From a very early age, Ryan Kalei Tsuji knew he was going to be a TV reporter. Whether it was pretending to be a sports commentator in elementary school or serving as an emcee at most of his high school functions, there was no denying that Ryan's talents would ultimately lead him to a career in communications.
Growing up in the small town of Hilo Hawaii, Ryan attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa on the island of Oahu where he earned a bachelors degree in both Communications and Political Science and later went on to obtain a masters degree in Public Administration. During his collegiate career, Ryan also served as a manager and was later promoted to an assistant coach for the nationally ranked Rainbow Wahine Volleyball team.
Ryan's television career began in 2009 when he started working as a color commentator covering University of Hawaii athletics. In 2011 he became a sports reporter at the NBC/CBS Honolulu affiliate Hawaii News Now.
In 2012, Ryan joined the morning news team at ABC affiliate KITV4 where he reported on breaking over-night news, covered feature stories, reported live on location, anchored at the news desk and produced a variety of segments specific for the lighter morning show audience. It was during this time on the morning news while interviewing celebrities and telling human interest stories that Ryan discovered a passion for entertainment news and hosting. In 2014, Ryan realized the value of sleep and happily smashed his alarm clock and decided to leave the morning news. Shortly after leaving TV news, Ryan entered the world of public service serving in Governor David Ige’s administration as the Director of Executive Management and Chief Protocol Officer.
In 2016, Ryan launched his own media company, RKT Media Hawaii, a video production company specializing in web and social media videos and video news releases. He serves as the President and CEO of the company that employs videographers and other former television journalists that cover stories in the community and create video content for clients such as Bank of Hawaii, Hawaii Pacific Health, Marriott International, Outrigger Hotels, and Hawaiian Airlines just to name a few. The company has won numerous International Telly Awards and an Emmy Award in 2022 for their work on a projected titled “The Journey Home”.
In 2017, Ryan partnered with fellow former KITV4 News Anchor and former ABC News National White House correspondent Yunji de Nies to launch the Honolulu Star Advertiser Digital Billboard Network (DBN). Together they anchored and delivered a digital daily newscast on the digital and social media platforms of the Star Advertiser and on digital screens located in retail stores throughout the state. In 2020, Tsuji and de Nies ended the DBN broadcast and began a 30-min LIVE stream program called “Spotlight Hawaii” on the digital platforms of the Honolulu Star Advertiser. For their efforts, Tsuji and de Nies were awarded and recognized with the International Telly Award in 2021 and 2022. In 2023, Tsuji and de Nies moved over to Hawaii News Now and transitioned the show to a one-hour program called “Spotlight Now”, an interactive conversation that features interviews with Hawaii’s lawmakers, business leaders, and other decision-makers in Hawaii.
You can also catch Ryan on television where he continues to serve as a sports reporter for Spectrum Sports covering UH athletics. Ryan is also the co-producer of the award-winning documentary "Rise of the Wahine", co-founder of the non-profit Rizen Hawaii Organization, and sits on the Young Leaders Board of the Make-A-Wish Hawaii Organization. In 2017 Ryan was named "Big Brother of the Year" by the Big Brothers Big Sisters Organization of Hawaii for his dedication and commitment serving as a mentor.
In 2017, Tsuji was awarded the American Marketing Association Young Marketer of the Year for his success in growing and developing RKT Media. He was also named to the 2018 class of Pacific Businesses News' 40 Under 40 list. In 2019, Ryan was named as one of twenty people who are believed to have a major impact on Hawaii over the next two decades in Hawaii Business Magazine’s 20 for the next 20 class of 2019. He was also named Pacific Edge Magazine’s Young Professional of the Year in 2021. In November 2022, he jumped into the food and beverage scene by opening a new bar and lounge in Chinatown called The Lei Stand.