Ask Dane Yamashiro a question about himself and he will likely lead the conversation toward someone else who has helped him as an ‘Iolani student-athlete.

Success on the mat in judo and wrestling is important to him, but not nearly as much as the people who have nurtured his growth. It’s a long, long list, too.

“He’s a role model for any kid — my kids are around the gym all the time and if I wanted them to emulate one student there, it would be Dane,” Raiders judo coach Dan Nishita said. “He’s the hardest worker, and he cares about people. Sometimes he cares more about other people than himself.”

It’s not just people that he cares about, either.

“Hopefully, I can keep up my grades (at the Illinois Institute of Technology starting this fall) and come back to Hawaii and help the state with its goal to be 100 percent fossil-fuel-free by 2050,” Yamashiro said. “By the time I get back, we should be well on our way.”

Not a bad answer to the question “How are you going to change the world?”

Yamashiro is involved with many clubs at ‘Iolani and is vice president of the senior class. He bluntly said, “No,” when asked if he planned to run for elected office in the future.

“Talk to anyone on campus and nobody has a bad thing to say about Dane,” Nishita said. “At a wrestling banquet, the seniors put on a skit and imitated a lot of the coaches, and he showed a lot of interesting skills acting. It was funny. Also, one of the Japanese teachers is retiring and he’s putting together a video montage as a parting gift. That’s just Dane. He’s very goal driven and he’s always putting a lot of thought into things and puts a lot of dedication and effort into it.”

Even if it’s not on the serious side, Yamashiro gives it his all. Like the time he had a bet with friends on a trip to Japan to see who could eat the most soft-serve ice cream cones in a week, or the time he danced with friends during an intermission on the floor at the Blaisdell Arena after he was eliminated from the wrestling state tournament as a freshman.

The latter story was his way of “initiating” himself as a newcomer with his varsity teammates.

“He puts himself out there and that’s rare, especially in athletics, where a lot of times it’s more important to be cool,” Nishita said. “That’s never Dane. His thoughts are all about team, camaraderie, leadership.”

Yamashiro, however, didn’t have to prove he belonged in judo as much as wrestling because he’s been competing in judo since he was 6 and won a junior national title at age 7.

He is humbly quick to point out that there were only three competitors in his division at the nationals.

“It was heavyweights, over 90 pounds, and I was 120,” he said.

Now, Yamashiro is 6 feet and 250 pounds and will compete for the last time in high school this weekend in the state judo championships. Last week, he won his fourth Interscholastic League of Honolulu title, and he is about to try for his fourth state crown.

In wrestling, he has two league and two state championships, and he remembers his extra tough road as a junior, when he beat Punahou senior Kanai Eldredge for both titles.

“It was by one point in the ILH match and by six points in a nice, long, six-minute state match,” Yamashiro said. “Those were the only two times I beat him. He beat me about four times before that.”

Winning the ILH judo title as a freshman remains Yamashiro’s biggest accomplishment.

“I was in judo from ages 6 to 10, but left it for a while to play football, baseball and wrestling and came back to it in my ninth-grade year,” he said. “They welcomed me back. I didn’t really have much confidence, but I always told myself I have nothing to lose. It wasn’t your typical win. After four penalties, the opponent was disqualified, but it was a major confidence booster. That was the first year ‘Iolani won an ILH judo team championship and we’ve won it every year since.”

According to Nishita, Yamashiro is quick and agile despite his size.

“As far as judo is concerned, he’s been doing it since he was young and he has a good base and skill set,” the coach said. “In wrestling, he’s undersized and going against big guys (285-pound weight class). In judo, size is not that big of a factor. He’s very agile for a big guy and he probably has the best technique out of the heavyweights in the past four years.

“We were worried when he was in the lower school. We heard stories about how he would throw an opponent and hurt them and feel terrible about it to the point where he kind of didn’t want to compete. That compassion to his opponents has carried over. If you see him in the tournaments, he’s friends with all the competitors. His camaraderie with teammates and competitors is second to none.”