Yusuke Hanai

Yusuke Hanai is a tal­ented Japan­ese surfer/artist who mixes fluid pas­tel swirls and fine line ink. He cap­tures the essence of surf­ing in a look that is both vin­tage and mod­ern, mix­ing Seuss with Grif­fin. We were for­tu­nate to share a few words with him.

What was life like grow­ing up?
When I was child, I would always stay indoors read­ing “The Dinosaur Illus­trated Book” and “The Ani­mal Illus­trated Book.” I would spend my time doo­dling  strange crea­tures. My child­hood dream was to be a zookeeper. I had asthma, so I couldn’t play out­side much, so I stayed in the house a lot. My par­ents pushed me into swim­ming and soc­cer to make my body stronger. Play­ing soc­cer helped a lot, too. I made many friends with whom I would later start surf­ing with.

Who did you look up to and admire when you were a young man?
Rick Grif­fin and Dr.Seuss.

When did you get your first surf­board?
When I was in high school. I found it in the neighbor’s trash!

What was the feel­ing you had when you first stood on a surf­board?
I felt like I was stand­ing on bird wings. It felt like I was flying.

Where did you inter­est in art come from?
I’ve always loved to doo­dle since I was a kid. I would always doo­dle Japan­ese and Amer­i­can comic char­ac­ters. I still doodle.

What is your process when cre­at­ing your art?
I love to make my life look fun. I always try to find some­thing fun and draw happy things.

Of all the places you have trav­eled to, what place in par­tic­u­lar stands out? And why?
San Fran­cisco. When I was 21, I trav­eled to Cal­i­for­nia and I fell in love with the city. The peo­ple were nice and the town was so beau­ti­ful. There is so much inter­est­ing cul­ture in SF. I moved to SF when I was 24. I stayed there for a year. I still love San Fran­cisco. I want to go back there someday.

What is it that makes you such a nice per­son? What code do you live by?
To be a good friend. I can’t do any­thing by myself. Friends will always give me good things, so I try to bring them good things,

Who/what inspires you?
Surfers, waves, and all creatures.

What is the great­est thing you have learned in your life?
Hav­ing friends. Now I have many friends from Japan and other coun­tries. They enlarge my world.

Do you have any regrets or wish you had done some­thing dif­fer­ently?
So far, no. If any­thing, I just want to draw better.

What mean­ing does surf­ing hold for you and how has it changed your life?
Surf­ing is my way to con­nect with nature. I can feel the sea­sons and feel the power of nature. And I find color, which gives me so much inspiration.

What brings you the most hap­pi­ness in the world?
Surf­ing and hang­ing out with my friends and chill­ing out with my girl­friend and dog.

Who are some of the peo­ple you feel are shap­ing the path for surf­ing today?
There are so many good surfers in the world. I couldn’t just name one, but I do like to watch Rob Machado and Joel Tudor ride.

What is in your cur­rent quiver? What is your favorite board? Your favorite surfspot?
I have a 5’10” MSF G-2 sin­gle fin, an Eric Walden twin fin and a 6’1” tri-fin Lost Speed Demon.

What’s your favorite meal?
Bur­ri­tos. Think­ing about them makes me miss San Francisco.

What are you cur­rently lis­ten­ing to on your iPod?
Phish

What’s next for Yusuke Hanai?
I’m work­ing on a logo and iden­tity for the Green Room Fes­ti­val 2010. I will have Tokyo art show in April as well as an upcom­ing show at the Surf Indian in San Diego. I hope to see all of you there!

More infor­ma­tion on Yusuke Hanai can be found here.