Desperation Blues - Makua Rothman is a rare song sung by the surfer Makua Rothman

Makua Rothman was born on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. He is the son of Eddie Rothman, who in 1976 founded Hui O He'e Nalu (literally, "Club of Wave Riders"), shortened to "Da Hui", in Oahu. Da Hui, consisting of native Hawaiians (Eddie Rothman himself is Jewish and is from the mainland United States, while Makua's mother is a Native Hawaiian),^[2] was established purportedly as a reaction to the tourists who were traveling to Hawaii and were not respectful of the local culture and surf etiquette on the North Shore. At a young age Rothman surfed with his father, who pushed him to surf waves much bigger than those his peers were surfing.

Rothman attributes his surfing prowess in large waves to his size as a youth. Because he was slightly overweight growing up, he wasn't as agile as some of his peers and catching smaller, less powerful waves was difficult for him. Bigger, more powerful waves better suited his surfing, and Rothman began to test the limits of his skills by surfing famous big-wave spots like Sunset Beach and Pipeline. Rothman also suffered from asthma as a child, a health issue potentially detrimental to his participating in a sport where breathing and holding one’s breath are fundamentally important. However, his father involved him in various other sports such as soccer, baseball, football, and water polo because the strenuous workouts seemed to help relieve his asthma. A formative experience of Rothman's surfing occurred in 1992, when he was eight years old. He paddled out to surf at famous big-wave spot Waimea Bay during a ceremony held for deceased surfer Eddie Aikau. The heavy surf conditions pounded the young Rothman, holding him under two 12-foot set waves, but he suddenly popped up in a clearing of the turbulent white-water.^[1]This event bolstered his confidence in big-wave conditions.