Born on the beautiful island of Oahu it is no surprise Noah has such a laid back yet powerful style. Spending his early and teen years on different
islands and eventually moving to Maui, Noah is such a perfect fit to be a Honolua Waterman.
Currently living far away from his favorite wave in Maui, Honolua Bay, Noah has taken to his Waterman roots of surfing every type of equipment under the sun in
Southern California. Spending his days working in the local Oceanside surf shop of Donald Takayama, Noah has dedicated his time in fine-tuning his equipment.
On any given day you can find Noah riding one of his favorite 5'5" Scorpion models shaped by Donald to his SUP surf or paddle boards. Noah is a master of all things
in the water including SUP surfing where he proved his skills in the powerful and critical beach break of Puerto Escondido. In 2008 Noah won the SUP Tube Ride
Invitational in clean 6 foot plus conditions with a field of professional competitors.
Stop by the Takayama shop in Oceanside or visit your local break and there is a good chance you will see Noah gliding down the line effortlessly. Not only an
incredible Waterman Noah is a down right nice guy so go say hello and ask him about his last trip to his favorite wave Honolua Bay.
INTERVIEW WITH NOAH SHIMABUKURO -LIQUIDSALTMAG.COM
by MARY MILLS on JUNE 16, 2010
Noah Shimabukuro is a talented Hawai ian surfer who blends the best of both tra di tional and pro gres sive surfing. Noah’s smooth and styl ish rid ing has gar nered
him world wide atten tion. We spent some time with Noah to learn more.
What was your life like grow ing up?
Grow ing up in Hawaii was awe some. I was born on Oahu and then our fam ily moved to Maui when I was about 10. My fam ily relo cated to a small town called Kula, which
is in upcoun try Maui. It has an ele va tion of about 3,500 feet and a 30 minute drive to the ocean. Every week end, my dad would load up the family’s VW van with boards
and my mom would make us food for the day. My dad taught us how to surf, dive, fish and any thing else that had to do with the ocean.
When did you get your first surf board?
When I was five, I remem ber my par ents get ting me a boo gie board. My dad would push my brother and I into waves at the Waikiki wall where we learned how to ride waves
and even tu ally stand up on them. My dad told me that when I got good at stand up body board ing, he would buy me a surf board. So for my eighth birth day, my par ents got
me a used team board at Local Motion. It was a 5’2″ Pat Raw son thruster that was shaped for some guy I never heard of then—Kalani Robb.
What was the feel ing you had when you first stood on a surf board?
I think I was scared and excited at the same time.
Who did you look up to and admire when you were a young man?
When I lived in Maui, it was Albert Jenks, Les Potts, Jeff Cole man, Wayno Chochran, Snake Ahi, Matt Kinoshita, Bob “Ole” Olson, Dave Kalama, Gerry Lopez and Laird Hamilton.
In the movies, Joel Tudor, Don ald Takayama, Bonga Perkins, Kevin Con nelly, Wayne Lynch, Nat Young, Derek Hynd, Mitch Abshere, Her bie Fletcher, Occy, Cur ren, etc.
Of all the places you have trav eled to, what place in par tic u lar stands out and why?
I really like Tahiti for its blue water and per fect bar rels. It reminds me of Hawaii in a lot of ways, but with out so many people.
Who or what inspires you?
Any one who fol lows their heart in life.
I really like watch ing surfers who have great style. Rell Sunn, Joel Tudor—it’s like they’re musi cians of the sea or some thing. They have this nat ural flow ing rhythm
that flows right through their surf ing motions and onto their surf boards. It’s really beau ti ful to watch. Surfers like that inspire me most.
What is the great est thing you have learned in your life?
Be hum ble, respect ful and grate ful for every thing you have. You could always be worse off. I’ve been blessed in so many ways and have always tried to be grate ful for that.
Do you have any regrets or wish you had done some thing dif fer ently?
Maybe use more sun screen and wear earplugs.
What are you most proud of?
Com ing from a really good fam ily. I come from a really small town in Maui and I’m more proud of my sib lings’ accom plish ments more than my own. My baby sis ter goes to
Yale and my brother is a lieu tenant in the US Coast Guard, and is in charge of res cue mis sions in Hawaii. When I look back, I know it’s partly due to hav ing really good
fam ily roots.
What mean ing does surf ing hold for you and how has it changed your life?
Through surf ing, I’ve got to travel and meet really cool, inter est ing peo ple. I base my whole life around it. I check the ocean every morn ing to see what the surf is
like and sell surf boards dur ing the day to help pay my rent. It’s really every thing I do. With out surf ing, I would be a totally dif fer ent person.
What brings you the most hap pi ness in the world?
Being around pos i tive, open-minded people.
Who are some of the peo ple you feel are shap ing the path for surf ing today?
I really enjoy watch ing the younger kids come up—Tommy Witt, Tyler War ren, Oliver Parker, Andrew Logreco, JJ Wes sels. Eli Gillis, and Dane Reynolds. I dunno … there are
so many good kids com ing up; it’s really unbeliev able and cool.
Stand-up pad dle surf ing is now a bone of con tention in the surf world. What is your opin ion of the idea that SUPs should be banned from shar ing line ups with
tra di tional boards?
I think what they have done at San Onofre is really good. SUPs are down at Dog Patch and the surfers still have their spots. I’m a surfer first and know it can be dan ger ous
for a begin ner on an SUP. SUPs and surfers in line ups don’t really mix well together. I would hope to see SUPs used more to explore new surf ing ter ri tory, cold water spots
and maybe stand ing waves in lakes and rivers. You can surf colder water spots and more outer reefs with them. Lately, I’ve been enjoy ing just pad dling long dis tances up and
down the coast, and surfing spots that no one else is rid ing. I don’t want to take away from any one else’s fun.
What is your favorite board? Your favorite surf spot?
Right now it’s a few of dif fer ent boards. Pig, Scor pion, and Model-T 2. All shaped by Don ald Takayama.
I like to noseride and get bar reled. So, I like noserid ing and tube rid ing spots. A point break left where you can do both is my favorite wave.
What is your take on the cur rent state of men’s pro fes sional long board ing?
I think it’s going good, but, of course, could always be bet ter. I would like to see some of the judg ing cri te ria be changed and how they deem the world champ be dif fer ent.
The way it is now seems to be really one-sided. I think the per fect world tour for long board ing would involve three contests:
1) A tube ride spot, like Puerto Escon dido, where you can go both right and left;
2) A point break-style wave, like Mal ibu or Boca Bar ranca, where you could be judged on noserid ing and style;
3) A beach break-style wave where you could be judged on high per for mance surfing.
I think a tour of this kind would really be great and reward the surfer who is the most well-rounded.
How did you go from com pet i tive surfer to the man ager of Don ald Takayama’s shop in Ocean side?
I started rid ing for Don ald right after high school and would travel a lot between Cal i for nia and Hawaii to get boards and do con tests. I would stay at his old surf board
fac tory up in the mene hune lounge and try to help earn my keep by help ing him do what ever he needed help with around the fac tory. Even tu ally, he got me a part-time job
work ing at his retail store dur ing the sum mers when I would be around. I did that for years—helping work at the retail store—and got to learn the busi ness that way. Even tu ally,
the time came when DT needed a new man ager. It’s been a very fun and reward ing expe ri ence to work for some one who’s been around the busi ness for so long. I feel very hon ored
and priv i leged to be work ing for Hawai ian Pro Designs.
What’s your favorite meal?
Pita sand wich from Cream of the Crop in Ocean side with Kom boucha Tea.
What are you cur rently lis ten ing to on your iPod?
The Whitest Boy Alive, Carla Bruni, Bob Mar ley, Manu Chao, ran dom Hawai ian music and lots of rock and roll.
What are you most grate ful for?
I’m most grate ful for my fam ily, friends, and being a surfer.
What’s next for Noah Shimabukuro?
More school, work ing, surf ing and travel.
