DEVOTED

De.voted - To give all or part of one’s time or resources to a person, activity or cause.

 

I am in awe of all the serendipities of life. I feel I am living in this state of wonder in the last few years. I want to share with you a story of a young couple that I recently met, whom I am so inspired by and have grown to love immensely. They are so inspiring that we at Kekoa decided to make a short film to share with the world. 

 

Just like all of you, we each have our own journey and a story of our own. Some are more wretched than others, but no one escapes life with ease. God is fair to all of us. He gives us no short cuts or magic pills. 

 

I met this couple sometime in June this year through our third partner at Kekoa, Jeff, who’s a cancer pharmacist researcher by day from 9am-5pm and an entrepreneur from 9pm to 12am. He lives Gary V’s words. He spoke highly of a young couple who competed as black belts that we should sponsor. They both earned their belts within a year and had created a ruckus in the jiu jitsu community. 

 

She came from the West Side of Oahu -Waianae. For those of you who have not been there or visited it, it’s where dolphins swim freely and the children are rooted in Hawaiian culture. In this part of the island, most of the keiki grew up learning the true Hawaiian ways and the lesson of Aloha starts at an early age. The locals are known to be warriors. They are fearless and proud- proud of their Hawaiian heritage and their way of life. Hawaiian Pride they call it, and you can see it as you drive from Nanakuli to Makaha. Waianae has gifted the world with some of the best surfers and fighters: Buffalo, Rabbit, Auntie Rell and our latest undisputed UFC Champion- Max Hollaway and Kawika Pa’aluhi. Her father was one of the original MMA fighters from Hawaii back in the 90’s. She grew up surrounded by warriors. She started wresting at an early age and eventually jiu jitsu found her. The rest you will have to find out in our short film. 

 

Her husband is Brazilian. He came from a beach town outside of São Paulo - São Vicente. A surfer at heart, he grew up in his father’s academy, but it wasn’t until he was eight years old that he started training jiu jitsu on a regular basis. Prior, he dabbled in judo, but it was jiu jitsu that spoke to him the most. 

 

Their story is much more than just about being jiu jitsu competitors; it’s a story about love, life, passion and chasing dreams. As for me, after listening to their stories, I truly think it’s about love and devotion. Most of us think we have control of our lives…but I don’t think so. I really believe the only controllable thing we have is our choices, and the rest is being given to us from Above. No one comes in our life by accident, and it is up to us to ‘tune-in’ to our own intuition, so we can listen to the voice Above with great reverence. How can one explain the two of them growing up almost 8,000 miles apart, on opposite sides of the world, and on a fluke, they are now one? 

 

Because of these two, we are starting a new project, which we named Devoted. It’s a series of short documentaries about inspiring humans across the globe. We feel there are so many journeys to be shared. We are hoping that by doing this, we will inspire you to live your best life. Get out of that comfort zone and start chasing your dream. 

 

I can share with you that as a man chasing my own dreams, I cannot do it without the love and support of my Jenny. Like all of the great iconoclast, none of them can do it alone. We are never great alone. It’s love that gives us the courage and the empowerment to be our best selves. This story is a small reminder that together we can help the suffering of the world and together we can help lift each other towards the light. 

 

This documentary could have not materialized without two other incredible human beings - Mike and Jennifer Morris. They are the creative genius behind and founders of Fibre Creative. They, too, are chasing their dreams after their 9-5 obligations. The same as Jeff. Fibre Creative will be our Kekoa story teller until death do us part. 

 

I would like to share a quote with you from one of my most favorite philosophers, E Fromm:

 

“Love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to all the problems of human existence.“ 

 

I beg you- please share this video, so that we can help this MOVEMENT spread across the globe. 

 

From the bottom of my heart - me ke aloha pumehana. 

 

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HHsSDpaIGg&feature=youtu.be

Patreon page (to help fund the project): https://www.patreon.com/FCFilms