THE SCENE AT PIPELINE when I got there was stupid. It was so dangerous that the Wolf Pack mentality became a necessity. The circumstances dictated it. It wasn't about terrorizing people. It was that, the way we grew up, dropping in was unacceptable.

Hawaii's being exploited as sure as a shark shits in the ocean. The Hawaiian people were taken over at gunpoint and forced to sign their country over. Locals are getting priced out of their neighborhoods. And in a lot of people's minds, these rich surfers that come over here represent that exploitation. As long as Hawaii is one of the most desirable places in the world to live and has some ofthe best waves, I don't think any of that is going to stop.

So it may take more of an effort to become our friend. But if you do, you get the most loyal friends in the world. The Wolf Pack is absolutely not a gang. We're a family. I consider every local in Hawaii to be a member. We look out for each other. Yes, it gets violent sometimes, unfortunately. But if we've succeeded in making things safer, then some good came out of it. I'm not saying there won't ever be fights again. They happen every year—but probably 90 percent of them don't involve us at all.

Personally, I haven't been in any fights for a few years. But people will look me up on the Internet and see the fight videos, see the arrests, and I hate how they will judge me for all that. They have no idea what kind of life I had. I grew up with no guidance at all. I'm lucky I'm not dead or in jail. People who didn't grow up like that can't understand it.

But I can't dwell on it anymore. I'm almost 40, and I feel like I've finally been able to process everything that's happened to me and be thankful for what I've got. I have four beautiful kids, I'm healthy, and I live in Hawaii. I've got a zillion projects going. I'm acting. I had a role in Blue Crush. It was a referral—somebody mentioned my name, and I got the part. Then I was in Forgetting Sarah Marshall last year, and I've been doing commercials and stunt work. I produced a TV show about our life here called The 808—that's our area code—that I'm shopping to networks. I've also got Wolfpak, a clothing line we started a couple of years ago. And I'm helping Eddie Rothman with his clothing line, Da Hui, which is named after a locals' crew that was kind of the Wolf Pack of the seventies.

When I meet people for the first time now, I say, "Hello, how are you doing? Nice to meet you." To get respect from people because you respect them is real respect. Nobody's priority should be to be a hard-ass and beat up everybody they don't get along with. I used to be pretty bitter over some shit that happened in my life, but it wasn't anybody else's fault. I'm not trying to make excuses, and I regret some things I've done. But all those things happened, and I can't change them. I've got to be happy for what I have. Just do my own thing and go out and surf.