We were lucky to catch up with Jared Nagao recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jared, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

Yes! I definitely wished I had started Ghostlore of Hawaii sooner. The podcast had been a passion that I had been thinking of doing for several years. Being a fan of all things paranormal, that was the genre I started listening to when I first got into podcasts. However, after a few years, I noticed that it was rare to come across any story based in Hawaii. This surprised me because of how engrained the supernatural is in Hawaii’s culture.

Being born and raised in Hawaii, I grew up listening to ghost stories, learning about ancient Hawaiian theology & it’s legends, and wished there was a podcast that covered these tales. If a podcast did cover a story from Hawaii, it was often difficult to follow the story as the host struggle through the Hawaiian words and locations. I finally decided it was time to create the show that I wanted to hear, but couldn’t find.

The only problem; I had zero experience in audio production and had no clue how to get a podcast distributed. I ran through a crash course of audio editing that I learned almost exclusively through YouTube videos. Being a perfectionist, however, of course I fell into the common “over-plan and never start”. I also had daily bouts of self-doubt. “What if nobody listens?”, “What if it’s laughably bad?”, “Why would people listen to your podcast when there’s millions out there?” I constantly considered quitting but had already bought a microphone so decided to fully commit — to one episode. If no one listened, I’d sell the mic and move on with my life.

I jumped in and dedicated hours and hours to recording, editing, listening, then critiquing. I changed anything I didn’t like, added music and sound effects, critiqued some more, until finally deciding the episode was as good as it was going to get. I launched Episode 1: ‘The Kona Lagoon Hotel’ around 7am on a Monday morning and was instantly filled with fear of it’s reception. “What if nobody listens?” “What if it’s laughably bad?” I couldn’t deal with that anxiety so left for the mountains on an all day hike; free of cell-service.

I managed to enjoy my time on the mountain and returned home with a much better mindset. Even if just my family and a few friends listened, I’d be happy. I flopped on the couch and opened up the dashboard for my podcast’s host site to check the number of downloads. To my surprise, that first episode had passed the number of downloads the average podcast receives monthly; in one day. I literally screamed… and startled my cats. For years, fear and anxiety prevented me from starting this passion project that I so wanted to share with the world. Learning there was an audience for Hawaiian stories and that people enjoyed my version of these tales was one of the most satisfying feelings I’ve experienced. That inspiration motivated me to continue on to the next story, then the next, and on and on. I am so proud to say that Ghostlore of Hawaii: Paranormal Paradise is about to release Season 3 very soon!

P.S. The picture used for this interview was taken during the hike on the day episode 1 was released.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Jared and I am the host of the Ghostlore of Hawaii: Paranormal Paradise podcast. I was born and raised in Hawaii where tales of the supernatural are prevalent in the culture. It is more common than not to encounter locals who have had their own paranormal experiences and many of these stories are passed around the community. With interest in the paranormal podcasts increasing over the last decade, there is more access to spooky stories from around the world than ever before. However, I noticed Hawaii’s stories are greatly under represented in the paranormal field. After frustration with the lack of quality and quantity of these tales, I finally decided to produce my own paranormal podcast.

Ghostlore of Hawaii covers personal experiences along with the ghost stories I grew up hearing as a child. Each story is set to ambient music and sound effects that enhance the listener experience with some useful Hawaiian facts and definitions sprinkled throughout. The goal of the podcast is to education and entertain in a respectful way.

Ghostlore of Hawaii: Paranormal Paradise can be found on all major platforms including: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Stitcher and more.
Website: www.ghostloreofhawaii.com
Instagram: ghostlore.of.hawaii
Merchandise: ghostlore-of-HI.redbubble.com
Patreon: www.patreon.com/ghostloreofhawaii

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative, for me, is experiencing the finished product. The challenge of creating something from scratch, dealing with the issues that arise during creation, adding personal touches, finalizing that product and finally experiencing it in it’s whole is something only a creator can experience. As a storyteller/Podcaster, taking words from a paper, recording the audio, then building a world around that recording with sound design/soundFX to make the listener feel like they are inside the story excites me.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I held off from telling this story for a while because I didn’t want to turn-off potential listeners to giving the podcast a shot but now that the podcast has some traction I think it’s ok; when I started the podcast I was a complete amateur with zero audio experience and a barebones setup for production. I knew the style of podcast I wanted; a “sitting around the campfire” vibe with creepy music and sound effects. I just didn’t know how to do any of it.

I researched DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations), the best “bang-for-your-buck” microphone, where to get music and sound effects, and podcast hosting sites. I created my ghost logo and purchased a song that would become the theme song for the podcast. From there I just learned as I went. When I’d get stuck, good ol’ YouTube was there to help. Oh, did I mention I did all the editing from a desktop that was over a decade old that my old employer was going to throw away (I’m still annoyed they still charged me $30 for it)!

Yet, I kept pushing forward until I got to a point I was content with the end product. I released it and the rest is history.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ghostloreofhawaii.com
• Instagram: ghostlore.of.hawaii
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ghostlore.of.hawaii/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCybIZ_PIh6zcDAOBnzfv79w
• Other: Patreon: www.patreon.com/ghostloreofhawaii Merchandise: ghostlore-of-HI.redbubble.com