Justin Lee knows precisely who he is: a spearfishing champion, bowhunter, conservationist, and dedicated family man. Studded with jaw-dropping images of Hawaii’s wild places and narrated by Lee himself, SITKA Films’ new feature By Way of Black Sands explores Lee’s drive to raise his children so that they fall in love with the Hawaii he so fiercely wants to protect. It’s an absolute must-watch.
Lee is one of the most powerful voices, not only in the spearfishing community but also for the unique conservation concerns of the island where he was raised and for the community that raised him.
“When most people think of Justin Lee, they think of a spearfisherman,” Lee says. “But as soon as you start to scratch the surface a little bit, you realize that I am an outdoorsman and a big family man.”
Lee, who grew up in the small Hawaiian town of Honoka’a, won the 2022 U.S. Spearfishing Championship held on Arizona’s Lake Powell with an incredible second-day cold-water comeback.
That win landed Lee a spot on the USA National Spearfishing Team and a chance to compete in the CMAS World Championships in Spain this September. His 9th place finish at the World Championships in 2016 is the best American result this century.
Lee first followed his father into the water to spearfish at age 10. That was also about the time he pulled back his first bow. Lee is a prolific bowhunter, adept at chasing the wild hogs and feral goats of his home state. As a child, he fell in love with the Big Island but left home for college with dreams of exploring the world.
“Growing up in a household where education and experiences were considered invaluable, we were pushed to see as much of the world as we can,” Lee explains in the video. “Hawaii is never going to leave, so you might as well go and experience something else.
“I went away to college, and I remember coming home after my freshman year, and the first thing [my friend] Wayne and I did was go up to the top of the mountain. We hunted birds, and we hunted pigs. I was like, ‘This is what I’m missing.’”
Lee had been missing the connection to his home ground, so he ditched school and moved back home.
“I had painted this picture in my head that if I was the kid from high school that went away and didn’t make it in the big city and had to move back home, that was me failing,” Lee said. “But going out, seeing the world, coming back, and getting to make a difference where your roots are was one of the successes I was looking for.
“I never thought that I would come back. Now being back here has cemented an appreciation for the childhood that I grew up with.”
As a father, Lee is trying to make sure his young children have the same upbringing that shaped him into who he is today: “You know — running barefoot, feral child, pellet gun, chasing frogs.”
By building that type of carefree childhood for his son and daughter, Lee hopes to pass on his ideals.
“I never even thought it wasn’t important to carry it on,” Lee says. “I want to do what’s right so that everybody else can experience the lifestyle that I have.”
That’s a tall order, but Lee is doing his part by introducing his children to the outdoors at an early age. He tries to make them excited to go up to the mountain and make it fun just to roam and be a part of it all.
“That first trip, the big conversation about what it meant to go there and what it meant to experience those things, will come after that first walk-in,” Lee says. “Then, have that conversation about the lessons they learned and the lessons I learned.
“Hopefully, this lifestyle and this thoughtfulness for the environment really push forward to my kids and the legacy that I leave behind — Justin was a great father. Justin was a great son. He was a great husband, and he was a great conservationist — will ensure what I loved was able to be loved by the next generation.”
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