From waves to weaving: Former Waikiki beachboy preserves traditional Hawaiian craft

News admin August 18, 2026 0 Comments

From waves to weaving: Former Waikiki beachboy preserves traditional Hawaiian craft

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – From riding waves with surf legends to weaving coconut hats inland, former Waikiki Beachboy Alan “Uncle Oku” Okuma is still finding ways to bless locals and visitors alike with the Aloha spirit.

“I am the second generation from Duke Kahanamoku, I worked together with all the big time Rabbit Kekai, Dukie (Dukie Kuahulu) and Koko (James Koko), Alex Apo. I worked with all the original Waikiki Beachboys from the ’50s and ’60s,” Okuma said.

As a beachboy, Okuma taught guests how to surf and about Hawaiian culture. He says it wasn’t always glamorous, and required a lot of physical work.

“We raked the beach from the top of the hotel all the way down to the waterline and that’s from one end of the beach to the other.” Okuma said.

A pandemic-sized shift

After spending decades working as a beachboy on Waikiki, Okuma’s life changed overnight in the spring of 2020 when COVID shut down operations everywhere.

The shutdown forced Okuma to find alternative work so he could continue to make a living.

He set up a tent along Kamehameha Highway in Windward Oahu, and noticed a deep appreciation — and a void — for a traditional craft.

“People were stopping by to buy hats, I said, you know what, this is an old tradition. Lots of old timers were passing away and no one was making these anymore. I just started making them and it caught on and got very popular,” Okuma said.

Bringing the Aloha spirit inland

Today, you can find Uncle Oku at the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet, selling his famous coconut hats, bowls, and other products hand-woven from the fronds of coconut trees.

He credits his decades as a Waikiki Beachboy with teaching him how to work with the public.

Okuma said, “That helps because we like to bless people with what we got, our lessons, canoe ride, whatever and these hats came in handy when we started blessing people.”

Though he spends much of his week at the swap meet, Uncle Oku’s heart remains in the ocean. When he isn’t weaving, he finds his way back to the water.

“I am a captain of the outrigger canoe,” Okuma said. “I teach surfing, run the outrigger canoe. We do everything on the beach. Our generation was more like watermen compared to right now.”