Healthy competition

By Noa Myers

Nainoa and Makana Ciotti are a great contemporary example of yin and yang. Makana is an all-time goof with Bobby Martinez-esque smooth, swooping shortboarding style. Nainoa has a more serious edge to him, evident in the fast, powerful cutbacks he does on his longboard. Nainoa is more prone to planing and Makana flows through life like it was a wave. But both have a laid-back approach to life and sport indomitably sunny dispositions that breathe an easygoing vibe into any situation.

If you’ve ever been out to the reef between Rockpiles and Bowls, you’ve probably seen both of the Ciotti brothers laughing it up and trading waves. Nainoa and Makana have been frequent friendly faces in the famed Town lineup for years, but claim their surfing roots began to grow in Ka‘a‘awa. “The first time we went surfing, we went out on our uncle’s super old school Gerry Lopez board worth so much money. We had no idea so we just took it out of our mom’s garage and went,” said Makana. Ever since their first priceless session, the two have been hooked.
Nainoa comments on their unique surfing relationship, “Since Makana rides shortboard and I longboard, we’re not too competitive with each other. So it works out good.” To which Makana adds, “Yeah, Nainoa couldn’t handle a shortboard. His love handles dig in too deep when he’s paddling.” Brotherly love at best.

Besides longboarding, Nainoa paddleboards, stand-up paddles, swims and about everything else common to the waterman lifestyle, but when asked about whether or not he considers himself to be a waterman, he’ll promptly deny the title. “I feel you have to earn the title, deserve it. I would like to be considered a waterman in the future, but I guess I consider myself one in training.” His connection with the water carries over into his professional life, as he works his day job as a lifeguard at Bellows. “I’ve always had a passion for helping people, and life guarding seems like a good balance because it’s by the ocean and I get to surf.”

Makana is in a training program of sorts as well. He’s studying art at the University of Hawai‘i at Ma-noa with a focus on sculpting with painting and drawing on the side. “I like to do a lot of ceramics and metal casting,” Makana says of his craft and jokes, “but I also like to do bigger-than-life sculptures of people’s heads out of Big Red bubblegum.” Makana’s artwork has appeared in Soul-Lenz in Chinatown and other UH galleries. Aside from his studies, Makana also works part-time at Leahi swim school.

Sibling rivalry is all but absent with Makana and Nainoa. They even elect to travel together. On a recent jaunt to Australia the two made the best of a dire situation, lack of swell. “We went during Australia’s summer, not the peak season but the waves were still super fun. Plus it was pretty uncrowded, not at Snappers, but at Byron Bay, where we surfed with only a few other guys,” recalls Nainoa. “Winter’s just getting more nuts in Hawai‘i and it was nice to get away from the people.”

“Plus we came back with great tans,” Makana chimes in with classic comedic fashion. “Nah, it almost turned into a snorkel trip at the beginning because it was so flat, but for the last half of the trip, it was four- to five-foot Hawaiian style. We wanted to extend our trip, but not even because of the surf. It was just amazing seeing how other people live their lives.”