When Kim Gennaula and Guy Hagi first met, it was sweat at first sight.
“It was very clear to me when we first started dating that I had to step up
my athletic game because Guy is super athletic,” says Gennaula, 47.
At the time, they were weather anchors for competing TV stations. She worked at
KGMB and he was at KHNL. Hagi, a surfer and former triathlete, introduced Gennaula
to different hiking spots.
“He challenged me,” she says. “He used to run up and down Koko
Crater. So I started hiking it to see how fast I could do it. But I could never
match his time. I used to go bodyboarding, but then realized I needed to stand up
on the board. So I now do some stand-up paddling,” says Gennaula.
Hagi, 51, has always played sports, whether with neighborhood friends growing up
in Liliha or keeping up with his two athletic brothers. He began his life-long passion
for surfing at age 13. He was also a champion amateur boxer and competed in the
Honolulu Marathon, the Ironman Triathlon in Kona, and the Strongman Triathlon in
Okinawa.
These days, when he’s not broadcasting severe weather or the usual mauka showers
on Hawaii News Now, Hagi can be found surfing or golfing. “I feel and function
better after exercise,” says Hagi. “I’m not as happy if I don’t
have some kind of physical activity. It’s better for my body and mood.”
Over the years, Gennaula has proven she is just as game as her husband. “He’s
been a big influence,” she says. “There’s a little bit of competitiveness,
but, more than anything, he’s inspiring. I definitely realize the importance
of exercise and I didn’t have that before we met. Exercise was something I
did for fun now and then. But now it’s an important part of our lifestyles.”
After 11 years of marriage, they balance fitness with their busy careers and raising
two kids. Gennaula does about an hour of cardio exercise four times a week, either
in the gym or during an early morning hike at Koko Crater. She’s also taken
up Pilates. Staying fit and healthy helps Gennaula effectively run Aloha United
Way (AUW), which raised money for nearly 300 local nonprofits last year to help
people in need.
“Any time I have a lot of responsibility on my shoulders, doing a morning
hike and getting a good cardio burn really clears my head. I solve half the problems
I’m about to face that day during the hike. It’s therapeutic and physical
for me,” says Gennaula, who became AUW’s president and chief professional
officer in 2011 after 15 years in TV broadcasting.
The couple also makes health and fitness a priority for their 9-year-old son, Luke,
and 8-year-old daughter, Alia. Guy has taught them how to surf and weekends are
spent taking them to gymnastics, golf, baseball, and taekwondo, the Korean martial
arts form that also teaches discipline and life values. The family participates
in the Great Aloha Run and goes on annual snowboarding trips to the Mainland or
Canada.
“Our kids are super athletic and coordinated. They get that from Guy, not
me,” laughs Gennaula.
No matter where the athletic gene comes from, it looks like clear skies ahead for
this active family.