Akoni Kama aims to take
By Malia Rulon
dirtboarding to the limit
Star-BulletinIF Akoni Kama had any lingering doubts about the fate of his favorite new sport, this weekend's first large-scale dirtboarding competition, Dirt Duel, squelched them all. Placing second in the Big Air jumping contest after taking only one of three allowed jumps, catapulted Kama to the forefront of the competition. He placed third in the Boarder Cross competition and fifth in the Super-G, a half-mile, high-speed down-hill race.
Held on the slopes of California's Snow Valley, the competition drew 26 pioneers in America's newest high thrill sport -- dirtboarding. "After this weekend, I am sure that this is going to hit big time," said Kama, 23.
By Barry Markowitz, Special to the Star-Bulletin
Akoni Kama: "We ride things now that we used to
walk past, like huge gnarly hills," Kama says.
Kama, who has only been dirtboarding for the last year and a half, has already raked up more than 10 sponsors including Converse shoes, Bauer, Oakley, PowerBar and Xtreme Wheelz. He is also writing about dirtboarding in Hawaii X-Treme magazine.Kama grew up bodyboarding and surfing in Hawaii and snowboarding in Alaska, so for him, grabbing a skateboard with mountain bike tires and hitting the dirt was the only way to combine his favorite sports into one huge rush.
"Dirtboarding is like surfing because of the style we ride and the way we approach the terrain, and it's like snowboarding because we ride in the mountains and do snowboarding stuff," Kama said.
Taking a suped-up skateboard off-road was only the next logical progression in Kama's quest for high-thrill sports action. "We surf the ocean, we snowboard the mountains in the winter, we board in the city, the only thing that's left is the back country."
By Barry Markowitz, Special to the Star-Bulletin
Kama: "What turned me on to dirtboarding is
I can do surfing stuff on land."
And Hawaii has plenty of that -- the Kahuku Motorcross Track and trail near a heiau at Pupukea make great places to do snowboarding/surfing moves like jumps, method airs (when you grab your board between your legs), tweeks (a mid-air maneuver), spins, and all kinds of grabs, Kama said."What turned me on to dirtboarding was that I could do surfing stuff on land. I seen kids with the wheels and I thought, 'What a great concept -- wheels that can leave the road.'"
That's the biggest bonus about dirtboards. You can pretty much take them anywhere -- mountains, dirt roads, hiking trails and bike paths -- while still being able to use them in the city. Their thick wheels have good traction and allow riders to roll easily over rocks and cracks in the pavement.
"It's all how you look at it," Kama said. "We ride things now that we used to walk past, like huge gnarly hills."
Dirtboarding got its start on the mainland about four years ago and has been growing in popularity ever since. Although it hit Hawaii only about two years ago, there are already "hundreds of wheels" racing over the Islands.
By Barry Markowitz, Special to the Star-Bulletin
Kwin Kattengel, 25, goes airborne in a daring maneuver.
"Anywhere where there's dirt trails, it's hot," Kama said. "It's way bigger in the mainland than in Hawaii, but give them time, and the Hawaiians will show them how it's done."At least, he hopes so, because for Kama, dirtboarding has become more than a hobby. Six months ago, he started his own dirtboarding company, ATS (Altering Skateboards), to make boards with decks specially designed to use treaded tracks and go off-road.
"They're wide where your feet go for better balance," Kama said. "It gives you better control because more of your foot is connected to the board."
The boards are also narrow by the wheels "so the board can tilt at an angle in relation to the wheels," concave "so your center of gravity goes to the center of the board," and have a bigger tail than nose "because that's how you ride a surf board.
"Regular skateboards don't have all that," Kama said. "They're Popsicle sticks."
Besides, other than its appearance, dirtboarding is a closer relation to surfing than skateboarding. In dirtboarding, "you ride a board, but you don't really do pressure flips or ollies or anything," Kama said.
By Barry Markowitz, Special to the Star-Bulletin
Matt McCoy performs an airborne trick
perfectly before wiping out.
"With surfing, when you hit the lip, you can land and use your whole body to slide across the board," Kama said. "In dirtboarding, you can do that too -- use the pads and just slide with the board."To hear Kama describe dirtboarding, you'd think he was the one who had invented it. But Kama only wants to be a pioneer. For him, the sport offers a unique chance to be an expert in a sport that is just getting started.
Although no cash prizes were offered for the winners of the competition this weekend, Kama decided to go anyway. It's an "initiation contest," he said. "There's no money, just guys doing it for love."
That's why Kama does it. Living in Haleiwa with his fiancee, Erica, and two daughters, Selah, 1, and Jahsana, 3, Kama hopes to make a living doing what he enjoys -- dirtboarding.
"As the sport grows, I want to grow with it," Kama said. "My goal is to keep surfing and dirtboarding everyday, and chill with my family."
Dirtboard facts
What: Custom-made ATS dirtboards and decks
259-9946
complete setup; $50 for an ATS deck
