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When I was first asked to write about Luke, Kelly, and Keizo I was very apprehensive because of my relationship with them. They are my roommates and in many respects, my family. After many talks of who should be the one to write "the story of their lives" I realized that my editor was right; who better to do it then the person who is with them 24/7, knowing and seeing all of their bad habits and annoying inclinations. Furthermore, who better to bash them and praise them for their faults and success, than the person who is forced to listen to their drowning continuous conversations concerning nothing but paddling. Now, don't get me wrong, I have a huge amount of respect for everyone who paddles, but imagine my frustrations at being a non-paddler thrust into the world of paddling. Before I begin providing you with the gossips and the secrets to their success, let me take you back to when Luke, Kelly, and Keizo were learning how to become the adults they are today.
Luke and Keizo first met in seventh grade as Keizo tried to adjust as the new kid on campus. I assure you, Luke gave him a warm welcome.
"I met Luke in 7th grade, " Keizo explained, "The first thing I remember him saying to me – he asked, 'are you smart… because right now I'm the smartest person in the class.' I was always super shy and didn't know what to make of this, but it was funny."
The soft spoken Keizo let those words roll down his back as he received an invitation from Luke later on to come out and paddle with him. He accepted and thus allowed his life to be consumed in the paddling world.
In fact, Luke recruited most of his classmates to spend their afternoon on the water, paddling their hearts out. It was paddling that also brought Keizo and Kelly together.
“In school he was always loud and I was always quiet," said Keizo. “I became much better friends with Kelly through paddling."
Kelly's impressions of his first meeting with Keizo was mutual, "Keizo was a nerdy guy that you wanted to hang out with, not one of those nerdy guys in high school that you teased. Keizo is always calm and a cruiser."
While Kelly's friendship with Luke grew with their common interest in paddling, their friendship actually began in the days of detention in high school.
"Kelly and I first got to know each other after he told on me for giving him answers on a test," said Luke. "We both had to do detention together."
Kelly did not deny this as he explained, "the next day the teacher asked me to do the problem by myself and I couldn't. She asked me how I got the answer and I said Luke gave it to me. I wasn't really thinking and realized right after I said it that I had ratted him out."
While many adolescent boys their age made full use of their boyhood in high school, Luke, Kelly, and Keizo started thinking about their professional plans for their future. Each of them had their own personal goals, but they also wanted to do something together.
"In tenth grade we would always hang out at Keizo's house before paddling practice started," said Luke. "It was there that we started thinking about making a business centered around paddling."
"It (paddling) was a common interest we had," said Keizo.
So with three very different minds and one common interest, the three of them developed a future goal together: open up their own one-man canoe business. With this goal in mind and their determination, they each set off to college in search of the knowledge they each needed to fulfill their role in the business. Luke headed off to learn about business; Keizo left in search of an engineering degree; and Kelly went out to become a boat builder.
After four years apart, they reunited in the summer of 2007 and began the process of forming their business. In search of a location, the guys found a place in Kailua's industrial area where they rented out a 3200 ft. half Quonset hut.
"We had been talking about the business for six years, and then one day we went up to the Kapa'a Quarry warehouse district. Fifteen minutes later we had signed the lease and were standing in our dark warehouse with a key. Everything from that point on seemed to go in fast forward," says Luke.
It took only two months from that day for the boys to design and build their dream shop. During that time the boys teamed up with John Puakea to produce his custom-made Kaimana and Kainalu OC-1s. Their relationship with Puakea quickly formalized into him coming on board as a partner in the company. In October 2007, their shop, Kamanu Composites, LLC opened up and is now one of Hawai'i's largest OC-1 manufacturers.
"We wanted to make canoes here in Hawai'i where it originated. It is a much different feeling to own a canoe that was made specifically for you," said Luke.
"People can come into the shop and talk to us and give us feedback about the canoes, and that way people can know who is building their boat," said Kelly.
While their dream of building canoes has been reached, the sky is the limit for the boys. As they have their own personal goals, they also have many more for the company. Keizo added the word "composites" instead of "canoes" into their name to make their possibilities endless.
With such high hopes and standards, they most of all really want to become the best company they can be. They are working and putting in at least 10 – 12 hrs a day, 6 days a week to meet the demands of their customers. Before joining up with Kamanu Composites, the waiting list for a Kainalu was almost 8 months long and production had recently stopped for the Kaimana on the mainland. With time and dedication the team at Kamanu Composites has cut the wait time to about 2 months for the Kainalu and about 6 weeks for the Kaimana. As they rolled into 2008, things were looking up for the company but their lives outside of the company were a little strained.
Since one-man season started up this year, the boys have only competed in a handful of races.
"We don't have time to train anymore," said Luke.
"When you leave for work at 7am and come home at 6pm, you just want to crash," said Kelly.
As for Keizo, when he is asked by Luke and Kelly to go paddle he just gives them a shrug of the shoulder and disappears to his computer.
It is not that the boys aren't motivated; there just isn't enough time in the day for them to paddle anymore.
"Training has definitely taken a back seat to the company," said Kelly. "We work hard at the shop so that we'll hopefully have more time in the future to concentrate on our paddling. Once it's off the ground, then we'll have more time."
Having lived with them for a while now, I've come to learn that their training time was also their wind down time. So it is fitting to say that the boys are definitely in need of some self-pampering time. With all the pent-up frustration from not paddling, Luke struggles at finding something to balance out his days. Kelly constantly is more random than ever, needing more energy drinks than usual. As for Keizo, well, Keizo has his computer and OCpaddler.com.
Regardless of it all, the boys are still going. They understand the sacrifices that must be made to accomplish their goals. For them they always keep in mind that eventually things will work themselves out. Anyone who knows the boys well will tell you that they really do think this way. They are a little tense and burned out from work, but they are still very chill guys who give more attention to the needs of others than themselves. While they have this characteristic and paddling in common, they are extremely different from one another, leaving many wondering how and why they are so close. With a bond that is so rare to find, the three of them have become more than friends; they're teammates, business partners, but mostly they are brothers to one another.
Kelly Foster, 22
After graduating from Kaua'i High, Kelly moved to O'ahu to attend HCC in pursuit of a Fire Science degree. Immediately after moving to O'ahu Kelly found work learning the basics of OC-1 construction at a shop in Waimanalo. But it was at HCC that Kelly learned about a small vessel fabrication program. For two years he went to school every morning at 6:30am to learn the art of composite lamination. On his way to a degree he became a Certified Composites Technician. In 2007 he graduated with degrees in both small vessel fabrication and fire science.
2007 was a big year for Kelly. On top of finishing his schooling and becoming a young business owner, Kelly managed a tough training schedule to become one of Hawai'i's top OC-1 paddler. In April of 2007, Kelly finished 7 th in the grueling Moloka'i Solo; a solo which many paddlers said was the worst solo conditions yet. With a great track record at the end of the one-man season, he was invited to join Team Hawai'i at Tahiti's world-renowned race, Hawaiki Nui.
Unfortunately for Kelly, the opening of a new business has taken up most of his time this season. He is not training like before and has only competed in about 3 races this year so far.
“I don't know if I'll be ready to race anytime soon, but I hopefully will be racing in the Pa'a Molokai Solo,” said Kelly. “I hope that I find some time soon to train, but, if not, I'll definitely give it my all.”
Along with the solo, Kelly will be a definite competitor in the Kaua'i World Challenge and the World Sprints in Sacramento along with Luke and Keizo under Team Kamanu. In the meantime, Kelly is depending on his “mental toughness” to get through his lack of training.
Kelly is the more outgoing, extroverted one of the bunch. It is never a dull morning in our house as we are woken up to the comedic surround-sounds of Kelly's wakeup calls for Keizo. With his voice screaming “get out of bed Keizo, come on, its lunchtime” or the “what are you doing Keizo, still in the bathroom” the rest of us can't help but laugh at the situation as Keizo continues to move slowly, while Kelly shakes his head in despair.
As a child, Kelly's personality was similar to his adult self. His sister, Kristen talked about remembering him as being a little troublemaker, having to be leashed around by his mother.
“Kelly had a problem staying still and he always ran our mother out. So every time she went to the grocery store, she tied a little yellow leash to his wrist and strapped it to the grocery cart,” said Kristen. “She did this everywhere, even at the smaller stores. He was a busybody.”
Now as a full grown adult, Kelly can pretty much say that he is quite the same. His daily intake of an extra large energy drink only adds to his overactive personality.
“I don't eat breakfast,” said Kelly. “I just get up and go to work.” By that he means that he goes to 7-11 and buys an energy drink that carries him through till lunch. “If you see him in the morning he's this hyper-active guy and then in the afternoon he's a completely different person,” said Luke. He more than makes up for his low-calorie energy drink breakfast with the feast he eats for dinner.
“I had a lot of English classes with Kelly in high school” said Keizo. “One time he made me sign a paper that said if I had a company he would be a part of it or be guaranteed a job. I think he still has it, but we haven't had to invoke the contracts validity yet. He also stapled his arm one time, and that really impressed me. We didn't ever do much work in those classes.”
“One time Kelly took my go-cart at full speed down the driveway at my parent's house, and when he remembered that there were no brakes, he went straight into the garage and aimed for the back door,” said Luke. “He totally smashed the door up, so I found wood, Keizo designed and Kelly re-built the door. My dad never noticed until months later when I pointed it out and he said it looked better than before. That's a good memory,” and he added, “and I guess invocative of our future.”
After three months of training from John Puakea combined with his learned knowledge as a Certified Composites Technician, Kelly heads the canoe manufacturing part of Kamanu Composites.
Keizo describes Kelly as a very hard and committed worker. “He's up early every day and very adamant that canoe lay-ups start at 8:30.”
The greatest thing about Kelly is the fact that he knows when to be serious and when to play. His joking around is definitely a look into the fun-loving guy that tries his best and gives his all at everything he does. Like Luke and Keizo, humbleness is definitely something that has been implanted in him. When he strongly feels passionate about something, he'll speak it then in return just say, “Yeah right, I'm not that fierce.”
Most of all, Kelly is quick to take credit away from himself. When asked about his success Kelly modestly diverted his praise to his friends and said, “I know Luke and Keizo could have probably made a lot more money doing something else with the brains they have. I figured with 2 brains like that there's no way we can fail.”
For his personal goal, Kelly says he wanted to be a fireman. If you asked his sister, she'd say something else.
“When we were little, Kelly wanted to be a chef,” said Kristen. “He once made tuna out of a can and put onions and lots of soy sauce in it and said that was a gourmet meal. Spam was something he always made too.”
While Kristen always thought her little brother would go to culinary school or something, she was definitely surprise to find him doing what he is doing now.
“I'm proud of him. I'm surprised that he's chosen this route. I heard about the business but never thought they'd finally do it. And here he is, my little brother, working for himself. Really what more can I say?”
Keizo Gates, 22
After graduating from Kaua'i High School, Keizo traveled the furthest to attend one of the nation's top engineering schools, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York. There he earned a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering in 2007.
When I asked him to write a summary of his time at RPI, Keizo wrote, “At my senior banquet, there was a sweet little slide show of pictures. All of them were of people having fun, at parties, hockey games, and random outings. Then, surprise, one of me sitting in front of my two laptops with homework spewed all over my desk. That was the only picture out of hundreds that had anyone doing anything un-fun – and this at a school known to be the most wired campus in the nation and for having the least happy students. That one moment really summarizes most of my college experience, my daily fun was skateboarding to class in 15 degree weather.”
After returning to Hawaii last summer, he definitely seemed ready to begin his professional career. He is now the engineer, innovator, researcher, advertiser, and scupper maker of Kamanu Composites.
“I feel like this business is a really good start, and I love more than anything that almost every remarkable mechanical device in this world is made with the kinds of materials we work with,” said Keizo. “What it really comes down to, is that I want to have some positive impact on the world and have deluded myself into thinking we actually can do that. At this point our company is so young, it really could go any direction.”
Keizo spends his time outside of the shop maintaining the world's most popular paddling website, OCpaddler.com. He started the website when he was 17 and now OCpaddler.com is a paddler's bible to getting the news and information about races, canoes, politics, and even updates on the reigning forum poster champions (which Keizo is leading by 1000 posts).
With all these accomplishments in 22 years; Keizo is one of the most humble people you'll ever meet.
“He is the last person to brag about himself,” said his sister Mari. “He's always trying to downplay his accomplishments.”
This is not surprising to hear as both Luke and Kelly describe Keizo as being brilliant but very reserved and very nonchalant about everything.
“Keizo and Kelly are extreme opposites of each other,” said Luke. “Where Kelly is loud, Keizo is slow and contemplative. He walks his own path.”
“How cool would it be if Keizo was a mad scientist,” said Kelly. “He's hot, he's smart, shows very little excitement, but when he smiles, he puts one on my face,” said Kelly laughing.
When asked if he ever got mad, he answered, “No extreme madness from me. I think any extreme madness we've had was between Luke and Kelly and if so, only for a very brief period. And very rarely, I think only once.”
His fondest memories of his friendships with Luke and Kelly, Keizo wrote, “we all used to hang out in Luke's room on Kaua'i. We'd lie on the floor; each with a laptop and the room would usually be silent for hours at a time. That's my kind of fun. Kidding, ” then he adds with a smile “but not really.”
“He wasn't really any different as a child,” said his sister Mari. “It surprised me when he started paddling because as a child, Keizo hated the water. I'd always try to get him to go swimming with me and he never would.”
Which is ironic considering that Keizo grew up on a sailboat around Hawai'i and is the son of a boat builder.
“He's just very reserved. Even my mom has a hard time getting things out of him” said Mari. “But one thing for sure, he's got a good head on his shoulders and always surprises you with what he can do.”
As much as his nonchalant demeanor and introvert personality can be very frustrating at times, it is also what makes Keizo such a wonderful person who people are drawn to for his creative and intricate mind as well as a genuine heart that is rare to find.
The possibilities of his ideas are endless. Whatever his next task may be, Keizo will just do it quietly then blow you away with the outcome.
This quote sums up his capability: “Right now the focus is on making perfect canoes. Next year it will be the perfection of making perfect canoes. After that, who knows? Maybe we'll be able to expand and there will be a Kamanu wind turbine or we'll start making carbon fiber telescope parts or something crazy. That's what's exciting to me, I love finding a better way to do something and I love making new things.”
Luke Evslin, 23
With the goal of opening a canoe shop in mind, Luke took off to Southern California to attend Claremont McKenna College (CMC) to learn from the nation's top economics professors. Initially Luke double majored in Government in hopes of one day fulfilling a dream of becoming governor of Hawai'i.
“I always wanted to be governor, but what we have going right now (if we were making a livable income) is pretty incredible, and yeah, it has been the plan for a long time. I never doubted that we'd all go into business together doing this, so politics has always been something I would do after we were successful with this.”
After two years at CMC Luke made his first major business move. While he enjoyed his time at CMC and will be quick to tell you that he is considered an alumni, he had to make the decision to transfer back home to attend the University of Hawai'i at Manoa in order to save money for their future plans. He'll also admit that going to a school fifty miles from the ocean wasn't good for his mental health. Luke said, “I would go every morning and paddle in this teeny reservoir. It was brutal.”
In the Fall of 2007 Luke graduated from UH with a bachelor of arts in history, he thinks.
“They (UH) signed my papers and said I was graduating. I didn't want to walk in the ceremony because I didn't know anyone in my class,” said Luke. “I think my diploma is in the mail… I hope.”
On the water, Luke is a fierce competitor, ranked as one of Hawai'i's top paddlers. Last year, his season started great, with top three finishes in nearly every O'ahu race.
“I look at him and I wonder, how is he so good,” said his roommate, Ka'eo Beter. “He's skinny and tall, not your average big paddler, but on the water, he just takes off.”
Unfortunately, Luke got sick at the end of last season and was not able to race in the Moloka'i solo. Following his recovery, Luke quickly got back on a tight training schedule. This time, Luke opted for a rudderless canoe and spent the whole summer preparing for the Super Aito in Tahiti. After returning from Tahiti he was determined more than ever to get the business going in hopes of one day soon producing rudderless canoes to expand the sport of paddling.
Due to the long hours at the shop, Luke is trying to spend any available time on the water. In a recent conversation Luke said, “I finally paddled today, and wow, it feels like I'm a whole new person.”
With all this said, it is not surprising that Luke is described as a very determined person. To some his determination is what makes him who he is.
“He sets his mind to something and its like that's all he sees,” said his roommate Ka'eo. “I've only known him a short amount of time, but he always seems to figure any problem or situation out to include everyone and make them part of something.”
“In one word, he's genuine,” said his sister Tanya. “I can honestly say that he is one of the few people who will go after a goal not for ego, but purely out of drive.”
Kelly described him as “a guy that'll give you the shirt off his back” but he adds with a laugh, “at 4% interest.” I've known Luke now for over a year, and while there are still things that surprise me about him, I am quick to agree with people about his personality. He is honestly one of the most caring and truthful people I have ever met.
A lot of the drive and determination he possess arose from being a very frustrated child faced with a difficult challenge.
“We thought Luke was never going to speak,” said Tanya. “Luke grew up with a speech impediment that made him unable to pronounce any consonants, which is where I think his drive comes from.”
At three years old, Luke's family members would overhear him in the bathroom repeating simple words over and over, in order to learn how to say the consonants. Having little hope of Luke ever speaking intelligibly, his parents considered moving to California in order for Luke to attend a special school for the mute. Luckily the little guy's determination and practice brought him out of his disorder.
With all that is going on in his life, staying focused is definitely his secret in keeping things in order. He will be competing in Pa'a's solo this year along with joining the boys as Team Kamanu at the World Sprints. He hopes to do more, but it all depends on what's going on with the company.
Although the shop is the number one thing in his life right now, he tries to find time for everything else. He juggles work, friends, paddling, and family by basically giving up sleep. That's how determined he is.