Keali'i Fathers Day

 In this special Father's Day episode of the Defeating CAN'T Podcast, Andy sits down with his longtime friend, business partner, and the voice behind the Defeating CAN'T intro, Keali'i, for an honest conversation about fatherhood, family, loss, and legacy.

Broadcasting from his home in Kōloa on the south shore of Kauaʻi, Keali'i shares stories about growing up with his father Lambert, the lessons that shaped him, and how those experiences continue to influence the way he leads his family today. From teaching him responsibility, respect, and hard work to inspiring his lifelong passion for construction, music, and community, Lambert's impact remains deeply woven into who Keali'i has become.

The conversation explores the joys and challenges of raising children, supporting their dreams, building a family legacy, and creating a home where everyone feels welcome. Keali'i reflects on being a proud father to his children, the importance of showing up, and why opening his home and heart to others has become one of his greatest purposes.

Along the way, Andy and Keali'i discuss grief, honoring the fathers who shaped them, entrepreneurship, community leadership, and the simple but powerful philosophy that guides Keali'i's life: "Less stress, more progress."

Whether you're a father, missing a father, or simply grateful for someone who helped guide your path, this episode is a reminder that the greatest legacies are often built through everyday acts of love, sacrifice, and showing up for the people who matter most.

Happy Father's Day from all of us at Defeating CAN'T. 

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Remember, the discussions and concepts discussed in this podcast are for informational purposes only. If the 'can't" in your mind ever becomes too much, we encourage you to consult with a qualified professional. CAN. Ask for Help.

Transcript

Kealii Fathers Day

[00:00:00] 

Keali'i singing: Struggle is real. Struggle is true. All my people stand firm and I will stand with you. Struggle is real. Struggle is true. 

Aloha, and welcome to the Defeating Camp podcast. This Father's Day episode is a special one for me. My guest is my good friend and business partner, Kalei. He's an incredible father, husband, and leader, and one of the hardest-working people I've ever met. Through every challenge life has thrown his way, he's maintained a CAN mindset, always finding a way forward, always providing for his family, and always looking for ways to lift up people around him.

A couple of years ago, my father, Bruce Best, had passed away after a long battle with Parkinson's disease. My wife and I had moved to Nevada to help care for him and my mom during that journey. Around that same time, we lost my father-in-law, Jim Fortner. Both of these men were tremendous inspirations in my [00:01:00] life.

They taught me about kindness, humility, hard work, and what it means to show up for your family and your community. Their examples continue to influence how I live my life and 

how I hope the Spirit of Can brand shows up in the world. The Dad Can tee, was created to honor fathers everywhere who lead with strength, compassion, and quiet determination.

Keli i embodies so much of what those men represented. We are incredibly fortunate that our paths crossed.

 He shares that same spirit, optimism, and belief in what's possible that sits in the heart of everything we do at CAN.

If you've listened to the podcast before, you've already heard his voice. He's the voice featured in the Defeating CAN introduction. 

There's something powerful in his voice, an authenticity that represents both the challenges he's faced and the joy and the truth he's found in pushing through them As he says in the conversation, less stress, more progress

That phrase captures a lot about who he is. He's in pursuit of happiness, not only for himself, but for his [00:02:00] family, for his friends, his community, and anyone fortunate enough to know him. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did, and Happy Father's Day. Let's jump on with him now 

Andy: Um- Can you hear me? 

Keali'i: Andy? 

Andy: Yeah, I can hear you. Can you hear me? 

Keali'i: Aloha, my friend. 

Andy: 

Keali'i: Yeah. 

Andy: All right, awesome.

How you doing? 

Keali'i: Good, bruh. Well blessed. I feel real strong and- 

Andy: Yeah, you look good, man. You look happy and fit. 

Keali'i: Fucking- Yeah, 

Andy: Yeah. You have a good day at work? 

Keali'i: Good day, bruh. Good day at work. 

Andy: Yeah. what's the big project you're on right now? What are you working on? 

Keali'i: Some land management for the Kanutian people. 

Andy: Nice. 

Keali'i: Fire breaks. 

Andy: All right. 

Keali'i: Con- controlling fire breaks. Just started. Look, and I redid my house, my man. 

Andy: Wow. 

Keali'i: I painted the house. 

Andy: I did the roof. Yeah, you sure did. It looks clean. 

Keali'i: The 

Andy: roof. 

Keali'i: Brand 

Andy: new roof. So, uh, more of, like, a overhang, right? 

Keali'i: Yeah, more overhang right there so I can sit- Yeah ... in front of the porch.

Yeah. I'm gonna play my ukulele.

Andy: 

Keali'i: Yeah. W- Fixed my house up. Made some big moves, my friend. 

Andy: I love it. Keep it up, man. I'm gonna do the [00:03:00] same. I'll, I'll follow your lead. Um- Yeah, 

Keali'i: let's go. I can bring you guys home pretty soon. 

Andy: Looking forward to it. We're coming in September. We'll be there for, the marathon 

Angie's gonna be working for the week. 

Keali'i: I could almost run it, bruh. 

Andy: I, I would like to join you. We'd do it again. 

Keali'i: I can almost run it, bruh. Let's see. We'll see. 

Andy: Let's see. 

Keali'i: See how good my legs get. Yeah. Let's see if my doctors... My doctor trains with me in the morning. 

Andy: Johnson? 

Keali'i: Johnson, yeah. He been his bike- 

he train with me in the morning the- at LA DA Club every morning. 

Andy: He's the coolest, man. Tell him I say hi. He's 

Keali'i: the coolest. He looks good too. He's all trimmed up. 

Andy: Oh, he needs more canned gear. Love that guy. 

Keali'i: Yeah. 

Andy: Um- He's 

Keali'i: an animal ... 

Andy: he is. He's such an incredible dude. 

Keali'i: But I gotta go see him and double-check my body, make sure my body's-

ready for a marathon. 

Andy: I can't keep up with all the injuries. 'Cause I... Last time, what were we talking about? Was it shoulder or- 

Keali'i: The shoulder. 

Andy: The shoulder, yeah. 

Keali'i: The shoulder. Yeah. Yeah, my rotator, but I've been doing pushups now, so that's good. 

Andy: Yeah. Yeah. 

Keali'i: I'm trying to get to 200 a day, but 100 a day is kinda fine for me.[00:04:00] 

Andy: Yep, yep. Just get stronger. 

Keali'i: No prob- Yeah, get stronger. No, I can... I only do one evening workout, so I'm gonna pr- push it this time little bit. 

Andy: Yeah. 

Keali'i: I go in the morning and one at night now. 

Andy: All right. Two-a-days. Yeah. 

Keali'i: Two-a-days. Yeah, I'm gonna try getting in there. 

Andy: 

Keali'i: I seen a picture of my dad. Uh, he was 47 years old, how old I am now. 

Andy: Mm-hmm.

Keali'i: And I was 19 in one picture I posted, and you could see the picture of my dad getting big already. Yeah. He didn't look like this at 47. Yeah. 

Andy: Hey, man, that's a good lesson for dads out there. I'll, I'm gonna, I'm gonna trim this in 'cause, uh- 

Keali'i: Yeah ... 

Andy: you know, we gotta take care of 

Keali'i: ourselves, right? Now, now my son is 19 and I'm 47.

Andy: Yeah. Yeah. 

Keali'i: Yeah, so I took a that picture and I just looked at it and I told myself I'm gonna get better. 

Andy: 

Keali'i: My dad got heavier after that. 

Andy: Yeah. 

Keali'i: I'm 260, bra. 

Andy: 

Keali'i: Look, this is 260, bra. 

Andy: Yeah, it looks good. It's, it's all muscle. 

Keali'i: Try see if, try see by some miracle I can get to [00:05:00] 230. Let's see. 

Andy: Fuck, dude. You're gonna be, you're gonna be dangerous. 

Keali'i: I've been eating meat though like no other, man. I'm all about cows. Well- I'm so all about cows, it's unreal. And the cows are a lot of money. Just look how much beef cost nowadays in the store. I 

Andy: know. And, uh- It's 10 bucks 

Keali'i: a pound ... 

Andy: so are you, are you getting it is it kind of part of the package, the deal, like with, with working there? 

Keali'i: Yeah, I work for meat. Yeah. I work for meat.

I work for meat. I don't work for the money. Yeah. I love that. 

Andy: That's awesome. 

Keali'i: Yeah. It's kinda hard work for- Yeah ... just meat, you know what I mean? Yeah. Some cash might be better. I 

Andy: don't know. Oh, I love it. 

Keali'i: Now, now I found a nighttime job to butcher. I mean, um- 

Andy: Yeah ... 

Keali'i: cut steaks, but it's in AC so it's way better for me.

Yeah, yeah. 

Andy: Electric, 

Keali'i: nice and cold. 

Andy: 

Keali'i: Kinda crazy though. I'm working, like, right around the clock. 

Andy: I- 

Keali'i: I find some sleep, like, when I get tired. All, all my medals. 

Andy: I love it. 

Keali'i: Yeah, bro. 

Andy: It's good [00:06:00] motivation. It's in the gym too, right? 

Keali'i: Motivations, yeah. This is the Hawaiian, the trail run.

Yeah. I run on here. 

Andy: Yeah, 

Keali'i: yeah. That was crazy, bra. Yeah. Where's my marathon? Right there my marathon, 2:00. Oh, no. Right here my marathon. Here, 

Andy: show, show, show the camera to it. I wanna see that. Yep, I was there. 

Keali'i: Marathon. 

Andy: We, we crushed that together. Badass. I 

Keali'i: will do me two hours and 15 minutes this year.

Andy: Yep. 

Keali'i: So long I beat my time by a little bit, I'll be happy with that. I, 

Andy: yeah, I agree. Well, yeah, you were, you were cramping at the end, so- ... yeah, work on that a little bit.

Keali'i: How about you? All good. working hard. 

Nice job with the Dad Can shirt, bro. 

Andy: Oh yeah, you like it? 

Keali'i: Dad's Can, bro. 

Andy: Dad's Can. 

 Yeah, so I got you on here today to play catch up and, and see how you're doing, but we're gonna talk about dads. Yeah

try not to get too heavy, but we're gonna talk about dads. Yeah. I wanted to start it off, you're part of the brand and, and a business partner of mine, and as [00:07:00] you know, my dad, uh, passed away al- almost a couple years ago actually, but it takes a while, right, to get past all that.

 so kind of part of what I'm going through right now is, uh, reengage in the business, reengage with the audience. We haven't done a lot of that, But really a thoughtful approach to really building the business and representing Canne, and getting it out there in the world.

And, so I thought the Dad Canne idea I came up with was really about sort of reemerging and, uh, kinda getting back into the business and focusing hard on it. and so what I thought about was is really, around the Father's Day uh, timeframe really reengaging.

And so I thought, you know, having you on here and, and, uh, you know, talking dads would be kind of fun. I like the Dad Canne tee. We'll have that up there for a while. Yeah, nice. And, y- you're an incredible leader, a, an incredible, father, and, I say leader, leader of the family, right? I mean, that's- Yeah

that's number one. For sure. So you, you got three children, and, uh, [00:08:00] let's talk about them. Let's start out there. 

Keali'i: Oh yeah, they're doing good. Yeah ... Nanea's gotta finish school. 

Andy: Yeah. 

Keali'i: 

Andy: I for- what, what year is she? What grade? 

Keali'i: 2028 she graduates. 

Andy: All right. 

Keali'i: All right. So she's gonna be a junior. 

Andy: Yep, and the others are adulting.

Keali'i: Baby, yeah. 

Andy: Kahiau. 

Keali'i: Kupaa's, Kupaa makes 20 years in-

Andy: ... 

Keali'i: 25 years. 

Andy: Wow. With the shirt. And, uh, proud of them. one's in construction management, kinda like you, but on the finance side, right? 

Keali'i: Yeah, on the finance 

Andy: side of construction. She's crushing it. 

Keali'i: Crushing it. 

Andy: Yeah. And then, Kupaa Construction, which we got the shirt on right now, and, on the back we, you know, represent.

Here, turn around real quick. 

Keali'i: Yes, sir. 

Andy: Yep, that's it right there. Bam. 

Keali'i: Like traps. 

Andy: Love it. It was... so you named your business after your son Kupa'a. Yeah. And, uh, Kupa'a means? 

Keali'i: Stand firm, stand strong. 

Andy: Love it. Yep, and that's what the business is all about, and you've been crushing it lately. I talked about leadership with the family, [00:09:00] but personal leadership, wise you've been really just focused on yourself and the business and growing it, and the inspiration with all that's been pretty amazing, huh?

Keali'i: Yeah, pretty good. It's been a, it's been a good journey for four years now. 

Andy: Yeah. 

Keali'i: Built it four years ago, so coming up on my fifth year next year So really established myself and got myself out there. Just trying to get the right customers that, wanna want me to hang around. Yeah. 

Andy: I think you're smart about that. It's, um, it's harder to find customers than it than it is to, keep 'em and, and, uh- 

Keali'i: Yeah

Andy: and get more out of 'em. So, uh, it's a smart move to get in there and then take care of 'em. 

Keali'i: I've been all over the place with all different kinds of construction business, but everybody's competing against each other.

Andy: Yeah. 

Keali'i: It's crazy. It's a crazy one, but good work. 

Andy: Yeah, it's, it's good healthy competition and, and you're one of a few Hawaiian all Hawaiian firms, right? 

Keali'i: Yeah. One of the only construction company actually getting- Yeah ... born [00:10:00] into the construction, 

Andy: yeah. And, a lot of it is, is obviously you said land management is, has been a big focus.

The commercials you're doing are awesome, man. They're super legit. And then, the rock wall building, I feel like I inspired that a little bit when I took you to Hoover Dam and we were coming out of there, and you saw some of those walls, and you were like, "I know how to do that."

Keali'i: Right there it is, man. 

Andy: Yep, super sick. Right there. Love it. Yep. Yeah. So, uh, and that's a good business- Boulder- ... obviously, right? 

Keali'i: Boulder City. 

Andy: Yep, Boulder City is now Kaloa is Boulder City also. 

Keali'i: Boulder City. 

Andy: 

Keali'i: Look at that wall. 

Andy: That, that wall's beautiful. 

Keali'i: Look how straight that wall is. No line, no stream line. 

Andy: 

So, uh, construction-wise, y- was, uh, was Lambert, your father, part of that at all? Was that part of the inspiration? 

Keali'i: Part, pretty, yeah. Hands-on, hands-on. He actually got me started cutting with a chainsaw, like eight years old.

Andy: Sounds about right. I put, I put a chainsaw on my arm 

Keali'i: right there. 

Andy: Yeah. Hold that up closer. I wanna see that right at the [00:11:00] camera. Yeah, that's pretty sick. That's new. 

Keali'i: Yeah, just 

Andy: the other day. That's brand new. Okay. Brand new. Let's show the other arm then. 

Keali'i: Excavator 

Andy: bro. Excavator, yep. The bucket, yeah. So...

That's super sick. Love it. You're all in. So, let's talk about Lambert. I know your father passed away when you were younger. Co- can, can I ask about that a little bit? About what age was that for you? Actually 

Keali'i: June 16th. 

Andy: Okay. So a 

Keali'i: couple days ago. 

Andy: Yeah. 

Keali'i: I think about my daddy lately. 17 years ago he passed.

Andy: Okay. Yeah. 

Keali'i: My, my daughter was in the womb. My, my wife was pregnant. 

Andy: Wow. 

Keali'i: And my dad, 2009

Andy: taught me responsibility, but back in the day, I guess beating your kids was the way to teach them, right? 

I suppose so. It- Some tough love. You 

Keali'i: t- Tough love ... 

Andy: you turned out all right. 

Keali'i: Turned out all right. Still got all my fingers. Everything's together. 

Andy: Yeah. I'm sure you take some of those hard lessons into your parenting, but I know that you parent with a lot of compassion [00:12:00] too, and I just...

I've seen you. You're an incredible parent and it's fun to watch, so. but tell me some lessons that that Dad taught you. 

Keali'i: Oh, he taught me, uh, respect, love. And he, he taught me, um, if it's not broke, don't fix it.

Andy: I need that lesson. That's a good one. Yeah. 

Keali'i: So some people, their alternator's, "Oh, my alternator's going bad." Then they buy a new alternator. It wasn't the problem. So sometimes you just gotta wait till it fully breaks. 

Andy: Right. I got it, yeah. And, uh, some of the work... So did he also teach you a lot of m- the mechanical stuff?

I mean, obviously, you can work on almost all the parts of the car. I mean, I've seen everything. 

Keali'i: He used to bring, bring a lot of cars home so we could try to start them up and fix them, so good practice with a lot of different cars. I actually brought a lot of cars home still. 

Andy: And you pass that along to Kupa'a and, and- Oh, yeah

uh, and Joe and others, right? 

Keali'i: Yeah. He's b- he's building a truck right now. 

Andy: And, um, and so, uh, [00:13:00] let's talk a little bit more about Lambert. What's some of the fondest memories you have of Dad? I mean, you told me- Well- ... one story about, uh, him teaching you how to run from police, I think, but Yeah

I think that was more- Yeah ... more comedy, but- 

Keali'i: Per- a permit, a yellow paper permit. We just got out of the permit. Yeah. So I had a '67 Chevy Nova. I was driving down the road, and he told me, "Keep up with the car." I kept up with the car. I was going, like, 70, and then a cop came, and then the cop turned around.

My dad looked back. He told me, "Lose him, boy. Lose him." So I, I drove through Koloa Ball Park. I pulled in the park. I was 15 years old. My hands were shaking, trembling. I kept looking at my dad. The cop was talking to me, and my dad just told him, "Nah, nah, he's okay. He's okay. Everything's good." And then- 

Andy: Yeah ... 

Keali'i: we took 

Andy: off.

Yeah. That's the small town of, uh, Kauai, right? Everybody- Everybody knows everybody. 

Keali'i: Lambert was a speed demon. He loves to speed. 

Andy: Yeah. 

Keali'i: So he's an aggressive driver, so- Yeah ... [00:14:00] I'm a pretty aggressive driver too, but- Yeah ... I'm aggressive in life, so- 

Andy: Toning that down now though, right? 

Keali'i: Yeah, little bit.

A little 

Andy: bit. So, uh, I don't even know. I... what did your dad do for a living? 

Keali'i: My dad was a all-around guy. He was, he drove for Regal for a while. Everybody knows him in the Gray Line bus. He was a bus driver long time ago. Yeah. He went all over the place, and then he ended up being my teach- substitute teacher for me during my high school years from junior to senior.

Junior, senior year, he was the teacher. 

Andy: At Kaua'i High? 

Keali'i: Yeah, 

Andy: Kaua'i High. That's awesome. 

Keali'i: did Lambert teach you some music? Was he musical? 

He was, uh, play- He played to... He had all the instrument, but he played a little bit but he didn't really play like his brother, so he kind of hold back a little because it's like he, they was better than him, but he could play.

Andy: Oh, okay. Okay. 

Keali'i: Yeah. We played together, like, through my ninth, freshman year of high school. We played it a little bit, and I went from there, and I learned everything, and I went from ni- [00:15:00] from freshman high school. 

Andy: So a- um, after he passed, was that kind of maybe some therapy or some inspiration for you 

Keali'i: to- That was therapy for me.

Andy: 

Keali'i: I'm still missing my dad. I, I love him with all my heart. 

Andy: Yeah, me too, man. It's... 

Keali'i: Yeah. I love my dad. He taught me a lot- Yeah ... and I stuck around with him- 

Andy: Yeah ... 

Keali'i: just all the way through, so I stay with my daddy. Lambert Keolalaneka'imina'ao. I don't whine I 

Andy: um, I was thinking about the other day, I catch myself being like my dad and it's just unavoidable, right? Which is, is pretty cool too. But also if you're a father, I'll just say it's a really neat, powerful thing. That's gonna last for someone for the rest of their life.

Yeah. Whatever impact you have on them, they're gonna, they're gonna see you in the mirror. They're gonna hear you, uh, when you're long gone, they're gonna hear you because it's gonna be in your voice. Like, I hear my dad in my voice. Mm-hmm. I see him. And, uh, it's a cool concept. And if, and if I do something, you know, maybe kind or something [00:16:00] like that,I know that, where that resonates from.

So I, I think that's a good lesson and, something for even if dads are struggling right now, I'm like, man, it's such a cool concept right? 

Keali'i: Even my deep voice is like Lambert's- ... 

Andy: so people- Really? ... 

Keali'i: Lambert's voice so they can hear Lambert's voice in me. Yeah. So- 

Andy: Yeah

Keali'i: it's cool. It's kinda cool. 

Andy: Yep. Love it.

 uh, you know, you've done your absolute best to raise your children to be, respectful and, and kind, and also hard-charging, right? They, you know- Hard-charging ... they got, they got big goals and, and they're trying to achieve a lot of things, and they're gonna start building families of their own.

And tell me a little bit about how that's been for you as you see them grow up. 

Keali'i: I'm, I'm, I'm a proud dad. Yeah. A real proud dad. My kids, they help everyone. They go to sports. They're real talented, real beautiful children. Even raising the neighborhood kids, they all, they all talented.

I have a bunch of them right now. They, they're fixing cars, so they, they have a place to come to, so- 

Andy: Sure ... 

Keali'i: I welcome my home to all kids and all [00:17:00] parents. 

Andy: My nieces and nephews, they're all about 30, 35 years old, so they all come around. 

Yeah. 

Keali'i: I feed them, I feed them. 

Andy: Yeah. You throw some of the biggest and, uh, most badass parties around, but it feels like they're family, you know, it's like 50% family there.

You got a- Yeah ... a huge family and, 

Keali'i: That one thing about my dad too, he had a lot of family and friends that really loved him, and they still come around and give our family, like, oranges. They come down, like, Christmas time, bring gifts. And some people, some fishermens, they still bring fish to the house.

Thanks to my dad, they all remember my father. And so I help the families that they remember, uh, remember my dad. And I just met a guy today. He, he knew my dad. His name is Wayne, and, uh, he was working for Mattson. I met him today. He talking about my dad. So it's really good when I hear people talk about my father in a good way.

Andy: Yeah. I think that, um, that legacy thing is, is so important. You know, my dad, He was just, like, the kindest man on the planet. So [00:18:00] when I go to the neighborhood that they live in, in Henderson, everybody knows my dad or remembers him because he walked around.

He was awkwardly friendly because he talked to everybody, right? So everybody in neigh- neighborhood knew him. They were probably like, you know, nowadays people are like, "Well, what do you want from me?" And he just wanted to say hi and be friendly, but that's kind of his legacy, right? Was kindness and, and kind of anybody he ran into, he treated them with incredible amount of respect and- so I, I think that legacy component of, of you and seeing you in your community in Kōloa, I joke that you're the mayor of Kōloa.

Yeah, yeah. But you, like, kind of are, right? And, uh, you bring in everybody to the, to these parties, to whatever you're doing. So o- obviously that's an important thing for you, right, is community. 

Keali'i: Gathering. Yeah, gathering. Yeah. Good community. 

Andy: So, um, what's going on, uh, with Kapa- Uh, tell me a little bit about what he's up to right now.

Keali'i: Oh, he really wants to be a mechanic, so we're heading to... Our goal is to finish his shop so that he could do work out of [00:19:00] his, out of our home. So- 

Andy: Yeah ... 

Keali'i: we're trying to build a shop. 

Andy: Your soon-to-be son-in-law, Brian, is he gonna be part of that maybe? 

Keali'i: His shop is, uh, they just finished the, his paint booth, so they just built a big paint booth.

Andy: Yeah. Yep. He's doing awesome work. But 

Keali'i: he's some... A good kid. Good kid. 

Andy: Yeah, super good kid. 

Keali'i: They're coming home soon. I'm moving them home. 

Andy: Yeah, so let's talk about that. I, I... O- one thing I understand, about, Hawaii is the complexity of housing, right?

It's so hard to afford a home and, and, as the families expand and don't have anywhere to go you know, the challenge is, you're sometimes having to sell that land to afford your life. And you have worked so hard to the point in which you're actually buying land

 for family and community to have more people stick around. Am, am I right about that as kind of what you're thinking of it? Our 

Keali'i: own village. Like our own village. 

Andy: My 

Keali'i: dudes, they all work in the industry, plumbers, electricians, so they can afford about 1,500 or $1,000 a month.

So I'm trying to move my family [00:20:00] home. I 

Andy: love it. That's huge. Yeah. 

Keali'i: Kinda just got approved on Monday. So I feel real stoked. I got it and, um- Oh, 

Andy: 

Keali'i: I approved for the, the loan 

Andy: for that one. Oh, that's awesome. Congratulations. 

Keali'i: Yeah. 

Andy: Oh, to get that piece of land you wanted.

Keali'i: Yeah, I got it. 

Andy: Yeah. 

Keali'i: It's mine. 

Andy: Yeah, that's awesome 

Keali'i: So it's a lot of things on, on my shoulder which- ... I work like six jobs. I found nighttime jobs, so I try to work 24/7 around the clock, so. 

Andy: Yeah. 

 and 

Keali'i: I go back to the slaughterhouse on Sundays and Mondays. I cut the steaks now. Filet mignon. Uh, pri- uh, what is the... New York steak. 

Andy: Yeah. 

Keali'i: Rib eye and round steak. I make all of that now. 

Andy: That's awesome. Uh, yeah I was thinking about how hard you work and, I mean, obviously you just enjoy it 

 I mean, my kids, my kids are all working, and they're all... You know, even my baby, I gotta go to her sports. I don't wanna miss a game, so I've been going to all her games. She plays [00:21:00] volleyball and flag football. So flag football's a big thing right now, scholarships and whatnot, for the kids, so- 

Yeah, that's 

Keali'i: huge

I'm a, I'm a total supporter on, on sports and kids and my daughter's last couple years I'm gonna just go all out, I'll travel and whatever. 

Andy: Ah, love it. Support. Yeah. I hope there's plenty in Vegas you guys gotta come to, so- You got a home here. Yeah. Um, yeah, so, what's the plan for Father's Day?

You got anything you guys are doing or do you know? 

Keali'i: My daughter called me. They're gonna have a big breakfast. Uh, they're gonna make a big breakfast for me. 

Andy: Yeah. 

Keali'i: I'll be working at 4:30 in the morning so I told them they can make breakfast at 9:00 and I'll be... They'll be sleeping. They sleep. I work early in the morning on Sundays.

Yeah. 

Andy: Yeah, you're always working. 

Keali'i: Yeah. Now I gotta work more, right? The hustle. 

Andy: Gotta- Uh, yeah, yeah. You're, uh, you've created your own why.

Your purpose is, to support that financing and, uh, and keep crushing it. just watching all the business development is... I mean, you inspired me as 

Keali'i: Less [00:22:00] stress and more progress. 

Andy: I like that. 

Uh- 

Keali'i: Yeah. Life, that's one good thing my dad taught me. He woke me up early in the morning, "Get outside, go do something. Clean the yard." So he pushed it, so I w- I've been up from 5:00 in the morning all my life, so I give all of that props to my dad. I 

Andy: like that. 

Keali'i: He, he put me in the right direction. 

Andy: Yeah. 

Keali'i: Much better 

Andy: for dads out there that I, you know, I'd say are, having a tough time in terms of, you know, meeting all the things that, that they need to meet, the requirements of being a father, 

I'd love to hear your thoughts on, you know, what it takes and, and how hard it is in, in terms of... I mean, it hasn't been easy, right? 

Keali'i: It, it hasn't been easy. It's a rough road. Financial, I mean, relationship with the wife and, you know, keeping that relationship and the bond and keep arguing and fighting throughout the kids and the bads and the ups and the downs and watching them go drink and do things that we used to [00:23:00] do.

It a- it all catches up with you, but if they come home and they tell you that they love you, that means you did something right. And to all the dads, there is no bad dad. There is no bad dad. People might say you a bad dad, but there's not a bad dad around. 

Andy: 

Keali'i: I mean, I've taken care of most of my friends' kids, so even if they had a hard time, I'd...

I always open my home to them and their family. 

Andy: Yeah. I am witness to that. Yeah. 

Keali'i: And it gives a bond sometimes when the dad and the son are in the same place, like my house, eating together. So it's like some place the dad can bring them to kinda join each other is my house. Can always come bring them my house, 'cause with the relationships nowadays, the women, they blame the husband, the husband blame the woman, but if you keep the kid and the parent together and apart from each other, then it's better lessons learned.

Andy: Yeah. I like that a lot. And I, I mean, I've seen that best practice for you. [00:24:00] I'm gonna call it the compound or the village. Everybody- ... shows up there, and you'll take in fosters and, uh- Yeah ... help each other out. And, and, and I know likewise you know, you've got some best friends that are incredible fathers and, uh- Incredible fathers

 It's- 

Keali'i: a lot of kids now, they, they argue a lot with their parents and fight back with them. But sometimes you can just take them on a ride and just tell them, "You know I love you," and just give them a little piece of your mind.

And then if it works, it works. If it doesn't work, you keep trying again. 

Andy: I love that. That's awesome advice. 

Keali'i: Well, um, I'm not gonna keep you too long. 

Andy: I'm super proud of everything you're doing, man, and you're motivating me, and obviously helping our, our little brand, try and grow or at least have some impact. you saw I s- I sent a bunch of beanies 60 of those are going out to the, the teachers on, on Big Island.

Did you see that? With Colleen? Oh. 

Keali'i: Oh, I know she, I know 

Andy: she- Oh, sorry. Okay. Colleen, your sister-in-law. 

Keali'i: Yeah, 

Andy: yeah. Uh, she's, uh, obviously a, a [00:25:00] teacher but a, a leader of sorts. Oh. And, um, she's gonna be- What's that? 

Keali'i: She's so, she's so happy. She's just so happy of the brand. She really wants to represent this 

Andy: brand and- Oh, well, she's doing it.

 it's helping us and I... and, you know, we love the education piece as much as we can support it when we're able to. So, I send a bunch of gold cards and, beanies for anyone listening is the Big Island, uh, I don't know where they're gonna be, but it's freezing ass cold up there.

Keali'i: they're in the mountains somewhere. I... and, uh, it's a retreat for top community college professors Oh, in M- And so, uh, so anyways, that's, that's going on, and, uh, we're just gonna keep jamming.

Andy: And I keep building out the website e- every minute moment I have to keep improving that, and then,we'll just start, start pushing stuff out, communicating and just keep growing, That's w- that's the plan, right? 

Keali'i: Yeah, that's the plan. Dad's can. 

Andy: Dad's can. I love it 

Keali'i: Yeah, my man. I miss you, bra. 

Andy: I miss you too. 

Thanks for, for jumping on. And- No problem ... thanks for everything you're doing, and, um- 

Keali'i: [00:26:00] All the fathers, Happy Father's Day. Yep. Yep. 

Andy: And I- Happy Father's Day 

Keali'i: Thanks for everything, bro. Yeah, you- 

Andy: Love you, bro ... yeah, you keep, keep up- Of the brand. Of the brand ... yeah, yeah you... We're doing it. Thanks for all your help. 

 Tell everybody hello from me. Yeah. Okay, aloha. Love you. Aloha. 

Keali'i: Love you, bro. Bye. Yes, uh. Struggle is real. Struggle is true. All my people stand firm and I will stand with you. Struggle is real. Struggle is true.