#CasualFriday With Haole Davidson

Recently, our comrade and principal photographer, Dane Peterson, took a quick trip out to Oahu to hang with his brother, Kristian, aka Haole Davidson. The film shots he took while out in the water with him were so dreamy we had to share.

We quickly realized that although we consider Banks Journal to be a close knit family, we really didn't know much about Dane's brother. A quick chat with Kristian accompanied by some salt soaked images seemed like the perfect introduction. Scroll down to the bottom for an epically curated playlist that the haole made for our Spotify Channel, too.

BANKS: Can you tell me a bit about yourself?

KRISTIAN: Uhhhhhhhhh let me seeee, I’m 33 years old, currently living on Oahu in Honolulu, I work in construction mainly as a carpenter. Like to surf when work isn’t getting in the way. And any other free time I enjoy building surfboards.

BANKS: What brought you to Oahu?

KRISTIAN: My parents took an extended leave from one another and I drew the winning lottery ticket to Hawaii.

BANKS: Do you see yourself planted there for a while?

KRISTIAN: Yeah, yeah I most definitely do. I’ve lived here since I was fourteen years old, so all my roots, my business, my friends are all here. Its kind of funny, every time I leave Oahu whether for vacation, personal matters, or whatever, I usually want to get back pretty fast. 

BANKS: I’ve heard moving to the islands can really test you, have you found it easy or hard to live there compared to California?

KRISTIAN: Compared to California, yeah it was a little bit harder, especially in the beginning. It was a little tough to figure out where I fit in with everybody. I think Hawaii gets a bad wrap sometimes but I think what it all boils down to respect. This a culture where absolutely everything was robbed and stripped away from these people and like most outsiders It took me a long time to understand what that meant. I realized little by little you have to watch how you conduct yourself . If you don’t have that respect in your approach it can really make things a lot harder on you when growing up here. you gotta have the people who live here in mind, because you're an outsider. Thats something I really wanted to touch on, as its the hardest question for me. I think specifically for me it may have been a little harder as I stuck out like a sore thumb, I was small haole kid but as soon as I learned how to respect the culture and approach it with the appropriate outlook it was such a blessing because you're then accepted as their ohana. 

BANKS: What was growing up at the Peterson household like?

KRISTIAN: Well I guess I’d say it creatively chaotic, or yeah just a hell of a lot of fun. My father and older brother Dane both extremely creative people. It’s hard to be around that and not be influenced creatively as well. I think thats where a lot of my personal creativity comes from. 

BANKS: When did you start working with your hands?

KRISTIAN: When I was 17 I got really heavily into artwork of my own. I was painting and drawing on a serious level and that was all I wanted to do outside of surfing. But in recent years as far as financially speaking or earning an income Ive been using my hands and working in the trades as a carpenter for about 7 years. Mostly framing but I do a little of everything. It’s tangible and I enjoy it.

 

BANKS: When did you start shaping boards? Did you learn the ropes from anyone?

KRISTIAN: I started shaping surfboards a little over a year ago. A good friend of mine Arthur Anchinges (Toots) kept saying to me every time we would surf that I should get in the bay and try shaping something. So one weekend I went out and watched him shape a couple logs. It was the first time in my life where I was really aware  of what was “going on” Ive been around surfboards my entire life because of my father and my brother but it was really the first time where I was interested enough to start learning. Toots put a planer in my hands for the first time and showed me a lot of the basics. Then my father came out to visit and we set aside some time and shaped a couple boards together from start to finish, that’s really when I realized I wanted to start shaping boards for myself.

BANKS: Favorite board you’ve ever shaped?

KRISTIAN: My favorite board Ive ever made is most definitely my 11ft glider. The design was inspired by a Rich Pavel shaped under the Dick Brewer label.  Its easily the fastest board Ive ever ridden, its great in small waves and extremely maneuverable from the tail considering its a pintail. Ive ridden it in some overhead surf and it absolutely HAULS ASS!!! It holds incredibly well, it also nose rides unbelievable for some reason, its super flat, real simple bottom , its about as simple as you get and by far my favorite board.

BANKS: What’s your quiver currently looking like?

KRISTIAN: Mostly logs, but a little bit of everything in that realm. My 11ft glider we touched on before. A 9’5” “Kiss model” by my friend Craig Kawamura which is a nose rider inspired by the Cj Nelson Classic. A 9’4” Unhinged pig shaped by my brother Dane, a 9’4” diamond tail nose rider shaped by Brent Clementine, I also have a 9’3” Jim Phillips “Magic Ham”, and a 5’4” Mandala ASQ that is a blast. 

BANKS: I recently visited Oahu for the first time, it’s got a bit of everything there. What are some of your favorite places to go that are a bit under the radar?

KRISTIAN: As far as surfing goes theres very few spots left so let’s steer clear of that one. But with Honolulu being such a tourist hub, its really difficult to keep things “under the radar” so to speak. There are a few places, such as Portlock, where you can kind of get away from the overwhelming tourist scene of Waikiki getting some amazing ocean views and scenery. You can always check out the Mokuleia side of the North shore as well because it’s way more mellow and very country like.

BANKS: Can you give me a few words about the playlist you made for us? KRISTIAN: It’s funny when I started making the playlist I wanted to… I guess when I think of playlists its something I can listen to when Im working or in a office or just make something that people can listen to, kind of groove too while they are at work at a low volume and just get there work done. So i think its kind of out there in the sense that it goes from as far back as the 50’s with some blues, but then theres some newer, present day stuff in there in there as well, a little bit of hip hop and things like that.

Check out the #CasualFriday playlist curated by Kristian for us here! And be sure to follow along on his #EverydayJourneys via Instagram