B on Hawaii

If you thought you’d seen it all—in terms of Hollywood’s invasion of Hawai`i—then think again.

A few months ago, we opened up the B on Hawaii inbox, and amidst the tide of emails from around the globe found one that caught our attention—from a fella who called himself "The Surfing Swami". Once again, the "B" network proved invaluable; we were quickly swapping stories of global galavanting, while hearing what our enlightened friend was up to in the surfing world... in India.

You've seen them paddling out past the line-ups, off towards the horizon, as if in a trance. Big boys (and girls) on big boards with a long paddle, heaving their way through the chop. It isn't hard to see the allure of stand up paddleboarding; which is probably the reason it's now a global phenomenon.

For over 25 years, surf legend Randy Rarick has wrangled adrenaline-charged surfers, international crowds and a litany of corporate sponsors to bring us the Triple Crown of Surfing—the most important series of surf contests on the globe.

Once in a great while you'll catch wind of a truly fascinating story. As a journalist, I often hope it's one that's both true, and one I can track down the characters of. The story you're about to read came to us through a screening of the film Surfwise, at the Maui Film Festival a few years back.

Recently, through a series of less than usual events, I found myself working closely with a physical therapist. I was prescribed a number of back and shoulder strengthening exercises to combat the negative postural effects of sitting on my computer typing.

Sometimes you’re just in the right place, at the right time. Spyder Wright is one of those people. And, so was B on Hawaii, when we happened to be on an airport shuttle with the shaper, pro surfer, fixture on the Hawaii surf scene since the mid-1960s and 2008 inductee in to the Surfing Hall of Fame.

This past fall, legendary big wave rider, world champion surfer and Hall of Famer Dane Kealoha opened his Surf Academy in the Hyatt Regency Resort & Spa in Waikiki.

When Ty Gurney left his five year post manning head surf instruction for Hans Hedemann, he swore off mass surf lessons and companies that get too big, too fast. It was time to get back to the core reason he taught surf in the first place. It was time he reached back to the roots of where he found the Aloha Spirit.

How many times have you sat through Raiders of the Lost Ark, and at the film's close, as the attendant is wheeling the Ark of the Covenant through the grandiose warehouse stacked high with crates, thought: What if such a place existed"