New School Of Sports Media Hits Hawaii, Part 2: Shang HI Media

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Second In A Two-Part Series On New Sports Media
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The new wave of sports media is here and there is no sign of it slowing down.

More and more each day, specialty electronic presentation of sports continues to saturate the Hawaii Internet landscape. One company among this new breed is Shang HI Media, run by the husband and wife team of Shang Ong and Tiffany Canonigo-Ong.

And, if you look at what they have to offer, I’m sure you’ll agree that you can easily take the ‘t’ and ‘y’ off of specialty and leave it reading just, “special.”

Further down you will see their sports media work for hire, specifically for Kahuku junior varsity football offensive lineman Abel Hoopii and Kapolei Inline Hockey Arenas player Jordan Nahoi-Baricar, who is a member of Team USA’s 18-and-under team competing right now in Argentina.

But first, let’s get four things (including two tangents) out of the way.

>> 1. If the videos of Hoopii’s performances on the Red Raiders’ JV squad mean anything, there is a good chance this kid is going places in the football world. In the eye test, he shows persistence, technique, strength and, especially, plenty of pile-moving ability.

>> 2. I’ve known Shang for a handful of years and play hockey against him at KIHA. He is a solid player and due to the luck of the draw I have never had the pleasure of being on his team.

>> 3. The new KIHA hockey director, Doug Jones, plans to communicate with Hawaii schools to see if they are interested in adding the sport to their athletic programs. He’s been in the position for about a month, but in a former similar role in California, he was part of an organization that got 54 high schools to sign up and start inline hockey programs. Personally, I tell everyone I meet that hockey is the most fun sport ever and once you pick up a stick (and lace up the skates), you will never put it down. In the 1990s, I made inquiries to schools on Kauai, where I was coaching, to see if they were interested. But, despite the fact that inline hockey was the fastest growing sport in the country at the time fueled by the popularity of the “Mighty Ducks” movie, it was a tough sell. It won’t be nearly as tough a sell now, and would probably make sense to try and start a pilot program involving private schools on the Leeward side, especially since one of the athletic directors, Greg Terhune of Island Pacific Academy in Kapolei, is also a hockey player.

Whew, after that digression, I realize it’s only three out of the four items checked off the list. The fourth will be all about what Shang and Tiffany of Shang HI Media offer and how their business began.

As far as sports goes, Shang HI Media calls what they do “athlete spotlight highlight reels,” but the company also does photo shoots, weddings, portraits, product photography, and video content creation on other subjects aside from sports.

Shang and Tiffany started up Shang HI Media in 2020.

“Mostly by chance,” Shang said. “I’ve always been into photography, but more so on the video editing side. Then I bought a ‘pro’ camera to take some pictures of my wife who had just won Mrs. Hawaii America 2020, so we started taking some fashion forward portraits, and we were also helping to promote her business with essential oils with fun creative videos.  Those videos and pictures started to catch people’s eyes, and we started getting inquiries for sessions.  Thus Shang HI Media was born.”

Tiffany, 42, is a Sacred Hearts Academy graduate who went on to receive a culinary degree from Kapiolani Community College. Shang, 39, grew up on Maui and was part of King Kekaulike High’s second graduating class.

Hoopii, the aforementioned JV football rock (as you will see in the videos), is Tiffany’s hanai brother.

“I’ve made a few hockey fun videos, but this is our first paid client job,” Shang said. “We wanted to create something with a cinematic, exciting feel to draw attention to Abel.”

If the calls (808-343-2500) and emails ([email protected]) start to flood Shang HI Media for job possibilities, they will try to accommodate the potential clients, depending on how many other projects they’ve got going on.

“We welcome any and all inquiries,” Shang said. “If we were to take a client on with a similar package as we have for Abel (weekly highlight reels, end-of-season all-encompassing highlight reel, personal hype video, portrait session), we can tailor a package based on a family’s need. In Abel’s case, we hope it can serve as a tool for recruiting, and, at the very least, we hope his family can use it to garner attention for him. But other families who have inquired for future games mentioned they just want it for keepsakes.”

And is there much fun involved for Tiffany and Shang?

“I am a huge sports fan, so it’s fun being involved and trying to create highlight reels that would appeal to me as a spectator and fan,” Shang said. “Knowing that this could serve a higher purpose for the athlete is the cream on top.”

Their website is www.shanghimedia.com and you can also find them on Instagram: @shang_hi_media.

And now, those videos that Bedrock promised are below. The first four are the weekly reels made for Hoopii, but don’t forget to take a look at the fifth video — of Nahoi-Baricar playing the sport that will, with a bit of good fortune, be up and running with some Hawaii high school programs soon.

The future of sports media presentation with a personal touch is here, folks.

ABEL HOOPII PART 1

ABEL HOOPII PART 2

ABEL HOOPII PART 3

ABEL HOOPII PART 4

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JORDAN NAHOI-BARICAR