For Makana, growing up was a challenge after experiencing the sudden death of his beloved Father, Mike, when he was 11 years old. He took on a new pressure to be the ‘the man of the house’ for his Mother, Norma, and younger brother, Duke. Makana explains, “as an 11-year-old with that much pressure, I had no idea what to do. But when I went to KHTH, I connected with people who had been in my shoes and gave me a template for how to be resilient and succeed.” Makana appreciated the community of like-minded children and families that were experiencing his same situation. Makana shares, “I thought I was the only one going through a traumatic event at the time, and when I saw that there are other people just like me, I didn’t feel as alone.”
Now at 32 years old, Makana serves as a guiding light to his community as a football coach, personal trainer, KHTH trained Grief Facilitator, and Founder of a local brand NVIIIVE. Makana makes it his mission to teach resiliency to his Football team, clients and continuously to himself throughout all of the ups and downs that life throws his way. Makana shares, “You can either sit there and feel sorry for yourself, or you can build off of it. It takes time, and everyone has their own process, but the lessons are all there, and it’s just about you absorbing and growing from it.”
Makana’s company, NVIIIVE (/ˈnādiv/), teaches the importance of diversity. The roman numeral ‘VIII’ represents the eight Hawaiian Islands. https://viiiapparel.com/
NVIIIVE Apparel Mission: In a world where diversity is trending, the thirst to stand out begins to create fissures in society. Our role at NVIIIVE is to remind everyone of how, and just as importantly, where we’re all connected.