 and this is Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii. I was the head coach of the Punahou Boys Varsity Tennis Team for 22 years, and we were fortunate to win 22 consecutive state championships. This show is based on my books Beyond the Lines and Beyond the Game, and it's about leadership, character, and creating a superior culture of excellence. My special guest today is a world champion big wave surfer and candidate for Honolulu City Council. He is Makua Rothman, and today we are going beyond world championships. Hey Makua, welcome to Beyond the Lines. Hey Rasti Aloha, and thank you guys, everybody over there for having me on the show today. I really appreciate that. Makua, I know that you're a proud graduate of Kahuku High School. What's one of the best experiences you had while you attended Kahuku? Oh, I've had so many experiences. Kahuku helped build me into the man I am today, champion I am today, a work ethic, a leadership that we had at Kahuku, and the culture of breeding some of the best athletes in the world. I mean, I couldn't ask for a better place to go to school. And Makua, when you're growing up, what kind of sports did you play? I played football until right before junior varsity, with that 13 year old age group. I played water polo, I played baseball, I surf, and yeah, I played four or five sports in high school, so it was pretty busy, but I had to add a chronic asthma. My lungs weren't strong, and one of the ways to keep my lungs strong is to keep them pumping all the time. Cardiovascular work, my parents knew that, and I made sure I was in sports. Now, what is it about surfing that you love so much? I just think that the ocean chose me, you know? And when I watched the movie Moana, it felt kind of like that when I was growing up, you know, the ocean just was like, come here, come here, you know? And this is where you belong. And my name Makua Kai, any father of the sea or guardian of the sea, I mean, I guess I was born to do it. Makua, your dad, Eddie Rothman, what do you admire most about your dad? His strength and his tenacity and his never-ending, never give up spirit. That's controversial as the man may be. You cannot take away the intent that he had for the North Shore to actually fight for it and keep it, you know, local, even though he's not even from Hawaii. A lot of people don't know he wasn't born here, but, you know, he definitely fought for his place a lot more than a lot of people around here. Yeah, gotta admire his passion. And Makua, you have an absolutely beautiful family and you're two kids, they're so adorable. What kind of values are you trying to instill in your two kids? Self, you know, believing in oneself, being independent, not worrying about what others think and the world around you. You worry about being ponoed in and you show kindness to everyone. Everybody deserves kindness. And, you know, there was a saying once upon a time, you know, respect your elders in Hawaii. And, you know, my dad always told me, you respect those that respect you. You're a human being. You might be young. You might be whatever it may be. You give respect. Respect is earned, respect is earned because respect is given. You know, and the biggest, the most special thing about respect is to never disrespect. And just because someone's older doesn't mean that they can disrespect you because they're young, because you're younger. And I feel that respect is probably the biggest thing that I'm trying to instill in my children. I love that you brought up respect there. And Makua, in 2015, you won the world championship. You were crowned big wave surfer, world champion. Take me to that day. How was that experience? And I mean, that was, that day changed your life, right? Well, the day that changed my life was November 26, 2002. When I surfed the world's biggest wave at the time, 66 feet, at Jaws when I was 18 years old. And that was the way I've heard around the world. You know, I was crowned big wave world champion in Chile at a world called Punta de Lobos. I won the, what was it? Yeah, Punta de Lobos challenge. And I won that contest and the world title in the same day. And that was pretty special. Telling my friend, you know, one of my friends, Grant to be Baker, who I always loved to beat. Because I'm here. So people call it cocky. I call it confidence, especially when you're in competition. You have to be a little bit cocky because that's where you got to be confident. You got to think that you are the best in the world and nobody on planet Earth is going to beat you today. And I really admire that about Twiggy. And but when I told him when we were sitting in the jacuzzi, I guess what? I get to take your world title because he was the current world champion and I get to beat you in this contest, just imagine. And the fire and the passion that he had, he got out of the jacuzzi when he sat in the other one. He didn't want to sit by me before we competed. So in 2015, when I was crowned big world world champion, that was probably the most special time was to actually have that rivalry right there with Twiggy and that you need that. You need other athletes that think they're better than you. You know, that maybe they are better than you. But at that moment, when that horn goes off, you have to be the better man. And that's healthy competition. I really, really think a lot of sports are losing that nowadays. So Makua, I mean, you're the best in the world. What are some of the reasons why you became a world champion? I think I was just willing to do what no one else was ready to do at the moment. You know, I was willing to sacrifice and give up everything. I was ready to die with whatever it took to become world champion. You know, I was supposed to win, you know, be accepting my world championship trophy at Anaheim and this big fancy, you know, gala and event. And now the first event of the year went off on the same day in Chile. And I had to choose between staying behind and getting my award with my family, my grandparents, my kids, my fiance. Everybody was in California all flew over for it. And of course, I had to leave right in time to leave and they all attended the event. And, you know, it was just something in my heart. You know, Laird Hamilton really pushed me over the edge. He said, are you an award getter? Or are you a surfer? And I was like, we're out of here. Let's jump on that plane bus. And, you know, went over there and won both events. But I think just, you know, the people that were around me, the influences that I had, the role models, you know, the good that I could take from everyone and being open-minded enough to listen, to construct the criticism. I not think I knew it all. Be able to listen more than I spoke. Really was one of the key factors in getting me to where I was as well, Chad. Well, that's good advice from Laird Hamilton there. And Makua, I got to ask you, I mean, when you're surfing these gigantic waves, and I mean, you must have eaten it multiple times. I mean, how do you survive those waves? You train hard, you prepare, just like anything else. How do you survive a tennis match like those guys did that went, whatever hours it was, and you know it went. How do you survive life? You need to prepare for it. And if you're not prepared for everyday life, you're gonna get taken out. Just like anything else you wanna achieve in life, you have to prepare, not just your body physically, but more your mind mentally. Because the mind drives the body. You know, the body can go much further than you think, especially if you're gonna prepare right, and your mind is prepared to go the distance. I completely agree with you. The brain controls the body, and all of us were so capable of doing so much more than we think we're capable of achieving. And Makua, on January 16, 2021, you were at JAWS on Maui surfing. And the Honlustar advertiser reported that you surfed probably the biggest wave ever ridden in Hawaii. They estimated to be about 100 feet. Tell me about that. Oh, well, I guess it was an estimation and it was a perception from someone that it was 100 feet. Not that time in my life, I wasn't surfing for awards anymore. And I wasn't out there trying to hit the 100 foot wave and be the person that wrote it and win this money and be like, look at me again. It was more, I felt that wave represented so much more than, you know, a trophy and a title from someone. I think it really represented who I've become as a man, who I've become as a father, as a leader, to be able to take a step back and go, it's not all about me and I can bring awareness with the worldwide platform that I got in that wave to all kinds of issues that really inspire others to do the same, to step up and, you know, speak their heart out, even though they might be giving up money, they might be giving up fame, whatever it is. You do what you think you need to do and speak on what you think you need to speak on. That's great advice, Makua. And Makua, what compelled you to run for Honolulu City Council now? I mean, I feel sorry for the people of Honolulu, the way things are going. I mean, if anybody thinks it's, you know, pop in and prosperous and everybody's so great and I guess we'll just keep going the way it is. And I feel sorry for the world that I'm gonna leave my children in almost. And I want it to be there and do like I said, whatever it takes. And I would really be not ready to die, trying to make this world a better place for my children and future generations and not just for future generations, but for the current generations to make our ancestors proud. What we've done here while we were here and what kind of mark we left in this world, not just a championship, money-winning, you know, celebrity surfer that's full of himself. We're actually being able to give back and take that step back and knowing that, kind of bring everybody along with me on this journey instead of being like, oh, look at me, I'm the guy. No, it's us together as one and let's do this together. And Makua, you have a lot of supporters, some supporting your campaign for Honolulu City Council. And it's amazing. You're so authentic, you're so real. And I wanna know if you're elected, what are some specific priorities? What would be some of your priorities that you would wanna achieve at the Honolulu City Council? I think the biggest priority would be reconnecting the disconnect that exists between elected officials and the people. It seems elected officials only really deal with hot level guys, union bosses. They don't ever really get in the trenches with the people. I just walked up, I was passing in Hollywood today across the street from Hollywood Joe's and I seen a fire and someone bending down behind the cement pillar and I turned around and I was like, man, I hope somebody's not starting a fire and I walked back there and I was like, hey, what are you burning over here? And he goes, oh, I'm just cooking. And he had a large size beer can cut with a hole in the top with the bottom still on. He had it placed on the fire. He had some vegetables there, he had a can of spam and he said, oh, I'm just gonna make some soup. And I was like, oh man, I could have went all there and stomped out the fire and be like, you gotta get out of here. That's not allowed around here. And you know, this sort of high horse thing and I kind of just was like, oh, that's pretty cool, you know? The ingenuity I've never thought about cutting the cannon half and using it as a pan to make soup, you know? And I think I just, and then I asked him where he was from is the thing. And he said that he was from the Philippines and they said that he's from the Philippines, you're here. And he said, yeah, I'm here, I'm gonna be here. And the real disconnect between what's going on in the offices and actually what's going on in the streets and how to address the issue. I don't think he's going, it's being, it's not being handled in the correct fashion. Us as community leaders should be in the trenches with these people to really understand how to address these issues. Talking about the high costs of living, talking about homelessness and, you know, it's election time, so we'll all talk the same language and we'll all really sprinkle the dust over here and make you look over here while the other hand is doing this, you know? It's, I really think that being there with the people and actually being back in that struggle, you know, I was homeless at one point, but I was young. And right now there's a lot of people hurting out there and coming up with ways for themselves to survive. And I really think we're doing a disservice and I really think the problem, I'm sure we'll get to this later is the thing in your book is like the difference between a leader and a boss, right? You know, they're over a bossing people around and making rules and, you know, when does it become the government's problem? And when are we elected officials the problem? You know, when do we have to, I don't wanna say eliminate, you know, people might think that's an offensive word, but when do we have to go back and restructure the leadership of our, you know, so-called business or entity that's really there to help service the people? I like hearing that, Makua. And you definitely have so much respect from the community and you are the man of the people. I really like that. And I think you can really do have some really big positive impact if you're elected. And Makua, you mentioned my books, you have both of my books and I felt honored to meet you as well. And I wanna know, you mentioned boss versus leader. What are some things that stood out to you in my books? Well, you know, this the power of choice, the power of knowledge, you know, the power of commitment, committing yourself long enough to actually see whatever it is you choose, a business, a talent, achievement to fruition, you know, seeing it to the end. And I really think that boss is a title someone gave someone for authoritarian purposes. I think we're all leaders, you know, all bosses should be leaders. First and foremost, before a box. And I really think it came down to the authoritarian aspect of things when, you know, different roles get labeled. And like you said, everything in life is perception. How do you see things through your lens? And I just know that leaders not only lead, they listen and they lead together. They lead on the same line as everybody else. It was back in the day when you were the leader, you wrote into battle with the troops. You didn't sit back, kings sat back, you know, a lot of the greatest kings were warriors and they're warred with their tribes and they're with their people. Like I said, the disconnect. And the king sits back on the hill on his high horse and watches everybody else go to war. And then he's supposed to be the leader. Well, the leaders in there, in the battle. And I really think just like I feel in government, the disconnect between the upper echelons of the CEOs and the management and the actual employees, disgruntled employees, disgruntled customers. You know, at the end of the day, because they're the ones facing the customer every day, you know, face to face, they're the ones that are out there promoting the company. And if they're promoting in a bad light because they don't feel respected, they don't feel wanted, or you know, they're not happy where they are in their job, I don't think you're gonna have very many happy customers as well. So I really think that it all falls on the shoulders of the leadership who really like to pass that blame around all the time, you know, it's my sales guy or it's my, but you know, the other department, whatever it may be, it's, I really just think we gotta rethink the way things are structured. Well, Makua, you definitely created a superior culture of excellence for yourself in what you've achieved in your life so far. And I think there's so many more things that you're gonna achieve in your life in the future as well. But you know, I talk about how words and actions matter and you brought up how important listening is. And Makua, in terms of words and actions, you went to Afghanistan to support the troops. You played music, you perform music for them. You went there with Shane Victorino and BJ Penn. How was that experience for you? Well, that experience was an experience of a lifetime. And you know, people really enjoyed it. And you know, I got a lot of criticism from a lot of people, you know, and this and that or he's back in the US military government. You know, people were super happy about it, but we really, really couldn't worry about what other people think. If it makes you feel good to go and make other people feel good and play music for them and put a smile on their face, I don't care what government they were from. I don't care what color they were or what planet they were from. I went over there with the intention to help build and lift the morality and the spirits of the troops that were there, you know, doing what they do, doing what they signed up to do, regardless of who agrees with it, where they were. You know, I paid, there is Afghani people who paid for, there was Iraqi people. You know, there are a lot of the helpers at the bases that I see where the people of the land. And they're very nice, very generous, very, you know, that aloha spirit. You know, those cultures come from a long, long, long time ago in those parts of the world. You know, those people didn't just, you know, discover a new land that was supposedly discovered and it, you know, it was there, they were there when the inception, a lot of them, you know, a lot of people think, you know, people were created or whatever it may be, the theories. But I just knew that a lot of the people really, I could see it in their eyes. They had like, you know, some type of aloha spirit there. And they enjoyed us there too. Makua, I wanna ask you about the mindset of a champion. So let's say when you're at a competition before going into the ocean that day, what is your mindset? What are you focusing on just before you get into the ocean? A champion mindset is never achieved without failure, without, you know, Jackie Robinson striking out or, you know, thousands of times without Thomas Edison failing on thousands of, you know, 1,000 experiments. And then the 1,000 first was the light bulb. You know, the mindset was one of a lot and a lot. Had a lot, a lot of failure, a lot of learning. I wasn't always a good listener and I still can work on my listening big time. You know, and the way that I learned to do that was to not listen and oops, okay, well, maybe I'll listen to that next time, you know? And I really think that overcoming and having the tenacity and grit to withstand that and knowing that there's light at the end of the tunnel because it's up to you like Ray Lewis said, it's between you and you. Nobody can give you effort, you know? And you have to have a cojones to push through a lot of these things and to be able to, you know, put yourself out there knowing you're gonna fail. But knowing that each one of those experiences you need to take and learn from. It's like I told the kids at Kahuku the other day, there's no such thing as losing, we don't lose here. We either win or we learn. And that's been my theory and my philosophy on how I run, you know, everything. In our family, whatever it may be, you really have to be able to prepare your mind from a young age to be tough enough to withstand failure because you are gonna fail in life. I don't care what you do. You're not gonna be good at everything. Sooner or later, you're gonna have to save face. You're gonna have to really, you know, bow down and say, man, I wasn't the best. But I really think that prepared me for that mindset and palling out in the water and having the mindset of becoming a champion. And then when I became a champion, it was a different mindset, you know? And I think our minds are always evolving and changing over time. I think that's the beauty of the human mind that it never thinks the same twice, almost like a wave. You know, because our brains, you know, are effectively the same as waves. We have, you know, it's all operates off of brainwaves and they're always changing and they're always performing. You can always get them better, more alpha brainwaves you produced, the better feeling you have and more positive results you get. So Makua, when you're actually in the wave, okay, what are you thinking? What are you focused on? Is it just in slow motion or are you just like letting it happen? What are you thinking and feeling when you're in that wave? I better make this wave or I'm gonna die. No, you know, if anybody knows well enough for this question, it's far of a reactive thing and it's something that you prepared for your whole life. And like I said, it's the attention to detail in the preparation that lets you move fluid through the wave. You know, like Bruce said, we have to not be like water, we have to become no water. And I really think that, you know, getting ourselves into these positions was years and years of training and preparation and it was just a thing that happened. It was a moment in time that we experienced and it was experienced through a lot of hard work, dedication. No, you're so right about that. I mean, it's so long the process to really, you know, that you're preparing for, like you mentioned earlier for that moment. And yeah, you got to either rise or you die. I mean, it's literally, it's like, wow. And Makua, when you reflect back on your life so far, what's a valuable lesson you've learned? Keep your word. You know, keep your word, keep your word. Because with that word comes everything else. You know, you only as good as your word and a species that communicates and your lack of communication leads you to be known as someone who speaks with empty words. You'll never get the respect that needed to move through life. You'll always be taken advantage of, use it and know it as someone that is not trustworthy. That word is everything, that word is the trust, that word is the respect, that word is the aloha, that we should live with. Yeah, definitely agree, keep your word. And Makua, when you reflect back on your life again now, what's one of the biggest challenges? What was one of the biggest adversities you dealt with that you have to overcome in your life? The biggest challenge that I had to overcome and I still have to overcome today is getting out of my own way. Nobody can mess us up more than we can ourselves. Yeah, that's so true. I love that. Yeah, you gotta get out of your own way sometimes. And Makua, you're someone that achieved greatness and greatness means a variety of things to different people. How would you define greatness? I guess greatness is whatever someone's opinion of you is, right, and greatness. I just think, I think we just need to be good people. We have to be better tomorrow than we were today. And leave a legacy behind and a voice behind that speaks to people for the rest of time. There's only certain people that walk this earth. I get remembered for eternity and hopefully my actions and what I do, previous and into the future, makes one. Amen. Makua, it was such an honor having you on the show today. I mean, what you've done, not just in your own life, but how you've impacted so many others, how you inspired so many others to strive for greatness is so commendable. And I wanna thank you for joining me on the show today. Thank you. And thank you for watching Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii. For more information, please visit RustyKamori.com and my books are available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I hope that Makua and I will inspire you to create your own superior culture of excellence and to find your greatness and help others find theirs. Aloha. Thank you so much for watching Think Tech Hawaii. If you like what we do, please like us and click the subscribe button on YouTube and the follow button on Vimeo. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn and donate to us at thinktechhawaii.com. Mahalo.