Page 5 - Hawaii Island MidWeek - June 2, 2021

A Cool Dad Whose Alter Ego Is Chet
FROM PAGE 4
It already has. Accord- ing to Luster, organizations have already reached out to him about wanting to further promote Chet’s compassion- ate philosophy of emotional support.
He moved extensively in his youth, attending sever-
JUNE 2, 2021
HAWAI‘I ISLAND MIDWEEK 5
as well. I know Chet and his message will go far.”
But what ultimately con- vinced Luster that he needed to create a friendly charac- ter was witnessing travelers carry their emotional sup- port pets onto planes. Before long, the idea for Chet was born — a perfect alter ego to the equally colorful Luster.
disco to the ’80s, my dia- phragm exuded every single melody, lyric, song I could belt out,” Luster says.
“Hopefully, organizations (continue reaching) out, so Chet could be of some com- forting use to everyone,” he says.
He decided to name him Chet after a goofy rein- deer-in-training from The Santa Clause movie series.
In many ways, Luster has his family to thank for the genesis and development of Chet. For the past 15 years, the Lusters and their two sons, Sean and Kyle, have been showing up at airports dressed as Santa Claus, gameplay characters Mario and Luigi, and a host of oth- er iconic characters, ready to entertain recent arrivals.
“Really, Chet’s a more col- orful version of our dad,” ex- plains Kyle, “and that means his heart is even bigger, and he’s super funny and he’s go- ing to bring a smile to your face.
“It has become a bit of a competition between our sons and us to see who can out-do each other. We always tease each other, saying, ‘It’s on!” Luster explains.
“From soul to early rock,
(Inset) Richard Luster (as Chet) spends time with his sons Kyle (left) and Sean (right), and wife Ricki. (Above) Chet wows audiences while in full performance mode. PHOTOS COURTESY RICHARD LUSTER
“That’s a powerful thing that not everybody’s able to do.”
G
Luster was raised in humble circumstances by a single parent. In such an environ- ment, all he had to keep him happy was music, and record stores became his home.
rowing up in Los Angeles as the old- est of three children,
al schools and eventually wound up in Elizabeth, New Jersey. There, he joined the U.S. Army and later complet- ed several degrees in struc- tural engineering, along with a master’s degree and Ph.D. in management use of tech- nology.
“In my job as a bridge en- gineer for the HDOT, I have
prided myself on saving the state money while trying to maintain, repair and replace bridges throughout O‘ahu,”
gifted with his hands. In fact, his sons once asked him to make them custom electric guitars, so Luster took on the challenge and produced several axes. Today, he con- tinues to take custom-crafted guitar orders at his website, mongocustomguitar.com.
explains Kyle. “One of his major phrases that he always taught us is, ‘What can I do next?’”
(Above left) Richard Luster works as a bridge structural engineer in the state Department of Transportation Highways Division. (Above right) Coworkers Ryan Nakata, Lester Molina, Chris Tomooka-Saito, Kathy Yoda and Stan Louis of the state Department of Transportation Highways Division in Honolulu take the time to visit with their pal, Chet.
And based on his ability to craft colorful cos- tumed characters, it probably comes as no surprise that he’s
“It was definitely inspiring growing up in a household with him being our dad, just getting to see what was pos- sible — the potential that we had to accomplish anything that we set our minds to,”
“So, if you need a hug, just a shoulder to lean on, or a good lift to get you off the ground, my name is Chet and I am here for the whole world. So, remember when you need it, Chet’s here to be your emotional support friend.”
he explains.
Luster has always
“It’s exciting for us to see this happening for our dad,” adds Sean. “We just think it’s cool.”
been a multitalented individual. Not only does he speak Italian and Swedish, but he’s also written several novels, which include his 2007 release, Christmas House: Love for A Child.
His sons, who have their own dance-rock band called Red Light Challenge, remain his biggest fans.
Their father says Chet’s goal is to spread a bit of hap- piness around the globe.