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Kaneko Kenny discovered SUP at the age of 25 in 2015 and embarked on a professional career. As a pioneer among Japanese SUP athletes, he has achieved numerous accomplishments, including winning the All Japan Championships and becoming the first Japanese to win a prize at a world championship.
He is now entering the second chapter of his life. He has put an end to his days of pursuing results as an athlete. He has launched the SUP brand KOKUA and is working to spread the wonder of nature.
He says he has "devoted 100% to racing," so we asked him about the background to his decision, his current thoughts, and his vision for the future.
The importance of sharing experiences, something I realized during the pandemic.
"I'm taking a step back from my career as a SUP competitor."
He announced on his social media that he would be retiring from racing in October 2021. Looking back on his six years as a Japanese SUP athlete, he said:
"I was single-mindedly pursuing the goal of rowing faster than anyone else and achieving results. The race came first, and everything else was secondary. I even neglected time with my family. Winning was more important to me than anything else."
In his six years of competitive swimming, 2019 was his best year to date. He was able to reach the podium at the Molokai World Championships, which had always been his goal. It was the year he felt that all the hard work he had put in up until then had finally taken shape.
Just as they were entering the new season with high motivation and looking to improve even further in 2020, the coronavirus pandemic changed their lives forever.
As restrictions were put in place on his movements, all of the domestic and international races in which he had mainly participated were cancelled. He was forced to live a completely different life than before, and he felt conflicted.
"When the competitions were cancelled, I no longer had a place to be recognised. It was because I had achieved results in races that people knew about me and I had sponsors. When there was no place to compete, I began to wonder what my purpose in life was."
What was left of him now that he had lost the race? He spent his days with a feeling of helplessness. With no competitions being held, he even felt that focusing on competing would not bring any positive results to his life. "What on earth have I been doing up until now..." he said, and he became deeply depressed.
On the other hand, when I thought about what is essential for life, fields related to food, such as agriculture and fishing, naturally came to mind.
He tried his hand at fishing and volunteering on farms, as if to compensate for his own powerlessness by producing essential goods. These attempts led him to a certain realization.
"I want to share my experiences and let as many people as possible experience the wonders of SUP. I feel that this is something that is needed in the world, and that this is something I can do now.
Just as helping out a little with farming can give you a new perspective, experiences can broaden your world.
Rather than competing to be number one, I began to think that it would be better to share my experiences with many people and have a positive influence on other industries and the people around me."
Experiences are essential for making memories and enjoying life. The realizations he gained during the COVID-19 pandemic led him to take on a new challenge: the launch of the SUP brand "KOKUA," in which Kaneko Kenny is involved from the design stage onwards.
"I wanted more people to experience the wonders of SUP, the ocean, and being in nature. I thought that if I could have a brand that fully expressed the experience and knowledge I had gained as a competitor, I could contribute to the spread of SUP."
Through KOKUA, he hopes to make SUP known to more people and create an environment where they can enjoy it. He felt that this was what he could do now.
In addition, the desire to create a board that fits the Japanese body type, which he had felt since his days as an athlete, also encouraged him to launch the brand.
"SUP products are mostly made by foreign brands, and most of them are made for foreigners with larger builds.
Ever since I started focusing on racing, I've felt frustrated by the lack of boards that fit the Japanese body type. I wanted to create a product that matched the needs and market of Japan.
We wanted to create a world-class SUP brand from Japan. There are many details that go into our products.
"I wanted to create a product that would not only suit Japanese tastes, but would also convince me that with just this board, I could fully enjoy SUP.
In addition to being a high-quality, safe product, we also pay particular attention to the design. Athletes and non-athletes alike need to think it's cool and want to go out to sea on a KOKUA board, otherwise it won't become popular.
There have been many changes since he started competing in races as an athlete, including the cancellation of competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the launch of his brand. While the pandemic is often talked about in its negative aspects, he says it was a turning point for him.
"Whenever I didn't reach my target position in a race, I would hit rock bottom and feel like the world was ending. I was betting so much on the race that my self-worth depended on whether I won or lost.
However, after experiencing the pandemic, I felt a stronger desire to share my experiences rather than pursue my own success or failure. I now feel a strong desire to support the growth of those who will create the next generation and the development of the industry by sharing my experiences.
The pandemic also marked a turning point for him in terms of how he spent his days. He changed his lifestyle, dedicating more time to family and leisure than to playing sports. "Life is balance," he says, is a phrase he likes.
"When I was an athlete, I devoted more than half of my life to winning races. But now I've changed my life balance to 30% work, 30% play, and 30% love (family), with the remaining 10% adding to the three missing areas.
I no longer live my life chasing results like I used to, so I can simply enjoy rowing and I have more time to spend with my family."
I row every day. That hasn't changed.
As he became busy with launching his brand and with three new pillars in his life, he naturally distanced himself from racing. As the coronavirus situation calmed down in 2021 and competitions resumed around the world, he received calls from domestic and international competitions, but he felt it was necessary to communicate that he was not currently devoting 100% to racing.
Then, in October 2021, he announced on his social media that he would be taking a step back from his career as a professional athlete. This announcement from a leader in SUP racing spread like wildfire.
The media has been reporting that Kaneko Kenny is retiring from active play, but he himself had this to say about the word "retirement."
"I don't really like the word 'retirement' because I'm not going to step away from rowing and I'm still rowing every day.
This may not be the case with other professional sports. For example, when baseball players retire, they no longer have the opportunity to play in a stadium, right? But the great thing about SUP is that you can still face the ocean in the same way as before. I think it's a lifelong sport.
As long as I'm still rowing, I think I can return to competition at any time, and I plan to enter any race I want to enter. I row every day, so I haven't had much of a break."
I want to give back. I want to protect nature and pass it on to the next generation.
KOKUA was started with the desire to create a brand that suits Japanese people and to let people experience the joy of rowing.
He handles all of the designs himself, and based on the experience he gained as a SUP athlete, he strives to create products that he would truly want. When asked why he chose KOKUA as the brand name, he gave the following answer.
"When I was a university student, three friends and I started outrigger canoeing. Many canoeists belong to clubs, but there was a kind of territorial mentality, and it felt like you couldn't become friends with people who weren't in the same club.
But we wondered what it would be like to be tied down by affiliation. We wanted to create a team where we could share the joy of paddling on the beautiful ocean with all kinds of people, regardless of whether they belonged to a particular group or not, and so we started Team KOKUA.
Kokua is a word commonly used in Hawaii. It means "to help each other, to respect, to give," etc. The word kokua matched their thoughts.
"Team KOKUA stopped being active as I grew older, but when I started the SUP brand, I wanted it to have a presence in the SUP industry similar to that of Team KOKUA back then. I wanted to create a brand that not only communicates what I want to communicate, but also respects the people and communities involved and helps each other."
KOKUA was born from the desire to not only make what he wants to make and deliver what he wants to deliver, but also to become a presence that can have a positive influence on those involved. "KOKUA is a word that I have cherished for over 10 years," he says. Having named his brand after a word that he is very attached to, what vision does he have through KOKUA?
"I believe that I am who I am today thanks to SUP, canoeing, and the ocean. So, as a way of giving back, I want to focus on environmental conservation efforts.
No matter how much we talk about protecting the environment, few people actually take action. I believe that the quickest way to get people to take voluntary action to protect the environment is to let them experience the wonders of nature, including the ocean.
If people think that nature is wonderful and want to protect it, they won't buy plastic bottles and will naturally take actions such as picking up trash.
That's why I think it's important to attract as many people as possible to SUP and let them experience the wonders of nature for themselves.
We are also considering developing products related to environmental conservation and holding environmental events such as beach cleanups."
He wants people to experience the wonder of being in nature. He wants to give back. These are words he repeated many times during the interview. But what exactly does this "wonder" mean to him?
"We usually live our lives surrounded by people, cars, buildings, and so on. It's rare that we are in a place where we can look around in 360 degrees and see nothing but ourselves.
But when I go out to sea, there's nothing around me. All the noise disappears, and I'm just there, surrounded by nature. When I'm there, I feel like I'm freed from my daily tasks and my title as Kenny Kaneko, and I can just be myself. It makes me realize how insignificant my worries are.
You can also experience the wind, waves, fish, birds, and scenery that hasn't changed for thousands of years. I don't think there are many other experiences like this."
There must be many people who would be saved by having a place where they can be free from constraints and just be themselves. He continued, saying that he thinks SUP is an easy tool to get that done.
"There are many environments where you can do SUP, not just the ocean, but lakes, rivers, etc.
I would love for as many people as possible to experience the charm of SUP. I'm sure they'll think it's amazing."
In addition to environmental conservation activities, he says he also wants to focus on nurturing the next generation of paddlers.
As part of this, this spring they produced a SUP event for children, which offered a variety of activities for children to enjoy, including races, canoeing experiences, and activities related to the issue of marine plastic.
"I planned this event not because it was about winning or losing, but because I wanted the children to experience the fun and wonder of rowing with their friends, and I wanted it to be an opportunity for them to take an interest in environmental issues. I would be happy if the experience at this event leads to new realizations, and I also hope that it will spread to those around them.
We would like to continue holding regular events aimed at children who will lead the next generation."
I don't want to lie, I want to show you my back
"Another reason I wanted to start KOKUA was because I wanted to be able to choose my own path."
One of the reasons behind starting KOKUA seems to have been a desire to change his current situation.
"When I was a competitor, I was supported by sponsors. It goes without saying that I was able to continue my activities thanks to my sponsors, but there are many times when I am asked to do things against my will.
To be honest, I've always felt frustrated with myself for being dependent on sponsors. I want to do what I want to do, and communicate what I want to say in the way I envision it. Ultimately, I didn't want to lie to myself. I wanted to be able to choose my own destiny (destination).
If I can grow the brand, I believe I will be able to be true to myself. To that end, I want to continue going out to sea every day and sharing my experiences."
Having completed the first chapter of his life as an athlete, Kaneko Kenny says he has poured 100% into racing, and now he feels a sense of mission to share his experiences and give back to SUP and the natural environment.
Behind his activities are the principles of "I don't want to lie to myself" and "I want to look proud when I look in the mirror." This strong feeling may be the hidden background behind his many achievements as an athlete.
We look forward to seeing what kind of performance he will show in his second chapter as a paddler.
