“I decided to teach my love of the ocean to anyone who wants to know how pleasurable it is to be immersed in the sea.

    The ultimate challenge was presented to me in the form of a disabled person (Francean McClaine) who wanted to do the Waikiki Roughwater Swim. I trained her for 9 months. She finished the Roughwater course aprox. 2.4 miles in a little over 2 hours. I think I was more “stoked” than she was. It was that joyful, gratifying feeling that encouraged me to teach swimming. (Francean was blind and paraplegic at the time)

    Like training Francean, I get the most out of teaching others and in learning a little about myself along the way.”

    “Teaching is the greatest passion!”

JJ

A little bit about JJ:    Born John Kobelansky Jr. in Honolulu on a bright and sunny day. Nick-named JJ, he is 1/4 Hawaiian and 3/4 Caucasion, and is married to Tootsie (from Palo Alto, CA). He has a BFA in Painting/Drawing from UHM, was the cover artist for the Hawaiian Telephone Book in 1988 and retired as an Engineering Tech from the State of Hawaii, Planning Branch. He has been teaching his love of the ocean for 20+ years and has competed in the Waikiki Roughwater Swim over 2 dozen times.