Kevin Mokuahi lived life in the fast lane.
He was baptized at Waikiki Beach, gently held by his godfather, Elvis Presley, the King of Rock ’n’ Roll. He tattooed members of world-famous boy band NSync, cultural icon Cher and pop star Britney Spears. He was a son to one of Hawaii’s original beach boys, Sam “Steamboat” Mokuahi Sr., and a brother to one of the state’s most prominent professional wrestlers, Sam “Steamboat” Mokuahi Jr.
For decades, Mokuahi aligned his efforts in accordance with sex, money and more, all so that he might one day escape the mountainous shadow cast by the Steamboats’ successes.
“It was a me, me, I, I kind of life, and if it didn’t fit into what I wanted, then it was gone,” Mokuahi said. “Women, toys, Harleys.”
Parkinson’s disease didn’t fit into his plans, either. He had to make room.
More than 12 years after his diagnosis, Mokuahi is set to bike 36 miles and 10,000 feet up to the highest peak on the island of Maui — home to Haleakala, the dormant shield volcano and the site of Cycle to the Sun — in an effort to destigmatize Parkinson’s. Nearly one million people in the U.S. are affected by the second-most common neurodegenerative condition in the country. Nearly one million people respond differently.
The late boxing legend Muhammad Ali and retired “Back to the Future” star Michael J. Fox were both diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s before age 50, similar to Mokuahi. But Parkinson’s has never been a one-size-fits-all disease. Symptoms, which include tremors, slowed motor movements and mild memory complications, tend to worsen with age.
Mokuahi, 57, said his Parkinson’s has not progressed in the past year and a half, suggesting that his score on the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale has stayed the same in that span. He credits his cycling. His neurologists told him to just keep doing what he’s doing, against their initial recommendations.
There is no known cure and no proven medication that can delay the progression of the disease — only treatments that may ease the symptoms.
But a study involving laboratory rodents that was published last summer in Science Advances, an open-access journal supported by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the oldest and largest general science organization in the world, included findings that suggest intense exercise may be capable of slowing the natural course of Parkinson’s. Mokuahi might just be a living, breathing example.
“The saying is that if you met one Parkinson’s patient, you’ve met one Parkinson’s patient,” said Glen Higa, the president of the Hawaii Parkinson’s Association and a fellow Parkinson’s patient.
When Mokuahi was diagnosed, he was told that his job as a tattoo artist and his hobby as a cyclist would be almost impossible to maintain. He had tattooed customers for decades at that point and competed with his road bike since the turn of the century.
“To hear someone tell you that you’re not going to be able to do the thing that you love again, it’s a tough thing,” Mokuahi said.
His eyes watered. He stood to lose more than his tattoo needle and road bike. Perhaps more importantly, how those items connected him to his community would have been compromised.
Mokuahi strongly believes the actual tattoo is as important as the process. Across decades’ worth of appointments, he doesn’t remember every single customer. They remember him. A female flight attendant once approached Mokuahi at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in Taipei. He didn’t recognize her. Dressed in her United Airlines uniform, she thanked him. Years earlier, she had asked for a tattoo on her arm. Mokuahi convinced her to move it to her ankle. And in a chance encounter years later, she found herself traveling the world for a major American airline that prohibits any visible tattoos while in uniform.
Post-Parkinson’s diagnosis, Mokuahi tattooed for a decade longer before he put the pen down. He claimed to make money hand over fist in the heyday of his 35-year career. That part he doesn’t miss.
“I’m wealthier now than I’ve ever been,” he said.
The people make the place, as the saying goes. Even while Mokuahi collects disability checks and awaits public housing, he’s found his people and his purpose through cycling. Neither Parkinson’s nor ulcerative colitis, which Mokuahi has dealt with for decades, has stopped him from scaling his mountains to inspire others to do the same.
“It’s not about me anymore,” he said.
Soon after Mokuahi made an appearance on Hawaii News Now two years ago, he was approached by two Parkinson’s patients. They had been recently diagnosed and somehow found the courage to appear in high spirits, eager to tell Mokuahi he was the reason behind their decision to start cycling.
That, Mokuahi said, is what June 22 is about.
He will pedal for Parkinson’s — a motto printed on his cycling jersey — with a team eager to support his “climb for da cause.”
The process for him is simple. Make it to the top without stopping. Longtime friend Carl Brooks, a team leader for Outta Bounds Hawaii, will race alongside him in case he must reach the summit on Mokuahi’s behalf. Mokuahi humorously dubbed Brooks his “sherpa.” The two have known each other for more than 30 years.
Through some of Mokuahi’s most difficult trials, Brooks has been there.
“When I get on my bicycle over there, I don’t have to worry about anything,” Mokuahi said. “All I have to worry about is making it up that mountain. I’ve got one of my best friends riding right next to me.”
Brooks will be in consistent contact with Paula Bender, a fellow community cyclist who has biked up Haleakala on multiple occasions outside of competition, driving a car to different points of the climb in 10- to 15-minute intervals. She’ll have food, water and even a change of clothes ready if Mokuahi should need the, at any time in his several-hour journey.
Ahead of a Cycle to the Sun event for which more than 100 cyclists have gathered annually since the 2000s, Mokuahi was asked if he wanted to be in front for the mass start. He said no, adamant that he should trail a minute or two behind the other competitors.
Mokuahi, after spending much of his young adulthood trying to exist in his spotlight, is OK with taking a step back to ride his own race.
“We all got to get away from this life sometimes, and I’ve just been so thankful that my bike has been that thing,” he said. “Two wheels have been that thing for me. I could literally tell you it saved my life.”
Out in the community on his road bike, Mokuahi has become known to offer a good-morning salutation to anyone in proximity. It could be a cyclist, a runner or even a car that cuts him off. Mokuahi’s positivity in the present day knows no bounds.
He, his road bike and his helmet tan have become a staple in the neighborhoods that run along his typical training route. A set of monkey bars in Hawaii Kai rarely fail to draw him into respite.
“You make it look so easy just to be you and be yourself and be happy doing it,” Brooks told Mokuahi as part of an earnest exchange.
“That’s what impresses me about you today.”
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How to help
Hawaii Parkinson’s Association, a non-profit volunteer organization that was founded in 1996, accepts one-time and monthly donations. Visit parkinsonshawaii.org for more information on how to help support Parkinson’s patients along with their families and caregivers here in Hawaii.
