Born on the island of Kauai in 1972, by his 18th birthday Kai had lived in California, Oregon, Mississippi, Wisconsin, Texas, Oahu, North Carolina, and Massachusetts. He sharpened his powers of observation while adjusting to life between suburban ranch-style homes, cabins with no running water, and a twenty foot teepee in the field of a commune.
In 2021, Kai and his girlfriend finished creating a small off-grid cabin on a mesa east of downtown Santa Fe. Solar power. Captured rainwater. Built with their own two hands.