Liam McNamara has been surfing professionally since his teenage years, and people who know him said he has used his success to strengthen the North Shore community and sponsor several up and coming local surfers. Helping local youth is one of the first things people say about what he does.
Samantha Baglioni, an employee at McNamara’s North Shore Shrimp Truck, said, “I don’t think there’s a kid on the North Shore he hasn’t helped in one way or another.”
According to Angel Gonzales, chef at the Shrimp Truck, “In the last 10 years, he has put over a million dollars right here into the North Shore and to the kids living here by giving them surfboards, gear, and things like that to get them out on the water and off of the street.”
On top of sponsoring more than 40 aspiring Hawaiian surfers, McNamara and his wife, Brandee, open their home regularly to surfers from all around the world who need a place to stay while they’re in Hawaii.
At least 1,000 of those surfers were from Japan, said McNamara, who started speaking Japanese from a young age.
“I was kind of known as Hawaii’s ambassador to surfing in Japan. That’s where it started, but we’ve had people from almost any country you can name stay with us,” McNamara explained. “It’s a two-way street, though, because they stay with us, and when we travel, we get to stay with them.”
Brandee McNamara said a big reason why she and her husband host so many people is three of their four children surf competitively and she wants visiting competitors to be able to stay in a safe, friendly environment where they will be comfortable. “Our family gets bigger every time they stay with us,” she said.
Aside from supporting surfers, the McNamaras are trying to be a strengthening force in the North Shore economy with their four retail stores in Pupukea and Haleiwa. They are partnered with Luis and Stephanie Real and Brian Daniels in their Haleiwa stores.
The McNamaras’ string of stores started in Haleiwa 17 years ago with Brandee’s Sea Maids Beach Boutique, which she ran while Liam was still very active in competitive surfing.
Six months after being in Haleiwa, Brandee moved her business up to Shark’s Cove where it would eventually be transformed into the North Shore Surf Shop.
Since then, the McNamaras opened another Sea Maids Beach Boutique right next door to the surf shop, along with the North Shore Shrimp Truck, which they opened with their partner, Jerry Caulfman.
Their son, Makai, also runs a little blue shaved ice stand in front of the wood-wrapped shrimp truck, which he uses to fund his travels as a professional surfer.
The duo has opened another two businesses in Haleiwa, a surf and swimwear boutique and the 5,000-square-foot North Shore Swim Shop that McNamara claimed to be “the biggest and best surf shop in Hawaii.”
For now, the couple spends most of their time managing their businesses and focusing on raising their four sons, which usually ends up leaving very little time for surfing at the end of the day.
As they get older, Brandee said the two would like to watch their businesses grow so they can continue to help make positive changes in their community and carry on supporting young surfers in pursuing their dreams.
They also plan to travel the world to experience as many cultures as possible, including Ireland, where Liam’s ancestors lived.
Until then, McNamara said, “I hope to continue putting smiles on people’s faces with my businesses and enjoy as much time as I can with my kids and eventually my grandkids.”