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| Mana |
|
 He’s not the photographer who covers surf contests. He’s not a dotcom
lensman. He’s not a Myspace guy (although his exclusive blogs of the
insider surf scene have many addicted.) He is a photographer who
captures one element in Hawai‘i’s surf realm: the mana. MANA: nvs. Supernatural or divine power. Jeff Walthall, a.k.a. Mana, is known among the local surf community as a photographer for the West Side, a location that is well-respected and protected from exploitation by the surf and tourism industry. Mana is also a staple at choice social events where he captures classic images of his close friends, who happen to be the core of the 808’s bronze and beautiful pros. “The mana is actually all of us together, all my friends,” Walthall explains. “They all surf with a lot of power, with a lot of mana. It’s basically a representation of my friends, the way they surf and the way we all work together. It’s a very tight relationship that has a lot of power to it. That’s basically the story behind the mana right there. It’s just kinda grown into its own thing.” Walthall attained the name Mana with his early business ventures, including a video company called Mana Surf Productions, his clothing company, Mana Threads and now Mana Photo. Braden Dias was one of the first guys to start calling him Mana, as Jeff was on the beach handing out his company stickers or hats to the boys. “I try to make no claims to the mana, you know, there’s a lot of people that have similar company names,” he says. “The mana is out there for everybody. Not that everybody possesses it, but it’s certainly attainable for a lot of people.” 
Mana was made in Hawai‘i, born in LA, and moved back to the Islands when he was ten. He was raised in Kalihi and graduated from Damien High School. His induction into the surf world was in Waikiki where he learned to surf and worked as a beach boy. That’s where he met a variety of friends from the local surf scene and started shooting surf videos. After making some surf videos, he graduated to photography. “Just having all the surfers as my friends was my main niche and continues to be my niche today,” Mana says. “Having such a huge group of friends who are all great surfers is definitely one of my main assets.”Mana has access to unique lifestyle images that are rarely, if ever, captured because of the elite subject matter he deals with: secret surf spots, private, local events and some of Hawai‘i’s more elusive pro surfers. “I definitely like to party,” Mana admits. “You know, it involves hanging out with good friends. It’s not always so much the quantity of people, but the quality. The quality is what makes it special.” So through the eyes of his quality friends and undisclosed domains, Mana takes us on a West Side tour… CAPTIONS: 1) “No Come Third Dip.” We giving you a peek in here, but no come third dip! Just ‘cause we show you pictures doesn’t mean we’re inviting you down here. 2) “Believe the hype.” Jackson Conklin. 3) This is how the big boys were weighing in for the 250-pound plus division at Buff’s. They get eight cases of Bud Light and have a marking on the back of the plank. If you stand on one side of the plank and you can lift those eight cases, you’re in. 4) Charlie Boy Carroll loves goats…but not like that. 5) John Ferriman, Ikaika Kalama, Brian Pacheco and Charlie Boy. 
6) Somebody caught this huge Samoan crab in one of the nearby streams and came by to show it off. Mel was certainly not afraid to just grab the thing. Mel Puu is just another unreal Hawaiian. Everybody already knows he is an all-around waterman, unreal entertainer as well, plays guitar, ‘ukulele, whatever. 7) no caption needed 8) Rusty Keaulana in his backyard with one of his pet pigs. He has a couple. The other one is his nephew Keoni Keaulana’s pig. 9) Down by Ka‘ena point, we went down there to go swim in these ocean ponds. We went jumping in these caves and there’s this huge cave, and you go in and it comes out in the front. I guess we all had the same idea of swimming in these beautiful little ocean ponds down there. It’s pretty amazing, you know, tourists are walking on the road on Ka‘ena Point, and they’re oblivious to the beauty that’s just right down there in front of them. From up there it looks all rocky and gnarly, you know, but you go down there and it’s just beautiful. Jedidiah Pacheco takes the plunge. 9.5) Kainalu Froseith: “Da West Side Boyz” canoe steersman. 10) Some petroglyphs we found on this one secluded reef that will remain unnamed. It’s the first time I had ever seen it. I had been to this area many times, and I never knew there were petroglyphs on the reef in this area. 11) The honu (turtle) is always a very symbolic Hawaiian symbol. Brian took me on a little tour one day when the waves were flat, and he always seems to show me something different on the West Side. This honu was in front of this one little shark cave, swimming in the water right there. For a lot of people, the honu is their ‘aumakua (spiritual protector). For me, it’s a symbol of good luck. 12) This is part of this Hawaiian garden that this elderly lady has made down in Makua. It’s got all kinds of rare Hawaiian plants that she’s rescued from the mountains, and she’s brought them down to this area. 13) Hop Tong Smith. 14) Brian’s a very low-key, mellow guy. He’s just got this whole crew of West Side groms that he’s helping to develop and mature. [Right] Jedediah, that’s his nephew right there, that’s his portrait. 15) Clockwise from top, left to right: Craig Boy, Hop Tong Smith, Jedidiah and Rusty Keaulana. 16) Anthony D. 17) Rusty Keaulana is the unofficial mayor of the West Side. Awesome surfer, completely all-around, whether its shortboarding, longboarding, canoe surfing, you know, whatever. He’s just the all-around guy. A true waterman. One of the all-time West Side boys down there. A really unreal character, always got a story to tell, really well liked by everybody. 18) Mike Awahi’s souped-up golf cart. The Awahi brothers are notorious for their four-wheel vehicles, always driving around in these huge four-wheel drive trucks. They’re very mechanically inclined. One thing about the West Side: it’s one way in and one way out. When you go down to the West Side, you never know what’s going to happen.
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