“Stop. Breathe. Walk.”
The directive from Abe Medeiros was simple, but executing it took everything his grandson, RJ, had left. Clutching the end of his grandfather’s walking pole, RJ was being pulled up the final, brutal incline of Mauna Kea. Behind him walked his father, Randy Tabayunda, watching every step, ready to catch his son if he fell.
Years earlier, when RJ was just a baby, his grandfather would carry him on his back up these same rugged hills. Now, RJ was facing the mountain on his own two feet, taking his last steps as a boy. But he was far from alone.
The grueling trek had begun the day prior at the waters of Anaehoʻomalu Bay in Waikōloa. Four athletes from the Kealakehe wrestling team—Carl Trinidad, Jonatan Rodriguez, Teyon Bailey and RJ Tabayunda—had taken on the "Sea to Summit" challenge: a non-stop, 55-mile trek organized by the Hawaii Fitness Foundation. The challenge serves as a modern rite of passage, signifying a young man's transition into adulthood.
The final eight miles from the visitor center to the summit are notoriously the hardest, forcing the boys to battle steep elevations and thinning air.
But as the trail rounded the last bend, the summit came into view. And there, waiting at the top, was the young men’s community.
Their coach, Ivan Lewis, stood alongside a crowd of family members, friends and supporters. Seeing them, RJ felt a sudden surge of adrenaline. He dropped the trekking pole and broke into a run toward the finish line. The other boys and fellow trekkers sprinted to catch up, touching the summit sign together before being enveloped in a massive group hug.
At nearly 14,000 feet, four boys left their childhood behind and were welcomed into adulthood by their mentors and family.
“We look at you differently now. We need you in our community,” Coach Tiger Hill told them. “We’re gonna call on you, but know that you can always call on us, too.”
This communal safety net is exactly what Hill, the founder and co-director of the non-profit Hawaii Fitness Foundation, aims to build. The foundation's unique, two-fold mission focuses on creating support systems for healthy first responders while simultaneously providing high schoolers with opportunities to pursue positive career paths. Through joint training sessions and challenges, youth are paired with active first responders, giving them access to real-world role models and mentors.
This dynamic was on full display during the trek. Officer Drew Padilla journeyed the entire 55 miles from the seashore to the summit alongside the young men, leading them not with lofty words but through shared sacrifice and quiet presence.
The inspiration for this year's trek came from A’a Stender, who completed it the previous year and is now a firefighter recruit. Stender's success brought the foundation's purpose full circle, proving to younger boys what is possible.
“In Hawaiian, it's called the ‘upena—a fishing net,” Hill explains. “We're building this net, and everybody has a part to play. I link arms with you. We build the net out a little more. Someone else builds on it, and before you know it, we have a community where no one slips through the cracks. We're catching everybody.”
The ‘upena guided the entire excursion. Florence Marine outfitted the boys; Big Island Running sponsored their shoes; Tad Nottage from Aloha Insurance covered the cost of nutrition and hydration; the Nicholson family provided a sprinter van as the support vehicle; and Chris Lieto donated resources and walked alongside the boys, coaching them through mental blocks. From wrapping blistered feet to shouting words of encouragement, their community showed up for every single mile.
As the four new men stood at the top of Mauna Kea, looking out over the island, they found their place in the net.
Get involved with the nonprofit at HawaiiFitnessFoundation.com.