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I'll spell that to you because it's not as you
think, T -E -A -M -B -U -I -L -D -R .com. Welcome
to the Behind the Shield podcast. As always,
my name is James Gearing and this week it is
my absolute honor to welcome on the show Big
Wave surfer, mixed martial artist and firefighter
Kona Oliveira. Now in this conversation we discuss
a host of topics from his childhood on Hawaii,
growing up in a martial arts family, his introduction
to surfing, the Big Wave video that went viral,
the Maui fires, his journey into the fire service,
and so much more. Now, before we get to this
incredible conversation, as I say every week,
please just take a moment, go to whichever app
you listen to this on, subscribe to the show,
leave feedback, and leave a rating. Every single
five -star rating truly does elevate this podcast,
therefore making it easier for others to find.
And this is a free library of well over 1 ,000
episodes now. So all I ask in return is that
you help share these incredible men and women's
stories so I can get them to every single person
on planet Earth who needs to hear them. So with
that being said, I introduce to you Kona Oliveira.
Enjoy. Well, Conan, I want to start by saying
two things. Firstly, thank you to our mutual
friend, Jesse Salas, for making the introduction.
And secondly, to welcome you on the Behind the
Shield podcast today. Awesome. Pleasure to be
on the podcast. And yeah, Jesse, you're the man.
Thanks for connecting us. Always good being able
to talk to like -minded people. Absolutely. So
very first question, where on planet Earth are
we finding you today? Today, I am at Station
10, Helimano, on the island of Oahu. Beautiful.
Well, I was thinking about this before we even
jump into your world. A lot of my friends, like
Joshua Duke, for example, talked about the kind
of limited coverage that the fires got over there,
the wildfires. And then, you know, obviously
some of the challenges when it came to any sort
of financial assistance. So I would love to kind
of talk about that, you know, with you first.
And then also, you know, where are you at? I
mean, where are these communities now? Have they
been able to be rebuilt or is there still a huge
amount of support that's needed? So that big
wildfire that happened in Lahaina, I mean, it
was pretty, like, chaotic. I mean, it was one
of the biggest amounts of death I think they've
ever had in, like, a wildfire like that. Like,
the way it spread and just, I mean, you know,
like, the fire triangle and the way the winds
were and the way that where Lahaina is at and
the way it just ripped through the, just ripped
through it. It was devastating, right? A lot
of people died, unfortunately. It's kind of like
where I'm from on the North Shore. It's like
one way in, one way out. So there's not a lot
of ways out of, there wasn't a lot of ways for
people to like run away. A lot of people ran
towards the ocean. So just a sad, sad thing.
I had a few friends that were working because
I was on the island of Maui and they said it
was definitely the craziest thing they've ever
witnessed. And it was kind of like, I don't want
to talk bad on my government, but it was kind
of like sad to see that they only... You know,
offer them $700 for, you know, some people lost
family members almost a lot. Like I'd say majority
of them lost their homes, you know, and then
they were put to go to like hotels and stuff
for a little bit. You know, some people didn't
even get the opportunity to go to hotels. And
then like now we have these California fires
and then. our governor was offering people to
fly people over and house them in the hotels
but he couldn't do that for his own people so
it was kind of like where's the you know like
kind of make it make sense so it's i i mean i'm
we all want to help right everyone wants to help
that's that's the goal of it but it just kind
of it made me feel a certain type of way because
i'm like well when it's his own people like there's
people that still they're still build rebuild
they just started i think they just rebuilt the
first home like not too long ago i think i just
seen that on the news maybe like two weeks ago
the first home was like actually rebuilt so it's
going to be a long process till a lot of those
people get their homes back get back in houses
the community gets cleaned up i mean they've
been cleaning it up since the fires happened
but it's just it's one of those things where
it's going to take time and you know it's not
going to be you know one two year thing it's
gonna be a couple of years till everything's
rebuilt and back to the way it was before if
it even gets back to the way it was before because
then you got businesses you got all the hotels
you got all the people's homes you got it's like
so much things you gotta like put into consideration
that have to be rebuilt and i just don't think
they've been getting the support that they need
or the support they should have gotten in the
first place so it's kind of it's one of those
subjects where it's like it's a It's a touchy
subject because a lot of people here on the island
feel a certain type of way about it. And it doesn't
get covered as much as it should, I feel like.
Other than the coverage when it happened, right?
Oh, this is the deadliest wildfire that happened.
And like, yeah, it was the deadliest wildfire
that happened. But where's the support? You know
what I mean? Like they didn't. I just think it
could have, you know, you can Monday night quarterback
it, you know, say you could have done this or
could have done that or, you know. this could
have been done better this that could have been
done better but at the end of the day it's like
it came down to what they said and what they
wanted to give and i don't i personally don't
think it was it was enough especially when it
happened but now the biggest thing that we have
here in hawaii's community right and i think
those were the real people that it wasn't the
femas it wasn't the wasn't the government it
wasn't It wasn't any of that. It was the community
itself all coming together. People from other
islands driving their boats over, dropping food
off. You know, the boys on Molokai getting deer,
loading up deer, bringing it over to Maui. You
know, people housing friends, family. Sometimes
people, they didn't even know housing them in
their own houses. You know what I mean? Like,
you know, till this day, they're still housing.
Flew them over to like different islands so they
could have a place to stay till everything gets
rebuilt. So it's like the community took care
of each other. And that's what people come here
to Hawaii for, is that aloha, right? And so I
give it, my hat's off, of course, to the community.
You know what I mean? Our community in a whole,
like all of Hawaii came together to support those
people, you know? And the government did what
they said they could do, you know? But the real
heroes in my eyes was the community, the community
coming together. I think it's so important to
talk about it, though. I mean, I remember, you
know, the more... compassionate groups were saying,
okay, well, why is there so little going to Hawaii,
but so much going to the Ukraine? Like, yes,
of course, those are people that need our help,
you know, and now Israel. I mean, there's all
these funds that are being sent to fight and
kill when our own people are suffering and being
killed themselves. So I think it's a conversation
that needs to be had. And I think it's amazing
watching the community. And it's not just the
government that needs to step in. I think it
is. the neighbors as well and that aloha as you
mentioned but if the government failed we as
a as a nation need to go back and say why did
they fail who was responsible and let's make
sure it doesn't happen again absolutely i mean
that's like anything in life right you you use
it as a lesson right to to then better ourselves
and not make that mistake in the future so it's
like i think part of it is uh you know taking
responsibility for their actions you know and
there were there were things that maybe you know
could have been done to prevent it you know what
I mean like I know I might be wrong but I feel
like in California like uh they stopped like
controlled burns if that's a thing but that's
been happening for centuries you know what I
mean Native Americans used to do controlled burns
and it was for that exact reason for centuries
right like way before we we ever said it was
bad for the environment it's actually good you
know i mean it's actually something that needs
to be done so things like the wildfires don't
happen because what it'll do is it i mean you
know it kills all the the plants that fall on
the ground the brush and and it controls it so
that if ripping winds and a fire does start off
it doesn't just go and rip through communities
and and it's devastating right so i think that's
something the government has to look into you
know what i mean i don't know necessarily a fear
in Hawaii that was the problem I know the the
watershed was diverted for like the cane fields
so that to me was like the the issue or to crash
again but um yeah back to the whole control burns
thing I think that's like the oh no I think that's
the the big thing you know it's like it's just
there's back to what we were talking about like
learning Right. Like we generations ago, they
learned that they needed to do controlled burns
and they probably learned that because something
really bad happened. Right. And it probably was
devastating, killed communities and ran through
wherever they were living and where they made
their life. And then they came up with, oh, we
got to do controlled burns. So these Native Americans
were like, oh. we should probably do controlled
burns so that like it obviously came from somewhere
right they learned their lesson from something
that must have happened i don't know exactly
what it was but i'm sure if you go and look in
and there's going to be a place in time where
they learn and that's why they started doing
control burns so i don't know where in history
we kind of went the other way and we're like
we don't need to do this if history speaks for
itself these guys were doing it way, way, way
before. And it was for a reason. You know what
I mean? It wasn't just to make fire. There was
a reason behind it, you know? So I know in Maui,
back in the day, the water got diverted for the
cane fields, for the sugar cane fields, for the
plantations. So that could have been an issue
because it kind of dried up. And just the circumstances
that they had, you know, it was really strong
winds. Lahaina, that side was really dry. And
like I said, the lack of access, I mean, it's
an island, right? There's not, it's not like
the California where you have two seconds, you're
on a freeway and you can go run somewhere. It's
really one road in, one road out. So it makes
for an even scarier circumstance, right? Because
there's only one way in, one way out. And you
got the ocean. You can run through the ocean.
It's pretty much all you can really do. So it
was just, it was. it was definitely something
that as as bad as it as it was like i said back
to the community the community to me in my eyes
stood out the most and the way everyone was able
to come together and help one another 100 they
were the biggest we're covering but they were
the biggest uh they're the biggest the community
was the biggest thing and in my eyes they're
the biggest the biggest thing that i i got away
from all of it is like how we can actually count
on our own community versus you know our government
says they're there for us but are they really
there for us you know what i mean and this is
not me talking bad on them you know this is just
me like saying what i i what i felt you know
i was here i wasn't in the fire service yet but
you know i was I've seen it. I got to go and
help too. Donate, give what we could. We had
some friends come stay with us for a few weeks.
As much as we could do, whatever we could do
to help them. It's still, like I said, it's still
going to take a lot of time to get to where it
was, if it even gets to where it was. But it's
cool to see that the first house was built. You
know what I mean? They got their house there
slowly. slowly coming back together and again
that's all community it's all it's all the community
helping you know you got contractors out there
working you know helping their friends build
their homes you got excavation teams local excavation
teams you know cleaning out the debris and it's
just cool to see all that come together i had
tulsi gabbard on the show i hope now she's in
the current government that she'll be able to
put some funds back into hawaii absolutely tulsi
is a legend um I mean, politics aside, she's
just a legend. You look at her, who wouldn't
want that being our Secretary of Defense, right?
I think she'll get a lot of good stuff done.
Personally, I think she might be our first woman
president eventually. That's my strong belief.
It's even cooler that she's from this side. I
could see her in a few years maybe making a run
for that presidency. Absolutely. All right. Well,
that's Tulsi. Let's talk about you. So let's
go at the very beginning of your life story.
Tell me where you were born and tell me a little
bit about your family dynamic, what your parents
did, how many siblings. Yep. So I was born and
raised on the island of Oahu. I grew up on the
North Shore. My parents were Brazilian. They
came over from Brazil. Actually, my father came
over first, made a life here. He was married
to another woman. And then he met my mom here.
And that's where they, this was like early 80s.
They met, they had me, and I have a little sister.
And yeah, they started their life here. My parents,
it was a full -on American dream, you know. My
dad built his surf shop, and I used to remember
growing up in that surf shop. In Waikiki, we
live on the North Shore, it's a full hour drive
away, but if Monday through Friday I was going
to school, we would have a babysitter, kind of.
It was like, there's some days we'd have a babysitter,
some day it was just me watching my sister, and
we would just go to the beach across the street.
So, grew up real, like, simple lifestyle, you
know, simple, the beach, family, that was kind
of the lifestyle. I grew up surfing. My dad,
he was a martial artist already when he came
from Brazil, so always put me in martial arts.
Never really wanted me to fight, though. It was
kind of always against it. But he always wanted
me to be able to defend myself, and that's why
jiu -jitsu came. It was surf, school, jiu -jitsu.
It was pretty much the way I grew up. And family,
right? Just being close with them and helping
out however I could. So from a young age, I had
to watch my sister. I think from the age of like...
nine I was already like the babysitter so we'd
get off school we could ride our bikes from school
it was like a 10 -minute bike ride back home
and then they'd leave food ready for us and they'd
only come home at like nine o 'clock ten o 'clock
after the work everything was shut down and then
yeah that was pretty much that was pretty much
it growing up it was a blessed lifestyle to be
able to grow up on the north shore you know it's
changed a lot now but uh back in those were like
that that golden era you know what i mean like
i said community everyone took care of each other
and they still do the community's still there
but um it was it was now that i look back on
it you know like we were raised by our parents
but also raised by the the community you know
everyone took care of each other over there you
know your neighbors take care of you like oh
can you watch the can you help me with the kids
like it's not necessarily like you had babysitters
right it was like the community like neighbors
helping you know and your my parents would help
out the neighbors it was just like it was cool
to see you know cool to grow up in that small
tight community everyone knew everyone so it
was it was definitely an awesome place to grow
up and i'm blessed to be able to to have grown
up there i think that's what we're missing a
lot you know there's that phrase it takes a village
to raise a child and i think we've gone away
from that so much where you know we've been driven
into careers and so you have these families that
are just stuck in this financial tug of war where
they have to go to work but then the daycare
for their kids costs almost as much as what they
earn at work and so you know it's so hard and
what we're missing is yeah these multi -generational
communities where some go to work and the others
take care of the kids while they're at work and
then they come back and spend time with their
family again i think we need to refine that and
it's a beautiful thing to see because it it's
beneficial for everyone because everyone helps
everyone out you know what i mean it's like oh,
they're at work these two days. Okay, well, these
two days while I'm at work. And then it's like,
it's funny, like here you call everyone like
your cousins because they're like your cousins.
You grew up with them. You know, you spend two
days at their house. They spend two days at your
house when your parents are off. So it's like,
it's just, you grow up and you end up, it's like
an extended family. You know what I mean? And
I feel like that's what really keeps everyone
so close together. And it is losing a bit of
the essence. It's still around, but I feel like.
you were saying you know like the world we live
in now you know everyone's so career driven which
is which is awesome you know like but at the
same time where do we where do we find that balance
right to be able to still be career driven but
also be able to take care of a family raise a
family and also be a part of the community because
it's one thing to just you know you can have
all the money in the world live in a place but
you're not really in with the community like
that's not what i would want you know i don't
know if that's what most people want nowadays
but If I live somewhere, I want to be a part
of that community. I want to go places where
like, hey, yeah, how are you doing? And it's
still like that over here, but it's definitely,
I feel like Hawaii is a pretty expensive place.
So a lot of that, the locals are kind of forced
to leave because you're looking at it like, okay,
even if you make $100 ,000 a year here, it's
really not enough. When you look at like your
mortgage, you look at card payments, you look
at... food you look at like average price of
milk here i'm pretty sure it's like seven bucks
a gallon you know what i mean it's kind of like
crazy gas right now it's like five dollars a
gallon like and that's if you're not driving
a diesel truck so it's definitely a place you
gotta work hard and then you look at it like
oh i could go move to vegas we call it like the
ninth island right hawaii is like the vegas is
like our ninth island you can just go move to
vegas you can buy a house outright for 150 grand
and it's like a mansion and have a really low
cost but then the community those are the key
people in the communities that keep leaving and
we kind of lose that community essence because
people that can't afford these million dollar
homes and i'm talking they're like a house for
a million dollars here is it still needs a lot
of work it still needs like you're looking at
a 1980s home like tile like you still need a
break down that house and and remodel it you
know if you want to make it like a nice house
you go to a million dollars anywhere else in
this country for the most part you get yourself
a pretty nice house so i think that's we got
to figure out another you know it goes back to
how do we keep that essence here that that local
essence because that's why people come to hawaii
in the first place right is they want to experience
that aloha but if all of our aloha is flying
away where who's gonna you know hold it down
to keep that you know where's that how's that
essence gonna even stay here so it's one of those
things where it's i don't think there's a one
way to just fix it it's just there's a lot of
things that need to be done in order to to make
it happen it's not just a night today it'll be
fixed but i would like i would like to believe
that one day we could we could you know in the
near future we could fix that to be able to especially
keep that those local families from having to
leave you know because that's that's that tight
-knitted community and the essence of of hawaii
that reminds me a lot of a couple of guys i spoke
to from afghanistan two different conversations
but they were pointing out that you know when
we withdrew and we took all these great people
with us of course from one standpoint that was
for their safety because their lives were in
danger but you've also taken some of the brightest
minds out of Iraq out of Afghanistan so the the
potential for that country to stand back on its
own two feet when a lot of the best people have
left has just got even harder now so it kind
of mirrors what you're saying yeah absolutely
absolutely and it's the world we live in now
unfortunately but you know I gotta just roll
with the punches I guess and and figure out a
way to take care of one another and keep those
key players and key people in the community.
Absolutely. Well, one last question from the
early part of your life. I think it's powerful
to hear all these different immigration stories.
What kind of environment did your parents live
in in Brazil? Because I know obviously you've
got everything from rainforests to extreme poverty
and everything in between. And then what were
the kind of... highs and lows of their immigration
first few years? Yeah. So my dad is from northern
Brazil, this little town called Aracaju. And
my mom's from the big city, Sao Paulo. My dad,
he came from like, you know, they weren't rich,
but they're, you know, good family. They were
farmers. So he was able to, that was kind of
a troublemaker. So his mom wanted him to go to
the States to stay out of trouble. And he came
at the age of... 19 to go to school and then
he went to san diego he was going to school and
then he realized school wasn't really for him
and then he jumped on a flight to hawaii he always
loved like he grew up surfing too over there
surfing and martial arts got on a flight and
he was like oh this is where i'm gonna this is
where i'm gonna live and then you know that was
from that point on was where the american dream
started for him um he like I said, was married
prior, was married to an American woman, was
with her for a few years, didn't have any kids
or anything. And then they got divorced. My mom
came in her early 20s and she was like a triathlon.
So she came down for the Ironman. She was like
a full on sports lady, triathlon, who also boogie
board. But she wasn't like surfing and wasn't
like her main thing. But after the triathlons,
they all came to Oahu and they went to a party
and that's where they met. The rest was history.
They made their life here. And eventually my
dad got married to her. And that was kind of
the American dream. They put their minds together.
My dad opened up a surf shop. My mom opened up
a bikini shop. And then eventually they just
turned it all into one, the bikini and surf shop.
Everything was one. And then, yeah, they came
from. I think that's where most of the work ethic
I learned from was from them. You know, they
were, they definitely instilled that in me from
a young age. Like if you want something, you
go after it and you put your nose to the grindstone
and go get it. You know what I mean? And I think,
you know, being immigrants, they had to even,
you know, they have to show even more, you know,
even more so. Like they didn't have, like I said,
if it wasn't for the community, because I have
my own kid now. I have, she's 14 months and we
have. grandparents on both sides to watch her
you know my sister my other half sisters you
know her mom her dad my mom my dad so there's
there's a lot of people that can watch my daughter
when i'm out at work and as well as when my other
half is at work if it wasn't for them i don't
know how we would do it like because like you're
saying like a babysitter nowadays is is crazy
expensive So my parents, they didn't have anyone,
right? They didn't have their mom. They didn't
have their dad. They didn't have anyone here.
So like I said, it was really the community that
helped out. And that's how they got so tight
with everyone is like having us, me and my sister
and the community and helping out. So it's like,
it was cool to see that, you know, how they were
immigrants, were able to come from Brazil. but
how they were able to just like integrate with
the community and the community accepted them.
And, you know, the community helped raise us
and, you know, and they help with the community
kids too. You know, all the kids around, like
they would go stay at our house. So it's just
like going back to that conversation we had earlier,
it was cool to see them, you know, be able to
come establish something, be able to purchase
a home. And like I said, like now that I look
back on it, that I have my own kid, I'm like,
man. i didn't give them the respect that they
deserve when i was younger because what they
did was they didn't have nobody you know what
i mean they didn't like i said they didn't have
mom dad cousins and there was no one it was them
two me and my sister you know what i mean and
obviously then came the community to help out
so it was it was cool to see you know what i
mean and i i now that i have like i said i have
my own kid i look at that as a like it's a it's
a motivating factor for me to be able to stay
here on the island you know what i mean and put
my nose to the grindstone and be able to purchase
my house and go after my goals and um and i think
a big part of joining the fire department was
to be able to give back to that community that
helped raise me you know so that was a that was
a big part for me beautiful what about martial
arts when i think of brazilians and i do bjj
myself anything you know after like the 90s you'd
be like oh there must be bjj but if he was doing
it over in the 80s the only other one that brings
you that i think about with the cars um brazil
the martial arts is capoeira so what what arts
was your dad studying and teaching back then
so my dad came from a judo family actually before
jujitsu like he trained judo since he was a little
kid there are judokas like my my uncle my dad's
oldest brother he's actually the special one
of the special olympics coaches for judo in brazil
so like they were they were judokas from the
get like as soon as my dad could walk his dad
had him in a in a gi training judo so that's
kind of where it came and then he went to rio
and then he met the gracies over there like that
later later 80s and that's when he moved here
early 90s and then he was with helson gracie
here which is one of the sons of uh elio gracie
and that's who he got his black belt under here
on the island actually was through helson gracie
so it was just like his martial arts journey
actually like it's people always ask me oh was
it jiu jitsu what was it it's like no he's full
-on judo guy like he came from judo background
but that kind of transitioned to jiu jitsu pretty
easily because he's you know already in the gi
and all that so when he moved over to rio i think
he was in rio for four or five years that's where
he actually started training jiu -jitsu when
he first moved to rio when he was young because
his parents he was from northern brazil but they'd
go back and forth to rio a lot so that's where
he actually like started training jiu -jitsu
and then here he was able to take it to the next
level when he met helson and was training under
helson gracie here the rest was history he got
his black belt here and he's uh he's still giving
everyone a run for their money at 50 i want to
say he's 57 now at 57 he still gives all the
boys in the gym a run for their money good for
him what about um let's say what about it's not
the right way to preface that question when i
think about the jiu -jitsu journey that i've
been on a lot of times in the schools you know
like there's some that were very um striking
based as well where i felt like the gap was was
the wrestling slash judo element the transition
from standing to you know, the, the ground, what
is his and or your perspective of the importance
of something like judo to kind of fill that gap?
Yeah, I think, I think that's, it's like you
get into, we're talking like self -defense or
MMA or fighting in general, like the fight never
starts on the ground. The likelihood of it going
to the ground, especially in like a street fight
is pretty high. You know what I mean? they'll
probably tumble, tussle, end up on the ground,
you know? But his whole thing has always been,
like, he had me in wrestling because he always
believed that, like, he taught me judo, but he
honestly believed that the wrestling base for
jiu -jitsu was probably one of the more important
aspects of it. Like, he's always told me that
since I was a kid, you know, like, since I was
young. He's like, I want you to be able to have
a good wrestling base because that's... If you
can end up on top and it pulls your will on jiu
-jitsu on top, why am I going to play jiu -jitsu
from the bottom? Thinking from a self -defense
aspect, look at gravity. You drop your hand like
this and it hits you. Your hand doesn't have
to do much to hurt you. Now, if I'm on the bottom
trying to hit you going up, the gravity is working
against me so he always he kind of always broke
it down to me in that way like you still got
to know how to fight off your back but if we
don't have to put ourselves in that situation
that's even better like why why put ourselves
in that have to fight off my back if i don't
if i could just fight from on top like have everything
going for me gravity and so and that's where
wrestling came in is like that top heavy pressure
you know what i mean wrestlers are really you
get a white belt wrestler and you go roll with
him he's he's gonna be if you don't know how
to play off your back he's gonna give you a run
for your money you know what i mean like they
they know that how to squeeze how to have the
top pressure how to control you know so i think
that transitioned really well with my jiu jitsu
i trained jiu jitsu since i was two years old
and i started wrestling around like 13 like when
i made right in intermediate school and so that
i think those two and two go together but the
part for judo that i think people overlook especially
nowadays is like the foot sweeps how to get your
opponent off balance like a lot of those in a
gi judo tosses i feel like they work good but
i feel like the part that isn't people don't
really look at too much is like all the foot
sweeps like if you look at khabib in them like
when they fight mma and they're on the cage a
lot of that is like foot sweeps that they're
kicking your feet out from underneath you that
that's all from judo that's not from wrestling
those foot sweeps those like those little like
to get you off balance to then get their shot
on that's a piece of that is from judo and you
only learn that doing i'm not sure if they did
that in in sambo because i've never done sambo
but if they did they took that from judo those
foot sweeps and all those like how to how to
get your opponent off balance so then yeah maybe
you're going to transition to like a body lock
or something but those little key details i feel
like they're missed even nowadays you know if
you if you've never done them it's people think
oh you're just kicking the foot it's not that
there's a way to kick the foot a way to place
your foot to be able to sweep them you know sweep
their foot especially when they're standing so
so all little key details my dad's always like
showed me since i was a little kid and i honestly
believe that kind of put me ahead in a way when
i was younger and nowadays that i look at it
i'm like man sometimes i butt heads with him
about things I was like, nah, it's not going
to work, you know. But now I look at it like
as MMA as a whole, especially that's the sport
that I fell in love with. And I look at myself
doing for as long as I can possibly do. Those
little key details are what make the difference
in my eyes. You know, those little key details,
because everyone nowadays is good at. you know
they're all getting good at striking they're
all getting good at jiu -jitsu they're all getting
pretty good at wrestling but it's those little
key details like a foot sweep here how do i how
did i set my opponent off balance so i hit him
with the foot sweep but actually knowing how
to do the foot sweep you know versus like if
i'm gonna play bottom or top i'd rather play
top i'm just that's just me being completely
honest i'd rather in jiu -jitsu or in wrestling
or in a fight i'd rather be on top that's just
me personally there's guys that we were saying
play a really good guard they have really good
guard but i just feel like for more like especially
self -defense i feel like if you're on top you're
usually winning you know what i mean like you're
usually in a better if you're not winning in
a better situation to be able to hit or do something
obviously if you're fighting a guy that doesn't
know anything and you're a really good jujitsu
player and you got a good guard then yeah you
don't have too much to worry about but when you
get someone that can kind of match that energy
and match the skill level i feel like you work
a lot less being on top than you were to be on
bottom you know so that's just but i'm biased
i like i like being i like playing top so that's
just me being biased that could just be me being
biased yeah no i agree because i mean i came
from a striking background again i was never
uh you know competitive full contact fighter
apart from taekwondo years ago but yeah when
you've you know done muay thai and you know what
these tools can do When I'm on my back, I've
basically taken away kicks, knees, elbows, almost
everything. So obviously, what am I going to
do at 50 years old? I'm not going to be in the
cage. It might be, you know, someone attacking
a woman or, you know, whatever it is out in the
street. Now, that's my whole focus. I'm not going
to be competing. So again, I want to be able
to subdue that person. God forbid, if they're
holding something even worse, I don't want to
be pulling guard and, you know, spinning for
a leg lock, you know, getting stabbed in the
ass. Exactly. But I mean, they all work. All
those things work. You know, I think as long
as you can defend yourself, but it's just being
smart, right? So like we're saying, being on
top is definitely a smarter way to be able to
defend yourself in my eyes. Absolutely. Well,
parallel to the martial arts journey, kind of
walk me through the early years of surfing, because
there's a... film of you riding a pretty incredible
wave not too long ago that went viral on the
internet um and uh you know even you can tell
even i'm not a surfer in that community that
was you know people were in awe of your ability
to do that so what was the kind of through line
that took you to be such a great surfer as well
even when you were young um i think just growing
up in the community on the north shore you know
uh surfing is surfing is everything If you ask
any little kid, you go to Sunset Beach Elementary
School, it's the elementary I went to, you ask,
nine out of ten kids are going to say they want
to be a pro surfer. You know what I mean? Growing
up there. And so naturally, there's already that
competition between the kids, you know, like
it's a healthy competition. You're going to go
surf after school. It's like you're almost competing
against your boys or, you know, the girls now
are ripping too. So in a way, it's everyone's
pushing the level. So the level naturally gets
pushed higher and higher and higher and higher.
everyone wants to get that barrel everyone wants
to do the big airs and all those things so i
think just growing up going back to the community
again that's what made most of these surfers
nowadays that you see on the world too and everything
so great is they had that friendly competition
throughout their whole life and it was healthy
you know because it's like yeah we're going surfing
together but like if you see your friend get
a nice barrel you're like i want to get one you
know what i mean you get all psyched up like
i want to go get one so from a young age You
constantly, every session kind of had those battles
with your friend. Like, yeah, you got a good
one. I'm going to get a good one next. You know
what I mean? And then it just, it progressed.
You start baby steps, surfing little waves. And
next thing you know, you, you, you know, you
earn your stripes and you're at pipe now. It's
like the Mecca, you know? And then, you know,
you start, you start, you know, when I, when
I was surfing pipe, when I started surfing pipe,
like when the boys were out, it's not how it
is nowadays. You were on the side watching them,
like observing. you made sure you did not get
in your in their way or they would come and like
yell at you dunk your head on their water you
know like get the hell out of here you know what
i mean type of like you made sure you were not
doing that you know like i said now it's changed
a bit but that was kind of the era i grew up
in so i got to you know see the best surfers
in the world and again they all come here before
i used to be at the end of the year now it's
in the beginning of the year but We all get to
see the best surfers. They come compete at Pipe.
They competed at Sunset. They competed at Haleva.
So from a very young age, I was always around
that, being in this community. I mean, everyone's
around that in this community. So naturally,
surfing was the thing you wanted to do. My parents
were fully for it. My dad was always for it.
So from a young age, I was competing all the
nationals. I'd go to California, compete in that.
But I always did, like I said, I always did the
martial arts. In there, I kind of lost the drive
for competing, where surfing became more of a
thing that made me happy. And then once I was
getting judged, because it's really subjective,
right? Like, do you think an error is better
or do you think a turn is better? Like a big
turn, like I can ask a panel of 100 people and
30 might say that they think a turn is better
and the rest might say an error is better or
vice versa, you know, because it's kind of subjective.
And when you would lose those close heats. I
never, like I'm super competitive. So I always
wanted to go back and be able to be like, okay,
well, what did I do wrong? What can I work on?
Like from a young age, like I would, and I think
that just came from just wanting to get better.
And we would go back and we'd watch the film.
And then I would ask my dad and I'd be like,
well, I like doing this. I don't want to do that.
You know what I mean? He's like, yeah, but the
judges are looking at that. And then I think
that's where I kind of started losing the. the
drive for competitive surfing just because it
was so subjective and then from that point on
that's where the martial arts came because i
needed the competition i needed the competition
in my life and like i said at first parents were
super against it but surfing surfing i think
if it wasn't for surfing i don't think i'd be
where i am today like surfing it's the thing
that i do for myself you know what i mean it's
the thing that makes me happy i'm able I don't
look at it a competition anymore. I go and I
go out and do it for myself. And I think naturally
growing up here, it pushed me to a level where,
yeah, I was competing with a lot of these guys
that are on the world tour nowadays. You know,
I got to compete in nationals against them. I
just went another route, you know, and so be
able to catch a wave like I caught recently and
it went viral. It was, you know, it was cool,
you know, but I didn't do it for that. You know,
a lot of nowadays, a lot of people that are doing
it for that. I did that. for me you know i wanted
to be out there surfing and i just so happened
to be in the right place at the right time and
got blessed with an awesome wave like that you
know and so i guess it's cool to see like you
still get some sort of recognition for it you
know what i mean like for for getting a wave
like that but i i guess weird as it sounds like
i could honestly care less if it was it was for
me you know like that's something that'll live
rent free in my head you know what i mean and
the fact that yeah i got my my props for it like
i'll stoke don't get me wrong but like i'll if
there were no cameras i still would have done
it you know what i mean like i think that's like
people are like oh you're crazy surfing those
big waves like that's my passion and surfing
nowadays is like surfing big waves that's where
i kind of like my route and surfing went more
for big waves than necessarily competition you
know i like getting if you could tell me okay
you're just gonna get barreled and surf big waves
i would be fine with it i don't need to do an
error i don't need to do a turn i would just
be completely fine with getting big barrels and
surfing big waves so kind of the route i went
and um yeah that's that's my passion now is just
surfing try to get the biggest barrel i could
possibly get is is where i'm at with it it's
interesting because my my son is about to go
to utah state and he's been playing volleyball
this last year or so um and he was disappointed
because they didn't have a men's volleyball team
and I said well do they have volleyball is it
yeah well there's a beach volleyball club and
I said well exactly it doesn't matter if it's
not this competitive level you just enjoy playing
volleyball so go play volleyball and I think
this is one thing that you know our kids are
having to start kind of fighting against now
is there's been this generation of forging perceived
excellence at a competitive level and I think
that Whether it's parents living vicariously
through their kids, whether it's coaches having
pressure on them for their team to win so they
can get more money coming to the school. We've
squeezed out the love of sport and the resilience
you get from being a multi -sport athlete from
our youth. So hearing what you said, I mean,
I couldn't agree more. If you don't want to compete
and you love surfing, then surf. Yeah. And luckily
for me, I had a dad that was fully supportive
of it. You know what I mean? In a way, now that
I look at it, of course he wanted me to. That's
why he never really wanted me to fight. No one
wants to see their kid get hit in the face. It's
ups and downs, the fight. It's the highest of
highs and the lowest of lows. That was the one
thing I'm going to remember because he also fought
Volitudo way back in the day before it was ever
anything. That was the first thing he told me
when I got into it. It's the most ungrateful
sport. And I never understood that till I had
my first loss, you know? And so he just said,
be ready. Cause it's the most ungrateful sport.
It doesn't matter how hard you train. It doesn't
matter. Like everyone's got a button and you
know, if you, it wasn't saying to get me not
to do it. It was just more like he was being
real with me. And I was at a young age and I
was, I was 17, just about to turn 18 and wanted
to do a fight. And he wasn't really for it. So
like, but those were like, now he's the biggest
fan. He loves it. He loves that. I do it. But
like. at first it was it was hard and i didn't
really understand why but then i now that i look
back on it it's it was because like i mean he
gave everything for me to be able to surf you
know like buy me those new boards you know he
would work countless hours to be able to pay
for those trips and then all of a sudden here
comes his son he's like i don't want to do this
anymore you know what i mean i don't want to
compete anymore and i think he took it actually
pretty well that i didn't want to compete he
just didn't want me to stop surfing so like he's
like okay well we can still and that's how me
and him connect because we both surf together
right so I think in a way like he didn't want
to lose that connection of us being able to and
we still roll together but what he really enjoys
is like going on surf trips with me and like
we go and we spend like two three weeks in the
middle of nowhere in Indonesia and go get barreled
together and have a good time and fish and eat
good food and I think he didn't want to lose
that you know and so like every year in the summer
yeah we'd go compete nationals but we'd always
go do a trip whether it was Mexico or something
so we kind of he was kind of able to like push
me to still surf but not like compete which i
thought like he did it in a healthy way but now
that i look back on it like it's like damn like
he invested all this money in me to surf and
i was i was doing really well uh competing i
was you know competing with the the guys like
i said now that are on tour and that are making
a living from surfing and like In a way, I guarantee
he looks at it like, damn, you know, he's beat
some of these kids already that are on the tour.
You know what I mean? When he was younger. But
there's that question maybe in his head where
like, well, what if he kept doing it? You know
what I mean? And like he told me the other day,
he's like, man, I might have just pushed you
too hard when you were younger. And I don't think
it was that. I think it was just I never really
like I think it was more so like the subjectiveness,
you know, being judged by something. And me,
I didn't understand why. You know what I mean?
Like being that kid. So it wasn't him, but. i
think he he kind of blames himself a little bit
for it you know what i mean i pushed him too
hard i made him surf you know but i think he
just did his job you know as a father that wanted
to see his kids succeed you know and be able
to chase maybe a dream that he had you know it
wasn't necessarily mine but it ended up working
out because i still surf and still enjoy surfing
and still surf for me and we still surf together
so at the end of the day it kind of ended up
working out for the better i believe and now
we can butt heads on mma stuff because nine times
out of ten when i don't listen to him he's usually
right so now it's usually the mma side of stuff
that we're butting heads with it's interesting
what you just said because when i've used this
comparison a lot recently if you or i had served
in the military for four years people would be
like thank you for your service in the fire service
like for example i transitioned out after 14
years because bizarre journey i ended up doing
podcasting and advocating for the fire service
people say oh why'd you quit 14 years like 10
years more than a regular you know military service
yeah and it's the same i think with the comparison
you just gave and i this is what i how i feel
as a father i'm not talking about two weeks into
trying something they want to quit but like for
example my son did jujitsu when he was younger
then he played soccer then he uh what else did
he play Oh, ran track and cross country and then
volleyball. And I never saw it as he wants to
quit. I could see when that element, and like
you said, usually that competitive element had
kind of fizzled out. And rather than looking
at it as the fire service, why did you quit?
I always looked at it as the military. Well,
brilliant. You played for two years. You ran
for two years, whatever it was. You surfed for
X amount of years. And to not lose the love of
it, take him, say, yeah. You don't have to compete
anymore. Go find a different sport. Go find another
passion. Go learn the piano, whatever it is.
And I think if you view it that way, you then
keep that love of, you know, in your case, surfing.
Whereas if it had been, you know, oh, you're
a quitter. You don't want to do it anymore. Imagine
what you could have become. You're negating all
of the years that you did do that thing and focusing
on this kind of false perception of what might
have happened if you carried on. then that's
where you like kind of hold the resentment towards
it and then you don't want to do it in the first
you don't want to do it at all and then like
all those years like I don't know I feel like
that's where my my dad did a pretty good job
or like I see a lot of like I have friends that
kind of was like the other way around you know
what I mean and like they won't even touch a
surfboard anymore and these guys surf better
than me you know what I mean like but they they
won't even bother touching a surfboard anymore
you know and so it's just like it's just learning
from those things and I'm Like I said, I'm blessed
to have the father I had. And he definitely,
you know, wasn't always sunshines and rainbows,
but he was able to do whatever he did. It worked.
And it's something now me having my own kid,
it's like I'm trying to balance all these things
out now, you know, whether it's fighting, surfing,
you know, and being a present, you know, present
father, taking care of her, doing things with
her. You know, she's only 14 months, but it's
like all I want to do now is be with her. somehow
still be at jiu -jitsu i'm like trying to like
balance both of those and then come here and
i'm here for 48 hours working and then it's like
she's like no don't go like basically every time
i leave the house you can tell she's like sad
i'm leaving the house so it's like all these
little things that now i'm like oh how do you
balance all these things so it's a whole other
like you know you're trying to juggle life the
whole time now so it's just being able to juggle
it and kind of just you know step up and do what
you can do. And I think a big part of it is just
enjoying it, you know, enjoying the process where
I feel like nowadays people are so stuck on,
like we were talking about earlier, just career
driven that no one's really enjoying the process,
you know, and you just got to enjoy the process.
There's going to be highs and there's also going
to be lows, you know, like I said, I didn't know
I was going to get in the fire service, but honestly,
it made me get in the fire service was having
a kid. It's like, I need to make sure that she's
going to have good health care. well taken care
of you know and if anything were to happen to
me and want to make sure she's well taken care
of and you can look at it like oh that was a
selfish look at it for me to be able to do that
but it was it was my way of looking at at it
like okay how do i take care of my family and
still be able to do what i love doing elementary
school it's not someone else but fall case 114.
reserve 119. But yeah, I was just like, I did
it. I did it for me, but it ends. It's crazy
to see how like, and the whole is like, I didn't
look at it at first when I first signed up for
the fire service, but now it's like, in a way
it's giving back to the community. You know,
we're taking care of people in our own community
and, and doing what we can. So it's, it's been
awesome. You said you were on a 48 hour shift.
Are you on a 48 96 schedule? oh we're on 48 48
over here they're pushing for that 48 96 but
we're on 48 over here we have a furlough every
eight working day so that i wish we were on 48
96 that would be that'd be amazing they're pushing
for it though in our department right now the
union's pushing for that right now for us that
would be the most ideal um way we could do it
Those $48 .96 would be super nice. I know our
counterpart is HFD. Our brother is sitting county
over here. I'm federal. I'm on the federal side
over here. I think they're on 24s. Personally,
I prefer the 48s over the 24s. It's cool. You
go home for a day and then you're back the next
day. They're on 24 on 24 off? Yeah, they're on
24s. So I kind of prefer the 48s because at least
I have two days off. You know what I mean? But
if we could get those 4896s, that would be like...
That would be... I'm going to blow your mind
now because this is a conversation I've had and
I'm sure people listening, the moment you said
48, they're like, okay, well, James is going
to start yapping about this again. So we've just
spent quite a bit of time talking about what
a destination Hawaii is, how the houses are millions
of dollars. Yet the men and women that are protecting
them are on the worst of work weeks. In the States
here, most of us are doing 24 -48. So that's
a 56 -hour work week. Everyone else that works
in offices and stores and all that stuff, they're
working 40 hours a week. That is a standardized
national work day is a nine -hour day, nine to
five. And so it is insanity that... So many of
us have normalized this terrible work week that's
creating everything from recruitment crisis to
the mental ill health, the physical ill health,
relationship problems, etc. And obviously a theme
in this whole conversation is how much you want
to be at home. And I think this is such an important
part of the argument for us to really stand up
and say, you know, enough is enough. We need
a work week that's going to be healthy, not only
for our... our own health, but our family's health
too. So the 24 -72 is the one that started to
take legs now here in Florida. The Northeast
already does it, a lot of the Northeast. But
now Florida has started to go because this recruitment
crisis has forced people to change finally, which
is brilliant. But the fact that you guys are
on 48 -48, I mean... I'm trying to do the math
now. I'm assuming that's like a 72 -hour work
week or something crazy like that. Yeah, 72 -hour
work weeks. Like I said, there's city and county,
and then there's federal over here. I'm on the
federal side, so it's different from the city
and county rigs. I don't know if they're on 24s
or if they're on 24 -48s, but we only have two
watches on the federal side. We don't have three
watches. They got three watches. But we're doing
48, 48 on, 48 off. And then every eight working
day, we have a furlough. And sometimes it's two
furloughs back to back. Sometimes it's one furlough.
Sometimes it's a four day furlough. Like I think
quarterly, you get one four day furlough. But
regular is one four day. And then twice a year,
you get six day furloughs. So I just had a six
day where I was off for six days straight. And
then. um but your regular furlough just makes
it into three days off so you work you you're
off for three days you're off one extra day essentially
so i mean i've only been in for like a year now
and as much as like you know i wish i was home
like i i like the least having the 40 off because
if i only had 24 off i i mean there's only so
much you can do with only 24 off so the 40 is
nice but like you're saying if we could do i
wouldn't mind working the 48 if i had that 96
you know what i mean like that 96 would be like
those three days off would be even better you
know what i mean it's an extra whole extra day
and then once you hit your furlough then then
automatically all your furloughs would be a four
day so it's like then it's a little it would
for me at least i can't speak for everyone but
for me at least that would be that'd be real
nice you know because you you furlough and then
maybe you, you trade time with someone or something
from a different shift. And right there, you
can pretty much get a week off pretty easily.
You know, if, if it were, if it were like that,
you know, the 96. Yeah. Well, the 24 72 is, is
even more time off. And I think that's like,
that's the one, you know, it should be the one,
because the question is you're doing the same
job as I did, as all the people listening do.
Some of us obviously are busier than others,
but that's not the point. Because your island,
for example, or your group of islands had one
of the deadliest wildfires in American history.
So they may not have been running that many that
day. And then all of a sudden that kicks off.
And now we're screaming for our firefighters.
So, you know, I always tell people, if the person
in the government building works 40 hours a week,
how can you tell a firefighter they need to work
more than that? The person in the government
building isn't saving a life. You know what I
mean? They're not being called up for days on
end when you do have this horrendous wildfire.
They're not helping salvage, you know, for weeks
and weeks after. So this is the kind of conversation
I'm trying to put in. And even, you know, we
talk about 48 hours and then you've got like
two days off. Well, you know, that third day,
that first of the 48 you're off, you work from
midnight to eight or whatever time you get off.
So that wasn't a day off. You know what I mean?
So it's only one day off. So the federal guys
are doing 24, 24. they really have no days off.
Yeah. If you think about it, because that second
day you're already working. So we've, we've allowed
people to kind of, you know, get us to do more
and more and more with less and less and less.
And I hope again, knowing Tulsi from, from the
absolute out, out, you know, outside. And one
of my favorite chiefs possibly might be, you
know, one of the top people in on the fireside
now nationally. This is something that we need
to change. And then. Just because you guys live
in this kind of, you know, beautiful part of
the country, you're still firefighters. You're
there trained and ready for 24 hours. And then
you should be able to go home to 72 and spend
time with your daughter and help raise her. So,
you know, I think we need to go way beyond because
the 48 is insane. Anyway, if you look at the
science, no one should be awake for two days
or, you know, have disrupted sleep. It's dangerous
for you and it's dangerous for the people that
we serve. So if Hawaii has got this insane price
tag on all its houses, that tax money should
be put into hiring more firefighters and giving
you the shifts for your health. Absolutely. I
couldn't agree more with you. And like most firefighters,
we all work a second job. I'm pretty sure most
firefighters in this nation all work a second
job. And I work a second job. Those days I'm
off, I'm actually – I still work my other job,
you know, just to – especially here in Hawaii
to make ends meet because it's so dang expensive.
Like, I need to work that second job, you know.
So a lot of the time it's like I'm only really
off like once a week, to be completely honest,
you know what I mean? Exactly. And then there's
days where like, you know, where it's like –
knock on wood it stays like this today but you
know it's a been able to talk to you for an hour
now on this podcast you know i'm in station slower
days but then there's those days where we're
slammed you know we're we're on the road we're
waking up two three times in the middle of the
night and then you get back and then you lay
down in your bed and next thing you know that
the tone's going off again and you're like what
the heck just lay down in bed and then there's
those days where like maybe catch two three calls
if that you know in a shift so i've had shifts
where we haven't even caught a call you know
it was 48 hours a lot of downtime so it's like
it's it's it's like you said you're always on
your toes but even those days where i mean we're
pretty proactive here at our station so we're
like we're gonna go drill right after this you
know i mean the boys are they're eating breakfast
right now and we're gonna go go run drills after
this where i feel like that's that's a big thing
and I've been blessed to be able to be surrounded
by like guys that really take this job seriously.
And it's been awesome to be able to learn so
much. Like I've only been in for a year, but
now these guys took me under their wing and they're
like, I don't know, like down to like learning
how to pump already. You know what I mean? Like
they taught me how to pump, taught me how to
do all these things where like most departments
you look at it, like you ain't touching that
pump panel in your first five years. You know
what I mean? These guys are like, well. Might
as well teach you something, you know? So, like,
one of the guys we're getting ready to do his
pumper test, and they were like, oh, you want
to learn? Instead of just being on the side and
might as well learn, right? So it's cool to be
able to be surrounded by a group of guys that
are down to teach. And, like, every day we're
doing something. We're drilling, and then we
go to the gym. We're running calls when we get
the calls. But it's cool to be surrounded by
that brotherhood. You know, I think that's something
that is. You've experienced it because you had
time in the fire service, but it's something
like I almost have a phone when I'm off and I'm
on a furlough and they're all here working. As
much as I want to be off, I'm like, oh, I wonder
what they're doing. I wonder if they caught anything
or what cause they're running today. It's kind
of funny to see. Going back to those schedules,
I think it'd be healthy for all of us, like you
said, if we could run those 24 -72s. um like
you said whether it's hiring more people so we
could have that third watch that we can act that
way because a big thing when they were saying
they might run the 48 um 96 is the the rotation
right so it wouldn't always be working with our
crew the crews would rotate right so you wouldn't
always have like your same lt or your same driver
the crews would constantly be rotating which
i don't i don't necessarily see a problem with
it other than like if you get that big one you
know because like i know on On our truck right
now, like, everyone knows their job if that big
one were to pop off right now. Like, there ain't
got to be no questions asked. Like, my LT already
knows what is expected of me. I know what he
expects me to do. I know what the driver's going
to, you know, like, we all, whether it's rather
running con ops, where it's just three of us
on the truck, like, if we do get that fire and
we got to run, like, I -Rit or something, you
know what I mean? So it's, like, everyone knows
their role. And that's the, I feel like that's
the cool thing. you are working with the same
crew over and over because especially being a
proactive crew where we drew a lot we we know
what our what our jobs are you know like no one's
gonna have like yeah every every scenario might
be different like but for the most part i know
like what i'm doing what i got what is expected
of me you know what i mean something else is
expected it's going to be communicated and i
feel like that's where that teamwork you know
when you drew and you go after you go on those
calls together you're able to build that that
um that teamwork and that bonding to her it's
like it just it just flows you know it's kind
of naturally naturally just flows everyone knows
what they're doing what what their job is and
what they got to do in order and everyone helps
each other out that's the fire service right
you're constantly helping each other out but
um that was the only thing when they said when
they said the 96 that would be rotating crews
like the shifts would always be a different crew
on shift was kind of like with me is like i don't
mind it but i like working with the guys i work
with you know what i mean if that makes sense
if i could keep it because i just feel like it's
safer that way too because everyone knows their
role you know what i mean like certain certain
lieutenants might do something this way you know
everyone's got their ways it's not saying there's
multiple ways to skin a cat right you know like
that's that's that's saying right there's multiple
ways to get it done so i um i just if i know
this way and there's nothing wrong saying that
i go and learn your way But now I got to learn
it too. You know, it's a whole other like learning.
And then next day, next shift, I'm working with
another guy. And then it's like, so it's like
that, that flow is kind of, it's broken up a
little bit where it's not, it's not all everyone
on the same page. Like, you know, you might want
me to do this versus that. So I just, if they
did that 96, I would like for them to figure
out a way to be able to at least. keep us all
working together you know there's i just think
for the community it's it's safer too because
you're gonna have a better response and in my
eyes you're gonna have a better response you
know what i mean people are gonna be able to
at least the crew it's the working together knows
their job you know and like i said it doesn't
change too much from you know going from it but
it's just certain little things that you know
everyone has a preferred way to do stuff right
you know so if i already know my crew likes it
this way i'm gonna do it this way that way we
all we all you know know what we got to do and
we can give the patient the best care possible
well i think what's interesting and like i said
you guys are so unique they probably have to
go to like a 24 48 as you staff up and then ultimately
at 24 72 but you're creating an entire shift
so there shouldn't be You know, you should still
be with the same crew. Now, obviously, if you're
diluted one time, you get this third shift. Okay,
who's going to C shift? Who's going to A shift?
But then once you're there, you know, you stay
with that crew and now you're locked in. And
the same thing if you went then to a four platoon
system, which is, you know, where you would be
in a 24 -72. The only downside I've heard, you're
always going to have your same crew. I'm a big,
you know, proponent for staying in your area
too. I hate it when people just shift crews to
different stations. for no reason to kind of
break them up. It makes no sense when knowing
your first Jew is such a superpower. The only
thing I've heard is when you've got ABC or in
your case, AB, you always see that crew oncoming
and off going when you've got four, say your
D shift, you and B shift would never pass, you
know? Yeah. Yeah. But that's not, is that a big
deal? Not really. Yeah, you can catch each other,
you know, at the beach one of the days instead.
Over time, you're going to work. Yeah, trades.
But here's what was so good, though, with that
second job, because I think I've had chiefs literally
tell me, well, if we give them more time off,
they're just going to work more, which is an
extremely arrogant response that implies that
they own you even when you're not at work. Yeah.
But if you look at it from a positive lens, you
know, let's say, for example, you've got, you
know, a surf business on the side. Now you've
got the 24 -72. When you go home, let's say you
spend eight hours a day shaping boards or whatever
the business is, you still then go home. You
still have breakfast and dinner with your child.
You still go to bed in your own bed and sleep
all night. That's very different than forced
or voluntary overtime where you spend another
24 hours in a fire station, sleeping even less,
becoming sicker and more dangerous. god forbid
you get hurt you get fired you retire now you
have another entire financial business and identity
and tribe that you've already built on the outside
so i think the second job can be very healthy
if we give the first responders the work week
that is healthy in the first place so that that
extra time would allow you to to have a healthy
entrepreneurial project on the side that will
be a great safety net for your family absolutely
absolutely and i like i said like But if I didn't
have to work the second job, I mean, I said I
wouldn't. But, like, here in Hawaii, I'm forced
to work that second job. Like, there is no option.
And don't get me wrong, it's something I love
doing too. But like you said, it's only work
eight hours. And I run it, so I kind of run my
own schedule. You know what I mean? Like, I still,
it's my... It's my business, you know, so like,
yeah, I'll bring my daughter with me and we'll
be over there. You know what I mean? Like retraining
people and she'll be with my mom, you know, at
the house. My mom will be watching her and then
we'll go to the beach right after in between
trainings when I got to, you know, teach. So
it's like it ends up working out where it's like
I'm working, but I'm like I'm also spending most
of the day with her regardless while I'm around.
I was blessed enough to be able to work, build
that. for myself, you know, build the gym and
be able to have clients that come in. And, you
know, whether I'm running a group class or private
class, my daughter grew up on the mat, you know,
like she's starting to learn now to like be able
to like sit on the side and play and not interrupt
the class slowly. But yes, it's cool to see like
she loves being on the mat too. So maybe another
year I'll put her in a gi and she can start training
soon. Brilliant. Well, what about the actual
combat martial arts journey? Where are you as
far as the kind of competition ladder? I know
you've done Bellator and some other events. And
how close are you to securing a UFC opportunity?
So right now, the way I'm looking at it was,
I mean, life, like I said, in the last two years
changed a lot, having my baby. And then right
before that, when COVID happened. I had a pretty
bad injury right before COVID. I tore my whole
hamstring. And then COVID happened. Bellator,
they cut a lot of people because of the act of
God clause in the contract. And then I was having
a hard time getting a fight. And then the one
fight I did get was on like three weeks notice.
And I was training for like crazy for like six
months. And I had fight after fight. I had five
fights in 2022. fall out so one fight after the
other after the other after the other just like
people fell out so it was like high and low i
was in camp for 12 weeks and then all of a sudden
done and then back up so it's kind of keeping
the shape throughout the whole year but i didn't
really have a break and then i took a fight on
like two and a half week notice and i ended up
losing that fight um uh just i got caught the
fight was going good i got caught And then right
after that, I had a hard time because the kid
was a really good fighter. He ended up fighting
on the Contender Series. He lost. He didn't get
the contract for the UFC. But same thing. He
took the fight on two weeks' notice for the Contender
Series. So basically, had I beat him in that
fight, I probably would have got the Contender
Series call. So then it was kind of like a reset,
right? You lose one. You kind of got to win three,
four until you're back on the radar. And then
I had my daughter. And then when I had my daughter,
I was like, damn. I got to make sure, like, she's
taken care of now, right? I got all these things.
I had my business on the side, the gym, everything
going. But I wanted to make sure, like, we were
good, like, healthcare -wise, because healthcare
is freaking expensive. I was like, okay, I got
to make sure she's taken care on that side. That's
where I saw this, like, job opportunity for the
fire service and my other half's father and stepfather.
are both in the fire service. One's on the state
side, so he takes care of the airport, and then
the other one's city and county. And this job
offer was for federal. So I was like, oh, I'll
go sign up and see what happens. You know what
I mean? And then, like, it was one of those things
where I was like, oh, we'll see what happens.
And went through the whole process, got put on
the alternate list for that. And then... Two
hours before my fight, my last fight in February.
It was last year, February. Literally two hours
before. The union president texted me and said,
oh, you're up. You got the spot and someone just
dropped out. You went from the alternate list.
You're in now. And the class started. But I still
had to do all my medicals and all my stuff. And
the recruit class was going to start the week
after my fight. And I looked at my dad and we
were in the backstage and I was like. He's like,
what happened? I'm like, I just, I got the job.
And he's like, he kind of just looked at me and
he's like, shit. He's like, what are you going
to do? I was like, and I was like, it's funny
because I was about to fight and we're backstage.
I was about to fight in an hour and a half, two
hours. And then the conversation became the job,
you know what I mean? And I was like, oh, hmm.
He looked at me. I'm never gonna forget it. He
looked at me and he's like well Well, then you
better finish the fight pretty quick cuz I don't
know how you're gonna go through an eight -month
recruit class being injured You know what I mean?
Like where if you have an injury like you can't
get hurt or else you're off the list You know
what I mean? Like literally a week before recruit
class starts if I broke my hand or had any bad
injury Something unforeseen in a fight that I
mean, it's pretty easy to break your hand in
an MMA fight something like that you're done
you know now now this job opportunity that I
wanted to get this job is all of a sudden like
I'm balancing the two but my dream was to fight
so I'm like well it's too late now we're here
we ain't we ain't pulling out of this you know
what I mean so ended up fighting got it was the
fastest finish I got finished the guy in like
50 seconds or something and then went into recruit
class had to go through the eight month process
and then got out got into the station so I've
been in station for like seven months now six
or six months now um and then now it's like okay
now we got to get back to fighting and so now
i'm getting offered like left and right to fight
which is kind of weird because before i got in
i wasn't really getting offered because i was
getting fight just falling out after fight falling
out so now everything's like coming together
and goes back to that conversation of balancing
everything i was actually supposed to fight this
coming month right now same thing happened opponent
got hurt so now they're pushing me back so now
it's like me balancing out with like my my rated
and and my chief and being like oh i gotta swing
you know trying to do trade times and stuff to
make sure the schedule lines up so i have like
four days off to be able to you know fly to california
wherever the fight might be to be able to fight
so now it's looking like may is when i'll be
fighting back be back in the cage again in maine
and honestly my goal with it is like i think
if i can put like three more wins together hopefully
i can fight three times this year that's like
kind of my goal i mean it's kind of if i can
get three fights in this year i'll be in a pretty
good place to be able to get that call back for
the contender series and possibly fight for a
for a ufc contract but definitely within the
next two three years is like three is kind of
like my benchmark is to be there you know what
i mean but i could see myself in the next two
years fighting for at least an opportunity for
a contract you know what i mean i mean i've been
right there i was knocking on the door 20 years
old I'm 26 now with a little bit more experience
and it's timing everything is timing but I kind
of want to pull the like everyone's like oh but
how are you gonna do in the fire service I'm
like Stipe did it you know what I mean like there's
no excuse the guy is a UFC world champion and
was still active duty like there's there ain't
no excuse you know what I mean and like I said
it the job gives me that opportunity to be able
to train too you know we're here we're talking
right now you know But I can, you know, we're
going to go drill, catch a call. We come back.
We have a gym we'll go to, you know. I get to
get in my gym work. Like, there's also benefits
to this job of being able to, you know, be able
to work out while I'm at the gym. You know what
I mean? I'm at work, but I'm able to go to the
gym and work out. I'm obviously not training
martial arts and stuff, but I'm able to, you
know, go do my cardio, get my lift in, you know.
We have a punching bag over here, so I'm able
to get. get these reps in and still be able to
provide for my family. And it's helping me get
to where I want to get, you know what I mean?
And being able to have a good job and also chase
the dream. And also a big part of it, too, is
like the fire service is helping me in that way
of being able to chase my dream, too. You know,
it's just not many jobs like like as much as
that. We work a eight hour day like. But I worked
that eight hour day then. I go in, I do, like,
one practice or something after, and then I'm
home at, like, 9 o 'clock. I know here I'm here
for 48 hours, but I get – some days I'm lucky
I'm able to get two gym sessions in, you know
what I mean, while I'm here. And, like, I'm here.
My family can – like, my other half and baby,
they come visit, you know what I mean? Probably
one wants to – once a shift they'll come and
leave it whether they eat dinner or come have
lunch with us or something if we're if we're
here they'll come stop by so it's like i still
see them we live they live right down the road
so it's it's kind of cool you know and then everyone
you know they're everyone else's kids will come
by say hi you know what i mean like just stop
by not for that long but we'll have lunch together
and and stuff so that's that's the goal at least
for going back to that martial arts thing is
being able to you know the next three years be
be in the big show and my goal is to be able
to kind of pull the steep be active duty in the
fire service and still fighting to just like
i said like that the fighting stuff is is my
it's kind of like surfing but it's my form of
competition i know it's just raw competition
to me it's like i need that in life it's if you
lose there's a way to go back and you know you
made a mistake you can go and correct that mistake
in the gym we're surfing A lot of times I didn't
understand because, like I said, it was subjective.
Fighting is not. Fighting is going to be one
winner and one loser. It's pretty clear. You
might have the judges sometimes, but, again,
that's your fault. You let it get that far, and
that's how I look at it, at least with fighting.
If it goes to the judges, that was my fault for
even letting it go that far. So that's kind of
where I believe in that competition is just the
most raw form of competition. I couldn't agree
more. I did taekwondo, so not MMA, full contact
and semi, but it was the same exact thing. I
used to have the same mentality. If I lost on
points, then... you know, that's on me, you know,
if it was a close decision. So I would go back
and I had a punch bag in the top of the farmhouse
that I lived in and would just drill for hours
and be like, all right, next time I'm going to
destroy them. That way the judges have no say
by that point, you know, you kicked them square
in the face, you get three points. That's the
way it works. So, so yeah, it is. It's, you've
got the subjective one of ice skating and gymnastics
and surfing, you know, where, you know, if you
look at the Tonya Harding story, you know, her
background and the snobbery and the ice skating
world prevented her from, you know, getting the
scores that she was supposed to get. So, but
if she got into a cage, if she choked someone
out, if she knocked him out, it doesn't matter
if she's, you know, lives in a mansion or a trailer,
it's the rawness of that sport. Yeah, exactly.
It's just the, there's no, it's just, like you
said, it's just raw. It's, it's. it's it's clear
for the most part it's pretty dang clear you
know what i mean it's pretty dang clear well
i had uh chris lydell on the show a few years
ago now and he was a firefighter um you know
mma fighter as well the one thing where i know
that you know you guys are at a disadvantage
though is the sleep if you look at the elite
you know absolutely they're sleeping well so
again another reason hawaii that we need to go
to a more progressive shift so you can let your
firefighter athletes perform at a higher level
absolutely the sleep the sleep is that's that's
one one key thing i feel like um is not in to
my advantage is the sleep you know what i mean
um that's why like i try to make up for it when
whenever I get home and not necessarily sleeping,
but like in any sort of recovery, you know, do
the saunas, the ice bath, the red light therapy,
the, you know, whatever I can do to try to make
up for that. And then obviously sleep. Like when
I'm home, my other half, she always laughs. She's
like, you're like an old man. You're in bed by
7 .30. I'm like, yep, I know. I want to be in
bed by 7 .30. As soon as the light hits and as
soon as my daughter's in bed, I'm like, OK, peace
out. I'm going to sleep, too. You know what I
mean? Like, that's kind of where I try to get
those, you know, try to get that 10 hour sleep
in is those those days off. You know what I mean?
Try to make up for a little bit more. But I couldn't
agree more with you. The sleep is definitely
the part that I feel like we we miss sometimes.
And even if you don't get a call in the middle
of the night, I mean, you know, you're sleeping
kind of like. one eye open one eye closed the
whole time you're kind of like that like you're
just kind of on high alert you know what i mean
sleeping for the most part like yeah the tone's
gonna go off but even when we don't get a call
at night here i'm still like you know i'll catch
myself in the middle of the night like did i
did i miss the call like it's so quiet right
now it's going you know what i mean like you'll
wake up sometimes and like my room's the closest
to the to the barn to the bay right so i've fully
had times i'll be like a pretty deep sleep and
i was like i swear like in my dream i heard the
tone go off so like open the door okay the the
truck's still there all right all right close
the door and go back to sleep but i've had that
a couple times you know you hear the tone go
off in your dream like what the heck well what's
interesting is we make this comparison we know
how exhausted we get but yet there's that disconnect
as far as well if an athlete performs well with
sleep and we're asking a firefighter to get on
a rig drive through traffic you know throw a
ladder go through a second story window search
a house and yet we're not giving them the environment
an athlete does i mean that's again yet another
argument the the ability cognitively to do our
job at the highest level depends on sleep we
have to be awake during the night so let's give
as much space as we can between each 24 -hour
shift Because otherwise, you know, and I kind
of want to get into this in a second. I wonder
how many of the line of duty deaths that we have
are partly sleep deprivation related as well,
whether it's getting lost in a primary, whether
it's not reading the smoke properly, whether
and it's not blaming the individual. We all know
the inability to think clearly when you're sleep
deprived. It's a real thing. Absolutely. Absolutely.
I would. I mean, I'm sure that they could try
to do a statistic on that. and and see like you
know what i mean like what what shifts that you
know the line of duty deaths were on and and
kind of make a you know to try to figure out
something beneficial for all of us you know because
like it's we got to learn from from those mistakes
you know unfortunately like you know that's that's
the job we signed up for you know there's it's
like you wanna it's a dangerous job you know
at the end of the day it's it's probably one
like you said you wake up I think there was a
comedian that I saw recently that was like, you
know, these firefighters, they wake up, they
slide down a pole, and then they're half asleep
and jump on the back of a truck, and then all
of a sudden they're at a raging fire, and it's
been four minutes since they woke up. You know
what I mean? That's completely true. It's like
you've woken up, it's been... Within five minutes
of being woken up, you're at this house raging.
You know what I mean? And it's freaking, you're
like, oh, whoa, you know, trying to still like
figure out what's going on. So it's like, like
you said, I never really thought of that, like
comparing with the athletes thing, you know what
I mean? Like how they get their sleep and everything,
but then you're expecting us to just do it. And
then you can say, oh, it's got to come down to
the training. It's got to come down to this,
you know, that, like you got to be, but every
situation is different. And if you're not getting
the sleep. how do you expect the guy to even
process what's going on if you're not getting
the sleep right like it's kind of hard to even
imagine i never did think about it that way you
know what i mean like i think it's kind of like
i don't know at least for myself i think it's
just kind of embedded now where like if i wake
up i you know what i mean it's it's me it could
be me just being young and and and excited you
know still you know only been in for so long
wanting to get those calls you know what i mean
like it's and going after it but at the same
time like it's something to think about you know
what i mean me especially being young something
to think about for my future you know and like
like you said like these line of deaths that
do happen like was it because they were sleep
deprived was it you know what i mean there's
there's a lot of a lot of different um things
that we got to put in a play to see like some
people might say oh was it a lack of training
or oh was it this or what was it there's like
so many but we do know one thing for sure like
if you're not getting the right sleep that's
already like a okay well we might want to check
into that and like you said that's where these
we can be more progressive and having these 24
72s you know so we can get that amount of sleep
like you're saying and it's just more beneficial
to everyone it's more beneficial to us the community
just life at home you know what i mean you're
the other half you know it's just it's more beneficial
to everyone Yeah, exactly. This is the whole
point. And even in, God forbid, the high enough
fires, you've got another, in your case, two
shifts of firefighters to pull on now when you
have something like that. But you hit on the
most important thing, in my opinion, the family.
They're the unsung heroes of the fire service.
And your wife is obviously basically a single
mother for 48 hours at a time. We have to do
better for them too. I want to hit, seeing as
we're on the line of duty death conversation,
I know Honolulu just had that horrendous line
of duty death and they lost Jeffrey Fiala. So
I'm sure the ripples of that went through all
your community. Talk to me about that event and
the kind of after effects. Yeah, man. It was
like chicken skin because you're getting it just,
you know, I never knew him personally. I never
got to meet him. I've only heard good things
about the guy. It was just horrible, horrible.
When it hits that close to home, I never really,
I signed up, I'm in the fire service, but I never
really had something hit me like that until I
came home. I got off shift that day and I came
home and my other half was on the couch like
mad. I didn't really know why. I was like, oh,
what happened? Did I do something? I was trying
to, and she was like. So her father, he was a
captain. He just retired maybe three years ago.
And so she called him and she was like, and I
guess for her, it really hit home because he
was 26, I'm 26, right? So she was, you know,
processing what happened, trying to ask her dad
like a bunch of questions, like what went wrong,
you know what I mean? Like, and then I got home
and she was like, it hit her, you know what I
mean? And like, I didn't even think, like it
hit me when I was at, when we were at station
and woke up. We all found out about it, you know,
like. But I didn't know it was going to have
that kind of effect on her. You know what I mean?
And that's when it really put things into consideration
for me when that happened. And I feel like the
ripple effects of it was just like it brought
us all. Because I don't know exactly what happened
or if it was the collapse or what exactly happened.
I didn't hear if he got lost inside the search
or what happened. or if the floor caved out underneath
him when they were sounding or something. But
it was just like, I think the biggest thing for
me was like how close that hit home, you know,
being that he was the same age as me. We do the
same job and he was going in, you know, doing
a job that, you know, could have been any of
us, could have been any of my classmates that
I graduated with, could have been me, it really
could have been any of us. And it was a very
unfortunate situation, you know, that it did
happen and the way it went down. And I mean,
he, he to me went down as you know he put his
life on the line and that's something that like
yeah we can go back and people might say oh but
we got to train this we got to train more writ
or we got to train more this or we got to train
more that but at the end of the day like he signed
up for the job and and that happened and he he
did what he was taught to do which was go in
there and be aggressive and search for the for
uh patient or search for someone inside that
fire i'm pretty sure he was on i don't know if
he was on search or if he was on but i know they
were in there i don't think he was on the nozzle
so i'm assuming he was i think they were primary
search and ended up happening what happened but
i i like i just don't like for me like being
so young in the department i don't really know
like if i i guess i could ask you that because
you've had more more time and and experience
in this line of work but how do you like look
at it like like where do you go back to try to
minimize something like that happening is it
on the training side or is it on more being like
like where where do we go back to like make sure
something like that doesn't happen and and again
like it it's not saying it'll never happen again
we knock on wood it never does you know what
i mean but it's something that like we like we
know we when we sign that that is a possibility
i could go into a structure and maybe not come
out but knock on wood that that's not the case
right but like that's why we're firefighters
we signed up for that job when everyone's running
out of the fire we're running in right so it's
one of those things where i guess i i could ask
you that it's like where do you where do you
see like how we would minimize that is that the
scale like we're talking about the schedule training
what what maybe because i from what i've heard
they they train a lot over there too you know
so i don't want to say say it was a training
Yeah, I think what I found, I mean, you've firstly
got the anomaly fire. So you've got the one where
the owner was a tweaker and they cut the floorboards
in half and no amount of training or pre -planning
or anything would have known that what was going
to happen was going to happen. You know, there's
some of those and those are the ones that the
true tragedies because everyone did exactly what
they were supposed to and they still died. But
I think where a lot of things get missed, and
I don't know if this is applicable to Honolulu
specifically at all, but I'll give you a kind
of more chronic disease comparison. If you listen
to people talk about fire service cancer, they
talk about the fires, you know, carcinogens in
our gear from the fire, from PFAS. But there's
no talk on sleep deprivation, obesity, you know,
all these other things that contribute massively
to cancer. If you look at the mental health conversation,
they focus on, well, you know, Kona had that
horrible call and that's why he must be struggling.
Well, there's no conversation again about, well,
what happened from when he was conceived through
to when he put the uniform on? Why aren't we
talking about that? And then again, sleep deprivation
is an absolute direct correlation between that
and mental health, mental ill health. It's there's
many pieces of these puzzle, which is why when
people start pointing fingers, it's very unfair
because it's never one thing. But there are some
parts of that puzzle that people never talk about.
And I think where we have the ability to move
the needle in preventing more of these line of
duty injuries and deaths is looking at, you know,
rest and recovery. Because if you look at every
other industry, the shipping industry, airline,
truckers, you know, a lot of the military units.
they are governed by rest and recovery. And that
comes off the back of all these massive disasters
that we've all seen, like the Navy ships that
collided and all those sailors were killed. Sleep
deprivation has been behind that. So sleep is
one part, but then we are a profession that fights
fitness standards. So when you're not holding
people to a certain level, it's not just performance,
it's longevity, it's cardiovascular disease,
it's strokes, it's all these other things. And
that's what kills a lot of our people, line of
duty as well, even if they're on a fire ground.
And then if you've got a well -rested and fit
population, now arguably the training is going
to be held at a higher level. You're going to
have these tactical athletes. If there's a great
camaraderie because everyone has a shift that
really promotes the family unit, that promotes
physical fitness, that mentally they're more
cognitively aware. Now, you know, you're going
to be more cohesive and more effective on the
fire ground as well. So I think all of those
and then another one in the fire service is humility.
And again, this is not directed at Honolulu.
I really haven't even looked that deeply into
the event. I just know the tragedy of what actually
happened. But there's arrogance in the fire service,
especially in some departments. And the perfect
example, oh, county doesn't speak to city or
FD doesn't speak to PD. If we're not talking
to each other and sharing knowledge. then we're
stifling our ability to learn, to evolve as firefighters,
from tactics to equipment to protective equipment.
So I think all those pieces of the puzzle come
in. And what happened that day, obviously only
the people that are there and the people that
actually do a study on it will really know that
particular event. But I know for a fact, a lot
of these wrecks that we have in first responder
vehicles. Our sleep deprivation, you know, these
people that get killed at an intersection because
a driver had a micro sleep. And yet that's never
discussed. The police officer that made a bad
decision and shot the teenager that was reaching
for his driver's license, not a gun. How well
rested was that person? So I think, you know,
I don't have an expertise operationally. I never
pretend that I do. But on the wellness and performance
of the individual first responder. That is basically
never discussed. So if you look at that systemically
through a crew, through a station, through a
battalion, that has an immense impact of our
ability to do the job at the highest level. And
like we said, compare it to the athlete, compare
it to the Navy SEAL. That is how we should be
held as a first responder community. And if our
work week doesn't force performance, and if we
don't have standards that force physical excellence.
then we're already setting ourselves up for failure
before we even get into this idlh environment
absolutely no that makes complete sense going
back to the jeffrey one i i from all i all i
heard was like like you were saying the house
was like they kind of the plan they they added
a there's like an addition to the house and it
was kind of like a hoarder house and they had
like a level that wasn't supposed to be built
or something like some some like you said it
was one of those scenarios where it you can all
the training in the world and you can't prepare
for a house that's built that way correct like
it's not the way it's supposed to be built you
know what i mean so yeah like back on his topic
though it was just like i like for me it just
hit home you know being that i'm the same age
as him you know what i mean and like i i just
it just hit it really hit home it was a few days
of just like man is this really what we signed
up for you know what i mean like almost thinking
like like now now definitely when i leave home
now i always look at my little girl and i'm like
okay like it's not just i'm not just going to
go hang out with the boys and you know like there's
there's a you know there's i gotta make sure
i come back home here you know what i mean like
at the end of the day like no matter what we're
doing like i'm i look at her and i'm like okay
there's there's more to this now you know what
i mean and it's uh it's unfortunate that you
know things like that happen in in our line of
work but um yeah i just hope whatever did happen
we're able to learn from it and and um just get
better and like you said if it's us training
together with different departments you know
what i mean and coming together and expanding
each other's knowledge and you know doing a multi
-company um operation together you know what
i mean like you know learning stuff from each
other and uh like you said having that that fitness
standard having that sleep so all that i think
is gonna would help you know what i mean at the
end of the day would help with with with everything
but it's each situation is each situation everyone
anyone can monday night quarterback and then
oh i would have done this would have had a defensive
tactic or this or that but like if if you're
not there i'm one for like if i'm not if i wasn't
there i can't really speak on it because i don't
i don't know what was happening and i mean like
i i can watch a ufc fight and be like oh you
should have done this this and that but who knows
the guy's hand was broken you know what i mean
it's not me fighting out it's it's like one of
those things where it's like if you're not there
in that moment and it's we anyone can money my
quarterback anything you know what i mean but
it's like you know shout out to him and his team
and i hope everyone over at that station um over
in kakaaka is doing well and i know it's like
i said it's for them it must be something you
know pretty crazy to have to ever experience
i hope i never have to experience anything like
that but it's also It's eye -opening that that
is part of the fire service. That is something
that could happen in the fire service. And it
doesn't really matter if you're being the greatest
shape, most well -trained guy, something like
that could still happen. It's just like a lot
of ways you can compare it to a fight. You could
be the best fighter in the world and you still
have a button. You can still get caught and have
that loss. Obviously, it's a whole other... you
know you're talking about life and death you
know it's a completely different standard when
you look at it that way but i just like like
i said you know god bless his soul and um couldn't
can't thank him enough for his service and everything
he's done because you know it takes it's it ain't
easy you know and his family hope they're doing
well because i said it really hit home like if
it hit my my other half the way it did you know
when i got home and she was like she was questioning
like i can't imagine like how his family feels
and stuff. So I just hope they're getting all
the support in the world that they need. And
I know HFD does a really good job with that.
To me, I think I'm on the other side. I'm federal.
All the departments will have like, oh, federal
HFD or this or that. But it's all the brotherhood
at the end of the day. We all lend a helping
hand wherever we can. And I know they're definitely
all taking care of each other. And it's, like
I said, I think that's the beauty of the fire
service is we can all say, oh. we're better they're
better this is better but at the end of the day
you know we're all brothers and sisters you know
what i mean like we all take care of one another
and we all we all want each other to do the best
we could possibly do at the job you know what
i mean like yeah you might be battling each other
for who's first in on a call but at the end of
the day like especially running like a multi
-company operation like that you know you want
to be able to have that in sync and i think that
was something that they were talking about as
they wanted to start doing more um just multi
-company operations, at least with us. So, I
mean, there was something that came out of that.
You know, I know our department definitely made
us start, you know, doing more multi -company
operations just together where we go to the fire
ground and we all, you know, work together with
different stations that we wouldn't normally
work with. You know what I mean? Just to kind
of get that, you know, get that. what's the word
i'm looking for that kind of connection with
each other and and you know see and learn from
each other so i feel like that's that'll be something
big you know what i mean um working all together
but like i said it's it's just an unfortunate
circumstance what happened and it's just god
bless his soul and i can't thank him enough for
his service yeah i think and this is what i always
say we honor the dead by changing anything that
needed to be changed you know what i mean i mean
this is the thing we say you know rest easy brother
rest easy sister all that kind of stuff we have
the bagpipes and the flags but what good is that
if we haven't learned from it? And if, you know,
as you said, maybe there was a slight lack of
multi -company interaction, if that was the case,
then brilliant. No, they've figured out one thing
that we can actually change and maybe just maybe
it would have made a difference. But we have
an opportunity when we lose someone to really
go back and deliberately Monday morning quarterback
it, not in a blame way, but in a what can we
learn from this way? so that we can hopefully
minimize the chance of it happening again. So
I think if you look at it that way, I'm forgetting
the term now, but a constructive criticism, not
a criticism, then you can pull from it, all right,
God forbid this happens again. I mean, even from
that house, okay, someone in the building planning
obviously failed to see that this was happening
in the first place. So where else can we move
the needle that might prevent, God forbid, another...
you know uh structure that ends up being a death
trap yes sir absolutely like you said you know
it also it's unfortunate that something like
that have had that you know happen in order for
us to like how it's unfortunate we have to learn
that way right like something like that happened
and now we got to learn from from that you know
and could have maybe not even did anything wrong.
Like you said, it could have been the house itself,
you know, the way that the building was built
out, you know? So it's like all those things,
like it definitely stirs the pot to, like you
said, try to learn from that and, and make sure
that that mistake never happens again. So it's
one of those things where like, I'm really young
in my career. And like I said, I'm, he was really
young in his career. So it just, it just hits
home. Like in that, in that sense, being the
same age, like I. i wouldn't i don't i guess
to me to comment on it is like is even hard because
i don't other than like i i just gotta thank
him for his service because it's just one of
those things where like i i wouldn't know what
to do different to be completely honest you know
what i mean i wasn't there but it's one of those
ones where it's just like it's those touchy subjects
where i'm just like and that's it definitely
hits home yeah Absolutely. All right. Well, I
want to hit you with some quick closing questions
and then be mindful of your time and let you
go. The first one I love to ask, is there a book
or are there books that you love to recommend?
It can be related to our discussion today or
completely unrelated. Got one right here. This
is one of them. That's a good book. That's probably
one of the. And then this one, I just finished
reading, Three Magic Words. But this one's a
must. How Champions Think is, I really like this
book, How Champions Think. Read it a few times.
And then the Three Magic Words is a pretty awesome
one. I just finished reading. A lot of good info
on that one. Just give those books a... Check
out those. Those are worth reading. Brilliant.
All right. What about films and documentaries?
Films? For sports, the Marinovich Project. I
think I've heard that one before. That one's
like, that one I've actually got to work a lot
with Gary Marinovich. So to kind of see how they
perceive, how they put out him and his brother
in it, kind of playing the role, you know what
I mean? Their training is next level for any
athlete. So that was one that really, because
I actually got to be like real close with Gary
Marinovich. And the way they put him out to be
like, I wasn't, like I said, I wasn't there to
experience the way the son felt, but those guys
are some of the best. i think when it comes to
sports training they are the best sports trainers
well speaking of good people is there a person
that you recommend to come on this podcast as
a guest to speak to the first responders military
and associated professions of the world they're
a person you had tulsi she's kind of a legend
um that i recommend does it have to be like a
first responder or just uh no anyone just just
anyone You know who would be a good guy? He is
a lifeguard on the North Shore. Also a big wave
surfer. This guy named Dave Wassil. He's a funny
dude. He's been around. He surfs the biggest
waves. I think he's a lieutenant now on the North
Shore for lifeguarding. He'd be an awesome guy
to have on the show. Brilliant. Yeah, I love
my ocean lifeguards. And reason being, I was
a lifeguard myself, but never on the ocean. I
was on open water and pools. But when you talk
about the fitness standard conversation, imagine
if you had a Hawaiian lifeguard that was like,
well, I don't want to have to do a swim test.
That's hard. You're trying to take my job. that
wouldn't that wouldn't fly it's no different
for police fire ems you know what i mean so when
you listen to a lifeguard talking about requalifying
every couple of years and you know what's required
of them to me that profession is the perfect
because a lot of those lifeguards work for fire
departments it's the perfect parallel and i can
say this from guarantee that the north shore
lifeguards are the lifeguards in hawaii but lifeguards
when they get to north shore are probably like
the highest of highest levels lifeguards you
can possibly have so awesome guy to have on the
show because he's done he's been on the north
shore pretty much his whole career like i said
he's also a professional big wave surfer and
he is just a just a badass waterman guy's just
super badass good diver good surfer just hell
of a waterman beautiful well if you're able to
help me connect do you know him oh absolutely
Okay. Let's make it happen then. That would be
incredible. Absolutely. I can connect you with
him. All right. Well, then the last question
before I make sure everyone knows where to find
you and your training, what do you do to decompress?
What do I do to decompress? Surf is definitely
one of them. Like I said, that's why surfing
kind of became the thing for me. It's just, that's
one of them. And just be around my daughter.
honestly is like another one like go take her
to the beach like when I'm with her I kind of
just forget everything else really exists it's
just like I try to just be present because it's
crazy like having a little kid and every day
they're changing right whether it's they're growing
or their face is changing or they're learning
something new so to just stop and appreciate
the little things in life I think that's a big
thing that a lot of us nowadays kind of overlook.
We don't appreciate just the little things in
life, you know what I mean? Like being able to
wake up and take a breath, like that's a blessing
in itself already, you know? And a lot of us,
I feel like we overlook that. And even I used
to do that, but when I had, like I said, having
my daughter made me really stop and realize all
these little things and how time flies. Time
goes by so quick, you know what I mean? And if
we don't just stop and like, you know? take day
by day and just appreciate the little things
what's the point of it you know what i mean like
these little these little these little things
are so like at the end of it i can only imagine
like at the end of our life when we're sitting
in our deathbed or however it may come those
are going to be the things that are going to
flash in front of your eyes right the little
those little those little things that you know
so being around with her surfing and eating good
food Cooking a good meal or eating good food
is another way. Just being around, you know,
being around her, friends, having a good time,
barbecuing. But yeah, definitely surfing is probably
the first outlet though to decompress. Like if
I'm stressed out or have like a bad day or something,
because you can kind of get up on the wave and
you don't really think of anything. It's just
that for that, whatever, 10, 15 seconds, it's
just. You're riding that wave, right? So your
mind is kind of blank. Training, I would like
to think, but I think I'm so competitive that
I can't really use training as a decompression
because if I lose that role, I'm like, shit,
I got to get the guy in the next role. You know
what I mean? So it's not really the way I decompress
in the training is more so surfing, surfing and
hanging out with my daughter. While I remember,
Jesse was the one that connected us. He's worked
with some high, high level jujitsu practitioners.
He's worked with a lot of surfers. Talk to me
about your exposure to that, if any. Oh, absolutely.
Jesse is the man with him, with the foundation
training. I mean, he's fixing everyone's back
problems. I'll tell you that right now. Everyone
that has a back, especially as a big thing, like
for any first responder firefighter. I mean,
we use. you try to not use our back but we end
up you know whether you're rolling holes on the
ground or something you're going to be bent over
you're going to feel it on your back that foundation
training i i have the app i train with him every
once in a while he's such a busy man he's always
traveling all over the place but i ended up downloading
buying the app on my phone and 15 20 minutes
of it each day you know i try to do it at least
four times you know three to four times a week
whether it's before we go to the gym kind of
use it as like you know warming up before i go
and i will say that that stuff it works and i'm
not just saying that because he's my friend that
stuff actually works like my back pain that i've
had like i said i'm 26 i'm young i probably shouldn't
have back pain but i've i've ran my body pretty
hard since from a young age and i do have a bit
of back pain and i will say that that foundation
training definitely helps a lot like just the
corrective postures and all that stuff where
it definitely helps yeah save my career i hurt
my back about 10 years ago now um and my chiropractor
who i was paying for out of pocket um because
the workman's comp wanted you know pills and
surgery that was their their answer um he was
playing this video of this dude doing this funny
thing where he was bending forward holding his
fingers together and i'm like what's this and
he told me yes the sphere of tension um and he
told me why don't you do it before each time
you come see me i did it and i've said this many
times on here my recovery improved so much that
i ended up in my pt sessions changing out some
of the kind of shitty exercises they were giving
me and saying hey i'm gonna do this for the first
you know 12 minutes and then i'll go and do all
the weighted stuff and it was about I think I've
been back to work about two months later. I do
a charity fundraiser every year and it's a workout
one. And we're dead lifting 225 pounds for reps,
which in itself isn't impressive. But after a
near back career ending back injury is incredibly
impressive because you haven't just like got
to the point of being okay. You fix the things
that were broken before. So I was just talking
to Eric Goodman this morning, the founder of
it. I've shout from the rooftops. I give it to
strangers in airports. I mean, anyone I hear
over here saying they've got anything wrong with
their hips, back, knees, whatever. I always tell
them about it. I'm a believer, 100%. Eric Goodman
and what he created with him and Jess and all
those guys pushing it. I mean, there's a reason
why top athletes in the world are doing it. We're
not doing it. They're not doing it. We're not
just doing it because, oh, it's... someone told
me to do it because it works you know if it didn't
work i'd be the first one to say it doesn't work
but that stuff actually works so if anyone out
there is listening to this you got back problems
go to their end i'm not a paid athlete or anything
i'm just a person that wants to spread the wealth
you know so if you got any back issues definitely
go get that foundation training app and give
it a try you know what i mean and i guarantee
you you will feel better yeah I would argue if
you don't have back problems yet, then also get
the app so you don't have to experience how awful
it is. 100%. All right. Well, and for people
listening, where are the best places to find
you and the coaching that you do? Best place
is you can go over to Instagram or you can go
on the website for my gym. It's scrapshackgym
.com. You can check that out. down right now
because we're remodeling the website we had someone
hack it and then had to it was a pain in the
butt but actually got it back so actually reworking
on making the website page that it was before
someone hacked it and then made it like some
sort of like i don't even know what it was they
just it was i was like one day i was like i don't
sell this i was getting email for like beauty
products i was like i don't sell beauty products
like what the heck's happening But, yeah, I ended
up able to get the domain back and everything.
So, yeah, ScrapShackGym .com. Probably going
to be live in the next two weeks again. But as
of right now, if they need to get a hold of me
to train, they can just reach out through Instagram,
which is just at KonaVLAN. Or they can shoot
an email over to ScrapShackGym at gmail .com.