Keep it Aloha

Robert Cazimero is an Award-Winning and Grammy-Nominated musician from the island of O’ahu. This revered and beloved kumu hula, singer, songwriter, and entertainer has performed throughout Hawai’i, the continental US, and internationally. Together with his brother Roland they were known as the Brothers Cazimero and have been honored with more than 25 Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards and in 2006 they were i...

Dr. Keanu Sai is a Ph. D. in Political Science specializing in International Relations and law from the island of O’ahu. He is a founding member of the Hawaiian Society of Law & Politics. He also served as lead agent for the Hawaiian Kingdom in arbitration proceedings before the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague, Netherlands, from November 1999-February 2001. He is also the head of t...

Mike Coots is a world-famous ocean photographer from the island of Kaua’i. He is a surfer, diver, shark advocate and amputee who has has won a silver medal at the 2016 ISA World Adaptive Surfing Championship. He has also published a book called Sharks:Portrait adding author to his resume. In this episode we talk about growing up on Kaua’i, losing his leg to a tiger shark, life with a prosthetic, f...

Lindsay Watson is an actress from the island of Maui. She has starred in Netflix’s Finding ‘Ohana and the award-winning film The Wind & The Reckoning, a film spoken primarily in Hawaiian and subtitled in English, which makes it one of the first Hawaiian language films with an international distribution. The film has won multiple awards at the festivals across the nation including best film at...

Kelly Hu is an actress from the island of O’ahu. She is a former fashion model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Teen USA in 1985 becoming the pageant’s third titleholder in history and its first Asian American winner. She then won Miss Hawai’i USA in 1993 becoming the first former Miss Teen USA to win a Miss USA state title. As an actress she starred in numerous films including The Scorpion K...

Star Dahl-Thurston is an aspiring film and television producer from the island of O’ahu. She is the former Miss Chinatown 2022 and Miss Hawai’i 2023. She is also the founder of Kahua Kollective which is a nonprofit with the mission to invest in female leaders in order to unlock authenticity, build self-esteem, and empower engagement within their communities In this episode we talk about being rais...

Shane Veincent is a member of a legendary hip-hop band from the Big Island of Hawai'i. This tattoo artist is the co-founder of the first Hawaiian rap group called Sudden Rush. From 1994 to 2018 they released four albums evolving from emulating the popular gangsta rap of the 1990s to perpetuating the importance of Hawaiian culture and commenting on local political issues. They have collaborated...

Kamaka Pili is a Native-Hawaiian storyteller from the island of O’ahu. He is a weather anchor and reporter for KHON2 news as well as the host of Aloha Authentic, a show celebrating Hawaiian culture through conversations with local artisans, cultural practitioners, kūpuna, and community members with the goal of learning more about Hawaiʻi, our native culture, and our unique lifestyle. In this episo...

Frank De Lima is an award-winning comic who has been entertaining local residents and tourists alike for over 45 years with his zany parodies, outrageous sense of humor and spontaneous creativity. His current catalog consists of three videos and 13 comedy albums, 11 of which have won him the coveted Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award. Andy Bumatai is an actor, stand-up comedian, host and producer. He has reco...

Stephanie Lum is an Emmy Award-Winning news anchor from the island of O’ahu. Not only is she the Hawaii News Now evening news anchor, but she is also a marathoner, triathlete, singer, and foodie. She does it all. Stephanie also hosts her podcast called Muthaship with her two best friends talking about parenthood, friendship, and lessons they’ve learned while growing as working moms in Hawai’i. In...

Osna Ronquilio is a popular DJ from the island of O’ahu. He is also an artist, producer, rapper, emcee, and videographer. As an American battle rapper, he has over 21 battles and nearly 1 million views and is part of the island born rap group called Angry Locals which consists of Krystillez, BigMox, Mic3, and of course our guest. They released their debut album “Aloha From Hawai’i” and a follow up...

Emma Koa is a Native-Hawaiian femalepreneur from the island of O’ahu. She is the founder, owner, and operator of Moon Kine Tingz which is a business that creates products that appropriately captures the Hawaiian lifestyle, enhances awareness, and sparks joy for ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi to get more people talking about/in ʻōlelo, to mālama our community and ʻāina as they mālama us. This mother and cultural p...

Drew Honda is an entrepreneur from the island of O’ahu. He is the CEO and founder of Sweet Enemy clothing. We welcome him back to the podcast after 100 episodes to see what he has been up to. In this episode we talk about what he’s been up to since the last time he was on the podcast, the entrepreneur life, Sweet Enemy Clothing, traveling, his newfound love for pickleball, and so much more. Enjoy!...

Camile Velasco A.K.A. Eli-Mac is a proud Filipino musician from the island of Maui. She is a singer-songwriter who launched her career at the age of 18 when she landed a spot on American Idol as a top 10 finalist on season 3. From there she went on to record a version of Bob Marley’s Guava Jelly produced by his son Stephen Marley, at Tuff Gong studios in Jamaica. The track earned her the Hawai&#39...

Roman De Peralta is a musician from the island of O’ahu. He is a singer, songwriter, and frontman of the ultra popular group Kolohe Kai which is a local Hawaiian reggae band. In 2009 they broke out on the music scene with an array of original songs like “Ehu Girl”, “Cool Down”, and “First True Love” which today have over 100 millions streams. Their popularity has been undeniable as they have been...

Evan Nagao is a yo-yo prodigy turned musician from the island of O’ahu. He is the 2018 world yo-yo champion and 5 time national yo-yo champion. At the age of 3 he was already proficient in 2A yo-yoing and was invited to various tv shows like Jay Leno and Ellen Degeneres. After a few yoy-o hiatuses he decided to pursue a music career under the artist name Evan from Heaven. He debuted his single “Wa...

Kamohai and Tristyn Kalama are two house experts from the island of O’ahu. Tristyn is a design expert who is also a licensed mental health counselor by trade and was the CEO of the nonprofit Kokua Support Services, where she continues to serve on its board of directors. She hosts HGTV’s new show, Renovation Aloha with her husband Kamohai. Kamohai is a full-time real estate developer and part time...

Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, these four braddahs lived apart on different islands. Then, everything changed when they came to O'ahu! Only the Keep it Aloha podcast, master of aloha, could bring them together...2 years passed and Kamaka and Jordan discovered the rest of team Avatar, an airbender named Sam Potter and an earthbender named Nainoa Langer. And although their accolades are grea...

Megan Godinez is a waterwoman from the island of O’ahu. She is a professional longboard surfer, fisherwoman, boxer, coach and so much more. She is a Ford ambassador and is one of the most multi-faceted people you’ll ever meet. She is an OG slippah slappah and your favorite professional aunty. In this episode we talk about trying out everything as a kid, choosing to pursue surfing, her surf hiatus...

Alohi Gilman is a professional football player from the island of O’ahu. He was selected by the Los Angeles Chargers with the 186th pick in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL draft. After playing almost exclusively on special teams as a rookie, he contributed on defense the next two seasons as a third safety. He was then named the starting free safety for the 2023 season, starting 14 games while reco...

Kekoa Carvalho is a motivational speaker from the island of O’ahu. He is a youth and substance abuse advocate, a sober mentor and the current Mr. Hawai’i. Back in December, he walked over 30 miles in a day to spread awareness for drug abuse and today, he is going around the state speaking to schools and sign waving in his community to raise awareness for all types of social issues. This father of...

Marcella Rezentes is a local celebrity from the island of O’ahu. She first went viral in an interview with past podcast guest McKenna Maduli. She most recently appeared as a special surprise guest in our first ever live podcast show at the Blue Note and now she is blessing our studio with her presence and is making her podcast debut on Keep it Aloha. In this episode we talk about growing up in Wai...

Imua Garza is a Grammy award-nominated producer from the island of O’ahu. This husband and father of three is also a vocalist, musician, recording engineer and composer. His first official professional music release was around the age of 11. He then went on to record and perform with the ukulele group Opihi Pickers. In 2020 he was nominated for his first grammy award for a record titled “Hawaiian...

McKenna Maduli s a Native-Hawaiian Emmy-Award winning wahine from the island of O’ahu. This kalihi girl has over 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry working for MTV, NBC’s Access Hollywood, Billboard live, and interviewing some of the biggest celebrities in the biz. She came home in 2016 to work as a weekend weather anchor for KHON and now is the host of her very own talk show, “T...

Brahkruz is a content creator from the island of O’ahu. His bio reads: Sometime between the abolishment of the kapu system and when Josh Green became governor, Brahkruz was born. He spent most of his life in Kane’ohe. One day he made fun of the City & County and told a bunch of haoles at Sandys Beach to GEDOWT. Today he spends his days waiting on the Hawaiian Homes list, doing bad jokes at ope...