‘Aiea quarterback Fatboy Jesus-Kapesi takes his newfound name fame in stride

Caizel Jesus-Kapesi's parents knew it the day he was born.

The son of Clisha Jesus and TeeJay Kapesi, Caizel was the second of four children and weighed 10 pounds at birth.

"Literally as soon as he was born, we took him home, and that's how it started — Fatboy. He was a chunky kid," Clisha Jesus-Kapesi recalled to Aloha State Daily.

And thus, Fatboy Jesus-Kapesi, the one the world has grown to love in recent days, was born. Clisha and TeeJay can't remember which parent coined the nickname, but it certainly stuck.

In a 14-13 locally televised win at Leilehua on Aug. 21, Jesus-Kapesi completed 13 of his 20 passes for 193 yards, two interceptions and a touchdown. The gritty victory included a key first down in the closing minutes in which ‘Aiea went for it on fourth down deep in its own territory and converted to seal the game. For his efforts, Fatboy Jesus-Kapesi was named the Spectrum OC16 Impact Player of the Game.

While interviewed by Spectrum's Jimmy Bender upon receiving his award, a TV super displaying Fatboy Jesus-Kapesi's name, weight, position and class was on display. The 6-foot-1, 268-pound sophomore quarterback quickly became an internet darling overnight, fans from around the world smitten with his name and social media posts of him reaching hundreds of thousands in reshares. Google Fatboy Jesus-Kapesi, and it would be hard to find a national sports content website that hasn't recycled the same set of pictures of him.

"You must be here for Fatboy," multiple members of the ‘Aiea football program tell a visitor at a recent Na Ali‘i practice.

Perhaps the first thing to know about Fatboy Jesus-Kapesi is that he's fully embraced his lifelong nickname. He politely introduces himself as Fatboy, and in the days since his viral introduction to the world, people who have never met him will approach him and say, 'Hey, you're Fatboy!'"

Due to the viral nature of his name, Fatboy Jesus-Kapesi was asked if local brands, such as local restaurant chain Fatboy's, have reached out.

"I don't know about the restaurant yet. Hopefully soon," Fatboy Jesus-Kapesi tells ASD. "I was thinking about the FatBoy ice cream. That too, hopefully."

For those curious to learn more about him, what else should we know about Fatboy Jesus-Kapesi?

"I love cheeseburgers. I love burgers. That's that's one thing about me. I love burgers, especially McDonald's burgers," he said while flashing a grin. "You know, that's the one right there."

Life for the Jesus-Kapesi family has not been the same since last weekend. Their phones are still constantly buzzing with memes and comments. Through it all, Fatboy has stayed the same humble kid. During his viral interview, before he conceived it was possible he'd become as famous as he has, Fatboy Jesus-Kapesi gave the credit to God and his offensive line.

"Being (seemingly everywhere) on social media, I take a lot of pride in it," he said. "It means a lot not just to me, but to my family. I'm putting my family's name out there, too."

Fatboy Jesus-Kapesi has been the starting quarterback on the varsity team at ‘Aiea High School since the beginning of his freshman year. He has a 3.7 grade point average and aspires to play college football. As ‘Aiea awaits improvements to its on-campus stadium, all of its games are on the road in 2026. Na Ali‘i improved to 2-0 after the Leilehua victory and will next take the field at Nānākuli on Saturday.

"I really, really want to play college football one day," he says. "My recruiting process so far, I'm working on it, but I'm ready."

A conversation with Clisha and TeeJay about Fatboy's ‘Aiea upbringing reveals why their son has been able to remain grounded despite his newfound fame. Young Caizel had his "knucklehead" moments, Mom says, but through strong parenting, he eventually learned and began to appreciate the process of earning everything he has, both good and bad.

"'You can't do this, don't go do that. You have to do this to get that.' Having him work for his rewards. You want that? Then you work for it," Clisha says. "If you think we're hard, we're teaching you. He'll always be a kid at heart, and that's what I love about him."

Fatboy Jesus-Kapesi wouldn't gave gone viral last weekend if he weren't the Impact Player of the Game, and those go to winners.

"I'm really proud of where he's at and where his potential could take him. We always tell him that what's done in the dark comes to light," TeeJay said. "The work he puts in on and off the field, the drilling he gets, letting him know that football's an avenue, and you can have all the talent, but you have to do everything right on and off the field. The talent can't outshine everything, and the classroom and the football field, one can't overcome the other, and he handles his business on that."

TeeJay is also an assistant linebackers coach for ‘Aiea, and he doesn't take it easy on Fatboy in practice.

"Every day, we try to get this defense to bring the best out of not just him, but our offense as well," TeeJay said.

The ‘Aiea community has supported Fatboy Jesus-Kapesi long before his viral moment. The rest of the world is now catching up. As nice as the attention is, nobody involved is pretending it's all been positive.

"Seeing not only the positive comments, but the negative was really harsh," Clisha says. "I just had to remind him to just keep with the positive. (The attention) is something that we're not used to."

Added Mika Li‘ili‘i, ‘Aiea's head coach: "We always talk to the kids about social media. It can be evil and stuff like that. But in this situation, it's also a blessing for our school, for Fatboy to represent and bring some attention to our school and what we're doing. I know he feels it and he understands he's getting all the notoriety because his teammates are catching his balls and blocking for him and stuff like that."

Fatboy Jesus-Kapesi has played football for as long as he can remember, but he didn't get an opportunity to play quarterback until he was 12. He also dabbled in soccer and competitive hula, his hālau taking home a runner-up trophy during his only competition in 2019. Always on the bigger side, TeeJay remembers how he was placed as a lineman by default. "When he finally got his shot to be a quarterback, we hit the ground running, and that's who we have here today," Dad says.

When one watches Fatboy Jesus-Kapesi throw a football, it's clear that doing so is easy to him. Using his upper body to gain torque, Fatboy spins it effortlessly in practice while his receivers practice multiple routes with him.

Another thing that appears seamless to Fatboy Jesus-Kapesi: blending in with his teammates. In pre-practice stretching and jogging, he truly is one of the boys. His demeanor remains mellow and approachable.

Following a set of reps, his teammates, perhaps in acknowledgement of media around, break the huddle with "1, 2, 3, Fatboy!"

Fatboy Jesus-Kapesi can't help but laugh coyly.

"More people seeing that I'm on social media, I mean, it would be great for them to come to our games so we could show love to our community, show them what ‘Aiea High School football is about," he says. "For me, ‘Aiea is more than just a football program. It's home to me, so it means a lot."

Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.

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