The Kepaniwai Pack— a retro Chicago Bulls-inspired basketball jersey and matching New Era rip stop snapback—will be released on Saturday, Sept. 8 at the Fitted shop, which is located on 1438 Kona Street. This is the third collaboration between Fitted and Pai’ea Projects, and looks to be the dopest one to date. I met up with the CEO of Pai’ea Projects, Pono Campbell, while he was taking his son, Kahiwa, on a trip to the Kamehameha Statue in Honolulu. Pono is from Maui, but graduated from the Kamehameha Schools Kapālama campus in 1999. The 30-year-old possess a wealth of Hawaiian History and sports knowledge, and was willing to share some with Contrast.
Daniel: Besides graduating from Kamehameha Schools, where were you educated?
I got my Bachelorʻs in Business Administration from the University of San Diego and Masterʻs (MSBA) in Information Systems from SDSU.
San Diego, represent! What do you do for work?
Iʻm a Systems Consultant for a company called Educational Resource Designs (ERD). Our main client is the Kamehameha Schools, so I spend most of my days up on Kapālama.
What is your boy’s full name and what’s the story behind it?
My son is almost two years old now. His full name is Kahiwa Kapalaoaokealapiko Campbell. When my wife was pregnant, she dreamt that she gave birth to a baby whale. He was born during the equinox, where the sun travels directly overhead, down the center (piko) of your body. So his name roughly translates to “The sacred whale of the path down the center.”
That’s heavy. What was the inspiration for the Kepaniwai Pack?
Our jerseys celebrate momentous occasions in King Kamehamehaʻs (Paiʻea) unification of the Hawaiian Islands. This jersey takes us to my home island of Maui, paying tribute to the battle at Kepaniwai. Paiʻea is hands-down viewed as the greatest king in Hawaiian History, and the only sports figure that holds that same comparison is Michael Jordan. We used one of the sickest throwback jerseys of all-time, designed after the greatest basketball player of all-time. Once I found out that Kamehamehaʻs ancestor, Kekaulike, was the 23rd Mōʻī of Maui, I knew it was meant to be.
Where is ‘Iao Valley and what is it primarily known for?
ʻIao Valley is in the district of Wailuku in central Maui. Itʻs a nice place for locals to jump in the river to cool off. We kinda grew up going to ʻIao River on the weekends. Whether you wanna BBQ, take the kids for a swim, or just trying to shake off a hangover, ʻIao is the perfect place to refresh your body and mind.
What’s another interesting thing you found out about ‘Iao?
It’s crazy how much mana that place has. It was a super sacred place for ali’i and kahuna. When I visited the valley, I came across a lo’i and got to talking with the caretaker. It’s known as Lo’iloa, and it was used exclusively to feed the highest of ali’i and kahuna who were traveling into the valley. He also said that some ancient Hawaiians looked at the ʻIao Needle as sacred because it points straight up to the source of all things, Akua.
Judging by the Kepaniwai post on the Pa’iea Projects blog it seems like you dug deep for the back story of Kepaniwai. How did you do your research for the collaboration?
Iʻve been reading a few books, mainly Kamehameha and His Warrior Kekuhaupiʻo. Also just trying to gather information from the most credible sources. Authors like Desha and Fornander have lots of good info.
Who was instrumental in executing the Kepaniwai Pack?
Everyone involved really came through in the clutch on this project. Pow Wow Artist Kamea Hadar helped design the text on the jersey. My brother, Kekaula, flexed his photography muscles taking the shots at ʻIao Valley. A big shout out to Ilima Maiava for modeling the Kepaniwai Pack just days after his MMA fight. Luckily, he mopped the guy so he came out pretty unscathed for the shoot.
Why do you feel it’s important to perpetuate Kamehameha’s stories?
I think for a lot of people our age and younger, we need something that we can easily relate to. With these jerseys, I feel like it captures the attention of a different audience, and makes them want to learn more about the story behind the jersey. Now when I read interesting stories about ancient Hawaiians, I think to myself, “I gotta retell this story!” I think as Native Hawaiians, itʻs our duty to perpetuate the culture in any way we can. My hope is that the projects that we do help achieve this life-long goal.
