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TheBuzz Erika Engle |
Hawaii Skin Diver
magazine going around
the nation and on TVHAWAII Skin Diver magazine is experiencing a growth spurt. The magazine has gone national this month, with distribution in Borders Books & Music and Barnes & Noble.
Meanwhile, "Hawaii Skin Diver TV" is heading to Oceanic Time Warner Cable's OC16 local lineup on June 4 at 9 p.m.
The two ventures are separate but joined at the hip.
The show is produced by Kyle Nakamoto, owner of Red Sea Ocean Adventures LLC. He's a contributing writer to the magazine as well.
The magazine is owned by Sterling Kaya and Clifford Cheng. Kaya is also president of Hana Pa'a Hawaii, a fishing and diving supply store.
Miss Honolulu 2004 Merlinda Garma will host the "Hawaii Skin Diver TV" show on OC16.
Nakamoto and Kaya have known each other for years. The magazine and store will support Nakamoto with sponsorships. The magazine and show will also share some content.Red Sea Ocean Adventures is an adventure-travel company focusing on ocean sports, diving, fishing and surfing, "taking people to different locations around the world," Nakamoto said. The Web site at www.redseaoceanadventures.com promotes dive destinations including Indonesia, Mexico and Hawaii.
He would previously take video of the tours and produce shows for airing on Olelo.
Oceanic expressed an interest, "so now it's going to be more of a regular thing ... covering local diving tournaments as well as local diving people traveling to different parts of the world so other people in Hawaii can share their experience," he said.
"Hawaii Skin Diver TV" will start out with one new show each month, airing six times a week, 24 times a month, and will be hosted by Miss Honolulu 2004 Merlinda Garma.
"A big thing is we're also using this as a vehicle to educate the next generation, to share knowledge with the kids ... to be good stewards of the sea," Nakamoto said.
Show segments will include diving tips, diving or event coverage and a spotlight, such as the first show's profile of Jay and Julie Riffe.
The owners of Riffe International Inc., which is based in California, are renowned makers of spearfishing equipment.
"They came here to Hawaii and I was able to go on a dive with them and interview them," he said.
Kaya wasn't quite sure how to characterize the business relationship between the magazine and the TV show, which are separate entities with principals that work closely together.
It is sort of a kokua, Hawaii-style arrangement in which relationships enhance each product. Kaya decided on the word, "symbiotic."
Kaya and Cheng took over publication of the magazine from founder Damon Duhaylongsod in 1998, when its press run was at about 3,000 copies.
"We never even broke even for four years. We're starting to break even now," Kaya said. "It's starting to pay off."
The press run is up to 10,000 and while the quarterly magazine has long had subscribers around the country, Kaya expects the number to gradually increase.
"It's pretty good, too, because it's Hawaii Skin Diver, it represents Hawaii out there."
Global pau hana
Leave it to Hawaii folks to create a sense of ohana anywhere they go -- even the Internet.What started out as Bay Area Pau Hana, social and networking gatherings among ex-pats in San Francisco in 1999, has now become www.globalpauhana.org, one of those social networking Web sites, but focused on Hawaii.
GlobalPauHana is similar to many networking sites such as Friendster and Ryze but its purpose is to keep Hawaii folks connected, develop business relationships, meet new people and to find ways to help Hawaii, said creator Dave Kozuki (he wen' grad St. Louis, 1981), also a founder of Bay Area Pau Hana.
Socialization is a big part of the Web site, but it also has a database that can gather contact information for people with certain skill sets, should an employer be searching for ex-pats to bring home, for instance. It all depends on the information typed in by community members.
Job possibilities and internships with organizations such as the U.S. Consulate Commercial Services in Shanghai are posted.
"My belief is that by growing this community and network of people, there are going to be a lot of benefits that flow back to Hawaii. Friendships will be formed, cultural events are going to be done, deals are going to be made and somehow that's all going to flow back. That's the intent, to really help Hawaii," Kozuki said.
The effort has achieved buy-in from various entities, such as the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, Data House and Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached at: eengle@starbulletin.com
