THE BIG KAHUNA – Shawn Oana’s many layers

How long have you’ve been Bartending? 9 yrs.

And Flair Bartending? Been Flairing for 4.

Where do you Work? I work mainly at Kahunaville Las Vegas, I also do work sometimes for Chicosun Flair All-stars, and sometimes I can be found at Pleasure Island in Orlando. I work at great places.

What got you into Flair Bartending? I was working at a water park at Walt Disney and it was closing for 2 months. So they sent me to the Rock ‘n Roll Beach Club for that two months and the full time Bartenders treated the part-timers like crap, and the mangers let them get away with it.  The only part-timer that they did not screw with was Jason Tremper and he was pretty good at Flair.

How did you start learning to Flair? I started practicing at work with Bols liters. Then I bought some Flairco liters, then I got invited to Billy Hitchcock‘s house. Him and Jason Tremper helped me out a lot.  I would practice a lot at Billy’s, for you who do not know Billy he was probably one of the top 5 bartenders in the world, in the backyard. His 3 and 4 bottle routines were years ahead of the times. The only set back was he was not a Working Flair guy. I had to wait 2 years to learn most of my Working Flair from Mindaugas Gradeckas, aka “Mig,” who helped me a lot.

The Video Clip is Shawn Oana and Adrianno Marcellino at Legends 5

What makes you stand out from other Flair Bartenders? I try to have fun while competing. I try to mix it up, I enjoy Flairing to new and different music. I am normally pretty clean when I compete.

Why do you Flair now?I Flair now for fun.

How does the general public in Las Vegas react to Flair Bartending? Most people dig it.

You and Adrianno Marcellino did really well at Legends last year in the Tandem Division, how did the two of you decide to team up? I will probably get in trouble for this but, I was at Legends 4 and Ken Hall was pissed that Mig was not competing but showed up to watch. I understood why Mig do not want to spend hours practicing for the Speed Round and Pour Test but I also thought it was a shame that people could not see him Flair. So I told him we should do a Tandem and I would just hand him the bottles and then he could give them back to me and I would pour them. He did not go for this so I asked Adrianno if he wanted to do it. At the time I think he misunderstood me because when we started to practice I was doing more and more.

Not only is Adrianno’s Flair great he is very patient because I have a hard time remembering my parts and he never gets mad plus I got to learn a lot of new moves.

What do you hope to get out of Flair? I am living the dream. I have a great job, work at a great bar with great Bartenders in a great town. I live 4 miles from Carnival Court, plus this the only town in America where you do not have to tell the Bartenders how to make a Hollywood. All this from Flair plus I get to travel.

Shawn Oana pouring shots at Kahunaville

Who do you look up to in this Sport? Sorry to all those I miss because there are so many. Let me start with Brentley Cobb, everyone I work with at the ‘Ville, and Jason Temper has always helped me a lot. Chuck McIntosh is awesome plus has  great music and is funny as hell, Adrianno is the nicest person I have ever met plus he shows anybody anything.  Ken Hall is a legend, his picture is on a bus in Vegas. Mindaugas is probably the most underrated person in Flair.  Tim Morris, and for that matter everyone who works at Carnival Court. There is never a shift there where you will not learn something new. And lastly, the Diamond Delpech family, oh yeah and my roommate, Tony Cogburn, he gives me a lot of good ideas.

What is your favorite Flair Bartending competition? Pinnacle of Bartending, Pinnacle of Bartender, and Brian Loukmas‘ Battle of the Bottles.  Chuck and the boys of BC understand what it is about. Big thanks to Grant Riel, he helps Chuck to make sure all is well. These contests are the few that are done for fun and they care more about the Bartenders than the sponsors, plus Chicosun’s Flips for Tips.  Chico is nothing but first class and when you make the Finals you get some cash and a trophy.

Tell us a little about your experiences at “The Pinnacle of Bartending?” All I can say is…if you want to know, buy Bottleslinger the Movie and get your liver ready! By far two of the best Comps I have ever been to.

What are your predictions for King of the Ring this year? Depends on who judges it and how it is judged. But it will be hard to beat Mindaugas Gradeckas. 2nd will be Rodrigo Delpech, he probably has the deepest bag of tricks in the world. 3rd will be Adrianno Marcellino. 4th, Tim “Flippy” Morris. 5th, Nicholas St. John. 6th will be Tom Dyer. It is hard for me to predict because I do not know who is competing and what the rules are.

You have made taking your shirt off one of your trademark moves. How did you come up with it? The first time I did it I was doing a Showcase at Kahunaville and they kept messing with the lights and I could not see anything. I did not want to hurt myself so I thought it would be funny for the crowd to see a fat guy without a shirt behind the bar. The place went crazy and it has grown from there.

What is your favorite drink? What ever Vodka is sponsoring the contest and Roaring Lion to make a Kahunaville Bahamamama. It is Malibu, Captain Morgan, Banana liquor, grenadine, OJ and pineapple.