kolby, co-founder & director
Hometown: Pahala, HI
My favorite travel destination: One of my favorites would have to be Budapest! The food, hospitality and rich culture and history felt like pure magic!
One of my most memorable meals: Ichiran Ramen on a studio trip to Japan. It was freezing outside and then we all crammed in an itty bitty booth to eat the best ramen we’ve ever had!! YUM!
Favorite ARIA moment: From booking my first “real” wedding and going back to the car and bawling my eyes out, to taking the team to Thailand and Japan to celebrate our 10 year anniversary, to hiring and training a new generation of ARIA crew that includes my hanai nephew and niece (yes, *the Aria!), the last 14 years has been riddled with favorites.
“I wasn’t sold on filmmaking at first. Sure, it was fun to play with cameras and make cool videos and this line of work turned out to be pretty profitable once I learned about business. It wasn’t until years after I started ARIA Studios that I realized the power of story. How something that might have only existed as an idea, could be shaped into a film and infect so many with a message of hope, love, joy or transformation. I’ve seen lives change as a result of a well-told story - it’s both a huge honor and a huge responsibility. Now, it’s my quest to be able to tell stories that really matter and help others do the same.”
Read Kolby’s 13.75 Year Reflection on the Blog.
