Pickleballers in the 808: Bruce Fujimoto and Sandy Kobayashi
Pickleballers in the 808: Bruce Fujimoto and Sandy Kobayashi
Kaka’ako—#goals.
In retirement, my goal is to live a life like Bruce Fujimoto and Sandy Kobayashi. They’re happily married and they spend their days playing pickleball and traveling.
What could be better?
In our second installment to introduce our Pickleball 808 ambassadors (community members who are on on a mission to connect Hawai’i pickleball players and spread aloha at the courts)…get to know Bruce and Sandy. They’re the friendliest and kindest people you’ll meet…they’ll welcome you, strike up a conversation, and make you feel like an old friend.
Without further ado, please meet Pickleballers in the 808 Bruce Fujimoto and Sandy Kobayashi!
Bruce and Sandy with Hideki, their tour guide in Tokyo, who they turned into a pickleball player 😁
Currently residing in:
Kaka’ako...a two minute walk to Mother Waldron's pickleball courts!
Where did you grow up and what high school did you go to?
Bruce was born and raised on Moloka’i. He graduated from Lahainaluna High School where he was enrolled in the boys Boarding Department program ("IMUA '72"). I was born and raised on Maui and graduated from Maui High School ("GO SABERS")!
How did you discover pickleball and when did you start playing?
Bruce's pickleball journey actually began about 50 years ago!
While working on his Physical Education/Recreation and Health degree in Bellingham, Washington, he was introduced to this "alternative game" called Pickleball. And the rest is…"not quite history".
When he returned home to Moloka’i to start his teaching career, he introduced pickleball to his students, faculty, and administration. Sadly, a lack of funds and interest grounded this "alternative game" for the already established traditional sports!
Fast forward to 2021, Bruce's surf and golf hobbies eventually took a toll on his back and shoulders and he began looking for another form of exercise. A friend kept bugging him about joining them for pickleball! "Hmmm, pickleball...that "alternative game"!
Bruce encouraged me to join him, and well, the "rest is history"!!!
What do you do outside of pickleball?
Nothing else...kidding! We're both retired. Bruce is a retired teacher and I retired from sales and marketing at Spectrum. We enjoy working out, traveling, volunteering, coffee hours, exploring eateries, attempting to eat healthier, being a part of our Kaka’ako community, and supporting UH sports.
What do you love most about pickleball?
Seeing the joy, laughter, and smiles during a game!
The friendly competition across all ages and genders; the sharing of knowledge; the opportunities to travel...and our number one reason is, the people we've met!
Much aloha to our Mother Waldron crew and the ambassadors who enhanced our love for this game (Mary/Dave, Keven, Kyle, Max, Jen, Margie and her Palama crew, Donna/Kevin and their OPA crew).
We've also enjoyed playing pickleball and meeting others while traveling to Vegas, San Diego, Japan, and Maui. Canada was also on our list until the Canadian wildfires nixed that trip.
By the way, traveling is so much easier and cheaper with two pickleball paddles than two bags of golf clubs!
Bruce and Sandy with Riley Newman and Keven Wong
What paddle are you currently playing with?
Bruce plays with various Engage paddles...mainly the 6.0 models and I play with the Joola Scorpeus Anna Bright model.
How often do you play?
About 3-4 times a week with drill and rest/recovery sessions snuck in-between!
What is the next goal (pickleball or otherwise) that you’re working on?
Playing in our first pickleball tournament together and to remain married after playing in our first pickleball tournament together!
Anything else on your mind that you’d like to share?
We're blessed to have found pickleball at this time in our life when pickleball is so popular and we have the time and health to play and share this wonderful game.
Bruce and Sandy aboard their cruise to Yokohama 🇯🇵
Thank you Bruce and Sandy, for sharing your story and for helping spread aloha across PB communities in Hawai’i!
