#AlexOLoughlin & @PacBleu – Transcript of Full Interview

This is the updated transcript of the full video from PacBleu.

You can follow PacBleu on their Instagram  and their Blog.

And you can get this video on their YouTube channel.

Thanks to Luke and Sebastian for posting these old pictures of them with Alex.

The text in the light grey boxes are all the new parts that were not in the first version.

Transcript: 

Luke: Okay, so we were ….. well we’ve known each other for a little while, living in Hawaii and stuff, but, we were super excited to be able to interview you, because we started this more generally like …. uhm.. environmental and stuff – interviewing people who are sustainable, companies who are doing the most they can to be sustainable and help the planet but also, of course, trying to make profits and stuff.

But, you are … obviously care about the environment and stuff – but, more … this is more to … talk about health and fitness and stuff, over the Covid pandemic. Because, while we’re all stuck inside and can’t do that much. And we’re interested to hear what you’ve been doing.

Sebastian: Yeah, so … uhm, when you were like younger and when you started to become an actor what, like … what inspired you to be … or start acting?

Alex: Uhm … Thanks for having me guys – First of all. It’s really nice to see you both. Uhm ..

Luke: Yeah.

Alex: I think … when I was a kid …. I think one of the things was, my mom used to read to me when, I was small. She really went out of her way to make sure that happened all the time.

Luke: Yeah.

Alex: And it has since translated to me with my kids. You know, I read to my … my boys every night and … And … there was something about that, as opposed to films and television and stuff that … that forced me into my own imagination, you know.

And she would do funny voices for the characters and stuff like that as well, so. But it like …  it started a relationship between me and my imagination and my capacity for it, like, envisioning story.

And  … and I think … so I think books were … the answer is really books were the beginning of it all, you know.  My … and which is really how we … we first told stories, was … was the pictures on walls … cave walls. And then … then writing and documenting stories and stuff. And so the concept of story came … that’s how my relationship started with the concept of story.

And then I realized that ….. and also clowning around; being a bit silly … like I  was always a bit of a showoff and stuff.

My family would allow that, and sort of support that. And so, I think … when the time came, that I was like, “Hey, maybe I’ll do …. maybe I’ll try to do this”, or try to get into school for it – or something. And it sort of just made …. it made some sense. And, I don’t know.

Sebastian: Yeah, that’s awesome. Definitely all our parents definitely always like …. or used to read to us a lot. And my dad always told stories and stuff like that.

Alex: Yeah. I also think that the … exposure to like, theater and films and stuff …. was big as well though.

Luke: Yeah

Alex: You know, like mom used to take us to the theater and to … you know. So we had  ….we were always exposed to all those  …. to those arts. And that all sort of … it was part of it. But the first … the beginning, really started with books.

Luke: Yeah. So I’ve watched all of Hawaii Five-0 and love it … uhm and on our Instagram @pacblue, we asked who should we interview next – and I think three different people said, “Alex O’Loughlin”

Alex: Cool.

Luke: Uhm … and that was pretty funny because we knew you. Uhm … so I’ve found the show and you personally pretty inspiring. And I think, many other people have.

And every time that we’ve been around you, in Hawaii, or out here in the mainland, you’ve been super positive and stuff –  grounded and motivational. What do you do; or what helps you to keep that spirit up?

Alex: Uhm … positive, grounded, and motivational are …. look, I think, I don’t know about motivational –  Thank you for that, by the way.

I think that, like, I’m a pretty motivated person, like …. I … I’m always kind of moving and getting things done. And I think that can be motivational, to be around. That energy, you know.

I was just thinking about balance, actually. Like ….. the thing I strive for most is balance. And I sort of always have. ‘Cos I’m either going one way or the other, you know. I’m either like 100 miles an hour and … or I’m just like, “Ah, whatever! I’m not going to do anything”.

And so, there’s that middle ground, you know.

Luke: Yeah.

Alex: But I’m pretty motivated to keep moving, which is good. But it can be burdensome on the people around me, sometimes … Uhm

But grounded is I … I don’t know .. I think that … positivity and negativity in my opinion they’re kind of a choice, you know.

Sebastian: Yeah

Alex: Unless you’re …. unless you struggle with mental illness or clinical depression or something that’s, you know … you might need help with something else. You know, I think if you’re kind of okay and … I  … I think it’s a choice, you know. If you want to be. And I don’t want to … I don’t see … like ….

I’ve had periods in my life when I’ve have been more negative and ….  It doesn’t serve me, you know. It just doesn’t …. I don’t know, it doesn’t … What’s the end game, for it? You know, you get to kind …

So, I try to be positive, because it feels better and I enjoy my life. And I enjoy the people around me. And the people around me, most importantly, enjoy me more, you know, when I’m positive. So that’s really just a choice that I make.

Grounded – I think I can give the appearance of being grounded, but I’m not really [Laughs] … I’m not really that grounded.

Uhm … but uhm … I don’t know. No, I think that … What I would say about being grounded is that …. because, you know, you guys, we’ve spent quite a lot of time together on diving. You know, we spent a lot of time together in Hawaii. And you guys know me personally. So, I would say one of the things that …. just staying in the moment is really important, you know. 

And that sounds a little kind of airy-fairy, I guess, as I say it. But what I mean is, it’s really easy to future-trip. It’s really easy to sort of …. It’s quite difficult to be in the moment. For … for me, anyway, you know..

Sebastian: Yeah.

Alex: … I mean thinking about what hasn’t happened yet, comes more naturally. And thinking about what sort of already happened, than just sitting peacefully.

So that’s … that’s … that’s also a practice of choice.

Sebastian: Yeah, I definitely agree with that. It just makes you happier, or at least for me. Like it makes me happier when I’m not thinking about what I could be doing. When like I could just be thinking about what’s good going on right now.

Alex: Right … right. (I’m sorry. I’m just checking  .. )

Sebastian: Okay. So especially during Covid, since we need to be staying active – we know that you’re super into fitness and activities like Jiu-Jitsu. What are some things that you’ve been doing during Covid to stay active and healthy, and .. mentally and physically?

Alex: Yes, it’s been a bummer during Covid for people who like it … Jiu-Jitsu is pretty up close and personal, you know. It’s not like … there’s no six-foot rule applicable to that particular martial art.

But … we …. at the beginning, we sort … we reset up the … the … we have a little gym in the garage, with mats and stuff. And we bought a bunch of other stuff that …. and started doing like, baby boot camps for the kids and…
We sort of started working out as a family, really. And putting on some music and .. and … and doing that stuff. That was really cool. And … because we were going to go crazy, we realized that, you know. So we started doing that and … That was pretty regular.

We also live, you know our hill – we have quite a steep hill at the front of our house. And so we started like, running the hill and incorporating that. And we have  … like, we have a pool. And so, we like swimming and doing laps in the pool.

And, I think what … one of the things that … we realized, early … early on in this pandemic, is that keeping moving, physically keeping moving is actually going to help the psyche as well, you know. Because we were all just going to go crazy if we just sat here. And then slowly the beaches opened up a little bit, and they closed down, and then they opened up.

And so, we’ve … we’ve got to go …. we’ve been able to sort of run down and go surfing, or run down and go for a quick little dive, or speared some fish and run home or … So it’s been a … It’s been a sort of mishmash of things, just putting things together each day. And coming up with a new plan each day. But they are the main things that we … we …. we would be sort of focused on.

And also, bike rides with the kids. Like, we’re a family that really …. we love going on rides. We love, you know, going to the beach together. Going surfing together, going diving together, doing this and lots of stuff, and so…

Oh, and we’ve also … we’ve all got bows and arrows now. And so we’ve all been doing like archery,  in the back.

Luke: Yeah.

Alex: Which have been pretty cool.

Luke: Yeah, I actually got my first fish, on my new speargun.

But so related to what you were just saying. What is your favorite family activity and what is your favorite personal activity?

Alex: Wait a minute … What was the fish? You’ve got to tell us about your fish, Luke.

Luke: It was a sheepshead. I got it down south.

Alex: Good fish. How big?

Luke: About two feet. Tasted super good … nice like …

Alex: Was it like, bigger than the screen?

Luke: Yeah.

Sebastian: Yeah, I think he is being a little modest. It was pretty big.

Alex: Nice!

Sebastian: Yeah.  I wasn’t there.  I didn’t get to eat it. But … looks pretty cool.

Alex: Nice … nice.

So what was the question?  I was thinking about your fish.

Luke: Uhm … what is your favorite family activity and personal activity? Either to stay active or board game … or something during the pandemic?

Alex: Or .. did you say board game?

Luke: Yeah, if that’s what it is, that’s fine.

Alex: Well look my family gets a little kind of crazy, you know. So board games can get violent. So we don’t, you know … we don’t always …

Luke: Same with us.

Alex: Uhm …well my .. my …  my thing is Jiu-Jitsu. It’s … I love it very much and it’s been … it’s been hard to be away from it. But .. uhm .. that’s the thing that I choose for my fitness, for my …  for my sort of mental health and clarity. For my consistency in ….

You know, the other thing about Jiu-jitsu as well is, it .. it ..  it more than probably anything else – almost more than like meditation, it sort of pulls me into the moment …

Uhm … I really respond to physical things, I guess. You know, I think I … I’ve always been a physical person and so. But  Jiu-Jitsu actually grounds me a lot – so that’s probably one of the other questions you asked me. 

But .. uhm … I don’t know we … we try … as a family we try to have fun, doing whatever it is we’re doing. One thing that I really love is each year we go to the snow. We usually go to Utah and we ski and snowboard out there for a week and …  That’s an activity it’s probably not going to happen this winter, but that’s … that’s something that we love to do.

Sebastian: Yeah.

Alex: But I’m spoiled as well – like I live in Hawaii. Like, we get to do all the ocean stuff every day, so it’s … it’s like … of course, I think about the thing that I can’t do. And like a spoiled little kid. But it’s … it’s .. yeah, I don’t know if we have a fa … I think the beach stuff is probably our daily favorite.

Sebastian: Yes. So you do Jiu-Jitsu more than meditating. Do you meditate a lot, or at all?

Alex: That’s like a call out right now. Because my … my … I’ve been really lazy with it. I get …I’ve been … and I learn how to meditate, and I learn about the concept of meditation – which I thought was ridiculous, by the way, when I learned about it. A friend of mine had been to India and studied. And done it, and like she was really serious. And I was like, “This is nonsense”. 

I was 19 years old, maybe I was 18. And … and so I learned about it back then. But then I did some classes and I first …  that’s when I first got to see … how incredible it can be, you know. And so, once you …. once you know, you know! Like you can’t unknow something like that.

And so it’s been a part of my life, on and off  … ever since then. And there’s been times in my life when it’s been much more … when I’ve had a much …. when I’ve had a formal practice, I guess, is what you would say, you know. There’s been times in my life, when I’ve been much more committed to a daily practice.

And I’m not in one of those [giggle] times right now.  I haven’t …. it’s been in a minute. I meditated last week, and it was really nice. But my consistency is off at the moment. But I will say that …. I will say that meditation is …. when I’m meditating regularly, my life is …. not only calmer, but better. That like it’s sort of higher quality life because…

Sebastian: Yeah, I know. I’ve been kind of like wanting to get in meditation. But I’ve been like, I just don’t really know where to start.

Alex: Well, I can help you. After the interview, I can give you a couple of … I can give you a couple of… like … apps to look at and stuff like that. Because it’s actually …. there’s a lot of stuff out there, that you can get dialed in on how …

Sebastian: Yeah.

Alex:  But … simple stuff, that is a really great place to start. But that’s sort of what I need to do, again, I think as well as. Because I need to get back to my …  like, headspace app and …

Luke: Yeah…

Alex: And just commit, you know. But that’s … isn’t that funny? Because we live in this age of immediacy, right. Where everything is a … like a five-second video. Or it’s like …. quick, we’ve got to quick. Everything is quick, quick … quick, quick.

And it’s like, the average attention span is like five seconds, or whatever. And the thought of, like sitting … God forbid 20 minutes. But even for five minutes and just … just sitting. Is … Why is it so daunting to us? Just to, like, exist for a minute? It’s an interesting. I don’t know, it’s interesting.

Luke: Yeah, and … and the pandemic, has messed up a lot of people’s routines. But, it also has freed up some time … at least for me a little bit … uhm …to do some other stuff.

But so, what would you say your favorite stunt from Hawaii Five-0, was? And what was your most challenging?

Alex: [Giggles]

 Luke:  I know that’s, that’s definitely a question I want to know.

Alex: Alright …. uhm … well, first of all, like … like I’m an actor; and I’m not a stuntman. And the fact that I went onto that show, you know, I think … I think I did the pilot of that show, 11 years ago now.

And from what I could sort of do, any of them … was kind of crazy. And I think a part of me …  so I’m prefacing this answer, because I want to make it very, very clear that my stuntmen on the show, are the guys that were the real heroes.

You know, they’re the guys that, you know … you probably don’t even know their names. Justin Sandquist and Paul Lacovara. You know, those guys are …. they’re the real … they’re hard dudes, man. They’re really tough guys. Much tougher than I will ever be. And … they take the really, really big hits.

And …. look, I took some hits, and I … I just I don’t… I think it was a bad … in hindsight, I would have done it differently, you know. But at the time, like, I wanted to please people. And I wanted to make it as good as I could make it. And I wanted to … there was a bunch of different reasons why I did the amount of stunts that I did do.

And I also liked the thrill of it. Like, I like going fast. I like … I’ve always had motorcycles. I’ve always … you know, I like the … the adrenaline.

Uhm …. And I think if you’d have asked me this in, like Season 2 or something, I would have been like, well, “definitely this and that”.

And now it’s just such a blur of, like, chaos, that I can’t give you a specific. Like, “Oh, when … when I smashed through that window, I went through that wall, or jumped off that building” or, you know, “fired a gun riding that horse, that quickly”. Or whatever it was.

But … I’ll tell you what, they’re all challenging. Like the bigger the stunt, the more the challenge. But I think the problem is, like when you’re someone like me, who’s not as talented as those stunt guys, and you think you can just do it. And then you keep working and you don’t have time to recover. And you end up with injuries. That’s when it starts to get really challenging.

And you try to push through them. And you think you’re doing the right thing. And so, it’s sort of … it ultimately culminated in a …. in a … in a bunch of bad choices for me.

But, to get back to sort of 10 plus years ago, it was really exhilarating. Like any time, I got to sort of free fall through something, or dive through windows, or whatever it was. It was like, “Oh my god.  I can’t believe I did that and I don’t have to go to hospital”. But sometimes I did have to go to the hospital – [giggles].

Luke: No, that’s tough, you know.

Sebastian: Definitely tough.

Uhm .. So, we know that you’ve written and produced some of the episodes on Hawaii Five-0 and during the pandemic, now that we have a little bit more free time, have you been doing any like writing, or creative artistic projects that you can share – or just in general?

Alex: Well, to be clear I …  I directed a handful, but I wrote one. Just to be clear. And I wanted to …. in the last season, I wrote and produced one episode that I wanted to tell a very specific story. And … uhm … in a specific way. And I think it turned out pretty decent. Like it turned out okay and … and …..

It was an amazing experience. And I was very grateful to, you know, the company and everyone else, to let me …. kind of give me that leeway and support, that little creative process for me. Because it’s …. [clears throat] it’s a hard thing to do.

Uhm … uhm … like anyone who writes, will tell you that .. uhm … it’s a very daunting space to be in, staring at the empty page. And ..  and … uhm … you kind of get blocks and, you know. But, it was a great experience.

I have been … during the pandemic, I’ve been pretty … not really, man. I wish I hadn’t … I wish I could tell you, “Yeah, I’ve got this and this and this and this..” I mean I got a few things. 

I got like three scripts that I am playing with a little bit. And three … They are three very, very different stories. And, one’s a television script and two are films. They are not at any point worth …. they are not developed enough to share right now.

But …. I think this period of time – because I have been working so long, really without breaks. This time has been kind of like a healing time for me. Like, it’s been great to just do nothing and just focus on the kids and Malia and myself, as well. And just kind of get quiet. If that makes sense.

Luke: Yeah, definitely.

Alex: Read a lot of books. I have been reading a lot of books and reading other people’s scripts. And just sort of trying to see where …. Because I don’t know what’s next …. I don’t know … I don’t just want to jump on something next.

When you do a show like this, for this long, you can become … You’ve got to be careful what you do next.

And I don’t know if I’m going to do anything next. I don’t know. So it’s .. I’m a little kind of in no man’s land.

You caught me in a transitional period of my life.

Sebastian: Well it’s a good time to be in that period. Yeah, because, like I feel like … I definitely have more free time, but school is definitely taking up a lot of it.

Alex: Are you guys back at school, or are you zooming school? Or what’s … what’s happening?

Sebastian: We’re still on zoom. I think we …. they’re saying that we’re gonna go back in January. But I [cough] I don’t know if that’s going to happen. But …

Alex: How do you … I mean how has it been on zoom? Sorry I know you’re not … I know you … I’m interviewing you now – but how has it been on zoom?

Luke: Well, for me at least it’s definitely been hard, learning.  I mean bio, and math and stuff – very difficult online. But, it’s okay. We’re getting through it.

Sebastian: Yeah, I feel like we definitely have good resources to help…

Luke: Yeah

Sebastian:  … To us, learn better. But it’s definitely harder to learn on zoom. But I kind of like it, because I have more time. I can … it starts later. I can surf before school and after school. I just have more time to do things, even though it’s really ….. it’s harder to learn.

Alex: And has it forced you guys to be .. uhm … more … you talked about motivation earlier. I’m just wondering … Like, because I know when I’ve had to have meetings or do anything, you know. Like I have to show up on zoom. Like I’ve got a  …. I don’t know …. it’s a …. it’s an interesting time, you know. Like we’re …. we’re just kind of like ‘at home’.

Sebastian: Yeah. It’s weird.

Alex: And we’re … It’s weird. It is weird. But, I mean, have you felt that it’s forced you guys to kind of like, pluck up your motivation a little more and  … and push forward even though  ….through the changes and through their weirdness?

Luke: I would say for me it has …uhm … because projects, classes – it’s all self-motivation. And it’s all self …. like, not learning, but you have to work on it by yourself. Like I have a couple projects, and the teachers aren’t telling me to get on my work. It’s me, knowing that I have to get on it by this time.

Alex: Yeah

Sebastian: Yeah. I mean, yeah, motivation – I think it’s not more motivational, but I definitely have to do it more. And I know that I need to be more positive about things, especially right now. So, I feel like it’s helped that, a little bit.

Alex: Yeah, it’s cool. Some good takeaways, isn’t it? Because I’ve really noticed with Spike, especially, our 11-year old, that he’s .. you know, he’s …  it’s kind of put this kid on like a college schedule in a sense, you know. Like when you go to college, they’re like, “This is when your stuff is – be there or don’t be there we don’t care. Whatever.”

Sebastian: Yeah.

Alex: It’s sort of more like that. And so he’s had to become more of a self-starter. So, I’m just trying to look for the …. the positive takeaways from this.

Sebastian: Yeah, there definitely are some.

Alex: Yeah.

Sebastian: Yeah … Uhm, so we have like a couple … just quick questions to end it off.

Alex: Yeah.

Sebastian: What’s your favorite smell?

Alex: What did you say?

Sebastian: I said, what’s your favorite smell?

Alex: [Whispers] I thought you said. My favorite smell?

Luke: So yeah, these are going to be more … different and …. any answers …. any answer is correct and…

Alex: I can … I can tell you, I was just thinking … like, I live with I … I have boys, you know. And … and so, I can tell you what my favorite smells are not, much more easily.

But .. uhm … you know what? I love the smell of fresh water. And this is … it might sound weird, but it’s like, I have a shower outside here. You know, the shower I have out by the pool. And, I really get the smell there. Because I think it’s … because I’m surrounded in stone …. the stone walls around it and the wood underneath. But there’s something about the smell of fresh water, with nothing in it, that reminds me of when I was a kid. Because I was landlocked when I was … when I was little. And we used to go swimming, like in freshwater rivers and stuff.

Luke: Yeah.

Alex: And it just, I don’t know …. So the smell of fresh water is very …. and it’s also the smell that you get when you’re out in the mountains. Like when you’re in a wilderness. And the smell of that water and the rivers and streams up there. 

Luke: Yeah. So, what is your biggest hope or biggest dream for yourself? After being an actor.

Alex: Yeah, I mean … I mean… it’s all. My biggest hope and dream is that I don’t suck as a dad, really. It really is, you know. It’s .. it’s ..

Luke: We’ve seen you as a dad. You’re … you’re pretty good!

Alex: Well, thank you, mate. That’s awesome. I really appreciate it.

But it really is …. It becomes…. When you have kids, the beginning and the end of every day, you … you .. it’s just always … “How did today go? Did I … did I do it right?”, you know.

Because there’s no guide … there’s no …  you know, so yeah … there’s no book – I mean there’s a lot of books, but there’s no ones … You know, there’s not… but there’s no ‘one way’ to do it. So, I think that, that’s my …. that’s my biggest focus.

Sebastian: Yeah. Uhm … What’s your favorite food?

Alex: Good question. I think … I think it’s a … it’s a dead heat between good Japanese and good Italian. If you took those two foods out of my life, I don’t know,  if it be worth going on? I think I just have to like, pack it up … and ….

Sebastian: Yeah those are good.

Luke: What …. what types of food in Japanese or Italian? What actual food?

Alex: Well to say Sushi, is like …  it’s very … I … it’s very broad. There’s a .. lots of different types of Sushi. 

I really like traditional Japanese food. Like I love …. when I actually go to Japan, all the different sauces and flavours and the way they do things. Like, I love traditional Japanese food. You know, which not .. not everyone likes, you know. And that’s ….

But I love the flavors of traditional Japanese cooking. Especially the … the Kyoto style of cooking. Where they do this sort of … I don’t know how many courses they bring you, like maybe 19, I think. Tiny little bits of this and that. And I love eating that way. It’s amazing.

And Italian – just anything. [giggles]. Anything good, you know. And the funny thing is when you go to Italy, you can eat as much of that wheat as you want. You don’t get, like, lethargic and puffy and… snotty and stuff like we do in America when we eat it here. So, it’s sort of a different experience, but yeah, I’ve been to… 

Luke: Okay, if you could have one dinner with anyone from past, like dead or present alive?

Alex: Oh man! I don’t know how to answer that. It depends on the day.  I ….. you know, it really depends on the day. It’s such a good question.

Today I’d like to have dinner with Bill Burr, the comedian, and just sit down and talk to him about his … why he sees the world the way he does.  I think he’s very interesting person. He’s a little angry, but I love him. 

Uhm, but tomorrow it might be … I mean the obvious answers are, you know, like Jesus Christ or, you know, Hitler, or you know these … But I don’t know.  I’m not … I don’t know.

What about you guys?

Luke: I would probably say like, a famous football player from the 49ers would be pretty … pretty awesome to sit down with.

Alex: There you go.

Luke: Uhm … uhm …. any like sports hero, would be pretty cool.

Alex: Yeah. 

Sebastian: I’d say, like any good comedian.

Luke: That would be pretty cool. That would be a fun dinner.

Alex: Yeah, I mean a comedian would be a fun dinner, you know. Almost like …

Also like Muhammad Ali. I would love to have dinner with, you know what I mean? Jimi Hendrix would be amazing, to like sit down and talk to. Like there’s so … there’s just so many people.

I think the better question is … No, that sounded terrible. I think that’s such a hard question. An easier question would be like, “If you could sit down with like 7 people”. [Laughs] And you give me like 24 hours to think about it, I’d have like your perfect 7 list. But … uhm .. yeah, there’s so many people who fascinate me. [cough]

You know, there’s like monks from Tibet, that I’d like to talk to. There’s … there’s like .. Stalin. Like I’d love to sit down and sit with Stalin and go, “Dude why? Why …”

Luke: Yeah.

Alex: “Why genocide? Like, just talk to me. Talk to me. Tell me what made you feel that you needed to just … give me your … “.

People fascinate me, man. In the most wonderful and horrific ways. So, I don’t know. And it’s also what makes me kind of want to disappear from the world too. Is how …

Luke: Yeah

Alex: … crazy and wonderful people can be.

Luke: Okay. So, last of these questions.

Alex: Yeah.

Luke: Dream place that you’ve never been to?

Alex: A dream … Did you say a dream place that I’ve never been to?

Luke: Anywhere in the world that you want to go?

Alex: Ahh …. Africa, I think is top of the list at the moment. There’s … there’s a lot of places as well. I really want to go to Patagonia.

See what I’m doing? I do this. You say one, and I say seven. But I’ll do it anyway.

Luke: So, why Africa?

Alex: Well, because …. I think it’s just that … amazing, like all those … the big animals that they have, that no one else has. And … and the…

That’s sort of where it all started …

Luke: Yeah.

Alex: You know. Sort of where we started. And … and … and it’s just a land … it’s … it’s a continent and a part of the planet that’s ancient and steeped in so much history.

And … So much history, you know. Ancient and … and … all the …. all the unrest that’s happened.  I don’t know, I just … I just I don’t know. I really want to go to Africa. I really want to learn more about Africa.

But I want to take everyone and I want to wait until the boys are big enough to remember.

Luke: Yeah

Sebastian: Yeah, I would agree Africa, would be probably top of my list too.

Alex: Yeah. What about … what about you Luke?

Luke: Uff … I’ve been interested in Bali. There’s the surf …

Alex: Interesting

Luke: … and clear waters and spearfishing.

Alex: Nice.

Luke: That would be pretty awesome. And the people seem super … like, amazing.

Alex: I’ve never been to Indo. I’m the one Australian that you … that you know, that hasn’t been in Indo .. [Laughs]

Luke: Yeah. I think it’d be pretty awesome.

Alex: Yeah. I’ve heard it’s great. My brother-in-law actually lives there. Mikala lives there.

Luke: Really, that’s so cool.

Sebastian: We should all go.

Luke: Yeah, we should just … like

Alex: We should all go … it’s  … But we’re not allowed to go anywhere right now, so …

Luke: Yeah. We’ll plan it for after the pandemic.

Alex: Yeah, and hey you … you mentioned a quote at one point that you got. What did your grandpa used to say?

Luke: Uhm … our grandpa loves to say, “When the shit goes down, you get what you practice”.

Alex: Yeah, what’s your interpretation of that?

Sebastian: Luke.

Luke: Oh well, like you were saying with your daily practice and your routine, if that’s what you’re doing every day and you’re, I don’t know, being lazy and not being productive, or … and something important  happens and you get a great opportunity, you may not be able to seize the opportunity. But if you’re getting up focused, ready to work, ready to learn, ready to …. uh … improve your personal self …

Alex: Yeah.

Luke: … and a great opportunity – job, girlfriend, boyfriend, walks in front of you, you’re gonna take the opportunity.

Sebastian: Yeah, I’d say it’s like you get, what you get. Ever like you get, you get out of it, what you put into it.

Alex: Yeah … yeah. The Navy SEALs have a saying as well. (excuse me) …. it’s, “You don’t rise to the occasion, you sink to the level of your training”.

Luke: Yeah.

Alex: Which is a similar … I think it’s a similar sensibility … like mindset you know, as what your grandpa is saying. Just the sort of war fighter version of it.

And so, I just thought it was interesting because you brought it up …. you .. you sent it to me the other day. And, it stuck in my mind. And I think it is really important for all of us to …. If you want, you know, to think about that. That it’s … you know, what … when things … when things go down that matter, like when you need to show up – exactly what you guys were just saying, you know.

And what you were saying, Luke, like whether it’s like meeting an important person, who’s is going to become part of your life potentially. Or … or an opportunity. You know, because people talk about luck as well – and I just sidebar here with this for a second. People say, “you’re lucky”. You know, “You’re lucky. You’re lucky”. I was always taught that luck happens when preparation meets opportunity, right.

So if the opportunity arises – whether it’s for personal gain, or to help clean up a piece of the ocean. Or to help, whatever it is – if you are prepared and, you know, for that opportunity, then you can pounce on that when it happens.

And so, I don’t know, I think …. I think it’s a cool … a thing your grandpa said. And I think it’s a good thing to keep in the back of your mind.

Luke: Yeah. Definitely.

Okay well, so well thanksgiving coming around, we are super grateful that we are able to interview you. And ..

Alex: Right on.

Luke: And hope to see you guys soon.

Alex: Yeah men. It was good to see you in the second dimension anyway, here. I …I  appreciate being … you guys inviting me to be part of this. And you guys are Hānai to us anyway. So, we’ll be seeing you soon. And we love you both.

Luke: Yeah

Alex: And thank you man

Sebastian: Miss you guys

Luke: Yeah … uhm … hopefully we can meet in Hawaii. We got to get out there soon.

Alex: Yeah, well you guys are allowed to come out now, you know that right?

Luke: We are allowed legally, but not .. uhm … by the parents.

Alex: Oh yeah.

Sebastian: Probably soon, we’ll come out.

Alex: Their law is more important than .. than the a …

Luke: Yeah.

Alex: …the other law.

Luke: Yeah okay. So say “Hi” to the kids and your wife … uhm …

We wish well to all of you guys. And thank you so much again for doing this.

Link to video:

A big Thank You to one of our fellow fan (B), who helped us a lot with getting the bulk of the transcript done. It really helped us to get it out quicker. 

Alex & Luke on #H50 set in 2017

Thank you again to the boys from PacBleu for doing the interview and posting the full video.

The complete video gave us much more of  what is happening with Alex and answered some of our own questions.