Latest / The iAlign Podcast with Flint Mitchell / #23 - Producing Films and Creating Art that Inspires You to Take Action With Waterwoman Faith Fay

Transcript

#23 - Producing Films and Creating Art that Inspires You to Take Action With Waterwoman Faith Fay · The iAlign Podcast with Flint Mitchell

• 0:02
  SPEAKER_03: We would do QA's before and after.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_03: Sure.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_03: People would come up to you in tears and so moved that they were carrying some weight that was so unbearable to them prior.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_03: That through your lens and your ability as a filmmaker, you've now inspired and encouraged them through Derek's life that they now know whatever they carry, they can bear and they can walk forward and get through it.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_03: And that there's something brighter for them just around the bend.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Seeking Authenticity.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Flint Mitchell, and I get absolutely psyched by having conversations with authentic people that I admire about the things they value.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: Their stories and perspectives don't just make me smile, laugh, and think.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: They inspire me to wake up earlier, listen better, focus, and work harder, and help make me a better version of myself.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: And it's my hope that sharing these conversations through this podcast might do the same thing for you.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: In this episode, I talk with Faith Fei.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: She's an artist, athlete, actress, film producer, and conservationist.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: She and I met while I was on Oahu at a Surfrider Foundation event.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: For those of you who don't know, Surfrider is a nonprofit that works to protect and preserve the world's oceans, waves, and beaches.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: I had a wonderful time talking with her and hearing about her various adventures and projects around both Hawaii and the globe.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: From surfing and diving on Oahu to trekking glaciers in Alaska and filming documentaries in Southern America.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: She has a vast collection of wicked experiences and I was stoked to hear more.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: In this conversation, we really cover a lot of ground, from her entry into surfing through the filming of Soul Surfer, to how her career has revolved around the ocean, the joy she receives from building and creating art that might inspire and connect others, Hawaiian culture, and moving forward in life with faith that actions done with your best intentions will lead you towards a better life.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: I absolutely love this chat with Faith, and I know you will too.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: Enjoy.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for doing this with me, Faith.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: I really appreciate it.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_03: Aloha Flynn, I'm super stoked to be here, and I appreciate you asking me to join your phenomenal team of people that you've already interviewed prior.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: You talk with so much gratitude.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's been one of the fun, it's been one of the joys of uh just setting this podcast up, actually.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: Was speaking with you over the phone and email.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: You speak with a lot of appreciation and gratitude.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: So it's fun to even know that this is, I have the opportunity to do this.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and you have so many different, you have a wealth of wild, fun experiences from being an athlete to a creator and an artist and actress, uh, an environmentalist.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: There are a lot of really uh wonderful facets of your life.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm I'm sure we won't be able to get to all of them, but as much as we can touch on, it would it'll it'll be fun.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: Uh the first thing I'd like to start off with was before this podcast started or yesterday, you sent me uh uh your film reel about films that you had partaken in and produced or been on the team for.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I'd love to hear more about your experience with with film.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: Is there one film uh or project that comes to mind when you think about the joy that that uh producing or participating in these movies uh brings you?
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_03: I'm gonna start with the film Soul Surfer, which was um the Hollywood adaptation of Bethany Hamilton, pro surfer, um had a little accident with a shark on the island of Kauai, and has through her documentary films and that Hollywood film has inspired and encouraged millions of people.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_03: So I was given that script a year before they began filming, and I wanted the role of Bethany's youth group leader, Sarah, because I thought what an amazing character to play, to breathe life into.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_03: I had already been mentoring kids prior to that, and when you have these moments to encourage someone else, it's a phenomenal blessing that you should step into with confidence and energy and know that you're being used at that moment for the greater good.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_03: So I was all set to audition, and the week before they began auditioning, I was invited to California, to Hollywood, to the studio to audition for that role.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_03: And I was extremely prepared, went in.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_03: Um, they were like, thank God you came in from Hawaii, you blew it out of the water.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_03: You know, the director was there, the producer, I mean, everybody was there, it was phenomenal.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_03: That's awesome.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_03: And then apparently I got a call uh a few weeks later, and Carrie Underwood had actually gotten that role.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_03: And I was like, I'm gonna be honest, who the heck is this Carrie Underwood girl?
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_03: I look her up and I'm like, oh man, sorry.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_03: Like the song Jesus Take the Wheels On.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm like, oh my gosh, okay, I get it now.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_03: This is phenomenal.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_03: I understand.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_03: So I just kind of let them know, however, you want to use me.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_03: I heard Helen Hunt's playing her mother.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_03: I would love to study under her as an actress, so can I stand in for her?
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_03: And they're like, Well, you're still gonna have a role, it's gonna be a few scenes.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_03: So, anyway, that film allowed me to be on a set where they met every morning as a group and they prayed and they encouraged each other.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_03: And we're on the the first day, we're on the beach on the north shore of Oahu.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_03: Bethany's real, like Oahu preacher, you know what I mean, pastor, given the word and encouragement, and the scene was, you know, everyone's yeah, Carrie Underwood was there singing.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_03: It was just, it was, it was wonderful.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: So outrageous.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_03: So, anyway, I do this role, and I be, and this is when I begin my friendship with Bethany and her family, and an and a filmmaker named Brian, and this amazing journey continues to take me.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_03: This is actually when I had to learn how to surf.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_03: I had no way, yes, I had been a track athlete through junior high and high school and became a lifeguard and a water woman.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_03: Yet I hadn't really tackled when you try to learn to surf in Hawaii, it's not fun because your friends are like, here's your five foot six board, just follow us out.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, yeah, it's in foot, you know.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_03: So you're like, I've got it.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: No, I love that because uh Soul Surfer, I think, inspired a large group of people to surf, but it inspired you to surf in a different way by like actually participating in it.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_03: Exactly.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_03: So I had to learn how to surf, which I mean, I like really surf.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_03: So I did, and I actually I had to do a scene where I was doubling for Helen Hunt, and we were in extreme hazardous conditions on the North Shore, and I paddled out with a guy that's from the movie North Shore that played Turtle.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_03: No way, yeah, John.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: Nobody listened to Turtle, yeah.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_03: So he's you know, we paddle out together, and he's body doubling for Dennis Quaid, and I'm for Helen Hutt.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_03: Now, both of them surf amazing, yeah.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_03: But yeah, we're it's a long-distance shot.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_03: It was extremely hazardous condition.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_03: So why send the actors out when you can send the the understudies out?
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_01: Of course, yeah.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_03: But John was encouraging, it really got my feet back into it.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_03: Like, okay, I I I love the ocean, I respect the ocean.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_03: Her aloha is amazing, but her mana, the power she carries, must be respected.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_03: And that began a journey.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_03: So I would like to take this into several months later.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_03: I happen to be in California, and I message a gentleman that helped on that film, Brian, that produced Bethany's documentary.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_03: And he's like, Yeah, I got this surf camp for kids.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_03: I need a mentor.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_03: Can you come out tomorrow?
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_03: So here I am, bam.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_03: And I show up and I'm mentoring kids, and we're in the water with surfboards and we're going crazy.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: And this is all within months of you learning to, or like maybe a year of you learning to surf.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_03: No, no, no, no.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_03: It's months of me learning how to surf.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_03: And so now I'm even learning more.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_03: And I've got to tell you, you know, here I am like jumping on board, and okay, I got to get, you know, I'm getting some I'm surfing like six hours a day for five days a week now.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_03: Like I'm in the water.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, so it was this fantastic experience as an athlete, the Federation of Christian Athletes, F FSA, no, FCA, excuse me, Federation of Christian Athletes, FCA.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_03: You know, they have these great camps.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_03: Walking on water has these amazing camps.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_02: Sure.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_03: So I got to partake in and be mentoring kids and surfing and being in the water, and that relationship with that gentleman that runs that camp, he's also a filmmaker.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_03: You fast forward a year later, I come back to these camps again.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_03: And he's like, Hey, we're gonna film a movie about a blind surfer called Beyond Sight.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: So can you produce?
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_03: You know, can you step in and help us?
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_03: Because we do know that you studied filmmaking.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_03: Sorry, go ahead.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: No, absolutely.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I I really actually want to touch on this film, but first, before we get to that, it's was this kind of your four first full immersion with the ocean, like all this time you were spending, or was it something that you had um you know been around and been in previously?
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_03: So um as a kid, I had lived many places, including Miami, Maine.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_03: Um, those were ocean times for me, those were lakes, ponds, like just getting, yeah, you know, I had a love for the water.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_03: Prior to that, I had lived in the inner city up until I was 12.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_03: So I had seen a lot of intense, distressing, darker things.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_03: So then when you get to, we when I did get to get to the beaches of Miami away from that inner city, yeah, that was beautiful, but so far few between.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_03: Then you go to Maine and it's gorgeous and nature and it's safe.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_03: And then to be in Hawaii Ne, where the ocean envelops you because that temperature is warmer and so inviting.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, the Pacific is calling you, and immediately I begin to realize that whatever weight you carry, you get into that ocean and you swim, and it's a rebirth.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_03: You're healed.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_03: You you know what I mean?
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_03: You come back out.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's an experience that uh you want everyone to have because it is incredibly powerful and it's unifying.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: And and kind of to your story is it's at least to this point, a very central element.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's a it's part of the film or a main portion of the film you're in.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but then it's the the reason for these camps being held, and now it's the reason that you're meeting this new producer, and and and then it's now it's it's the central focus of a lot of the films or or projects, it sounds like that you work on.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, could you tell me about though the experience of working on um that well my gosh, I forgot the name now of the blind surfer.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_03: Beyond site, beyond site.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_03: Um and I I would like to say your observation is pretty moving and spot on, and a realization for myself that my whole world is ocean-based, and you are correct.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_03: And I went from being a swimmer to in a certified lifeguard to acting and filmmaking, but the films again drew me back to the ocean.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_03: Like now you're gonna surf, now you're gonna body board, now you're gonna, you know, body surf, and and you're gonna be working every day in the water on the beach.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_03: And so the more I was surfing and having ocean adventures, I began to be approached by several companies to sponsor me so that I could continue living life to the fullest and encouraging others to do the same.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_03: So I had Puolani Hawaii, Kobean, and EcoXGear out of California, DMC Finns out of Australia, and Bravery out of the UK all approach me and say, we believe in you, we believe in your message and what you're doing as an athlete and individual and conservationist.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_03: So as long as you stay on that road, hey, we're gonna stand behind you, we're gonna support you every step of the way.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_03: It has been absolutely fantastic.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm honored, I'm blessed.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_03: That being said, Beyond Sight started to be filmed, which was this film about a blind surfer who lives by faith and not by sight.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_03: With the goal to get barreled at pipeline on the north shore of Oahu.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: Which for people who don't understand is one of the most dangerous waves in the world, if not me.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_03: And I, as a lifeguard, I have free-dove that area, and you see all the things underneath the lava rock, the reef that you can get snaked into and you can't get out of, and you get rolled and ragdolled.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_03: So it puts this like respectful fear.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_03: You know, and fear is not a good word, but a respect and and fear is sometimes a good word.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, because if you throw fear when you surf, you're like, it's 25, we can do this.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_03: I've seen Laird Hamilton, it's fine.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_03: So Soul Surfer.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_03: Onto Beyond Sight.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, Kelly Slater said this when I worked with him on Beyond Site, he said Bethany Hamilton being the girl, Derek Rabello being the guy, two people that have things that are challenging them a little bit more beyond our normal capabilities of the rest of us.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_03: Sure.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_03: And they overcome them with faith and belief that they're here for a reason.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_03: They have these amazing purposes, and the purpose will become clearer as they continue to move forward and pounce on those opportunities that are presented to them.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_03: And through that film, again, I as well was reminded live by faith and not by sight.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_03: We screened the film first at the Hawaii International Film Festival.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_03: We had people sitting down.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I bet the stuff was just through the roof.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, like we they had to add a screening because people were like demanding there was a second screening.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_03: People were sitting in the aisles of the theater.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_03: Like, please let us watch the film.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_03: The applause.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_03: I have chicken skin, you guys say goosebumps right now, because it was so moving and so encouraging.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_03: And then we took this film, and I opened this film in California, Florida, Brazil.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_03: Wow.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_03: And these different locations, like I remember we would do QA's before and after.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_03: Sure.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_03: People would come up to you in tears and so move that they were carrying some weight that was so unbearable to them prior.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_03: That through your lens and your ability as a filmmaker, you've now inspired and encouraged them through Derek's life that they now know whatever they carry, they can bear and they can walk forward and get through it.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_03: And that there's something brighter for them just around the bend.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: And it's such a perfect physical example or like representation of this act of going by faith and intuition of a guy who cannot see facing off with one of the most dangerous things in the surfing world that could kill you, right?
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's a perfect representation.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: Like if you go by your instinct and and rely on faith and just keep going forward, there's there's gonna be a brighter side at the end.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_03: There is, and that film has blessed me through so many entities in my life with relationships I've built with surfer, other athletes that are surfers, filmmakers, individuals that simply needed some encouragement at that moment, and they and they actually still stay in contact with you because you're given that moment.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_03: And if you can continuously encourage somebody for a lifetime, why wouldn't you do it?
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_03: So and I agree with you, that ocean and that movement of inspiring and encouraging has continued through all of my projects.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_03: I realize I've turned down projects as a documentary filmmaker.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, that I'm like, oh no, sorry, that's not up my alley.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and and you're right, it's always these ocean-based films that you know, I'm working on two right now.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_03: One is musicians that surf, the rocking surfers, which you have like band members from Metallica and Switchfoot, Donovan Frankenwriter, Liam McNamara, a big wave surfer from Hawaii.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_03: You know, so you start your journey and you keep you, you know, you keep adding to it.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_03: So we have an amazing lineup thus far of musicians.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, but oh my gosh, Jim Lindbergh from Pennywise.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_03: Oh my gosh.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: Great surfer.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_03: Tony Hawk.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_03: Tony Hawk of the you know, oh my god, skateboard epicness is like, Faith, I'll do an interview for your show.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_03: And he talked about Jim Lindbergh Pennywise, he talked about Metallica because these are bands that were playing when you were surfing and skating.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, for sure.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: These are probably at his biggest competitions and stuff.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my god.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_03: So you end up having this amazing show, and let me tell you, all of the people that I'm saying, they play music, they love the ocean and they surf, but they are they are ocean conservationists.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: Interesting.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_03: So each one of them, Jim Lindbergh from Pennywise, he was on the Surfrider Board Foundation.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_03: You know, he's a board member.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_03: That's so that you know what I mean.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_03: And switchfoot, oh my gosh, just ridiculous.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's such a natural progression.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, for and this is probably in any sort of environment that you're in, right?
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_00: If you go and hike the Pacific Crest Trail, you're gonna come out of it with this appreciation and desire to save it and protect it for other people to do the same thing and to appreciate it.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_00: And it it's such a natural progression for people who interact with the ocean in any shape or form.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_00: I think it touches back on what we were saying, is it's an incredible experience to really be enveloped in the ocean uh and to experience it.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: And it's uh it's impactful.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like I don't think there's any other way to say it.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's impactful to be in the ocean.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: It changes you in a way, and it makes you want to help and protect it in whatever form or fashion you can.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_03: Um how much marine life have you been blessed to encounter when you're in the ocean?
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_00: I well, a lot, but specifically, um my connection with, or just like love for otters.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: There's like um Northern California, there are lots of otters, um, and they play around in in the kelp forests, and and popping season, you'll be on your surfboard or you'll be swimming around in the ocean, and there will be this ball of fluff that's like you can't even see its face, there's too much fluff, and it's just sitting there chirping away, like because its mother is under diving for clams or whatever to get food.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and you're just staring at this thing like I just love this.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so there's so much joy there just from being there.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_03: So, as a surfer, as you are and I am, and water women and watermen, it's not just about the waves, it's about the ocean in its entirety.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_03: And not only am I doing the musicians that surf, you know, documentary that shares, you know, ocean-inspiring music and conservationism in these individuals, but I'm also doing the Broken Jaws, a shark conservation film, where as a surfer, numerous times have I been out and got off my board to free dive with dolphins, sharks, yeah, um, you know, eagle rays and whole news, turtles, and the respect and appreciation.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_03: And this shark conservation film came along and I pounced on it because this will be the biggest film I may ever do in my entire life.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: Why do you say that?
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_03: Because we are killing, as you know, the ocean and all of her inhabitants and sharks, especially.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, we've desecrated their population.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_03: And there have been documentaries made prior, which are fantastic.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_03: But we live in 2020.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_03: You have to have a very entertaining film.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's a very interesting mix.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_00: You have to entertain with the message.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_03: Yep.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_03: So you have to, and my goal is to entertain, encourage, and inspire somebody.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_03: So with all of that, you immediately enlighten them when you're educating.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_03: So it's this brilliant thing.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_03: And so my my director of this film and I have come together and through a narration, we're near like it's just it's scripted, it's a narrative documentary film where you take a journey with three individuals that have a fear of sharks.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_03: And we're going to break that stereotype that pop culture began years ago, back back when Jaws came out.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_03: And we're saying it's broken Jaws.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_03: We're breaking that.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, oh, I see exactly what you're saying.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_03: But we're going to take you on the gnarliest journey of a lifetime.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_03: You're going to meet Mike Coots, who's part of our team, who actually had his leg taken by a tiger shark.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_03: Wow.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_03: Um, when he was surfing in conditions that he thought I probably shouldn't have.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_00: And then became an advocate for sharks.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_03: He became this amazing advocate for sharks.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_03: And I've worked, I, you know, I work with him constantly.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_03: It's phenomenal because we're doing that broken jaws film together that will hopefully change the world.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_03: And ask you at the end of the film, take a stand, stand up right now and choose one of these nonprofit organizations for ocean cleanup, shark protection and conservation, and make a difference in the world because that's one of the things you should be doing on your to-do list in life.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_03: And Mike Coots and I also meet often because I volunteer for the Access Surf, the Adaptive Surfers from Hawaii.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_03: I volunteer for that team and I traveled with them to Costa Rica last year.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_03: And we do, you know, I've also traveled to California with them and here in Hawaii.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_03: So again, anything ocean-based, whether it's volunteer work or filmmaking or acting, I seem to be blessed thus far.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I think that, and I really wanted to touch on this, uh, but we went on such a fun path, which is it's not just this uh, I mean, it is a lot about the central focus of the ocean, but it was kind of what we were talking about with Beyond Sight, which was acting on faith by doing the next best thing that you think possible.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_00: And it seems like that has been a lot of your career.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's not necessarily knowing exactly what's next, it's just taking these next steps and it leads you to this movie, or taking the next steps, and it influences you to want to uh uh interact with the environment and helping protect the environment.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's this kind of this just desire to do the next best thing.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_03: I agree with you.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_03: And right now, as an actress, you know, the film industry is pretty quiet, and I have been getting a few offers, but I'm gonna be honest, I contacted James Cameron because he's doing avatar right now in New Zealand.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_03: And as an actor and as an individual, conservationist, woman, Native American, mixed blood, that would be the film of my lifetime as an actor to do.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_03: That's weird.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_03: Because he is so aware with that first avatar of there being First Nations, there being um, you know, Aboriginal people that realize you are part of a whole in nature, and everything that you do affects something around you, and that appreciation should exist and that balance and respect.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_03: And yeah, that would be the film.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_03: And they're doing water, you know.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_03: A lot of this, the new one is based on ocean.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_03: Well, I'm the water woman that free dives.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, free dives with dolphins and sharks.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_03: So I I would love it.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_00: What I wanted to say about that is that that actually touches then on another comment, which was Avatar is a very good example of something that is both uh you know enthralling and uh entertaining, but also with that that kind of underlying message talking about, you know, if you can if you can be entertained by it and connect with it, then you can possibly think about the message that is being provided by the movie.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_03: I I agree 100%.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_03: You know, Aquaman film did that a bit as well.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I wish they would have done it more, but they have these, there's a scene with Jason Momoa and the gentleman playing his brother, and they're talking about all the stuff that the humans have done to desecrate the ocean and the marine life.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_03: And again, now Jason Mamoa, we also both volunteer for sustainable coastlines, um, which is ocean and and and you know, beach cleanups.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_03: And so, yeah, the more you can bleed it into, weave it into the script.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_03: I guess I say bleed because it should be that passionate and deep and resonate so that yeah, that power, it's like vibrating.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_03: And then you're going on this journey and you're inspired and encouraged by the end of it, and you're more aware.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_03: And yeah, that's kind of the best thing that film can do.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_03: You can touch millions of people, and it's a stage that you're blessed to stand upon.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_03: So make a difference while you're there.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_00: And thank you for mentioning kind of I was talking about this idea of taking next steps, and you brought it forward to the future.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_00: Are there any projects or directors or producers?
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you mentioned James Cameron.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_00: Are there others that you would want to work with?
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, um Leonardo DiCaprio has a production company, I believe it's pronounced IP and Way.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_03: Um and Leonardo has this amazing balance as well I'm an actor, which allows me to create and be passionate and heal as an artist, yeah, breathe life into a character.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_03: He also has films that he produces and then he's part of that are conservation movies.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_03: And he joined uh Vulcan Productions, which is a phenomenal documentary production company that I actually have had submitted to work with, but they are now folding.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_03: But Leonardo did production company partnered with them and they did a film about the ivory trade.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_03: Wow.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_03: That was screened at the IUCN, which is this amazing conference that's held every four years, different places in the world where conservationists, scientists, um, politicians all generate to this is the one you said was being held in Hawaii last time, right?
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, so several years ago they held this IUCN Congress conference here in Honolulu, and I thought it was going to be pretty phenomenal because I'm part of like half a dozen conservation organizations, and each one of them was talking about them.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_03: I was invited as a filmmaker and got to attend several documentaries that were screening, and then there were conversations about wildlife trade and you know, pollution, you know.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_03: There's so much going on.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_03: Overfish.
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_03: But anyway, the point is that you were educated and enlightened, and through the films, I felt was where you really could make that difference if you're coming with my background.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_03: So Vulcan Productions and Leonardo DiCaprio's production company had partnered for the film that I had.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_03: There were two films we screened at that conference.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_03: So I think he's one of those ones like a James Cameron.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_03: Like, I'm really aware.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_03: Like, I mean, he's Leonardo DiCaprio's worked with First Nations in his films.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_03: And then he's gone and done amazing conservation films.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_03: And I think at the tail end of that, with my conservation films, I'm gonna be a little bit more like okay, now it's time to stand up.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_03: Like, I'm gonna make you accountable at the end of the film.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_03: Like, everyone stand.
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_03: Is everyone around you standing?
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_03: And go to this website and join a join one of these organizations to make a difference in the world.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_03: Have a nice day.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_03: Thanks for playing.
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_00: No, this this touches on something that uh that we we talked about in an email thread, which was you made a comment, which was my purpose in life is to encourage others through leveraging the gifts God has given me as a storyteller, artist, and athlete.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's a wonderful comment.
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_00: And it I think we've touched on a lot of aspects of that, of the encouragement and the the possibility of what your art can impact and your your creation can impact others.
• 31:54
  SPEAKER_00: I was hoping that you could kind of elaborate on that statement a little bit.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_03: I am, and I'm gonna use a quote from one of our films, if that's okay.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_03: From one of the films.
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_03: You won't.
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_03: This is this is a a lovely film by Walking on Water, who also did Beyond Site.
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_03: They did Surfers and Cowboys and invited me to produce as well.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_03: And in the whole point of that film is, you know, the real devastating thing is when you live life, it's not about dying, it's about letting the passion within you die because you're not doing what you're meant to do.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and if you take a moment and encourage somebody through words or actions, you are driving them to their purpose, you are encouraging them to make a huge difference in their life, their community, and the world.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and the gifts that God has given me are, you know, I'm a photographer, I'm a painter, I'm a marble sculptor, I'm a pastel worker, I'm an actress, I'm an athlete.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, all of these are wonderful gifts that allow you to excel and to create and to heal.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_03: Yet when you step out and share those gifts with others, you end up encouraging them.
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_03: And it makes the biggest difference in the world from surf camps with inner city kids or at-risk kids.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, you pour into them in the ocean, and then you come out and you talk to them, and it's this one-on-one conversation, and you have made the biggest difference in their lives, hopefully, that they see they can do anything they aspire to be.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and there's one little girl that really stood out to me in my life.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_03: I was guest speaking at a school, yeah, and they sent me several dozen thank you cards.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_03: And this little girl said, It was the first time in my life that I realized I could do more than one thing with my life because she was coming from a background I came from, from a lower working class family, where you see the person do one thing to simply make money to survive.
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_03: And I always struggled as a small child, like, I want to do this, I want to do that, I want to do this.
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_03: And like, no, you don't, you don't get to, you can't.
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_03: You have to just get a job and you got to do this.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_03: And this is the way.
• 34:43
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, neither of my parents finished high school, and none of them went to college.
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_03: So I have done all of that, and and I do what I love because I have that blessing.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I have that blessing because others have encouraged me and lent helping hands when I was in need and opened their hearts and homes.
• 35:04
  SPEAKER_03: And I asked that of everybody else to do the same.
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_03: Because when you do, the sky is the limit for you and for the person that you're helping.
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 35:12
  SPEAKER_00: No, and I love the way that you put that together.
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I appreciate you telling that story.
• 35:16
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's fantastic.
• 35:17
  SPEAKER_00: The first thing that came to mind when you're mentioning that is um, and I think anyone can really empathize with this is when you do something that you really love, you come out of it this with this kind of excitement.
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, you know, we call it stoke or whatever it is, but it's a fantastic feeling.
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um imagine then that feeling, how amplified it is for uh this girl who doesn't get to feel that that often, if ever.
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_00: Going into a place like the ocean or doing some activity with people that are encouraging them to see a different perspective, that there's more opportunity, like that awareness that that stoke is even there.
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's just so spectacular.
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_00: I absolutely love it.
• 36:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but it comes to this point, right, where it's it's uh not about the gifts you're given, and it's not about doing them, and it's about how those gifts uh encourage and impact and connect with others.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's really about this kind of network and building the network.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's uh actually kind of a testament to a lot of the uh the work you do, right?
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_00: In the ocean, it's uh we always talk about being connected with the ocean or being connected with the environment and the animals in it.
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_00: With films, it's it's forming connections not on set, but with the potentially thousands or hundreds of thousands or millions of people out there watching, right?
• 36:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's about how you connect with others.
• 36:47
  SPEAKER_03: You're correct.
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_03: And again, you're like weaving this brilliancy into my life that I'm, you know, it's there and I'm not clearly seeing because I'm doing a thousand things at one moment.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_00: It's the outside perspective.
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_03: You are you are correct.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_03: And you and I had that connection when we met at the Surfrider Foundation get together when I was hearing your journey and your love and your passions, and I was inspired by you.
• 37:15
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_03: Because you were taking those steps outside the box, like I'm gonna travel the world and I'm gonna make these connections unexpectedly.
• 37:25
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 37:26
  SPEAKER_03: And you are correct.
• 37:28
  SPEAKER_03: I sit in front of you because I had that connection with you, and I've had that connection with so many people that have allowed me to grow and walk beside them on their journey.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_03: And it's been a pretty phenomenal ride thus far.
• 37:43
  SPEAKER_03: And I honestly feel like I'm just getting started.
• 37:46
  SPEAKER_03: I was just making the base within which to jump, my friend.
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_03: Let's do this.
• 37:54
  SPEAKER_00: So why is it why do you think it's so why do you think it feels so good to connect with others in that way?
• 38:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like to put out your energy and find others with the same.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_03: I'm gonna be honest, when I was mentoring kids at surf camp, and I remember standing up there, you know, we surf like several hours a day, but then we have this small groups or the big group gets together and we powwow and we talk.
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_03: And I remember saying, You think I'm here for you at this surf camp?
• 38:31
  SPEAKER_03: I'm I'm totally extremely selfish.
• 38:33
  SPEAKER_03: I'm actually here for myself.
• 38:34
  SPEAKER_03: And they all stopped and looked.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_03: And I said, Because what I've realized is I have a hole inside of me went from when I was a child of wanting to be loved and you know, not having those relationships.
• 38:49
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I grew up without a dad, and by the time I was in high school, I didn't live with either of my parents.
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_03: Wow.
• 38:56
  SPEAKER_03: And I had this void that exists in loving these kids and these individuals that I bond with as a surfer, a filmmaker, an actress.
• 39:09
  SPEAKER_03: It fills that void with love and peace that I never had.
• 39:16
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm still fulfilling that, you know, that that I'm still fulfilling that need to be loved.
• 39:25
  SPEAKER_03: And it sounds so odd.
• 39:28
  SPEAKER_03: No, but that time with others, that the relationships with with others that we build is when you feel that love and that and you should honor that.
• 39:37
  SPEAKER_03: And I don't know if everybody's aware of that, that every connection you make, wonderful things can happen from it.
• 39:44
  SPEAKER_03: Just pour a little bit of time and and positive energy because look at you and I, it was a fleeting few moments that we had.
• 39:52
  SPEAKER_03: Sure.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_03: You know, last year in Hawaii, and now we're both being inspired and encouraged and experiencing clarity through this conversation.
• 40:02
  SPEAKER_03: That I find your podcast to be extremely encouraging and inspiring at a time.
• 40:11
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, job well done because it's needed all the time, but right now this special moment is upon us.
• 40:20
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that you stood up and you took, you kind of put on, you put on the cape, my friend.
• 40:27
  SPEAKER_03: You are now a superhero.
• 40:30
  SPEAKER_00: On a small scale.
• 40:31
  SPEAKER_00: No, it's it's thank you.
• 40:33
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that is all wonderful commentary.
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I love that imagery.
• 40:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's hard imagery, but the like the having the void, it's a really good way of showing this kind of philosophy that people I think understand on the surface whether or not they're willing to to reach out and try it, which is connecting with others, like really connecting with others, putting making yourself vulnerable and forming those bonds really uh can actually be a selfish thing.
• 41:04
  SPEAKER_00: It can you can do it and it will help you.
• 41:07
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it really will.
• 41:08
  SPEAKER_00: And it's yeah, it's it's absolutely fantastic.
• 41:12
  SPEAKER_00: And thank you for mentioning uh this podcast.
• 41:15
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I've had so much fun doing it, and it's exactly kind of the underlying feature is in this environment we're in right now, there's a lot of divisiveness and and disconnect.
• 41:30
  SPEAKER_00: And the hope is that communicating and sharing these stories and these values, right?
• 41:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I mean, this conversation is about surfing, it's about the ocean, it's about environmental policy and all that, but it's also about connection and it's about love.
• 41:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um it's about faith and relying on doing the next best thing for for you, right?
• 41:56
  SPEAKER_00: You mentioned like you have these opportunities with films, but you look at them and you go, that's not me, right?
• 42:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's about acting in your best interest.
• 42:03
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe not your best interest, that's the wrong way to say it.
• 42:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's about acting with your best intention.
• 42:10
  SPEAKER_03: I think you are a hundred percent correct.
• 42:13
  SPEAKER_03: Acting with your best intention towards yourself and towards those around you.
• 42:17
  SPEAKER_03: When you have these moments of quietness, whether you choose them or not, take a look and say, what can I be doing for myself and for those around me?
• 42:28
  SPEAKER_03: And I shared with you personally, this was a time of deep reflection for me.
• 42:34
  SPEAKER_03: A lot of self-growth took place.
• 42:36
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and I poured a lot more into my writing and to my artwork because film is kind of quiet right now.
• 42:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 42:45
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, I am a published author.
• 42:48
  SPEAKER_03: I have a children's book on Amazon, and I have written a screenplay that we were starting pre-production on.
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_03: And now I'm doing my second screenplay, which it's amazing because I end up bringing the conservation in, you know, it's about this vigilante, but I'm bringing conservation into the script.
• 43:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 43:09
  SPEAKER_03: So I think I'm realizing at this time in my life, whether it's my artwork, it's film, it's acting, it's writing, it all is mixed with conservation to make a difference in the world to encourage others to do the same.
• 43:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that follows into another area of your life, which is this um being in this environment of Hawaii.
• 43:45
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's this is a lot of these are gems of the Hawaiian culture.
• 43:52
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it's kind of full circle, is that this cult, this rich culture of uh connection with the land.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if for other people who haven't been to Hawaii or haven't really been out of Waikiki, no one makes use of the land like Hawaii do.
• 44:12
  SPEAKER_00: No one, no one, I this isn't a really great example, but it is a fun, fun one, which is if you go to a park on Saturday or Sunday, everyone will be there out in the sunshine under a big tent with a barbecue going on.
• 44:26
  SPEAKER_00: And they're not like out boozing, they're just out there, they're just outside with the land.
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I wonder if you could touch on maybe how these topics we've discussed tie into your experience with Hawaiian culture.
• 44:42
  SPEAKER_03: You know, Hawaii has um a magic to her, and she brings you home to the islands when it's time.
• 44:52
  SPEAKER_03: And I was brought here pretty young, thank God.
• 44:58
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, it's magic.
• 45:03
  SPEAKER_03: It's I pause because I get very emotional about it.
• 45:09
  SPEAKER_03: There's nowhere else that I have been that is like Hawaiine, the mana, the power, the love of the people, the encouragement from your community is amazing.
• 45:24
  SPEAKER_03: You know, like you said, you do you go to whatever side of the island that you're on, and there are groups of people out, and the aloha is extended.
• 45:34
  SPEAKER_03: You know, oh, I forgot my mask.
• 45:37
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, oh, here you go, you can borrow mine.
• 45:39
  SPEAKER_03: You know, people, oh, I I'd love, I'd love to surf, but I didn't bring my board.
• 45:43
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, I have a I have an extra board in the car.
• 45:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 45:46
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, I you know, I just finished this hike and I didn't bring anything to drink.
• 45:50
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, sister, here you go.
• 45:51
  SPEAKER_03: Here's something to drink, or you know, here, please sit, have a plate of food with us.
• 45:56
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and you know, we just did this cleanup at the fish pond, which is the same thing, which is all these people coming together and talking about the ancient Hawaii and the fish pond and the love and the respect of the island and the land and the ocean.
• 46:11
  SPEAKER_03: And their lifestyle is built around that and the love is built around that.
• 46:15
  SPEAKER_03: And when you live in a community like that, your appreciation should be shown.
• 46:21
  SPEAKER_03: And this is why I volunteer for over half a dozen nonprofits in my community, because I'm a I should be accountable, you know.
• 46:30
  SPEAKER_03: Like I'm blessed to be here, I'm blessed to live here, and I'm very thankful for the people of Hawaii that have extended aloha to me because I am not born here and I'm not of Hawaiian blood.
• 46:44
  SPEAKER_03: And I have to tell you, we have um a powwow twice a year on Oahu and the other islands, they have powwows, and the Hawaiian people come and they have a welcoming ceremony for the Native Americans that is so breathtaking.
• 47:01
  SPEAKER_03: Wow.
• 47:02
  SPEAKER_03: And the connection to the these people is undeniable that you've had to fight to keep everything that you do have and you can identify with and protect the land and the ocean in which you breathe and you depend upon life, right?
• 47:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 47:23
  SPEAKER_03: And when I came here again as an artist, this is where I was really inspired to take my artwork to the next level to really start creating as a painter and as a photographer, and a lot of landscapes and seascapes and cultural things within me as a Native American came out because the Hawaiian community and my professors at UH were encouraging me to divulge those things.
• 47:50
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and that it was welcomed with open arms by those around me in this wonderful loving community that we call Hawaii, you know.
• 47:57
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 47:58
  SPEAKER_00: No, it's hard not to be inspired when you're out there.
• 48:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that really ties this conversation together full circle because it seems like a lot of those aspects actually of Hawaiian culture, you know, this community of this connection to the land and the environment.
• 48:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um it's symbolic of a lot of the things that we've talked about.
• 48:20
  SPEAKER_00: And with that said, I was wondering from this conversation, do you think there's one message that you would want listeners to take away from it?
• 48:31
  SPEAKER_03: I do.
• 48:33
  SPEAKER_03: You know, we we spoke about encouraging people, so I feel like we've covered that enough.
• 48:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 48:40
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm gonna go back to something that was actually in my college um essay to get accepted to different colleges.
• 48:51
  SPEAKER_03: That my name is the definition of my personality, that one should have faith in everything that they do, say, and believe in.
• 49:02
  SPEAKER_03: And if you, you know what I mean, if you bring that faith that anything that's coming out of your mouth, which we all can be accountable for, should be more encouraging and more loving to those around you and your actions as well.
• 49:16
  SPEAKER_03: And what are your beliefs?
• 49:18
  SPEAKER_03: And are you really doing things daily to be true to those?
• 49:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that is the definition of authenticity.
• 49:30
  SPEAKER_03: Authenticity.
• 49:32
  SPEAKER_03: Things are only authentic in that one very moment.
• 49:37
  SPEAKER_03: So make it count.
• 49:40
  SPEAKER_03: That's when you make a difference.
• 49:42
  SPEAKER_00: Love it.
• 49:43
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much, Faith.
• 49:45
  SPEAKER_03: You're amazing, Flint.
• 49:46
  SPEAKER_03: I loved being here.
• 49:48
  SPEAKER_03: I love that we have so much in common as ocean lovers and conservationists and being passionate about things that we do.
• 49:56
  SPEAKER_03: And I look forward to continuing to tune into your podcasts, and I can't wait to see your next step in life and where it takes you.
• 50:03
  SPEAKER_03: I'm excited for you.
• 50:05
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I'm so excited about this conversation.
• 50:07
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 50:08
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 50:08
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, I extend you much aloha, God bless, and take care.
• 50:18
  SPEAKER_00: I want to thank Faith for that wonderful discussion.
• 50:21
  SPEAKER_00: There's so much to look back and reflect on.
• 50:24
  SPEAKER_00: I think she is living a life that embodies the way she aims for her films to be produced, with adventure and excitement paired with positivity and a message.
• 50:33
  SPEAKER_00: There were two takeaways I really enjoyed most from this.
• 50:36
  SPEAKER_00: First was Faith's perspective on how some of the greatest fulfillment she gets in life from her work is through the ways it touches and supports others.
• 50:43
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you don't feel like what you're doing right now is giving you the feeling of impact that you want to achieve.
• 50:48
  SPEAKER_00: But if you look at the skill sets you have obtained, such as Faith being an artist and producer, then you might be able to see how those skills could be used to support or connect with others.
• 50:59
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's even just tutoring, mentoring, or taking someone to a place you love.
• 51:03
  SPEAKER_00: Second, the message she ended with is awesome.
• 51:06
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone should have faith in what they do, say, or believe in.
• 51:11
  SPEAKER_00: That pretty much sums it up.
• 51:13
  SPEAKER_00: The whole point is to wake up and believe that what you are doing is important.
• 51:17
  SPEAKER_00: And in order to believe that, your actions, meaning what you do or say right now, have to align with the person you want to be.
• 51:25
  SPEAKER_00: It makes me wonder in what ways I have been living and acting that don't resonate with the person I want to be right now or in the future.
• 51:32
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe it makes you wonder the same thing.
• 51:35
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening.
• 51:38
  SPEAKER_00: If you liked this episode of Seeking Authenticity, that's freaking awesome.
• 51:43
  SPEAKER_00: All I want to ask of you, the listener, in return for the time and effort I put into making it, is that you take a deep breath.
• 51:50
  SPEAKER_00: I mean really breathe.
• 51:52
  SPEAKER_00: Breathe so that it stretches out your shoulders and your back and your chest and pushes out your stomach.
• 51:58
  SPEAKER_00: No more of these shallow, bullshit breaths.
• 52:00
  SPEAKER_00: They're barely keeping you alive, my friend.
• 52:02
  SPEAKER_00: And after you exhale, go out and soak up today.
• 52:06
  SPEAKER_00: Because in the end, your actions and the way they interact with the world and the people around you right now are all you have in this life.
• 52:14
  SPEAKER_00: So be authentic with them.
• 52:16
  SPEAKER_00: Peace.