“Rubba Slippas”

There is a man on the island of Kauai by the name of Godwin Esaki. I’ve mentioned him in previous blogs and I’m proud to call him a close friend. Godwin founded and manages the Kapaa Banana Farm on the east side of the Kauai. His life is bananas and even after 18 years of farming he is still constantly searching for ways to improve his farm. I view it as a personal quest for perfection and only now does he believe he is starting to get efficient. Godwin is also a master of Hapkido where he guides local boys and girls through one of the most respected journeys in martial arts. The lessons he has taken from Hapkido are woven into the fabric of his being as he teaches patience, balance, mental fortitude, and human respect to his students.

You may ask, “What does a 55-year-old banana farmer and a 29-year-old sports lawyer have in common? Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t get it either, but we see eye to eye. We just straight up understand each other and he earned his way right back onto my blog due to an incredible performance at this year’s race.

This year Godwin wanted to utilize the marathon to inspire all of the people on Kauai so he decided to train and run the half marathon in “rubba slippas” (Read Rubber Slippers, aka Locals, aka $2 flip flops from Big Save), which are the footwear of choice through out the islands. Godwin had never run over 6 miles, but he wanted prove that anything is possible and he wanted to do it in local style. People told him his feet would tear, blister and that he couldn’t finish. Instead Godwin stayed the course and created a mantra. “We have to inspire the keiki.” We have to inspire our little ones, we have to inspire our local children. With the economy down, the sugar mills closing, drugs on the rise, and obesity running rampant…Godwin takes it upon himself to inspire the keiki daily. He decided that if he could run 13 miles in slippers, something unheard of, yet familiar, then the local youth could start to believe in the seemingly impossible.

As an aside I don’t believe Godwin put a ton of thought into the act. However, in the end it was incredibly symbolic. The marathon is owned by non-islanders and further it features a sport that the locals are not real passionate about. Running has nothing to do with the ocean and thus it is rarely practiced locally. In this light, Godwin’s goal created a symbolic bridge between this new sport and Kauai’s life style. Laid back slippers running marathons…brilliant. “You gotta be kidding me, you the guy that run in slippers? You crazy brada!” It’s a connector.

Leading up to race day the cards were stacked against Godwin as he twisted his ankle three weeks prior and only snuck in one run before the big day. Fortunately this martial arts master knew his body and through self-massage and self-belief he lined up amongst 1500 shoe clad runners. He even had an extra pair of slippers in his hands just in case he needed a pit stop or suffered a Jimmy Buffet blow out.

It wasn’t easy, but Godwin’s spirit conquered the hilly and humid course. At mile 11 he slid on his fresh Locals and went to the line with a smile. Inspiring the keiki and the old alike he showed the islanders that anything was possible. Fitness on the island is attainable; hard work can bring the economy back to Kauai, and above all respect awaits you at your finish line. A local man running in slippers is the new symbol of authentic inspiration for Soul Focus Sports.

Featured on the front page, Godwin is all smiles as he finishes in slippers.

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