In the nearly eight years I've lived in the mid Pacific metropolis that is Honolulu, I've made it a point to get to know the city on a first-name business. I've meandered through the alleyways on King Street, dined on the nearly still-beating fillets of ahi at the docks, but sadly, in my tenure here, I've largely ignored the legislative section of the city.
That changed this week when I interviewed Senator Fred Hemmings, the state senate minority leader, from his corner office overlooking Iolani Palace. For some reason, the surf media (to some degree, I blame myself) have ignored thefact that a past world champ and one of the major players in the formation of a professional tour, is now one of Hawaii's most esteemed politicians. I thought it wise to touch base with the Senator.
When did the idea to enter politics first become something you took seriously?
I'd say some time inthe late 1970s. I had done the contests and was then working on organizing events when I thought my next move would be toward doing something political, so I ran for office. I was never really into following what everybody else does. When surfing went the whole counter culture route, I went a different direction. When everyone was talking and dressing a certain way, I didn't buy into that.It sounds like when everyone was else trying to go against the grain, they did it as a whole. I guess that kind of makes you the true rebel out of the scene.
Yeah, I guess it does. I've always been like that though. I like to march to the beat of my own drum. Maybe it's genetic.
So you've had a background in contest organization and now politics. Are you still able to follow professional surfing closely?
No, not really. I try and stay connected, but I'm not as close to it as I used to be. But I'm astounded at where the sport is now. It's grown so much, I could neverimagine that the sport would be where it is today. When you have true athletes like Kelly, it does a lot for the sport.
Did you follow the development of the Kelly Slater Rebel Tour at all?
No, not at all.
Well, part of the gripe coming from the Slater camp was that the ASP wasn't utilizing non-surfing resources enough for the media rights, and they came up with an idea for a new tour with more money backed by ESPN that would take advantage of the webcast and media rights more. That's a really basic description, but it didn't pan out in the end.
I think Kelly should have talked to me. I've felt that surfing would benefit a lot by bringing in outside companies. We did that while back when we had events like the Primo Pipeline Masters. But I'm really impressed with where surfing is now.
I understand that you're also on the board of directors for the Denver Broncos, do you ever see surfing becoming something like the NFL?
Hmm, no. But then again, I never thought that it would be where it is today. It can be difficult for water sports to compete with land sports because of the amount of people living on the coasts versus people living in land-locked areas. But then again, you see everyone from China to Topeka wearing surf brands. If you walk through a Paris airport, you'll see a surf magazine.
