Rocky Aoki | |
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青木 廣彰 | |
 Aoki, c. 1981 | |
| Born | Hiroaki Aoki (1938-10-09)October 9, 1938 Tokyo, Japan |
| Died | July 10, 2008(2008-07-10) (aged 69) New York City,New York, U.S. |
| Resting place | Kuhombutsu Joshin-ji,Setagaya ward,Tokyo, Japan |
| Alma mater |
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| Occupations |
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| Known for | FoundingBenihana,Double Eagle V |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 7, includingSteve andDevon |
| Relatives | Yumi Nu (granddaughter) |
Hiroaki Aoki (青木 廣彰,Aoki Hiroaki, October 9, 1938 – July 10, 2008), better known asRocky Aoki, was aJapanese-born Americanrestaurateur, professionaloffshore powerboat racer andamateur wrestler. He was the founder of theJapanese cuisine restaurant chainBenihana, andGenesis magazine.
He was also the father of musicianSteve Aoki and model and actressDevon Aoki.
Hiroaki Aoki was born inTokyo, the son of Yunosuke Aoki and his wife, Katsu.[1] His family were descended from asamurai clan fromWakayama Prefecture, which served in theKishū Domain.[2][3]
Aoki and some friends started a rock and roll band called Rowdy Sounds, though Aoki eventually abandoned music for athletics. He would later explain, "I play bass. But I tell you why I change towrestling: No good on tempo."[4]
Aoki attendedKeio University, where he competed intrack and field,karate, and wrestling before being expelled for fighting. While some sources state that he competed for Japan inwrestling at the 1960 Summer Olympics held in Rome,[5] he did not, as he had moved from Tokyo to New York City months before the Games.[6]
Aoki was offered wrestling scholarships from several different American colleges. He attendedSpringfield College inSpringfield, Massachusetts, and later transferred toCW Post College onLong Island.[7] He won the United Statesflyweight wrestling title in 1962, 1963 and 1964.[8]
In New York City, Aoki worked seven days a week in anice cream truck that he rented inHarlem while studying restaurant management atNew York City Community College.[9]
Aoki, who was married three times,[10] once said that he had "three kids from three different women at exactly the same time."[4] He found out about the seventh with the third woman when he was sued for paternity.[citation needed] His third wife was Keiko Aoki, a businesswoman whom he married in 2002.[11][12]
Before his death, he became a United States citizen.[citation needed]
After he received his associate degree in management in 1963,[7][13] he used the $10,000 he had saved from the ice cream business to convince his father to co-invest in the firstBenihana, a four-tableteppanyaki restaurant on West 56th Street. "Benihana", taken from the Japanese name forsafflower, was suggested by Aoki's father. According to family legend, Aoki's father was walking through the bombed-out ruins of post-war Tokyo when he happened across a single red safflower growing in the rubble.[8][9]
In August 1973, Aoki launchedGenesis, a softcore pornographic men's magazine, with two centerfolds each issue.[14] The title changed hands several times, eventually becoming an explicit publication long after Aoki's period of ownership. Despite not enjoying the mainstream popularity of rivalsPlayboy andPenthouse, the magazine remained in activity for nearly 40 years.[citation needed]
Aoki partially funded and crewed theDouble Eagle V, the first balloon to successfully cross thePacific Ocean. The Double Eagle V launched fromNagashima,Japan, on November 10, 1981, and landed inMendocino National Forest in California 84 hours and 31 minutes later. It traveled a record 5,768 miles (9,283 km).[15] The Double Eagle V's four-man crew consisted of Rocky Aoki withAlbuquerque balloonistsBen Abruzzo,Larry Newman, and Ron Clark. Overshadowed by the concurrentSpace Shuttle missionSTS-2, the Double Eagle V failed to attract the same degree of media attention as the earlierDouble Eagle flights.[16]
Aoki competed professionally as anoffshore powerboat racer along with the 1986APBA world champion Powerboat throttleman Errol Lanier, a formerFort Lauderdale, Florida, fireman who saved his life in a near-fatal powerboat crash in 1979 under theGolden Gate Bridge.[8]
Despite several crashes and failures to finish due to damage to his boat or mechanical failures, Aoki was quite successful as an offshore racer, winning several races. He twice won the Benihana Grand Prix inPoint Pleasant, New Jersey, sponsored by his own company - the second win came in 1982, three years after his devastating San Francisco crash.[17] After injuries suffered in an accident later in the 1982 season, Aoki told sportswriters that he was leaving the sport.[18]
On June 9, 1998, Aoki was charged withinsider trading and profiting by more than $590,000 from it.[19] The U.S. Attorney's office inBrooklyn charged Aoki with six counts of insider trading and one count of conspiracy based on trading upon inside information about Spectrum Information Technologies Inc.[20] According to the indictment, Aoki learned through Donald Kessler, a former stock promoter, inside information concerning Spectrum's imminent hiring ofJohn Sculley, then-chairman ofApple Computer Inc., as the chairman of Spectrum, and bought 200,000 shares of Spectrum stock. That stock rose 46% the day that this hiring was publicized.[20]
In 1999, Aoki pleaded guilty to insider trading charges and was fined $500,000 and given three years' probation.[10] Aoki was placed in deportation proceedings as a result of his guilty plea/conviction, but was granted relief by an immigration judge and his permanent resident ("green card") status maintained. He eventually became a United States citizen.[4]
In 2005, Aoki sued four of his children (Grace, Kevin, Kyle, and Echo) for an alleged attempt to take control of the companies he founded, which, at the time, had an estimated value betweenUS$60–100 million.[4]
Aoki was a recipient of the Award of Excellence from The International Center in New York.[citation needed] He was inducted into theNational Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1995.[8]
Aoki died on July 10, 2008, ofpneumonia in New York City. At the time of his death, he had been suffering fromdiabetes,Hepatitis C, andcirrhosis of the liver.[8] His hepatitis was reportedly the result of ablood transfusion after a 1979 speedboat crash under theGolden Gate Bridge.[4]
At the time of his death, Aoki had seven children and was married to his third wife Keiko.[8] These included musicianSteve Aoki and actress-modelDevon Aoki. Model and singer-songwriterYumi Nu is his granddaughter.[21] His grave is at the cemetery attached to Joshin temple inSetagaya Ward, Tokyo.[citation needed]
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