A young man who lived many lifetimes.
Before palaka became a symbol of Hawaiʻi, it was cloth made for work.
Its durable weave was worn in plantation fields, across ranchlands, and along the docks. Hawaiian, Portuguese, Japanese, Filipino, Chinese, and other working people came to know its familiar pattern. Over time, palaka became more than workwear. It became part of the shared story of the people whose hands sustained Hawaiʻi.
Our first capsule bears the name Pena Palaka in honor of Fullerton “Hopena” Pokipala — Pena to those who knew and loved him.
Raised beside the water
Born in Kailua and raised beside the waters of Kāʻohao and Nā Mokulua, Hopena came from a family deeply rooted in paddling. He entered the canoe as a child, helped carry his crews to seven consecutive junior state championships, and later built his own outrigger canoe, Hōkū Alakaʻi, in honor of his grandmother.
The ocean shaped his understanding of life. In the canoe, every person carries a responsibility. No one reaches the destination alone. Communication, unity, and care for one another are what move the canoe forward.
Hopena carried that understanding everywhere he went.
He was a husband, son, grandson, brother, friend, paddler, surfer, waterman, hula practitioner, model, mentor, longshoreman, entrepreneur, connector, and aspiring public servant. His life moved between the ocean and the docks, small business and politics, cultural practice and community service. Yet he was never divided by the many roles he carried. He brought those worlds — and the people within them — together.
His body knew the ocean and the work.
His mind saw possibility.
His spirit gathered people.
His heart was formed by aloha — and freely given back through it.
Not aloha as a word or performance, but aloha made visible: showing up, giving freely, helping without being asked, standing beside working people, and making room for others to move forward.
The Design
Every element of the Pena Palaka design carries part of this story.
The intersecting lines of palaka represent the generations, cultures, families, and communities Hopena brought together. The longshore hook honors his work on the docks and the labor of the longshore men and women who keep Hawaiʻi connected to the world. Nā Mokulua represents home — the Kailua waters that raised him, shaped him, and remained at the heart of who he was.
Together, these symbols hold the different shores of his life: the land, the ocean, the docks, the people, and the place he called home.
Pena Palaka is not an attempt to contain his life in a symbol. It is a way of remembering the life behind the name.
The first capsule from Long Live The Longshore honors one of our own while remembering the larger story of working Hawaiʻi to which he belonged.
May we carry his example with the same kuleana:
- Show up.
- Do right by people.
- Give what you can.
- And leave the canoe stronger for those still coming.
For his ʻohana.
For every shore his aloha reached.
Learn more about Pena and his legacy at Hopena Foundation.
Pena Palaka Polos
Five colorways. Sizes M–4XL. Signature Longshore palaka.