by Angelica Clemmer
He'e nalu Hawaiian for surfing, is a sport of kings, lava-rock landscape carved with petroglyphs of surfers are evidence of the importance surfing had on Hawaiian culture. Rothman has the blood of kings, born and raised on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, son of surfing royalty Eddie Rothman, founder of the Da Hui, a group of native Hawaiians that protect the culture and enforce surf etiquette in Hawaii. Makuakai is Jewish-Hawaiian and 100% waterman, started surfing at three years old, surfed Waimea at eight, started tow-in surfing at thirteen, it is of no surprise that in 2002 at eighteen years old he won the Billabong XXL Big Wave Challenge Award, by catching a 66 foot wave!.
Award-winner,big-wave charger: tow-in or paddle, pro surfer, innovation and evolution of the sport, deep-sea hunter, water patrol work, stunt work, plenty of movies, sponsors, travels around the world, entrepreneur, musician and the list continues. At 25 years old I’ll have to say, Makua you have it going on!
Got a hold of Makua this past Friday and this is what we talked about.
Stats:
Name: Makuakai Rothman (his name means guardian of the sea in Hawaiian )
Nickname: "The Prince" 'cause my daddy is the King (laughs)
Age: 25
Weight: 157
Stance: Regular
Home Town: North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii
Home Break: The North of Oahu
Board: 5'11" 18" 3/8 and 2"3/8
Sponsors: Luka, Monster Energy, Boost Mobile, Oakley , Da Hui
What's the smallest wave you will surf? when you do you say, it's too small I'm not going out. I'll surf everything, if its half a foot and that's all there is I'm out there.
I think if you hesitate when a wave is coming you can totally mess up, would you agree? what are your thoughts on hesitation in the water? Well, hesitation is not a good thing 'cause see you can get very hurt. If you are going to commit and that's the wave that you want, you better just commit 100%, you have less chance of injuring yourself or someone else if you commit totally, once you hesitate and lock up for that one second that could be the worst mistake you ever made.
What is your life motto? My life motto? pure aloha.
How do you unify a surf community like you guys have in Hawaii? It is just a family you know, a family where everyone is equal, no body is more, no body is less, everybody stands together and believes in the right things, and everything should be fine.
What are some of the goals you would like to achieve in your life? I just would like to achieve, making people happy, giving back to the community, and working really hard to make a positive impact on where I'm from and just be a real genuine person, that's about it.
Could you leave surfing behind and just focus on acting or modeling? I would never leave it behind, but if the opportunity arose, and it was paying a lot of money or you know if the price is right, I would go and definitely try my hand at modeling or acting. I could never ever just not surf. (laughs)
I saw a photo online of your garage, you have a lot of boards, how many do you have? um I don't know a few hundred? wow that's awesome, I have three (laughs)
Who are your surfing buds, the friends that you go out surfing with every day?
Everyday I surf with Marcus Hickman, Kai Barger, Mason Hoe, TJ Barron, (asks himself who else?)........ Kawai Lindo, Rico, I have a lot of friends, my causin Saul, Ikaika Kalama, there is like twenty of us that depending on the day we surf together.
Who owns Da Hui clothing line? you or your dad? Do you have a retailer in Delaware?
I think....I'm pretty sure that's online for Delaware, but we have a bunch of things in the works right now where it is going to be distributed pretty largly on the east coast, pretty soon here. I'm part owner, my father, David Stant, kinda forget the other owners, Kawika Stant. My dad and myself are the majority owners.
Does music play a big role in your life? Yes, I'm a really big musician, been playing since I was a kid and I went to Israel and played a really big concert for my first time for thousands of people, a lot of people have been trying to get me to play music, some people wanted me to record, they want to do a CD but my music is kind of just for my family and myself and my enjoyment, maybe one day I might put some of my music out there, but for now it is just for my family in the back yard, my cousin is getting married and he really wants me to play for his wedding, so I will probably play, for an hour or so at his wedding. (laughs)
What are some of the events you are looking forward to in 2010? I'm looking forward to the World Tour Championships, the Eddie Aikau, Pipe Line Masters and The Triple Crown, and few select barrel riding events , that's pretty much it.
What's your favorite spot to surf in the whole world? Hawaii in general, the North Shore, is where I love to be, and it's my life, so yeah basically the North Shore, it's my home and my favorite surf spot.
Do you have a girlfriend? No I don't.
Do you and Da Hui do a lot for the environment and give back to the community? Largely, we do huge beach clean ups, we do a bunch of Charity work, we work with all the kids at the hospital, I'm currently one the board members of Mauili Ola, a company that deals with kids with cystic fibrosis and we are always looking out for the land, we participate at rallies, and everything that goes to benefit our land, our island over here. Anything our club can be involved with that is for the environment we are 100% behind it.
Have you ever surfed Delaware? No (laughs) I've never even been to Delaware, I would love to come over there and maybe if someone can help put something together, then get a bunch of people, I would love to come out and surf with the people and hang out. Spread the aloha spirit, and our sport to all the people over there.
Do you Facebook? Yes
What do you think about the movie North Shore? I was in the movie North Shore! you were a baby. Yup, North Shore, is your typical stereotyping of the localism and stuff like that but it is a classic movie, it was what it was.
Was it torturing to answer these questions? Nah not at all, I enjoyed all of it.
Thanks Makua for the interview, you are charming and inspiring as the size of the giant waves you like to surf. Check out dahui.com and Makua Rothman on Facebook. Also you can watch some of the movies he has been in, North Shore,(1987) Blue Crush (2002),Billabong Odyssey (2003) Pipeline (2007),Six Days in Paradise(2009).
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