Yo, it's like 5:00 A.M. in Hawaii and the based fob
is about to be blessed by the Hawaiian gods.
This is what we call hi'uwai, and that is a purification,
cleansing, as well as asking for blessings.
Cool, so I brought some things to bless.
This is our rec league basketball team, the Mollyboyz.
So we need to bless the Mollyboyz.
And then, uh, my boxing gloves.
Can I get one for the New York Knicks?
The Knicks?
♪♪
Can we un-bless other food shows?
That might not be a good idea.
No, no, no, we shouldn't do that.
We got to show aloha, and it comes.
Yeah, aloha, aloha.
We almost forgot, we got to bless the show.
"Huang's World."
♪ Y'all in the wrong world ♪
♪ So look here, man ♪
♪ Welcome to "Huang's World" ♪
♪ World traveler ♪
♪ The food, whoo, good and delicious ♪
♪ Shanghai, Moscow, check out the pictures ♪
♪ L.A., New York, M-I-A, oh, London ♪
♪ The schedule's vicious ♪
♪ Welcome to "Huang's World"! ♪
♪♪
I feel blessed. There's, like, blessed blood running in these veins right now.
I wanted to come to Hawaii because Hawaii used to be a strong, independent country
with its own Polynesian identity and agrarian economy.
But it's become this strange tourist oasis that takes elements
of Polynesian identity, packages it, and re-sells it to Americans
like Twinkies and Little Debbie's.
So we're gonna start off at Papa Ole's and see how Hawaiian culture
and food busts through these seams.
Thank you so much.
This is the breakfast poncho, and this is the breakfast of champions.
Bang! Bang!
We got the Loco Moco, so you get onions and mushrooms.
You get a hamburger steak, over-easy egg.
You see the yolk mixing with this brown gravy.
This is gonna be delicious. Oh.
Loco Moco has got to be wet when you enter.
You don't want it like this, man.
You know, this Loco Moco needed some Vaseline.
Mmm!
I love Hawaiian local food
'cause it reminds me of, like, '80s American cafeteria food with an Asian twist.
You get a lot of fat, carbs, and protein, not much fiber, not much vegetables here.
But we don't need that, 'cause I'm wearing a poncho, so it's fine.
Mmm!
Just from the breakfast, you start to see Hawaii really is a melting pot.
It's very interracial, and it's very diverse.
And you see it in the lunch plate, all right?
Based fobs. Let's go.
♪♪
Yeah, so we're here at the PCC, where you can go tribe by tribe
and see all the Polynesian influences in a very, like, Epcot tourist style way.
These are real people from Samoa, New Zealand, Fiji coming to Hawaii,
studying at BYU, and paying for that education by being ambassadors
for their tribes at a theme park owned by BYU.
Because ever since Captain James Cook came in 1778 and the Western Europeans
and Americans overthrew the Polynesians in 1893,
Hawaiian identity and culture has been marginalized.
This is just another example. We're gonna check it out.
Do you feel like there's pressure when you go to BYU to be Mormon
and to, like, give up the spiritual, like, traditions and spiritual culture
that you have in Fiji?
Coming from Fiji, like, I don't have enough
financial aid to, like, go and school on my own.
There are a few little things you have to give up, especially the kava ceremony.
Kava, for those people that don't know, it's an herb that it...
it's a stress relaxer. - Yes.
Oh, shit, I just farted.
Welcome to the island of Samoa. This is the kitchen.
This is where all the young men in Samoa do all the cooking.
Thanks for having me.
So you guys have cooked with these rocks before.
They look like they're already crispy as...
Yes, that's the whole idea of this place.
We're trying to keep it authentic as possible.
- Yeah. - Bringing the real people from the islands, so we do this work.
- Yeah. - All right, let's move on.
Let's go have some coconut, man.
Cheers.
Word. Thank you.
That's good.
Yeah, man. This is fresh catch from last night.
Word. I love parrot fish.
I've that that before.
You've cleaned this once before?
No, I haven't cleaned it, I just ate it.
Oh. It's called uhu here.
You got to eat it.
You gonna grill it?
No, you got to eat it now.
That's actually really good.
It tastes like uni.
- Yeah, like the inside, yeah? - Yeah.
All the eggs.
CV, honestly, you got to try this.
Yeah.
What you think, CV?
I know that there's, like, blood and stuff, but, like, it tastes like uni.
It's actually not bad, for real.
- It tastes like uni, for real. - Yeah, it does.
Now try the eggs, man.
Yeah, eat it, man.
- That's good. - Okay.
The egg, too.
What do you like better, CV, the egg?
Look at his face. - Oh, my God.
- He's like trying not to eat it. - I like the first one.
Do you like the first one better?
You like the first one?
Yeah, this one tastes like a sac.
Something is wrong with you, man.
Yeah, something's wrong with you.
You got a... you got a sick mind, all right?
- No disrespect. - This is the best part.
How long have you been working at the center?
28 years.
28 years you've been at the center?
- Yeah. - Wow.
You feel like it's been a lot of positive work,
though, like, everyone comes through, you feel like
they're really learning something about the islands.
Well, the whole world is hungry for culture.
So when you come here and see this, see that, I mean... and this is today in Samoa,
it really makes a statement of culture.
Yeah. And as much as, like, the world changes,
like all these new screens, like iPhones, computers, the thing is, is none of it
is anything without content, and content is culture. - Places like this,
the culture center, really helps people to...
to see that, 'cause some people don't see it.
'Cause I've seen both sides, from the outside and the inside.
So you can see how... how important it is to know this.
And important to know what's gong on over there.
So you understand both sides.
Yeah, what do you think about what the PCC
would be like if it was owned by the tribes?
It... it would be more different from what they have now.
It's standard, so this... there's a Christianity standard,
like, it's too violent or kids can't watch it or, you know, only adults can see it.
You know, it has to be PG-13.
What are some of the things you would bring back that the church took out
to make it PG-13?
Having the tattoo on our body, you know, it's something that, you know,
if it's really just cherished in our culture, so... - Do you have the tattoo? - No.
My brother has it. He's in the Samoan Village.
- Yeah. - He's... but he's... he's the youngest of our family, so...
- Oh, okay. - I couldn't get it, 'cause I choose, uh... church over my culture.
So they're about to uncover the food right now.
- You have a name for this type - Of cooking, right?
We call it umu.
Umu is the ground method.
It smells good once you get the steaming cardboard boxes off. - Yeah.
So we have some bananas, some breadfruits, some taro.
Traditional way of wrapping the fish... Mm-hmm.
Is a coconut leaf on the outside and banana leaf inside.
This is the modern way.
Why do you guys use the foil?
- Well, it's convenience. - Okay.
And if you're here in Hawaii,
you don't have a big land to grow your own banana trees.
You run out of coconut leaves.
This looks good. You eat this every day?
- Yes. - I love taro.
So, yeah, be very careful, yeah?
Thank you.
- Do you want the head? - Yeah, that looks awesome.
My mom makes the soup from the head, 'cause it has the best flavor.
Thank you. Okay.
- You got to look the part, man. - Nice, okay, yeah.
I got my Samoan 59-50 hat.
Mmm! So good.
A lot of times at restaurants, you get fish wrapped in a banana leaf,
seafood wrapped in a banana leaf.
But it never has this flavor and this essence
because this was on that high heat on the rock, and then steamed.
So it, like, integrated into the flavor of the fish.
It... it's almost like they smoked the fish with the leaf,
but they steamed the flavor of the leaf into the fish.
It's incredible.
And then look at the taro leaves.
Look how tender the taro leaves are.
Coconut milk.
Oh, my God.
Wow. And what I like about it, tender steamed on one side, and roasted on the other.
It's like a plant croissant. Hey, it's all right.
You don't got to fan, man. Eat... eat food, too.
I feel bad. Don't worry about it.
- This is our culture. - Yeah?
It's the duty of a young man in the islands.
When the guests eat, they fan all the flies out.
- Thank you, man. - Show of respect.
I appreciate it.
The banana got hard, huh?
I just eat it like this?
Our family's been here for over 500 years.
Our culture, it has always been taken advantage of.
♪♪
Last night, we came to the Big Island, so now we're here at CJ Kanuha's,
and we're gonna have a great time.
I stayed and checked in at a Holiday Inn Express.
I actually found the Hawaiian local struggle plate.
This is a turkey sausage patty, a pork sausage patty on top of powdered eggs
that taste like pressed pills and gravy all over.
I will probably shit my pants in about 30, 35 minutes, so IBS gang.
Let's go.
- Let's go, here. - I carry this?
First thing you got to do is be able to carry it.
Oh, word. Oh, I got this.
I got this, dawg.
Who ordered a third wall in their room?
Help. CJ, help. I'm falling.
You can't carry it, you can't surf it.
No, I cannot surf this.
You're one of the most accomplished big-wave surfers in the world.
Big-wave surfing, yeah.
I love big-wave surfing, but, no, I would say I'm a Hawaiian water man.
I've been very blessed to be on a surf board at a very young age.
We didn't have nothing, and I had support as a young kid
and win many different things.
And then also just from that, traveled the world through surfing.
And you come from one of the first Hawaiian families.
Yeah, yeah, I... well, my last name is Kanuha.
We come the Kiava line.
Our family's been here for over 500 years, you know.
So how does it make you feel, the way Hawaii is today?
Our culture, it has always been taken advantage of.
You go down the road, there's million-dollar houses...
all these houses cost this much money when you have nothing.
There's outside corporations that come to Hawaii
that have no interest in our culture,
no interest in anything but one thing... money.
Let's get shaping some boards, - and then I'll introduce you - To a couple tools.
- Oh, cool. - We want to get you your own paipo going. - Okay.
And so, basically, the paipo is like the Hawaiian's Boogie Board.
You know, majority of the people rode them.
Like, if you read all the old passages
from the sailors or, like, you know, Captain Cook's ship,
is said they'd see the women naked in the water, swimming and playing. - Yep, yep.
This is what they were playing on right here.
'Cause a lot of people give me shit and say I'm a dick-dragger
or a sponger for a Boogie Board.
But I really like it. - Yeah, yeah.
Sometimes, it's all good and, you know...
I think it's presumptuous to stand on a piece of wood.
Yeah. You know, the hammer needs to get out of the...
the water rather than the rudder and in.
So... But cool.
We use the adz and basically it'll be like a hammer,
and we chisel out these... these areas.
And that's what they use... kind of nothing was perfect.
Is this working or no?
Brother, that's looking amazing.
Okay, good.
By 2019, we'll get one rail done.
♪♪
Yeah!
Free Hawaii, mother... Yeah! Yeah!
♪♪
I brought you to one of the most historic sites
that we have here on the Big Island.
This is Kuamoo Bay, the Battle of Lekeleke.
And so this was our last major battle for Hawaiian people.
What you see now today is the burials of, you know,
over 300 to 500 warriors that were killed here.
The one thing that kind of, for me as a Hawaiian that saddens me is that this
is a driveway to million-dollar homes.
And we have our ancestors that are buried right here.
Basically, this massacre kind of marked - the death - Of the Hawaiian religion.
Pretty much.
The one thing I see for our future and for our kids is bringing back our culture
and our identity.
There's two generations in Hawaii that basically didn't get to learn their language
or culture in schools. - It... exactly.
And so for us now, it's a rebuilding process.
Everyone sees it, but just putting it together
in one big package and coming together...
Like, I went to the Polynesian Cultural Center,
and that shit's owned by the Mormons.
I thought it was actually a very powerful thing
to see and heartbreaking at the same time, 'cause those kids from Samoa or Fiji...
What did they say?
Or New Zealand, they're... they're going there to work.
- It's... it's like going to the zoo. - It is.
But we... we want to build our people.
Our people are strong individuals.
And so we want the best for our community, and I know everybody wants it.
So are you ready to get this on?
I'm ready, man.
Catch some fishingtons.
This area is called Kanakiuili.
This a very self-sufficient, like, native Hawaiian village that was here by the sea.
- And with a net, it's called... - In Hawaiian, We call this little pena.
It was made out of, you know, different types of cordage
and basically stones as lead.
So you just basically tie them all up and whip it and let it go.
- This is the ancient way. - Yeah.
Fish-hunters.
We got a professional learning that technique right off the bat.
No, other... other one first. - Yeah?
Bring it up like that, just there.
There you go. - Okay.
I...up. Look at him on the rocks there.
Oh, he spread the net out.
Wow. I see... I see.
Now I see what I'm supposed to do.
Oh, wow. He caught mad fishingtons.
We call this in Hawaiian a manini.
Holy shit.
It opened up!
I got one! I got a fish!
I caught one. All right.
Enjoy life, young fish.
Enjoy life!
Whoo!
Oh, that is so cool!
Oh, look at the eel! Look at the eel!
There he is. See him?
Wow.
- Look. - You're a for-real water man.
Like, you come from the ocean.
Oh, we're gonna have some fun.
I was very blessed to be a part of these lands
and, like, our family's been in these...
in these waters for hundreds and hundreds of years.
So it just comes in the blood.
When you're out there, you can tell, like, you come from the ocean.
- Oh. - My natural habitat is the club.
Bango.
Bango, yeah. Look at that.
Perfect pan-fried fish.
- Wait, oh, my God! - We just lost our holly... oh!
You're bodying the shot, bro!
Oh, come on, man.
Mahalo.
Oh. All right.
Because I've never had this fish, I want to taste the natural flavor.
Oh, yeah, oh, for sure. We'll taste the reef.
Like, a little Hawaiian saltington.
And you don't want to make it too rubbery.
- Mmm. - It's that kind of ripe flavor.
Very much like a swordfish.
And halibut. - And halibut.
You see that white, flaky piece of meat?
- Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. - Mahalo for coming.
We love having you here. - Thank you much.
- Thank you for having me. - Appreciate it.
Any time, any time, brother.
I think this one may end with us fighting charges against the U.S.
That is the only way we can do it without freaking killing each other, brother.
♪♪
We about to meet up Brandon, who we saw the first day when we were here in Hawaii
when him and Bumpy blessed us.
What's up, man? - What's up, my brother?
- We're here. - All right.
- You ready? - Yeah, we're ready.
What started here?
- The movement started here. - Yeah?
- The sovereignty movement, yeah. - Okay.
- There is - No movement without land.
This all started in... in 1993 when America formally apologized
for the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
It's our tradition, though, whenever you go into another Hawaiian's place,
they got to welcome you in.
My cousin gonna chant you in, so you wait right here.
So welcome to Pu'uhonua. This is a sovereign nation.
And we welcome you traditionally.
Thank you.
The smell of the banana leaves on the imu, man, you never get sick of this. Wow.
This is all pork butt and shoulder?
- Shanks. - Shanks.
When you go see the luaus at hotels or whatever,
they got the pig on the spit like that.
This is the traditional way.
This is the way to do it. - You want to try a piece?
Yeah, I would love to try a piece.
Wow. Incredible.
There's nothing like kaluaha pig.
The best. - All right.
- Bumpy: - See my great-grandparents, These was 21,700 signatures
against annexation to America.
This was signed September 11, 1897.
- Oh, my God. - Yeah.
What else are you trying to do in the movement
to continue to kind of revive Hawaiian identity
and then this battle for sovereignty?
I was asked this question 30 years ago.
You think you see anything gonna happen?
You know what, 20 years later, we got this land.
What's up, my brother? This is yours right there.
Oh, wow!
I always wanted a stick in a bottle of vitamin water, my G!
Yes!
What... what is this? - They call it a tea leaf.
It's a symbol of, like, purity because every tea leaf has its own respect.
Every one has its own space.
They're all gonna thrive together
if they just let the gods feed them, nourish them.
You know, every morning, I come up here, and I ask...
please, you know, let... let the world see what's happening out here in Hawaii.
Let the world know.
This religion is like the beacon of hope
for not only our people, but for the world.
You know, they talk about aloha.
It starts with intention.
Yo, so we out here on the North Shore, and we about to go to the high school
and hang out with the football team.
Because throughout Hawaii's history, it's always been water sports.
And then in the last couple decades, football really picked up.
And now there's 70 people of Polynesian descent playing in the NFL.
Uh, all right. So we got some bad news.
Basically, the school doesn't want to give us permission to shoot at the school,
even though we've gotten permission from everybody.
I have an idea. You're a Patriots fan.
- Yes. - Spygate, dawg.
- Spygate. - I think... I think we should Spygate this.
We're just gonna be like scouts here.
They can't see us through the fence.
Right there, he's open. Oh!
They ran a middle screen... not a bad play.
Okay, so do we have a basketball that we can go pretend to play basketball
while stealing shots of the kids playing football?
- Oh. - Come on.
So where's he going? That's not our ball, Chris.
Got it. Spike.
Yo, so we here on the North Shore of Kahuku with Kaleo. - What's up?
Yeah. I met him hanging out in the parking lot here
because Spygate was a complete success.
So we're gonna go check out the best poke on the island, right?
- It's really good. - It's really good?
- I love it. - You think it's the best?
- Yeah. - Okay, let's do this.
Who gave you those glasses? They're pretty fire, bro.
- My dad. - Oh, sick.
- Yeah. - You like the North Shore?
Born and raised here? - Yep.
Your parents born and raised here?
My mom's from Jersey.
Oh, sick.
Where in Jersey is your mom from?
It's New something, I don't know.
- Newark? - Newark.
Newark. Or New Brunswick?
No. Oh.
I forget. - Newington?
Thanks, bro. All right, man, anything I need to pay attention to when I eat this?
Eat that one, that one's good.
A lot of onion. - This one?
Okay, a lot of onion. - If you like onion.
I like onion.
Wow. - It's good, right?
- Yeah. - Yeah.
Yeah, you really know, bro.
That's 'cause I live here.
What's your favorite football team?
Redskins. You?
Uh, I don't know.
I just like high school football.
Oh, what high school football team you gonna play for?
- Right here. - Right here?
- Yeah. - You go to that school?
- The next year. - Oh.
'Cause I'm in fifth grade.
Fifth grade is when life starts to get tough, bro.
Fifth grade, people start making out and stuff.
- Ew! - It's kind of awkward.
I wasn't ready for it.
Is this one of the better schools in the... on the island? - Yes.
A lot of people say it's like you're gonna get beat up over here,
but it's not that bad.
You ever get beat up out here?
No.
Yeah, you seem pretty chill, dude.
- Thanks. - Yeah.
This poke, it's just tuna, soy yew, onions, and scallions,
and a little bit of red pepper.
It's a much more intense flavor.
And in the beginning, it can be a little intimidating.
But it's satisfying if you really like the flavor of raw fish.
You know, they don't do too much with it.
They let the fish speak for itself.
Have you ever been to the mainland and had poke on the mainland?
No. I don't trust it.
Yeah.
It's probably gonna be really junk.
Yeah.
Bro, thanks for being in the scene, man.
Yeah, totally.
Next time we see you, you'll be in the NFL.
Thanks.
All right.
I battle the system and when they say that this type of cooking is illegal...
Why is it that it's illegal to cook with an imu?
Yo, so...
your boys went beast mode in the club last night.
♪♪
You're like kudo 13.
I want my bodyguard.
Now we're gonna meet Daniel Anthony and talk taro.
What's up? Eddie. Nice to meet you.
- Daniel. - Definitely!
Thanks for having me.
Why don't I introduce you to our imu and put you to work right now?
Okay.
Did you ever play "Street Fighter"?
- I did as a kid. - Yeah, remember Dhalsim having the mad long arms and shit?
Yoga, flame. Yoga, flame.
Yo, so what got you into farming?
I believe that our ancestors perpetuated a lifestyle
in which the lifestyle fed them.
Everything that they ate was turned into fertilizer, essentially.
What our family recognized was that we could change the way
we were preparing our food.
So we came here two years ago, and this place looked like a forest.
There was 40-foot trees.
You couldn't even take one step in.
Everyone thinks you have a farm in Hawaii, you just plant something,
and out grows food.
But that is far from the truth.
For the last hundred years, chemical agriculture...
- this has been ground zero. - Right?
And they've convinced us to use all these agro-chemicals.
Well, I think we need a revolution.
This is how I battle.
I battle the system, and when they say that this type of cooking is illegal...
Why is it that it's illegal to cook with an imu?
All food that is distributed and sold in the community
is supposed to be made in a certified kitchen.
It's not that the government is legislating based on logic or reason,
but they're literally legislating by culture.
And they're trying to take away the traditional culinary practices.
But then, on the other hand, they're using laws, they're using regulations,
and they're using Hawaii as a dumping ground for chemicals.
I couldn't agree with you more.
They talk about aloha in Hawaii, and when you start to, like,
sit with the families and eat with them,
you see, like, it really is a part of who they are.
And it's like we're experiencing aloha not like at a hotel
with the giant pig roast with, like, leis.
This is like aloha in a garage.
It's like this is real. This is America.
America should be about the integration of cultures,
not the compartmentalizing and siloing.
All the meat in here is so tender.
This is the most tender chicken soup.
Most time, chicken gets dry.
This is so tender.
And in a funny way, nature and the universe rewards you.
When you do things the right way, it just tastes better, it feels better.
This is the most delicious breadfruit I've ever had.
It almost has a nutmegy, cinnamony natural flavor custard.
We... we let the breadfruit get a little bit riper.
- Yeah. - Before we went ahead and... and did this. - It's so good.
Should we pound some taro poi.
You want to pound some kalo?
- Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Yeah, yeah, of course.
So poi is a taro preservation technique.
Yeah. It's very interesting.
They always use the term, like, pounding poi, right?
- Yeah. - But the reality is you can't pound poi.
- Ah. - Once it gets to poi, it's already been past the pounding
and it's into the mixing. - Ah.
And you... you mind taking off your watch.
Oh, yeah, sure. No worries.
I'm gonna lose my Fitbit points, but it's okay.
Dave is gonna use my Fitbit and make sure I get all the credit
and points that I would sitting down.
What we're gonna do is we're gonna use the corner of the pohaku,
and we're gonna gently kind of break it up there.
I actually had a long conversation with my kalo, and I asked it to explain to me
the ancestral story of Papa and Wakea.
Bro, what kind of weed were you smoking?
Earth Mother and Wakea, Sky Father, they have a daughter.
And Sky Father falls in love with his daughter, and they have a child.
And their first child is stillborn, and out grows, from where they bury it,
the first taro plant.
The ancestral mythology... Was the dad slept with the daughter?
Was the dad slept with the daughter.
And doesn't that seem so crazy?
Is that what they call it when you sleep with your daughter, pounding taro?
It became... it...
Thanks a lot, though, man, for real.
This is a lot of fun.
Daniel Anthony.
We've eaten a lot of Hawaiian food around the island,
but I wanted to take you somewhere
that serves food of the home in a restaurant setting,
because the responsibility of restaurants is to distribute
culture of the home amongst the community.
So we're here at Helena's.
How's it going? I'm Eddie. - Hey, I'm Craig.
- Nice to meet you. - Oh, you're Craig.
So this is Craig Jr. - Right, right.
Oh, okay, okay. So you the boss here.
So what's up, man? Tell me about Helena's.
My grandmother is Helena, and she called it Helena's. - Cool.
And we've been in business since 1946.
So what's your family background?
Where are you guys from? - My grandmother is Chinese.
And then the other half is my dad is Japanese.
How do you see yourself, because Hawaii,
a lot of cats here, by the third generation, they've very like you... I'm Hawaiian.
I love being Hawaiian. - Oh, we're... we're Hawaiian.
You know, Hawaii is the true mixing pot.
We have all the, you know, Japanese, Chinese, Filipino.
'Cause Hawaii is the youngest state,
and I feel like the values of the Polynesian culture
was a lot more inviting and welcoming to, say, Chinese or Japanese
or Korean and Filipino than the mainland culture.
Well, initially, the Chinese would stay with the Chinese
- and the Japanese would stay - With the Japanese.
And, in fact, you weren't really supposed to intermarry in the early days.
- Yeah. - But, you know, when men and women get together, things happens.
- Yeah. - And then now everybody's everything.
Like I'm... I'm half-half. - Yeah.
You know, with a little Hawaiian in me, too.
Yeah. Nothing breaks down barriers like food and sex. - That's right.
Yo, so let's check out the food.
- Okay. - 'Cause we can't check out the sex.
This is our main dish here that we sell.
Yeah.
The short ribs... short rib pipikaula.
- We marinate them, - And we dry them over the stove.
And then we cook them.
These guys will stay up here all day.
Most people, they'll eat ribs any way you cook them...
they just love ribs. - Right.
But you don't want ribs out of an oven.
It's disgusting. Like, they need to be smoked.
They got to be smoked. - Yeah.
I know this. - Yeah, it's aloha.
- Aloha. - Aloha.
Aloha. My name is CJ.
- Aloha. - Aloha.
Aloha spirit.
- Aloha! - Aloha.
- Super aloha.
-Aloha. -Aloha. -Aloha.
- Aloha akua. - Aloha.
Stop... saying aloha to me.
Aloha.
That's how to do it, that's how to do it, right there.
This is the perfect marriage of soy sauce and beef... like candy!
It's a clear, focused story they're telling in every single dish.
Yo, it's a beautiful thing.
He's a sixth-generation in the restaurant.
And the new generation is always spilling Kool-Aid on their shirt.
Any mistake, you make him pay.
Okay.
Ooh!
♪♪
We here, about to check out the Gracie Technics Institute
and see Waianae's finest... Max Halloway.
And, yo, you see Viceland pulled up the Brinks truck for my rig.
- Good. How you doing? - Good, good.
They told me that, you know, if I work hard, I'll look like you by, like, 3:00.
Yeah, I wish I could do that.
- Yeah? - That's amazing.
No, I have to work out a lot - to just maintain - This level of buffingtons.
- Yeah? That's awesome. - Yeah.
Like, of all the sports I've played, MMA,
boxing, those are like real thinking man's sports.
I actually work out to a song, it's called "Hawaiian Kickboxer."
- Yeah? - And he explains it in a song how the warriors would train
until their mind and body was one.
- Do you have a lot of young kids - That come in here That they just want to fight,
but they don't want to pay attention to, like, the mind, that...
- the intellect - And the strategy of it all?
Not in here, but when I first started, I... I came from a garage out in...
out in Makaha, Waianae, Hawaii.
And that's where I saw a bunch of kids that, you know, they didn't want to train,
they just thought fighting was cool.
You know, and if you're not gonna put in the time
to get you a fight, you know, it's not gonna be very pretty
when you go step in a cage.
♪♪
Yeah. Yes!
Martial arts really changed my life.
It changes the life for a lot of kids that they're not built for school,
like, learning in the classroom.
- Yeah. - You know, physical things, sports, martial arts...
it's something they can understand.
- One-two. - Then they can start to unleash, like, the intelligence they do have.
Yeah, exactly.
And it's... hella cool to be smart.
Yeah, it's cool.
Perfect, yeah. Ba-boom, boom!
Yes! Keep the balance up.
Any... any chance, any mistake, you make him pay.
- Okay. - Ooh!
- I don't know if you can feel... - Yeah, no.
- I feel the pop. - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- Yeah. - So, look, shoot on me.
I ain't gonna be nice about it, you know.
Yo, man, when are we going to lunch, dawg?
We're gonna eat some crab in my neighborhood.
Yeah, you can see what it looks like.
- Okay, man. - It'll be great to hang.
All right. Let me up, man.
Yo, your car, for real, smells like a gym, man.
Yeah? This car?
This car got mad supplements in here.
BC edge aminos. - That's all, Max.
That's what's up!
So this is Waianae right here.
- Yeah. - This feels local, like there's not many tourists here.
Yeah, yeah.
This... this is the wild, wild west, my man.
But Waianae is known as, like, the tougher neighborhood in Oahu, right?
Like lower income, a lot of working-class cats. - Yeah, yeah.
- But a lot of guys - Is just houseless, you know?
- Yeah. - A lot of guys just can't afford the rent here... it's expensive.
Like the drugs, like ice and stuff is every heavy out in this site.
- Yeah. - You know, my... my mom used to do that,
and, you know, thank God she's clean.
I think she's been clean for, like, I think, like,
5 or 10 years, something like that.
You know, but, yeah, this is the rugged side, man.
You see some things that... that make you grow up quick, you know?
You see some stuff, and you'd be like you... there's two paths you can go down
in this thing called life.
You go down the path that you see.
It's easy to do what everybody... like, - "Oh, my friend's partying, - Yeah,
- let's meet and go party with them." - Yeah.
Or I can be like, "No, let me go train, you know, and forget partying."
So much times I have to choose and be like, "Oh, I can't hang out tonight too late,
I got to get to the gym tomorrow in the morning."
You know, so... - Yeah. Where we at?
We at Da Crawfish & Crabshack? - Yeah.
And the food here is great.
Oh, wow.
There's three fishes. - Yeah.
This is what I heard about, the Caesar salad flames.
Oh, the pupu steak. - That's what's up, bro.
- Wow. - Bro, I'm not gonna even wait for you.
They've got a real spread here.
Word. Pupu steakingtons.
Yo, I love that everything in Hawaii is like an interesting fusion
and technique of, like, Chinese, Japanese cooking, and American technique as well.
Like, this feels a lot like orange beef,
you know what I mean? Like the glaze on it.
And then it's got the poi that's, like, totally Polynesian, you know?
Yeah. I... I'm not really into salads when I'm out of camp, but I guess...
- Oh, this is fried ahi salad. - Yeah.
Oh, I kept playing this Caesar salad like it was just a Caesar salad.
I thought those were croutons, dawg.
No, that's fish.
Wow!
Oh!
Hawaiians are very proud, which I respect.
You know what I mean? - Oh, yeah.
And y'all have been dealt a really shitty hand, too.
Like, what Western Europeans and Americans have done,
they've pushed Hawaiians into the margins.
There's more homeless people in Hawaii than anywhere else in America.
Yeah, but it is what it is, you know?
It's like... like you said, it's pride, you know.
It's like you get real people down here in Waianae and...
And when you go to fight, you feel like you take
- all your experiences - With you into the octagon.
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, of course.
You know, it's like, I... I take all of Waianae with me.
When... when it's all said and done and I'm old
and whatever and some grown man or grown woman
come knocking on my door, like, "Excuse, Mr. Halloway,
you know, because of you, at one time, you came to my class, man,
you changed my life, Mr. Halloway."
And that's... that's what the world is about.
You're trying to change one person's life at a time, you know what, I'm here.
If I can change one person's life, I... my life will be complete.
The number one fam. I love it.
Max knows.
It's not easy living out here.
And I let them know.
And if you can dream, I'm gonna dream with you.
♪♪
Yo, so we in Waianae right now.
And we came to the harbor to check out this community of people
who, they're houseless, but they're not homeless.
So we're gonna talk to Twinkle.
She kind of like the mayor, the governor of the harbor, and show us around.
Hey. How's it going?
- Aloha. - Aloha.
I'm Eddie. Nice to meet you.
- Twinkle, Twinkle. - Thanks for having us here.
- Yes. - Definitely.
So you guys are self-governed,
and you guys figured out kind of a community solution
for yourselves outside of the government.
Yes. 2003, I came here.
So I started asking questions.
If you needed help in anything, how can I help you?
Some of the people here, they have not only mental illness,
- but addiction problems, too, yeah. - Mm-hmm.
- So this is home for them. - Mm-hmm.
So it's nothing different or nothing out of the ordinary.
To others, may be different.
To them, no. - Word.
Can we check it out? Let's walk. - Sure, let's go.
Cool.
So this is one of the our ladies, Nanie.
- Hi. - She's also one of my captains here.
What's it mean to be a captain here?
Captain meaning they take care of their area.
- Yeah. - That if ever any fight or anything break out, they tend to them.
- Yeah. - Do the captains get anything For being captains, or you just take it on
because they're fit for the responsibility?
They're fit for the responsibilities.
There are ones that knock them back down, they're not gonna say no.
It's not as bad as people make it seem.
It's one big family. Everybody get along.
We have our fights and all, but we're just like one family.
Like, what family doesn't have fights, yeah?
They all take care of each other.
We just houseless, we're not homeless, you know what I mean?
But they shouldn't judge us just 'cause we live here.
I wouldn't want to live anywhere else but here.
Like, we feel like we're part of something.
I mean... - I mean, I've been here 13 years. - Yeah.
- You know, - I got sober here 10 years.
That's what it was was addiction brought you here?
Actually, it was a broken heart, having a broken heart.
- Mm-hmm. - Yeah, losing my son, um... mother think... he could fool around.
Stupid. - You kind of gave... gave your love to the community, in a way.
Yes, I did. As they started coming, more so to the kids, yeah.
It's not easy living out here.
And I let them know.
You know, don't ever think this is your last solution or this is the only solution.
There's bigger things out there.
And if you can dream, I'm gonna dream with you.
Yeah.
So this Abby.
So how long you been at the harbor?
We have about two more weeks left.
Oh, two more? Where are you going after that?
We're going back home.
We're only here as a... like, to learn.
- Oh. - We're here to learn, and we've learned a lot.
What is it that you... you think you've learned?
Well, I've brought all 12 of my children.
One, we learned what we can be grateful for.
- Yeah. - Two, we learned how to survive with a lot less. - Yeah.
We learned what community really is, honestly.
These people, they help each other when they're sick.
They help each other when one cannot haul water.
They really amazed me. - There's a lot of empathy here.
You know, in my neighborhood, I guess you can get to the place where you just want
to make everybody believe that everything's okay.
They're... they're very open and honest.
They don't hide anything.
Everyone's kind of sharing pieces of themselves here,
which is very cool. - I think that's the best way.
I think that's the way every community should work.
- Yeah. - Yeah.
My kids don't want to leave. - You don't want to leave?
- No, no. - They're all wanting to stay.
Why do you guys like it?
It's like camping every day.
You think more kids need moms like yours?
- Yeah. - Yeah.
They had more relationship, that's for sure. - Okay.
- And y'all got to squat out here. - Yeah, no, we do.
What makes it harder to make friends back where you live?
Well, kids at my school, they... tend to judge first.
The kids here, they just come and see what you like and then they judge. - Yeah.
They at least give you a chance before they judge you.
Thank you, guys. Y'all are the best.
Oh, yeah.
This is the best place.
You... you will find most of us out here during the summer.
- Hi, Mama! - Hi, my love!
Look how beautiful.
♪♪
Yo, so this is our last few minutes in Hawaii, and, of course, it's raining.
The shot's getting bodied, and the scene's falling apart.
But if there's one thing we learned out here,
you may not have your land, you may not be in control,
but you have the aloha spirit.
The aloha spirit is a real thing.
It's a real thing that's been commodified and appropriated for foreign tastes...
just like the land and just like the people here.
But we're coming at a time when Hawaiians are fighting back.
They're trying to reclaim their land, they're trying to have self government.
And even if they fail, they're trying to revive their language and culture.
And Hawaii is a place for everybody.
I think the mainland can learn a lot
from the inclusiveness of Hawaii and the acceptance.
Because instead of trying to change nature, instead of trying to change the land,
Hawaiians just ride the wave.
And I wish that the rest of America would do the same.
♪♪
Whoo-hoo!