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| Talk Story - Kekoa Cazimero |
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 Honor Roll ModelBy Daniel Ikaika Ito It’s Friday night at the Hard Rock Café Waikiki and there are four 20-something girls violently shaking their rumps in front of the stage. These coeds are in a booty contest with $100 bucks as the prize for the lady who can shake their moneymaker the best. They are a sensual spectacle for the entire party who congregated at Hard Rock to raise money for the 2007 Hawai‘i World Amateur Surf Team and skank to the local reggae rhythms of Ooklah The Moc. All the boys at the shindig stare and squeal like pigs at the wiggling hips and jiggling posteriors. Except for 17-year-old Kekoa Cazimero. Instead, the native Hawaiian from Waimanalo is focused on his dad, Turk a.k.a. “The Hawaiian Hurricane”, who is cracking jokes and judging the dance-off on stage. Kekoa’s gaze is partly due to the fact that his beautiful girlfriend, Casey Wiggins, is standing in his arms, but more because his pops is his best friend. The Sandys local is also standing in his sponsor’s restaurant and he’s representing for the Hawai‘i World Amateur Surf Team. The kid is a class act. 
While nobody at the party would actively prohibit Koa Boi from having a cocktail and getting all jag, the 2006 NSSA Open Men’s Champion knows that he’s underage and a role model for grownups and groms alike, especially for his younger siblings, Booboo and Lani. He’s content to remain an individual and not jump on the boozing bandwagon. This mature mindset is rare for young boys Kekoa’s age, but he has marched to the beat of his own drum throughout his amateur career.When his peers were abroad on a surf trip getting wasted and carousing with exotic, fast women, Kekoa stayed at the condo and avoided the debauchery. While at an NSSA comp in Kona, Cazimero’s fellow competitors launched like lemmings off the third floor of their hotel into the pool, but Kekoa shined the dangerous dip. Taking the high road has kept him out of trouble, but has also brought Kekoa criticism. “He’s not down for the boys.” “He’s a punk.” “He’s stuck up,” the haters in the surf scene would say. That talk stems from jealousy though, and it’s easy to see why some could be envious of the Kaiser High honor student. He’s maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout high school and was ranked number one in his class at one point. He also drives a sick, chromed-out, lifted Toyota Tundra complete with a pretty girlfriend in the passenger seat and heavy bass lines bumping out of woofers splashed with Hurley logos. In addition, Kekoa has been signing lucrative contracts with choke new sponsors like EX energy drink. Kekoa’s approach to a wave is flashy and technical no matter how windblown, perfect, small or big the surf is. Jamie O’Brien claims that Kekoa is one of the few young guys charging big Pipe on a regular basis. Steve Tsukiyama of Hawaiian Island Creations was recently frothing about a 720-degree aerial he saw Cazimero pull at Bowls. This summer Kekoa is taking his Sandys style back to Lower Trestles at the NSSA National Championships. No one except for Carissa Moore has defended the Governor’s Cup at Nationals. Koa Boi wants to and is also physically and mentally ready to repeat as the champ. Cazimero has been training like an Olympian every morning before school and has been dominating the NSSA and HASA heats like a reigning Open Men’s Champion should. Cazimero will graduate with honors this month, an accomplishment that his parents are more stoked on than any amateur surf trophy or title. “He knows how to manage his time well, get his work done and surf every day,” Papa Turk says. “What I’m most proud of is that Koa is a good role model for his brother because Booboo is getting straight-A’s now.” After a handshake and a hug, FSM sat down with Kekoa in the Cazimero’s white utility van at Kekoa’s second home, Sandy Beach. It’s evident this young man is mature beyond his years because he is so articulate. But don’t take our word for it. Read on for yourself. This is Kekoa Cazimero, Honor Roll Model.—Daniel Ikaika Ito There’s a long list of solid surfers who were groomed at Half Point like you. Derek and Mike Ho, Jason Bogle, Mike and Peter Miller, Aaron Naluai are some of the names that come to mind. Who is your favorite Sandys surfer of all time? My favorite Sandys surfer has got to be Erik Barton. He surfs here all the time and he rips, dude! It seems like Sandy Beach doesn’t just produce great surfers, but also great photographers. What camera jockey do you like to shoot with? My favorite photographer to work with is Zak Noyle because that guy is my boy. We’re really good friends. But we’re good in the water ‘cause we always lineup [the picture]. We’re here [pointing to his eyes and Zak’s]. That’s how it goes in the water. We always see you and Zak shooting the cruise together and your old man calls him his other son. What’s something about Zak nobody knows? I actually knew him before, but we’ve been close for three years. He’s actually a girl undercover, that’s what nobody knows about Zak Noyle [laughs]. But, I love ‘em. Zak was there when you defied the odds and industry insiders’ predictions and won the Open Men’s Championship last year at NSSA Nationals. How has your life changed since winning the Governor’s Cup? It’s changed my life for the better, and I’m thankful to God for that. I think it’s changed my life a lot, especially how I am with my sponsors. I showed them what I’m capable of doing, you know? As far as the magazines go, I’m getting a lot more exposure, and it’s opening more doors for me. But, I’m still training, and I wanna win it again this year. It’s nice to hear that the surf industry recognizes your value as the future of Hawaiian surfing. Aside from the stickers on your board, how has the Open Men’s title affected the way you ride waves? I think my surfing has matured since [2006 NSSA] Nationals. I’ve been surfing a lot more and I feel like I’m surfing stronger. In order to win the national title you have to surf strong because it gives you a boost of confidence. Last year at Lower Trestles you were the underdog. This year you’re going back to Cali a defending champ. How does that factor into your game plan? I just try to lay low, but this year I can’t really because I’m not coming in as the underdog. Last year that’s what kind of fueled me because [the mainland surf media] didn’t put me in as a contender or the Hot 100. I wanted to go up there and make a statement. And, I did! Coming in to this year as a favorite is cool though. Being an underdog fueled me last year, and it still does to this day. It feels weird to call Koa Cazimero an underdog right now because all of Hawai‘i knows you’re a proven winner. But most people in the 50th State don’t realize that you’re also a scholar with your straight-A GPA. Having a 4.0 means your getting A’s in all your classes. In order to do that you have to maintain surfing and academics, which is all time management. It’s obvious that you know how to properly manage your time with surfing, a steady girlfriend and school. Are you taking easy classes like Basket Weaving and Home Economics? I’m taking AP (Advanced Placement) English, AP Physics and a bunch of those kinds of classes. All time management. Yikes! It sounds like you got a head on your shoulders. What is your favorite class? My favorite class is probably English because you get to do a lot of writing. We get to express how we feel, what we want to do in life and our passion. I write a lot about the ocean and surfing. They always tell you to write about what you know and you know about the ocean. Do you think your teacher gets tired of reading your essays about the sea? Probably because I write a lot about it, but that’s cool. [laughs] What class is a pain in your ‘okole? My least favorite class is probably Street Law, but it teaches you a lot, like why you get pulled over and stuff like that. Well your buddy Cyrus Legg just got the lights flashed on him by a cop when he was already parked right before he jumped in the water. Can you explain why he got a parking ticket and the siren treatment? I don’t know, brah. I cringe when I see cops and that’s all I can tell you. I don’t want to get pulled over and I know some cops are going to read this, so I’d like to say [to the police] that I love you guys. [laughs] Good thing you’re taking Street Law then. We know that your family is proud of your academics, but what does the 4.0 GPA mean to you? It means a lot to me because it shows I can do academics, as well as do well in surfing. My family really doesn’t ever stress that I have to get a 4.0. They’re really proud that I can do that and surf. There seems to be a trend in amateur surfing where if a grom looks like they have the talent to be a professional, they neglect their education. How important do you think school is for an aspiring pro surfer? I think parents neglect the fact that [young, talented surfers] need academics as a back up plan for later. As a young person, I think that going to school is what we need to do while we’re young. Right? I think if you have to go to school, you might as well exceed in it and do better than you actually need to. A lot of your fellow competitors do home schooling. Do you think there’s an advantage to going to regular school over home school? I think going to regular school opposed to home school allows you to live more experiences. Senior Prom and graduation are things you can only truly experience once in your lifetime. Even being social with people and meeting new people. When you do home school you bang out all your work and then you go surf all day, but there’s nothing new to your life. In regular school you learn something new every day. Having friends and going to prom may seem like small things in your life, but it’s really not. Your schedule must be a little more complicated than home school. Run us through your typical weekday. The typical day for me: I wake up and eat some breakfast. Go to school. I usually finish all my work in school so I can surf after. Go surf or train. Maybe run around my house or workout. Then cruise at home with my pops and brother, maybe play some poker or go to my girlfriend’s house and hangout. There’s a lot of working out and eating healthy. So are you on any particular type of diet? Atkins? Wai‘ainae? Sugar busters? Level five Vegan? Low carbs, baby! Tofu and stuff, man. Your parents must be stoked that your diet, academics and surfing is so disciplined, especially your father. Describe your relationship with your dad. He’s pretty much one of the boys. He hangs out and goes out with us all the time. I consider him one of my closest friends and best friend. We’ve seen the Hawaiian Hurricane go with you to the neighbor islands and California for contests. How huge is it to have your old man in your corner at events? When my dad travels with me it means a lot because I have that emotional support that I need. He’s always there for me, and it’s like having your best friend there all the time. Your dad is a popular personality in the Islands with his promoting, comedy and gift of gab. What’s something funny that people don’t know about Turk? He’s a neat freak. Honestly, if you put a wrapper on a table in front of him, go down to scratch your foot, it will be gone and in the trash can. He’s actually the neatest guy I’ve ever met in my life. It’s pretty funny. With a dad like that, pardon the pun, I’m sure you’ll clean house when you become a pro. Do you want to put your surfing career on hold and attend college next fall? I’m just focusing on surfing right now. I have tunnel vision. I have plans with Hurley. They want me to be on some trips so I’ll go with that. But if anything, I have academics to fall back on, so college later. You’ve reached the peak of amateur surfing and in school. What advice can you give to a grommet who wants to be where you are now? I would say, do well in school and stay in school. Train hard. Stay close to your family because they will be real supportive of what you do. Family is a big part of my life, and it helped me a lot in surfing. Thank the Lord for all that you’ve got, and you’re good to go. [PAU]
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