Japan Today: Akebono brings his fighting spirit to the restaurant business

["Rowan" <rowan@juryo.com>]

Have tried to post a couple of times, but hasn't gone through.

http://www.japantoday.com/dbfiles/newsmaker/akebono.54.jpg

Former sumo grand champion Akebono, right, and Tokyo restaurateur Alvaro Perez HOTERES Magazine 

http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=newsmaker&id=88

TOKYO ^× "Hold it a minute while I fix my tie," says Akebono, straightening it up before he poses for a photo in his beautifully-tailored suit.

Image is everything nowadays for the Hawaiian-born former sumo star who was the first non-Japanese to achieve the sport's highest rank of yokozuna (grand champion) during his 13-year career that lasted from 1988 until he retired in 2001 with 11 championships to his name.

Now, the 33-year-old Akebono finds himself in a different arena ^× the business world. He currently works in the public relations section of the Japan Sumo Association (JSA) and is now trying his hand at a new business enterprise ^× partnership with well-known Tokyo restaurateur Alvaro Perez in the city's newest restaurant, ZUNA, which opened on Nov 15.

Akebono, whose real name is Chad Rowan, knows that the restaurant business offers different challenges from sumo (for one thing, if the fans don't like it, they won't come back). But both he and Perez are confident they can make it work.

"I've known Alvaro for 11 years," says Akebono, relaxing in the offices of Metromedia Ltd of which Perez is president. Time is short today because he has to catch a plane to Hawaii, but he is happy enough to chat about his "second career" as a restaurateur.

"People were approaching me while I was still wrestling, asking me if I wanted to get into the restaurant business. To tell you the truth, I knew absolutely zero about restaurants. I'm not a good cook, I'm better at taste-testing. But if I was going to be involved, I knew it would have to be with someone I could trust and basically the only person I knew in the restaurant business I felt I could trust was Alvaro. He came up with the project and the timing was just right."

Akebono speaks softly and comes across as a gentle giant. It doesn't take long for his shyness to disappear as he flashes the occasional grin, chatting about everything from his career to good food to who might play the title role if a movie is ever made about him one day. It's a side most sumo fans have never seen; the only time they used to hear him speak was on TV, usually right after a bout when he was still breathless. Now that he has more commitments, he is fond of saying "whatever it takes to make it work, I'll do."

So don't be surprised if you see Akebono greeting patrons at ZUNA some nights. "I enjoy going out to meet people. It'll be a nice atmosphere and something different for people who only knew me through sumo," he says.

All items are organic

Located in Akasaka, ZUNA, however, is not a theme restaurant and has nothing to do with sumo, other than the fact that the letters ZUNA are the last four of yokozuna. It will feature American regional cuisine ranging from Cajun to Californian to Hawaiian. All items on the menu will use organic ingredients (including organic coffee beans), and everything will be cooked on a wood-fired grill.

Designed by Idee Service Station, ZUNA's decor focuses on natural colors such as greens and browns to give the place a light look. Chef Dutch O'Neal, who hails from New Orleans, worked in New York and Los Angeles before moving to Hawaii to join Sam Choys.

Venezuelan-born Perez lived in Italy and then Los Angeles where he started off as a waiter in Beverly Hills. He managed Il Forno in Santa Monica and then came to Japan in 1991 to open Il Forno in Roppongi. In 1995, he became co-founder of Still Foods where he was in charge of concept design, market research and operations. During his time in Japan, Perez has opened or been involved in around 40 restaurants. He established Metromet in May and ZUNA is the company's first project

"It is a gamble," Perez admits. "I have seen many restaurants open and close in a short time. We are not planning to open more restaurants like ZUNA in Tokyo, although we may do so in Nagoya and Osaka. This is one of the big mistakes restaurateurs are making right now. They all think about big bucks. If you open too many restaurants, you dilute the image and this is what we want to avoid. On the other hand, next year, we are planning to launch ZUNA burgers ^× healthy organic burger shops. But for our one ZUNA restaurant in Tokyo, I am confident we will succeed because we have the basics: good food, good service and an identity."

In ZUNA's case, at least initially, the "identity" stands 204 cm tall and weighs about 232 kg. Akebono hasn't lost a whole lot of weight since his retirement from the dohyo, but he looks remarkably fit.

"I'm not on a diet or anything. I still enjoy eating, especially sashimi," he says. "I get up early most mornings around 6 am, and try and go to the gym before the day starts. Then I go to the stable to assist with the training. I get home by 6:30 pm or 7, but the restaurant will probably cause some changes in my lifestyle, but hey man, whatever it takes. I intend to go to there as much as I can and be a part of the whole experience."

Learning to be patient in meetings

One of the biggest adjustments for Akebono is learning to be patient in business meetings. Like most athletes, he has a gung-ho streak and would rather just charge and do something.

"It's a totally different world," he acknowledges. "Sumo is a one-man sport. When you are up on the dohyo, you're by yourself. In business, you have partners, it's a team sport. So I have to sit down and listen to what other people think. I learned perseverance in sumo and that's something I can apply in business. Anyway, it really takes a lot to p*ss me off ...Well, all that electronic stuff, you know, the Internet, gets me," he adds, much to the consternation of his publicists who are constantly chiding him for not answering his cell phone.

Akebono is still happiest when he is working with up-and-coming sumo wrestlers and helps his former stablemaster and fellow-Hawaiian Jesse Kuhaulua (now Oyakata Azumazeki) train them. Occasionally he'll make a trip back to his native Hawaii to scout potential wrestlers.

"I feel one of my responsibilities now is to help troubled Hawaiian youth. Many people don't know about the crime, drugs and homeless problem that exist in Hawaii among young kids. I would like to set up my own charity one day. I cannot even begin to imagine what my life would have been like if I hadn't discovered sumo. I might still be in Oahu taking out the trash from a restaurant. Sumo is everything to me; it defines who I am."

And yet sumo was probably the last thing on Akebono's mind when he was at college. A basketball career seemed more likely before he was scouted by Azumazeki. He made his sumo debut in March of 1988, and throughout his career, he won the coveted Emperor's Cup 11 times and finished with 654 wins and 232 losses. He was yokozuna for 48 tournaments, the fourth longest, and revolutionized the sumo world by being the first foreigner to do so. He acquired Japanese citizenship in 1996.

Akebono's title tally would have been higher but he was plagued by knee injuries and some pretty strong competition, says Gene Saltzgaver, former sports writer for the Asahi Evening News and Asahi Weekly. "He was under tremendous pressure to retire for the last few years of his career," says Saltzgaver, "but he stuck with it. He was up against yokozuna brothers Takanohana and Wakanohana at their peak and he did pretty good. I think one of his biggest assets now is that he has a good eye for spotting talent.. The question is, will the sumo association open the door for more foreign wrestlers?"

Akebono thinks they should. Sumo, he says, is going through a changing of the guard. "Many people in Japan don't realize how popular sumo is overseas, maybe even more so than in Japan in some ways. There are a lot more foreign wrestlers coming in, 'white' ones, too. They were there when I joined, but you don't see them because they have more difficulty rising up through the ranks. Just recently, a boy from Texas entered a stable," he said.

"There are a lot of rikishi (wrestlers) on the way up, but it takes time for new superstars to emerge. With time and maturity, everything will fall into place and the sport will recapture some of the popularity it is losing because of competition from Japanese playing in the major leagues and in European soccer."

Busy with PR and charity work

The JSA keeps Akebono pretty busy these days. He says working in the PR department is doing wonders for his Japanese writing and reading ability. In addition, he does a lot of traveling and speaking engagement for the association. He is also happy to help out with charitable causes, especially involving children's issues.

"Children are the ones who will take care of us when we get old, so if we don't take care of them now, it's bad. Kids learn real quickly, and it's easy to give them the wrong example," he says, adding that he tries to spend as much time as he can with his wife and two children (he has a daughter, 4, and son, 2). "Actually, I'm an ordinary Joe. I take my kids to the park or the pool. We go to Maxi Priest concerts."

That plane to Hawaii is waiting, so he gets up with an air of satisfaction. His health is good, his heart is good and "my brain is finally starting to work," Akebono jokes. "Right now, I have no idea what to expect. At the moment, I'm just concentrating on making ZUNA successful." Maybe all that's left to do is make a movie about his life. "Yeah, man, I want Denzel Washington to play the lead role."

ZUNA is located at Plaza Mikado Bldg, B1, Akasaka 2-14-5, Minato-ku. Tel: 3568-4555. It is open Mon-Sat from 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. and from 5:30 p.m.-10 p.m. Lunch menus range from 1,400 yen and dinners from 8,000 yen.

November 26, 2002