[dan ze'l-ik-man]

Surf n’ Sunsets – Volume One

Dan Zelikman — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 23:46:28 +0000

One of the added benefits of living in a place like Hawaii, are the spectacular sunsets that we witness on almost a daily basis. I always see tourists line up in Waikiki with their cameras hoping to take a peace of a Hawaii sunset home with them. What they don’t get to experience, is the view of one of these sunsets from the ocean during a surf…

Going.

Still going.

Gone.

Honeymooning.

Stoked.

Some surf, n’ sunsets.

A Challenging Olomana Hike – Peak 3 of 3

Dan Zelikman — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:27:38 +0000

Continued from the post, Peak Two.

This peak was no picnic. After two moderate peaks, this one takes it to the next level. After completing the second peak you have to rappel down a rocky path using a rope that someone (I hope they were good at tying things) tied onto a tree. The decent from Peak 2 to Peak 3 is the greatest elevation drop of all the ones you have to take. Then of course you have to climb Peak 3, which is the steepest and most difficult of them all. It’s steep, rugged, and definitely not for the beginner hiker. My only tip is to bring lots of extra water, and make sure you save some energy for the way back. Also… it’s one of the most fun hikes I’ve done on Oahu so go train, and go kill it!

The decent begins.

Jack going down.

After a tricky decent, the real challenge begins.

What goes down, must come up.

Sick photo op.

David Chat, deep in thought, and stuff.

A fellow hiker offered to take a shot of the Olomana Crew, we accepted.

Captain Jack.

Chat thinking twice about another risky drop.

Ropes make these drops a little less scary. A little.

A view along the way.

The Beast itself.

That’s all folks!

The Eddie – 2009

Dan Zelikman — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 06:08:56 +0000

The Eddie is a surfing competition that celebrates the life of Eddie Aikau, one of Hawaii’s most celebrated individuals. Although the competition was celebrating it’s 25th anniversary, the actual event had only gone off nine times before. That’s because the minimum swell conditions that are required for the event to go live are just plain scary. They need to be at least twenty foot Hawaiian, or forty foot face waves. Although there is no exact way to compare them, forty foot waves basically mean four to seven story buildings of water coming at you at rapid speeds and power. Sound like fun? Anyway, back to the Eddie…

5:00 am. We got up and packed. Kim was barely awake when we jumped into the car. I was too excited to notice if I was tired or not. The day before was big, bigger than it had been in years, but still not big enough. Some people thought that the event should have went off the day before, but they decided to wait one more day. I was happy that they did.

We picked up Neal who was packed to the brim with camera equipment and food, and we headed out. Although we agreed to drive up either way, I was really hoping for the chance to see one of the most unique and memorable sporting competitions to go live. We lucked out.
We parked 3 miles away from Waimea, grabbed our coolers and some bags, and started walking.
Some folks rode bikes.
It was crowded when we got there, at 5:45am. It stayed crowded until about 5:45pm.
It was crowded in the water too. At this point, none of the Eddie competitors were out there yet. Nuts.
Some guys caught some waves. I caught some photos.
A rare single surfer on a good size wave.
Some of these waves were not meant to be ridden.
A room with a view.
A view.
Our view of Wiamea Beach Park below. We were up on the ridge. The mezzanine section, if you will.
More waves.

Dicey closeout potential.
More crowds.
And some more.
Down at base camp.
I wonder if he’s any good? (That’s Greg Long, he ended up catching the event winning wave).
Neal watching another bomb go off.
Another bomb going off.
More rides.

Kelly Slater riding in a 98 point wave! Nearly a perfect ride, all the way into shore.

@NealKido got some video of the memorable ride.

Some more footage captured by our friends over at the Surfboard Shack.

Amazing experience… mahalo.

Blogging In the New Year

Dan Zelikman — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 08:17:30 +0000

Alright, hiatus over. December was the last time I wrote a post and the only excuse I have is the holidays. And maybe some traveling. And maybe finishing the year at work. OK so I have a bunch of excuses but the point is that I’m back. I’m hoping to wrap up a few posts from 2009 before I get jamming on 2010 but I definitely wanted to document some New Year goals. However before I get to that, I suppose I should briefly sum up 2009.

This past year was a riot. I got to enjoy another amazing year of living in Hawaii. Working, playing, and exploring. I traveled. From exciting business pitches in Seattle to my first trip to Las Vegas. Food shows in New York, and visiting family and friends back East. I got to talk. I know that’s no surprise to anyone that knows me but this past year I got to do it for work, and all around Hawaii. All that talking somehow landed me my first appearances on television news shows. Two of them actually. Not to mention my debut on the television show “Lost,” where I had a very exciting two second appearance as an extra. Anyone want an autograph? No? OK. Then, Hawaii Business had the the strange initiative of placing me in their magazine. Their audience is still complaining about that. All in all it was a fun year, but in 2010… I have work to do.

So what’s in store for 2010?

I know it’s cliche, but I have to get back into some kind of fitness routine. I’ve been copping out under, “I surf, no need to workout,” but that really isn’t cutting it. On top of that I have to start eating better. I hope Kim and her Food Network obsession can help me out with that.

After I get healthy I need to get back to giving back. Say that three times fast. I did some work with a few non-profits this year but I wasn’t really able to create any routines with them. This year I hope to remedy that. Access Surf is on top of that list because I really believe in what they’re trying to get accomplished.

Get entrepreneurial. Work on a business plan, write a screenplay, something! My head is always in the clouds and I’m blessed and cursed with having constant ideas flood my mind. Instead of talking about them this year I plan on choosing a few projects to work on and actually working on them. I majored in Entrepreneurship for God’s sake!

Smile more. I do plenty of this but lately I have been realizing how damn lucky I am. It doesn’t happen that much but I still need to drop the stress and the random complaints about meaningless crap. Instead, I’m going to grab my board and go surfing while the sun goes down behind me.

There are a list of others that have to do with staying in better touch with friends and family, pushing the needle at work, getting in the water more, reading more, etc. etc. but I don’t want to bore you folks with too many details.

Anyway, wish me luck.

A Challenging Olomana Hike – Peak 2 of 3

Dan Zelikman — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:55:46 +0000

Continued from the post, Peak One.

After some much needed rest, a bag of stinky beef jerky (stinky is a good thing), some trail mix and ice water, we decided to press on to tackle the second peak. We were beginning to get tired and a little hot, but the thought of turning back after one peak was too unsettling. Especially for our fearless leader David Chat, who had already reached the second peak on a previous ascent and was excited at the thought of a conquest of all three. I was excited at the idea of the conquest of more jerky.

Getting tired… but still climbing.

Lush ya’ll… lush.

Monkey business on the summit of the second peak.

Second peak done. We were only standing upright for the pic.

A view of the “butt-kicker.” Stay tuned for Peak Three…

Hangin’ at the Hallowbaloo – Honolulu Halloween 2009

Dan Zelikman — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 05:33:42 +0000

To be dressed like us, “…you’d have to be as mad as a hatter!”

Although Halloween 08′ in Waikiki had its fun and jokes, The Halloween Hallowballoo in Chinatown of 09′ was surely an upgrade. The enormous costume party played host to our treats and trickery (you see what I did there) throughout the night! It was a fantastic array of costumed crazy’s walking out and about the Chinatown streets. The Hallowballoo consisted of seven blocked off streets filled with drink and food vendors supplying the ammo for our festivities. It was fun filled to say the least, as Alice and I spent the night exploring the streets and the seven bars that sponsored the event. We were able to document some of our time spent in “Wonderland,” with the photos below, but as we all know, “What happens in Wonderland, stays in Wonderland.” For the full array of the the 2009 Halloween pictures, click here.

The naked guy from “The Hangover” and “The Hoff” stopped by to party.

“The Hangover”

KISS rocking out.

Hmm… apparently there were more “mad” folks than I thought…

People are strange… when you’re a stranger.

Alice looking sneaky while holding the FroYo’s spoon.

A Challenging Olomana Hike – Peak 1 of 3

Dan Zelikman — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:51:48 +0000

I’ve taken on hikes all around this planet. From covering the majority of the Adirondacks in New York to some of the scarier paths that dive into the pits of the Grand Canyon. Throw in the Blue Mountains of Australia, the Appalachaian Trail of the East Coast, and some trails off the beaten path in Scandinavia, and you would say I have a decent resume of hiking trials. Hawaii… that’s its own story altogether.

Hawaii has what seems to be an endless selection of hikes and trails that span from coastal views to plush rain forest. I’ve been doing my best to tackle them one by one (whenever the ocean is flat anyway) but I feel like I would have to live here for 30 years to even make a dent. But after tackling the three peaks of Olomana, my body may have to rest for a while before I get back on track.

Along with extreme elevation changes, Olomana has a number of different environments that you experience. I dug it.

A view from the top of Peak One. Even though it took almost two hours to get here, we’re not even close to Three. Yikes.

This hike is SERIOUS business. Please, no monkey business.

The descent begins… tackling Peak Two of the mighty Olomana. Stay tuned…

A Meeting With the Drifter Himself

Dan Zelikman — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:28:23 +0000

With a laid back demeanor, a full head of wild hair, and the surfing abilities of someone who was indefinitely born to spend his days in the water, Rob Machado epitomizes the concept of a soul surfer. I was lucky enough to be the recipient of some free passes to the Hawaiian International Film Festival, (thanks Kim) to the premier of his new surf flick, “The Drifter.” The film is about Rob’s journey West, as he explores parts of Bali and Indonesia in the pursuit of perfect waves and an exit from the daily grind of being a celebrity athlete. The film showcases a personal side of Rob as well, sharing his insights on philosophy and lifestyle as well as his personal photography, art, and music.

The film awakens your travel bug instantly, and I found myself dreaming of a few destinations I’ve had on the brain for years. The film endures a combination of gorgeous backdrop, glassy empty sets, and the typical perfect complimentary soundtrack you can expect from a Taylor Steele movie.

Although I enjoyed the film a lot and recommend it to anyone who is a lover of surfing or travel, the film itself was not the highlight of my night. We were at a premier party with the type of spread you would expect, drinks, pupus, and few Lost cast members. You know, the uze! What I didn’t expect to see was the star of the film himself, Rob Machado, giving an interview a few feet away from me as I sipped on a beer. Naturally, I had to meet him.

Because of the intimate setting of the lounge, Kim and I were able to meet and chat with Rob briefly. His relaxed personality on film is fully transparent as he was extremely patient and engaging with us as we discussed traveling, surfing, and his movie, “The Drifter.” He later mentioned the difficult balance of taking on such a personal role with video cameras and a production crew surrounding him at all times. I think he pulled it off well. Then, I ruined the moment by awkwardly asking him for a photo. But Rob said yes anyway. Sweet.

Pillboxes Ain’t Just for Old Folks

Dan Zelikman — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 20:30:35 +0000

I’ll be honest. Before finishing this hike I had no idea why anyone would call it Pillboxes. My initial impression was that it was a dumb name. So many of the hikes I’ve done on Oahu had beautiful sounding Hawaiian names and this one was called Pillboxes. I had my doubts… but they were quickly denied.
Both the outside and inside views had something to offer, and you got to see them quick. The hike was a steep initial climb, so the views progressed greatly with every step you took.
The terrain changed as well. From a rocky dry path to a country like tall grass filled area, the hike had a lot of variety to offer. There are several points that actually become thick enough that you have to navigate through it a bit. Kim wasn’t all to happy with the tall grass shards that kept poking her but I thought it was kind of funny.
As you come over the main ridge, Lanikai reveals itself to you with colors in the water you cannot describe. Since you are standing on the ridge you are completely surrounded by ocean and valley, so it’s difficult to pace yourself with the photos.
They each got to pick an island. And by the way, we figured out the whole name of the hike thing. Pillboxes: Small, low fortification that houses machine guns or antitank weapons; usually made of concrete, steel, or sandbags. So we checked them out, with our machine guns blazing.
After playing around in the boxes a bit, we had some lunch and posed in some ridiculous pictures that none of us are all too proud of. All this with some amazing backdrops to stare at. Pillboxes left us stoked for sure, good fun.

Talks On Social, With Hawaii Business Magazine

Dan Zelikman — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 08:35:30 +0000

Social media has been a hot topic as of late, and Hawaii Business Magazine decided to feature the subject in their August issue. Since they were looking for folks who Twittered more than they probably should, I was lucky enough to be chosen for their inside feature story, “Social Networks: You Snooze, You Lose.” Shara Enay and I talked about how businesses need not be intimidated by social, and how the hardest step is getting started.

Everyone is in the same boat right now, that we’re all watching this digital evolution unveil itself one day at a time. But the important thing is that while we watch, we also participate. There are no experts on the subject, only people with opinions, ideas, and probably loud personalities (guilty). So take the first step, find your medium and a voice, and find ways to help your business strive.