It’s Wednesday morning, and Che Kā’eo Pilago is tucked at the back of a colorful tattoo shop in the Old Industrial shopping area. He is working intently but easily on a young man’s arm. He is laying down rough guidelines for his tattoo pen with a red marker. His work is quick and makes the art look effortless. It’s no wonder, since Che has been tattooing since he was a child. He recalls when he was twelve and snuck out of school to use his dad’s tattoo machine. Che comes from a line of tattoo artists seven generations deep. “I grew up around it. It was second nature,” Che says. Back in the shop, he follows the red lines with black tattoo ink and builds an intricate pattern of tribal symbols.
“Anyone that calls me up, it’s for a significant event in their life: a marriage, birth of a child, graduation or some milestone,” he explains. He carries on the conversation easily, wiping off excess ink and inspecting his lines. Tribal tattoos embody a chronological story of the person’s life. Their skin is a canvas that evolves as they journey and age.
Che tells the story of a recent client who came in for his work. The young man had started playing professional soccer and traveling far from home. He asked Che to help him design a tattoo so he could carry a piece of the island with him wherever soccer took him. The patterns painted an abstract picture of home, parents and his sister.
There’s a narrative hidden within each tribal tattoo. It’s a symbolic language that friends and family know how to read. “I talk story with them,” Che says as he explains the design process. He points to the triangular peaks and valleys on the young man’s arm. These represent the struggles and victories in his life. “The tattoos are a way to push people to be better,” Che concludes. They are a testament to battles fought and challenges that have been overcome.
As he talks through the tattoo, Che points out that his designs are a mix of cultural symbols representing his heritage. “I'm a mix of all the islands and cultures: Samoan, Hawaiian, New Zealand, Tahitian and Scottish.” He is a descendant of the legendary John Macomber, who jumped ship to swim back to shore and marry the woman he loved, one of Che’s great aunties.
Che has had no shortage of adversity to overcome in his own life. When he was 5, his father lost everything in a crooked land deal on Maui. Che remembers living in a green Datsun truck with his family until they could save up to return to O'ahu. Years later, when they moved to the Big Island, Che fondly recounts their time living in tents on the water at Pine Trees Beach. He remembers it as an adventurous time full of fishing and surfing. But there was a dark side to his youth as well. He was surrounded by drugs, and alcohol was a normal part of life.
Che had to wrestle with those demons. His success as an awarded athlete and entrepreneur were tainted with his struggle with these vices. In December 2014 while visiting his daughter Mehana for her college graduation in San Francisco, Che hit rock bottom. It seemed the darkness had won. "She disowned me," he paused. His behavior led to a moment of deep self-reflection. Che had a choice to make. He could walk down the broken road that had been modeled to him or he could choose to rise above it.
He decided to be the fighter he knew he had the potential to be. Che is a direct descendant of the warrior Kekuhaupi'o, the Lua master who was a close advisor to Kamehameha I. Fighting is in his blood. A chain around his neck carries a medallion representing 9 years of sobriety. A battle hard-won made possible with the support of a local Rebel Dogs AA meeting. “It’s still a fight; the cravings don’t go away, so I substituted the bad addictions for good ones,” Che shares, pointing to his love for tattoos, surfing and sparing.
Nothing speaks louder of the power of redemption in Che’s life than Mehana sitting two chairs down from him, creating her own tattoo work on a client. “She designed this whole studio,” he boasts. Father and daughter reunited, working side by side as he champions her entrepreneurial dreams to shape Kā’eo Studios.
“Don’t give up, the storms will pass,” Che emphasizes, “Kā’eo is a word that represents our call to rise up and kick a**.” Che’s grandmother prophetically told his father he would have a son and instructed him to name the boy Kā’eo so that he could lead the people.
His father named him Che Kā’eo Pilago. Che, after the Argentinian rebel, and Kā’eo to honor his grandmother’s wish. Che has always fought between those two names to define his identity. He is pulled between the life of a rebel and his higher call. He chooses the path of Kā’eo.
“Everyone’s looking for guidance and mentorship. I’ve been on both sides,” Che recounts his time in jail and his long struggle upward. “I’ve lived a story of overcoming.”
His journey is written in ink on his arm, chest and head. He carries wisdom born from scars and longs to leave a redemption legacy for the next generation. This is the beauty of tribal tattoos. Each unique design is a one-of-a-kind story that should inspire us to persevere as we each live our beautiful adventure.
Learn more about what Che and Mehana do on their Instagram account @kaeohawaiistudio.
I'm a mix of all the islands and cultures: Samoan, Hawaiian, New Zealand, Tahitian and Scottish — Che Kā’eo Pilago.