Knock me all you want for saying this, but I'm jealous of my 17 year old female cousin.  Hana Harrison straight up rips and is starting to make a serious name for herself in the surfing world.  At the end of May she won the Surf into Summer meet at Ala Moana Bowls and then backed up that finish with second place in the H.A.S.A. Women's Open Final the following week.

The crazy thing about her recent success is that she only got serious about competing last year.  Which should tell you she's got mad skills.  To give you an idea, I remember seeing her at the Hawaii Kai skate park back when she was about 10 years old.  She was fearless, boosting airs as big as anyone.  If it wasn't for her wearing a sports bra (boys were shirt-less) and her long blond hair (which was tucked under a backwards ball cap) you couldn't tell her apart from the guys... in fact she probably put most of them to shame by the way she attacked the park.  Now what's great too see, is that she's been able to translate that same ability she had skating as a mini-grom into her surfing as a young woman.  All I can say is world watch out!

If you tried calling our offices last Thursday there was a good chance no one answered due to a little known holiday called King Kamehameha Day. Although federal offices and banks remain open, state employees are given the day off and local businesses shut down to obseve "the day of the king" (this is what my grandfather called it). Each year leis are adorned on statues throughout the islands to show respect for one of Hawaii's most influential figures.

Although there is some debate about the birth date of Kamehameha, legend has it that a great king would unite the islands and his birth would be preceded by a comet: Haley's comet was visible from Hawaii in the year 1758. Kamehameha was born to an ali'i (royalty) and it was through the guidance of his kumu (teacher) that he became well versed in the art of war and diplomacy... not much different than politicians of today actually.

In the year 1810, after many battles, Kamehameha established the Kingdom of Hawaii. It was by unifying the islands legal system and developing trade with Europe & the United States that Kamehameha was able to maintain Hawaii's independence. Even though he was able to accomplish so much during his life, Kamehemeha knew he had only started the long journey for Hawaii and its people. In his final words before his death in 1819, King Kamehemeha addressed his subjects, "E naʻi wale no ʻoukou, i ke kupono aʻole au" which translates, "Continue my just deeds, they are not yet finished."

In Hawaii there's a saying, "hana hou". In short it means "again" and it can be used appropriately in a variety of situations and/or settings. For example, your team scores... "hanahou", a band finishes their set... "hana hou", you get 21 at a black jack table... "hana hou". The list is endless. Now what are the odds of Scott Hawaii getting its second cover shot of the summer in a magazine called Hana Hou? It has to be greater than the odds of my brother Kaione ever being able to surf better than me or greater than the odds of Freitas (our warehouse manager) coming across a girl he wouldn't take home... seriously, the odds are pretty high!

Well, it did happen and now I may have to give up surfing because of it. The thought of Kaione cracking it harder than I do is unbearable to me. First, it was Outside featuring Taylor Kitsch. This time it's Hana Hou (the Hawaiian Airlines in-flight magazine) with AVP professional Kevin Wong on the cover.

That damn Hana Hou... I really enjoyed surfing.

Even though I see people in our footwear everyday, it never ceases to put a smile on my face when I do. But I have to admit, when I saw Taylor Kitsch on the cover of the June 2009 edition of Outside magazine in our slippahs, I did a little more than smile.... I let out a resounding Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-hoo! For the next month, as we lead into summer, our footwear is not only going to be seen by the thousands of subscribers to the magazine, but also by people browsing news stands from the streets of New York to LAX. To say that's huge for a small, family run business in the middle of the Pacific is an understatement. So big mahalos go to Outside magazine and an even bigger mahalo goes out to Taylor Kitsch!

Nothing worth doing is ever easy.

I don't know who said this originally, but damn if it isn't true. We ran into a minor hiccup this week with Greg Mcmackin's signature slipper. After submitting initial renditions to the the Licensing Department at the University of Hawaii for approval, it was apparent they had never seen or addressed a project of this nature before. Currently, there is no standard set for companies when they want to incorporate a coach's likeness and the UH logo onto a product. But come 6/25/09 Scott Hawaii will be that standard. They may even call it the Scott Hawaii clause... that's a joke by the way, it's not going to be called that.

In all seriousness though, we hope you realize, as we have, that the University of Hawaii Football Program is being lead by a charismatic, humble man that deserves our support. Anything you can do, whether it's becoming a season ticket holder or turning on the radio for the play by play, to buying a pair of his signature slipper in August... it all counts. Go Warriors!

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Summer is officially here! The first south swell hit the Hawaiian Islands yesterday... a 2-3 foot swell that is supposed to last through Thursday. And to top it off mother nature blessed us with dead winds and blue skies. Molokai was clear as bell and even the summit of Haleakala on Maui could be seen from Oahu this morning. If this is any indication of what we're in store for this summer, we're all going need to invest in some serious sun block because we're going to be in the water a lot.