Nate "Dogg" Nahina & His Antics: An Interview

In between the hours of beer-o-clock and sundown the multifaceted personas of this surfer, skater, student, beach boy, world traveling, dad to-be, known to most as Nate Dogg, surfaced and simmered. Don’t let the orange shirt and kukui nut lei fool you, this Wahiawa native is all about disturbing the peace in the best possible way. And no, Duke’s is not that way. Native Hawaiian and Japanese by blood, Nate embodies the spirit of a shaka-ing kamikaze with Oakley’s to match.

Lindsey: So what’s one experience that has made you Nate Nahina?

Nate: Wow, that’s a hard one. One experience? I don’t know. The first time I drank a 40 oz. (laughs). It was an Old English 40 oz. malt liquor beer and after that I pretty much drank one every day for the rest of my high school career, at least one a day, sometimes two or three. It was New Years and I was in like 10th grade, in Wahiawa, should I even say all this? Yeah, I smoked before so I was already stoned and I drank and everybody is blowing fireworks up and burning out at 12 o’ clock and I was buzzing off of an OE 40, walking home in the smoke, feeling great. I was like this was the shit. That was the beginning of Nasty Nate and his antics.

Can you talk about your sponsors and how you got into skating?

I skate for 808 Skate in Kailua, Fitted Hawai‘i, Lakai Shoes, I get boards from Cliché and Downbeat Diner in Chi-town. I started surfing first from my dad and then when I couldn’t surf I would skate. I watched some skate videos on Channel 16 a long time ago, “Slam TV” and it was like “Gotcha Backdoor” days or whatever. I learned how to ollie, I used to grind the little rail in front of my house, but we didn’t know we were supposed to use wax so we WD-40′d the rail and that was fucking gnarly. But yeah, that’s how I started skating, from surfing basically.

What would your rap name be?

Shiiiiiieet, Mac Daddy Pimp Hustlaaa (laughs).

What’s one mistake you don’t want your son to make?

Ho, for him not to make… don’t get no DUI’s.

What would you be reincarnated into?

I can go in so many different directions with this one, damn. I probably would be a penguin, ’cause he always has a suit on at all times, and he’s always looking fresh, always keeping it cool. He’s always chillin’, penguin’s always fresh in his tuxedo, lookin’ shaaarp. Wait, can I be a killer whale instead?

Why would you wanna be a killer whale?

Because he’s a boss. The killer whale is the apex predator of the ocean, they fuck great whites up. They’re the fucking kings.

What would you do if you woke up with boobs?

I would buy a bra (laughs).

What’s something you’ll never understand?

I had some universal questions that I used to ask myself, lemme get one real quick. Why fried chicken is so damn good? (laughs)

Where’s your favorite place to get fried chicken?

My mama’s house. Or KFC, KFC is better than Popeyes, for all you Popeye fuckers out there.

What makes you proud to be Hawaiian?

Many things, I’m actually learning more about why I love being Hawaiian, but I just like the realness– how straight up they are.

Where do you think that comes from?

Basically the Hawaiian culture is pretty much like keeping everything balanced, not over-doing anything and always replenishing. Well actually from the last class that I had yesterday, there’s little things that I realize from classes and hearing people talk about stuff, but a professor said that a lot of Western societies look at their property or land as property, and what rights they have on their property. If someone comes onto their property they have the right to shoot them, and what they’re entitled to do whenever someone comes onto their land, in quotations. But Hawaiians, before they think about anything else they think about what their responsibility is to the land before calling it their own, it’s the ‘aina, it’s like another family member. It takes care of you, so you take care of it, and I love that, I love nature. Nature is the most real thing out there, humans are bullshit. I think Hawaiians are real smart, they’re some of the best cultivators in the world, fisherman, navigators, so that’s why I’m proud to be, H-A-Y-N, CHEE-HUU!

What’s your least favorite kind of tourist?

Older, American tourists because they fucking complain about everything to get stuff for free. They’re so ignorant and they give America a bad name. Even though in Hawai‘i we’re not really part of that “American” stereotype, ’cause we’re almost another country. They leave their trash for everybody, they leave their towels for everybody, they feel entitled, they ask me ‘WHERE’S DUKES?!’, all day, every day, and yeah, they’re fat and red (laughs).

What’s the worst thing about Hawaii?

The worst thing about Hawai‘i is, hmmnnn…traffic is one of ‘um. I think the worst and best thing about Hawai‘i is we’re isolated that it’s expensive to travel to other places, but it’s good we’re isolated because we’re different and there’s no poisonous snakes, or bugs. I love to travel and it just makes it harder to travel but that’s the only thing, I love everything.

Where have you been to?

I went to Costa Rica recently in the summer and I had a monster inside of me, like the show. There was a bot-fly larva that came out from my Achilles tendon and it was pretty gnarly, but Costa Rica is a super sick place. We got to go white water rafting and feed crocodiles, you can watch the videos on my Instagram, @paniolonate. But then, I went to Japan, the motherland, I’m Japanese-Hawaiian so I had to go visit the motherland, super good food and fun trains and alcohol vending machines, those are cool. And Vegas, Cali, Fanning Island, it’s in the South Pacific when I was working on the cruise ship we went there and I think that’s it.

Any last words?

My last words, January 3rd, my boy is on the way, my boy Rhyzen is on the way. Watch out, ’cause he’s coming. *laughs*. And hi ladybug, I love you, k bye. Put the k-bye in there.

Photos by: Cole Yamane

For Contrast Magazine

http://contrastmagazine.com/blog/?p=18292

Contrast Magazine: Nate "Dogg" Nahina & his antics