TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. (WTOC) – During the summer months on Tybee Island, on the 18th street beach, you’ll find an ocean full of little surfers.
These young kids are being taught by a man who goes by an unusual name.
They call him ‘Hot Sushi’.”
Atsushi Yamada is from Tokyo but when he lived in Guam, no one could pronounce Atsushi, instead calling him by his nickname.
Surfing is his passion, and now at 63, he’s sharing that passion with young kids on Tybee.
You can tell they grow so much everyday even after only a couple of hours a day. The ocean water raises them more than us. We are just like a part of the ocean,” Yamada said.
Every day, at Hot Sushi’s Happy Surf Camp Aloha, when the kids take a break from the water, Yamada chops up watermelon for them on his surfboard. While it’s a way for them to enjoy a healthy snack, he says it has a deeper meaning to him.
“Watermelon is a big deal in Japan as a kid, if we can get 1 watermelon in the summer, it’s a good summer. We didn’t get to see watermelon often back then… so i like to provide that feeling every day,” Yamada explained.
To Hot sushi, surfing is a way of life. He says it revives him every day and feels an obligation as an adult to pass on his passion to the younger generations.
Not even a shark attack three years ago could keep him away. He says he’s just thankful none of the children were hurt.
“It could be anybody; it happened to be me. So, I’m very thankful, and fortunate,” Yamada said.
He’s not just Teaching kids how to surf, but how to love and respect the ocean, each other, and spread aloha.
“It means a lot not just hello, thank you, just being respectful to the land, each other, the ocean, to me it’s everything like more than words.”
Hot Sushi’s surf camp on Tybee Island runs until August. You can find more information here.
Copyright 2025 WTOC. All rights reserved.
发表回复