A new student association, named Hang Anywhere Hammocks, appeared at World Fest Nov. 19 and 20, attracting more than 90 interested students. The group of friends who created it said they want to promote a healthy and active lifestyle, but also to encourage students to relax.
“We want to get outdoors,” said President David Frietz, a senior studying exercise and sports science from Arizona, “and be able to relax in a hammock.”
Paul Wehner, a junior studying biomedical studies from Kentucky, said, “Not enough people get out and go camping and enjoy nature. If more people go and have fun, they'll do it.”
“Hammocking” has become an activity for the presidency members, who have previously been traveling around the island of Oahu as friends for the past two semesters. These friends said they set up their hammocks in cool places and take sweet pictures. For them, it’s a nice way to have an adventure and relax. They decided to make it a association and help everybody enjoy being outdoors.
“Hammocking is super fun. You can do it whenever you want,” said presidency member Kevin Knudsen, a junior from Utah studying business management. “It’s a super nice way to relax.”
Presidency members said they want to encourage students to have adventures outside of Laie. “For our purposes it’s a good way to meet people,” said Knudsen. “Go out of your comfort zone and try something new. For me there is always more to do just because we have hammocks.”
The student association is planning to do one major activity per month, getting off-campus and finding places to set up their hammocks and be social. One activity planned for December has been called “The Christmas Tree.” Members will set up hammocks around a large tree at Malekahana Beach Park and put a light in their hammock, explained Frietz. It should look like every hammock is an ornament on a tree.
Frietz said for another activity, called “Hammocks on a Hill,” students will hike to the pine tree forest a third of the way up Laie Falls. They will set up their hammocks in this forest to relax and “hang” out with friends.
Besides these large activities, Frietz said he hopes to get the members involved in activities that the school provides, such as basketball games and the Olympics that are being planned for later this semester.
For students who have always wanted to do these activities, joining Hang Anywhere Hammocks can help. “There are people who see that lifestyle and haven’t had it, and those are the dreamers,” said Frietz. “They see something on TV and they say, ’Man I wish I could do that.’ presenting to that to them, it’s like a hope. They have hope they can get out there and take a sick picture.”
Presidency members hope to see more hammocks around campus or more people getting out and hanging their hammock in other cool places. “You can take your bed with you wherever you go, and it’s less than a pound,” said Wehner. “You buy a hammock once and you use it for years.”
“When you go back home, you don’t remember how tired you were when you got there how sweaty or out of shape,” said Frietz. “You remember the satisfaction of having done it.”