Kumu Pohaku is a Hawaiian Studies teacher. He refers to himself as being of "local" heritage. Hawaii's multicultural heritage has mixed together so much over the years that Hawaii has developed its own unique culture. This is what Kumu Pohaku means when he says he is local, rather than saying he is Japanese, Hawaiian, etc. Kumu Pohaku has lived in Hawaii all his life. He is an accomplished "Kumu Hula", which means he is the teacher of his own hula troupe.
Surprisingly, Kumu Pohaku did not play ukulele as a child. It wasn't until he became a Hawaiian Studies resource teacher that he learned to play. He worked with other Hawaiian Studies kumu and watched his talented colleagues work with Hawaii's keiki. He then learned to play simply by observing and practicing. Kumu Pohaku is now an accomplished entertainer and even composes his own ukulele music.
His favorite music is Hawaiian music because so much of it is written specifically for the ukulele. This makes the music easy to play.
When playing the ukulele, Kumu Pohaku finds the music relaxing. He says his mind travels to a special place in his life. He feels each ukulele player can, in turn, travel to their own special place when playing the ukulele.
Kumu Pohaku's advice for beginning ukulele players is "To practice, practice, practice!"