The ocean and the great outdoors give us moments of awe and quiet healing.

In Hawaii, there is a culture called "ALOHA" — a beautiful spirit, passed down unchanged through every generation, of caring for one another and working together.

Surfers, who live everyday lives shaped by the sea, are deeply attuned to the changes happening in the ocean and in nature. Plastic in the water is on the rise, while coral, fish, and marine life are quietly disappearing year by year.

Over the past three decades, humans — placing excessive consumption and economic activity above all else — have devastated marine ecosystems, and Hawaii's stunning natural beauty continues to be lost to this day. This has been firmly established by countless studies and scientific research.

And yet, in our hearts, we all share the same feeling: a love for the ocean and the natural world as it was meant to be, and a hope to leave the next generation a more beautiful planet than the one we know today.

That is why each of us must come together — to love this planet in our own way. We at "SHAKA BRAND HAWAII" continue our work in the belief that these small actions will, one day, rise into a great and powerful wave.

Why We Created SHAKA BRAND HAWAII

The two of us first met more than ten years ago through surfing. Nakahara was running GONAMINORI, a website connecting surfers in Hawaii and Japan, and that's where Kubota — who at the time was Co-Chair of Surfrider Foundation Oahu — came on board as a blogger. That was how it all began.

Kubota has been involved in environmental causes for many years, leading beach cleanup efforts with Surfrider Foundation while also organizing screenings on Oahu of "Rokkasho Rhapsody," a film about the nuclear fuel reprocessing facility in Rokkasho Village.

Nakahara, meanwhile, was deeply involved in relief efforts after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Through the WE ARE ONE project — part of GONAMINORI and led by Hawaii-based pro surfer Kirby Fukunaga — he helped raise donations and traveled to the devastated Tohoku region in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, carrying relief supplies gathered in Hawaii and joining the recovery work as early as anyone could.

Following the Fukushima nuclear accident, massive amounts of radiation poured into the sea, and the tsunami swept enormous volumes of plastic waste into the ocean alongside so many lives lost. This isn't about placing blame on anyone — it is simply a reality that happened. But it is precisely these experiences that became the starting point for SHAKA BRAND HAWAII.

We have learned so much from the oceans and natural environments of both Japan and Hawaii — meeting countless people and gaining truly meaningful experiences along the way. With this project, we hope to love the planet in our own way, give back to all those who have supported us until now, and share the spirit of "ALOHA" with as many people as we can.