HAWAII WAS HELL UNTIL HOOPONOPONO KE ALA

When Olympic gold medalist OLIVER FIX moved to Hawaii, the way he had learned to do things did NOT work.

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I WAS USED TO MAKING PLANS, setting goals, persisting … triumphing! I had won the world championships in whitewater slalom kayaking, and then the Olympic gold medal. With my wife Gilda, an Olympic paddler from Costa Rica, we traveled the rivers of the world before landing in Nottingham, England, where I was put in charge of the British Olympic whitewater team. It was high profile, high pressure, and we achieved. We won two medals in my first Olympics as coach, the most the country had won up to that point. I came back from the Games victorious, ready to do even better next time.

So, imagine my surprise when Gilda announced: “No more British winters for me! I’m moving to Hawaii. You are welcome to join me, but I am not staying here for another four years!”

“But honey, I have everything here: success, recognition, support, long-term prospects...”

“Good for you! But I can’t even legally work in the UK. Meanwhile, you’re traveling overseas 130 days of the year.”

“But, love, there is no whitewater in Hawaii. None. What are we going to do? I do not want to flip burgers!”

I ended up folding towels instead.