Keeping Up with the Hayeses, and the Joneses
Conan, what do you like most about Malia?
Conan: She understands my little world. She's loyal and considerate and a really good person. You can see it with her family or with what she does. She's not fake. She lives her life how she wants to live it. She has a ton of integrity too.
How do you see that mostly?
Conan: In her work. She gets offers to do a bunch of seedy stuff that she definitely won't do. She could make a ton of money, but at the same time, if you don't keep your integrity, what's the point? She's really down to earth. That's another thing. She's not caught up in whatever's going in her world. She's been really grounded through it all. We make sure we appreciate everything we're given.
Malia, what do you like most about Conan?
Malia: I like that he's adventurous, and not just to travel and surf. He's adventurous in different ways. He's curious about things, in all aspects of life. Like, if he wants to start a clothing line, he does it. If he wants to learn French, he'll do it. He doesn't just talk about things. He does them. That's not easy. I also like that he loves the water, and even though he's from Hawaii he can still travel and appreciate other places, cultures and people.
How important was it that your husband was a surfer?
Malia: Being a girl that surfs, you always want someone to surf with you. I wasn't going to just marry a surfer, but I do have a life that revolves around the ocean so luckily I didn't have to make a choice or compromise.
Has your life changed since you got married?
Malia: It's a lot more fun. You always go places and you wish you had someone to share it with, and we get to do that. I can't believe how many things we've done in three years and I want to do so much more. I think marriage just makes everything easier.
What was your wedding like?
Conan: It was on the Big Island, New Year's Eve, 1999. It was pretty crazy. We had the reception first and it was just a quick ceremony after. Everybody had a lot of fun.
Do you plan to raise a family there?
Conan: I don't intend on living there for long. It's a real easy place to be. It's amazing, you can hike, surf, do whatever you want to do all day long. It's a big playground. But this isn't my time to do that. I want to stay as far away as possible because I like it. I want to really focus on RVCA.
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Between your contest and your company, you seem to be involved in a lot of philanthropic things. What, for instance, is the Artist Network Program?
Conan: The artists all want something to be able to give back to and through the program an artist can do anything they want with our logo. It's within a certain format so it can fit on a shirt, but they basically do anything they want without restrictions or parameters. We give the money we make from the shirt to any charity the artist chooses. One guy, Eclipse, he's a graffiti artist, he chose the Boys and Girls Club of Venice. They help keep the kids off the street. Brandon Boyd from Incubus chose Surfrider Foundation. Ed Templeton chose the 509 Cultural Center up in San Francisco.
Malia: You can do anything that you want, and to me that is what Conan represents. It doesn't have to be typical.
So where do you go from here?
Conan: If I influence one kid or one person and change his or her life in a positive way then I did my part. Everybody comes out ahead. When you give your life to something, you hope you are perceived in the right light, but you never know. I don't drink. I don't smoke. I don't do any of that stuff and hopefully kids see that.
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