Brock Kono
Some people just have an absolute knack - a preternatural ability to make everything look good on the board. Brock Kono is one of those people.
Brock was born and raised in Kailua on the Eastern shore of Oahu, Hawaii. Brock might not know this, but he was who the townies reckoned was the best Kailua skater growing up. The person to beat in skate. The person with nice crooked grinds. While we’re at it, here are some other things Brock might not know: his name sounds like a fake name that someone else would make up to sound like they have a cooler name; a couple of years ago, I was at the park and I saw two teenage kids watching a Brock Kono kick flip on their phones and they were slowing it down to see how he was doing it so well; Brock is the first person I saw hit the Manoa/Nyjah rail in real life and not die. Now residing in San Francisco, it is lovely to see Brock’s footage on instagram, in my dreams, and spread out in the Deep Fried vids. Well done, Brock. Making Hawaii proud.
Who are you?
Brock Kono.
What do you do?
I am a skateboarder.
How long have you been doing that?
For as long as i can remember, but to put a time on it probably around fifteen years.
What is your favourite song right now and why?
“Hulali E”- Ei Nei.’ Why? Because that shit bumps and that is my brother's band.
If you weren’t skating, what would you be doing?
I ask myself that everyday and I really can’t think of anything else at the moment. Although I need to do something active so if i still lived in Hawaii I’d probably be your typical surfer bruh.
Some slang you catch yourself saying? (Ie. That slaps)
My whole vocabulary is slang but ‘bomb,’ ‘hella,’ ‘fire,’ ‘its brick,’ ‘shit slaps’ I mean the list can keep going but those are the ones that come to mind right now.
What do you do outside of skating and how does that thing influence or affect you?
Playing and watching basketball influences me because they both have these similarities where you are just doing something repetitively and you just need to find a new way to either make the basket or land the trick. I would say it's another form of discipline.
The best/worst thing about the skateboarding industry/culture?
Probably the latest trends. It's funny seeing how something can be whack back then and since everyone is doing it, it becomes ‘cool.’
Something you’re proud of?
My Cat Eiji.
Something anyone can do today to make the world a better place?
Humanity goes a long way. Just be nice and listen to each other.
“It’s funny seeing how something can be whack back then and since everyone is doing it, it becomes ‘cool’”
What has been the biggest inspiration, thing that either propelled you to pursue what you do or has defined your style in doing it?
My family has been the biggest inspiration to me. They have always supported me in whatever I wanted to do and having that motivation makes me want to do everything I do as best as I can.
What's the key to nicer front side flips?
Watch a lot of Dylan Rieder and Andrew Reynolds.
What's the dream sponsor?
SPAM.
