Above the bridge

Send us Fan Mail Castle Park comes up and suddenly we’re both kids again, trying to describe a place that felt unreal and somehow left almost no video behind. That’s the lane Keoni has carved out with his “Hawaii Time Machine” stories: the kind of Hawaii nostalgia and local history that hits you in the chest because you remember it, but you can’t always prove it existed. We get into Water Country,...

Send us Fan Mail A gold chain can be flex, family heirloom, and financial safety net all at once and the way you buy it matters. We sit down with the owner of Aloha Gold Buyers Maui to talk about what most people never see: how trust is built when customers wire thousands of dollars to someone they’ve only met on Instagram, why documentation and transparency protect both sides, and how a real stor...

Send us Fan Mail A split tongue, a neck tattoo that actually healed well, and a clinic-level breakdown of GLP-1 peptides all land in the same conversation, because real wellness is never just one lane. We sit down with Samantha “Sam” Ogihara, a model, fitness-minded peptide consultant, and all-around hustler, to talk about body confidence from the inside out, including how tattoos and photos helpe...

Send us Fan Mail A poke tailgate in Kakaako turns into a full-on Honolulu talk story session, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Aaron Sigs ( Hamma Built ) and Thaddeus Park ( Above the Bridge Podcast ) are  launching Just Wala'au with the simplest setup: good company, Foodland poke, red cups, ocean noise in the background, and whatever real life throws at us. If you’ve been craving a Haw...

Send us Fan Mail Paradise sells itself, but building a Hawaii travel YouTube channel that people actually trust is a different job. We sit down with Sean Kaleponi, better known as Hawaiian Traveler, to talk about the behind-the-scenes choices that turned simple hikes into a fast-growing library of Oahu food reviews, Hawaii travel tips, and “things to do and eat” guides that locals and visitors bot...

Send us Fan Mail A split-second decision can either end your story or restart it. Travis, the man behind Laverne’s Catering and the new meal prep company Meals to Heal, joins me to talk about what it really takes to carry a family legacy while building something new for the community. We get into the food first because that’s where a lot of Hawaii connection lives: squid luau done right, smoke mea...

Send us Fan Mail Car buying has a way of making even confident people second-guess themselves. That’s why I wanted to sit down with Mackie Young, one of Hawaii’s most trusted Toyota sales pros, to talk about what actually lowers the stress and raises the confidence when you’re spending real money on a Tacoma, 4Runner, RAV4, or any new vehicle. We get into the nuts and bolts of an easy car buying e...

Send us Fan Mail A crown can be a photo, or it can be a job. When AliA became Miss International Hawaii, she didn’t just step into a big four pageant title, she stepped into a global responsibility rooted in service, culture, and daily discipline. We talk about what the Miss International system actually is, how Hawaii holds both state and national pathways, and what it feels like to win when page...

Send us Fan Mail He looks like the most “local unko” guy you’d ever meet, and then he starts talking and you realize the stories are coming fast and unfiltered. I sit down with Unko Shane, a Hawaii TikTok and Instagram creator whose comedy hits because it’s familiar: the kind of people you see at the store, the lingo you grew up hearing, and the situations you swear you’ve lived through. We get in...

Send us Fan Mail Some conversations hit different because they refuse to pretend. Maci Ono is back, and we go way past gym clips and highlight reels into the messy middle where real change happens: grief, low motivation, depression, identity shifts, and the daily choice to keep showing up anyway. If you’ve ever put on a hoodie, gone full incognito, and tried to talk yourself out of the workout you...

Send us Fan Mail A kid can survive almost anything, but they don’t survive it unchanged. Nelson Sua up in Hawaii inside a home marked by violence, fear, and a family legacy that later gets labeled “Brotherhood of Crime.” He’s honest about what that kind of childhood does to your identity, your nervous system, and your sense of what’s normal. Then he walks us through the moment he finally decides t...

Send us Fan Mail Most people judge a DJ by the loudest 30 seconds. We wanted to talk about the other 99 percent of the job: the decisions nobody sees that keep a club alive, a dance floor full, and a night moving in waves instead of burning out early. We’re joined by DJ Javi, one of Hawaii’s most versatile DJs, to break down the real mechanics of nightlife. We talk DJ battles, mentorship, and the...

Send us Fan Mail The moment Wes said he’s putting down the mic, I felt it in my gut because I’ve known him as the voice that can move a room. We sit down and get real about why stepping back from MC duties can be the exact move a growing business needs, especially when you’re trying to protect your name, your family, and the standard your clients pay for. We talk about the path that got him here,...

Send us Fan Mail A club doesn’t earn trust with matching jerseys. It earns trust when coaches, athletes and parents show up with clarity, consistency, and heart. That’s where this conversation with Coach Kea lands as she shares the story behind rebranding to Ho’omau Athletics, a name rooted in perseverance and shaped by a season of real-life pressure. We get into what it looks like to build a yout...

Send us Fan Mail RAIN El DAKHAKHNI is the founder of 76 Sips Bar Company, a Hawaii mobile bartending service focused on fresh juice, local ingredients, and craft cocktail quality for weddings, brand events, and private parties on Oahu. We talk through her route from working and opening bars to betting on herself, plus why she’d rather be called a “cocktail artist” than a mixologist. We also get re...

Send us Fan Mail Five years and nearly 200 episodes later, I’m still recording Above the Bridge the same way I started: showing up, hitting record, and trying to have real conversations that leave me feeling something. This annual Q and A is me answering the questions you sent in, from what made me nervous early on to the one episode that gave me confidence to do the show in front of people, and t...

Send us Fan Mail A lot of people get a past they can’t outrun, and a lot of people in construction carry more weight than anyone sees. I sit down with Aaron Siga, a Kaneohe legend who used to be known for scrapping, to talk about how he flipped that energy into something that actually builds people up: leadership, teaching, and a steady “aloha” attitude on and off the jobsite. We get into the real...

Send us Fan Mail A side hustle that takes off because of shower curtains sounds like a joke, until you hear how it actually happened. I’m sitting down with Marnee, the owner of MarnZaza, a fast-growing local Hawaii brand with a loyal community, bold prints, and a real-world retail presence that keeps expanding. She’s also still doing hair and lashes, which makes her story hit even harder if you’re...

Send us Fan Mail A band can disappear from the release radar and still soundtrack your whole life. That’s why sitting down with Ho’onu'a felt like a full circle moment for us, from the classics we grew up on to the new music they’re finally ready to unleash. Jared and Christian share what changed since the peak island music days, what stayed the same, and why coming back now is less about “no...

Send us Fan Mail A lot of people love the idea of being a fighter. Far fewer can explain what that mindset looks like when the cage lights turn off and real life starts asking for overtime, tuition money, and patience. I sit down with Nate Yoshimura, a former MMA fighter who went from college wrestling to competing on big Hawaii cards and Bellator, and he keeps it honest about the parts nobody gla...

Send us Fan Mail Running a business is hard. Running it from 3,000 miles away forces you to learn the one skill most owners avoid for too long: letting go. We sit down with Ikaika Reppuhn, owner of iRep Detail Supply, to talk about what’s changed since launching the Las Vegas location, how he builds a team he can trust, and why real customer service still beats fast shipping when people need answe...

Send us Fan Mail She’s shooting University of Hawaii games, building trust with athletes and coaches, and still choosing the harder road. We talk story with Photos by Kaikai as she pushes past the “big fish in a small pond” trap and chases real growth in sports media and sports photography. We get into how her athlete background shaped her eye and her work ethic, plus the exact moment she decided...

Send us Fan Mail Hawaii feels more expensive every year, but the breaking point for a lot of families is childcare. When preschool tuition rivals rent and infant care can hit $2,000 a month, parents get trapped between working to survive and paying just to keep working. I sit down with Malia Tsuchiya from Hawaii Children’s Action Network to talk about what’s driving that pressure and what’s actual...

Send us Fan Mail We talk with the Hoku Award winning ukulele artist Brittni Paiva about how she went from classical piano training at age three to committing to ukulele at eleven, learning by ear, and stepping into major festival stages while still figuring out who she wanted to be as a performer. We also get practical about the modern music grind. Brittany breaks down her home studio approach, wh...

Send us Fan Mail Pearls on men used to get laughed at. Now they’re a quiet flex for anyone who understands style. We sit down with Jordan Fong, a Hawaii-based jeweler and photographer from the Bay Area, to talk about how he built a look, a network, and a creative life by staying true to what he likes even when it wasn’t “normal.” We start with jewelry and fashion, including why pearls became his s...