by a very welcoming Jay Dee Penn, father of B.J., and began to talk about his life as a child. B.J. is the third youngest out of four brothers, all but the youngest named Jay Dee, after their father. As one could imagine, living in a family with three other brothers around you, learning how to scrap comes with the territory. But even with the everyday scuffles that young boys do get into, B.J., at that age, “just wasn’t that in to it.” It wasn’t until a neighborhood man came by, saw the boys and approached their father about training them that his passion was fueled. He tells us, “I really wasn’t that in to fighting, but this guy was bugging my dad so much, that one day dad told us we had to go, just to get this guy off his back.” Little did he know, this training would help define him. Now, as an adult, it is easy to see the strong influence that family has had, and still does hold over B.J. in everything he does and everything he is fighting for. His father and mother’s influence and recognition of what martial arts can do towards youth development have become something that is at the forefront of B.J.’s passions. The Penn Hawaii Youth Foundation, organized by Lorraine Shin, B.J.’s own mother, and Tom Callos, the very man who sparked the passion in B.J. as a youngster, is using the same concept and values that molded B.J. as a child, to help positively mold the rest of Hawaii’s youth. Using martial arts training, learning discipline, instilling a sense of being and belonging, and mentoring Hawaii’s youth in order to give back to the place that gave to him, have all proven to be things that B.J. has definitely found to be well worth fighting for. And now, the father of a baby girl for two and a half years, B.J.’s youth connection has grown even stronger. B.J. Penn’s connection to Hawaii though, is not just through our youth. On Oahu, plans are underway to build a state of the art BJ Penn/UFC gym at the former location of Pipeline café in Kakaako. This will be the first UFC gym of its kind with its association to a single fighter, and also the first UFC gym located outside of California. When talking about the gym, B.J. stated the importance of making sure that if his name was associated with it, his contribution is critical. He is trying 42
to be able to take some of the values that are displayed at Penn Hawaii Youth Foundation, through community involvement, and youth assistance, and bring them here to Oahu with the UFC on his side. B.J. has also recently reached out to Governor Neil Abercrombie about the possibility of bringing UFC fights here to Oahu in the future. Penn stated, “Governor Abercrombie is on board to help, but the problem is finding the right venue to hold it in.” One of the options discussed is the possibility of covering the top of Aloha Stadium in order to accommodate a UFC caliber show. Economically this would be a huge win for Hawaii and would guarantee to make many of its residents proud. Though B.J. Penn has a very busy schedule with his fight training and community projects, he too enjoys his down time. Despite the fact that he is admittedly “addicted to training,” when he does have time away, he likes to just cruise at the beach, or hang out with his family. When asked about where he likes to spend his “off time,” he said “I really don’t go out much, I’d much rather chill at home and watch TV.” Even while it’s very hard in any profession to balance “work” and “play,” B.J. realizes the importance of that stability. “I keep most of my training in the gym, but when I’m not training, sometimes it’s good to just get away.” Being a fighter doesn’t always go hand-in-hand with violence. Actually, the discipline it takes to be a fighter at the level of B.J. Penn is just the opposite. You must stay cool, calm, collected, stay poised, keep your chin down, but your head up. We were honored at Local Hawaii Magazine to be able to see firsthand that this person who represents our Islands in every fight he takes on, whether in the octagon or through the community, is just that—a true fighter. There is no injury to great to keep a fighter from his goal, and like B.J. says, “sometimes you have to fight injured, but it’s like turbulence on an airplane, you can’t worry about it, what you gonna do?” To assist his fight or learn more about B.J. Penn or the Penn Hawaii Youth Foundation, visit bjpenn.com or pennyouth.ning.com.