By Stacy Yuen Hernandez

Real estate is just like polo — without the horses.

It’s not the most common analogy, but that’s the way Ryan and Rustan Tongg see it. The two brothers, who grew up like cowboys on their family ranch in West Loch, have delved full speed ahead into the world of Hawaii real estate — bringing a youthful zest, competitive spirit and vision to this rough-and-tumble business.

“Not only is there teamwork involved in both real estate and polo, but it’s fluid,” says Ryan Tongg, president and chief executive officer of Hawaii Realty Associates, LLC. “Rustan and I have been very fortunate growing up together and being able to ‘sense’ what the other needs — our clients have benefited from this greatly because we are almost one and the same.”

Ask Ryan, 31, about his background and Rustan, 29, will describe a nearly identical path. Their lives run virtually parallel, from their days as students at Hawaii Baptist Academy, as polo players venturing on three month competitive stints to West Palm Beach, Fla., attending bible college in Tennessee, waiting tables at a Mo‘ili‘ili restaurant and then deciding four years ago to take the plunge into the real estate market.

According to Ryan, folks frequently refer to them as “The Tongg Brothers,” and their clients say they like the fact they’re getting two Realtors for the commission of one.

“Our lives are similar, but our personalities are very different,” says Rustan Tongg, executive vice president and chief operating officer. “Ryan is a Type-A who steps up to the plate and swings, while my strength is in nurturing relationships.” Together they’re a powerful combination offering clients a complete package. The company has closed 180 transactions in two years in business.

But both are quick to admit that like polo, real estate is a team effort.

“We have 50 agents right now,” says Ryan. “And we’re extremely fortunate to have Joe Paikai as our principal broker who came on board with us from Century 21, and Sylvia Lee as our transaction coordinator.”

It was while waiting tables at The Willows that the siblings decided to take a shot at real estate. They launched their careers at Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties and moved on to Realty Executives when they decided to venture out on their own.

“You jump in with your whole heart,” explains Rustan, about the company’s early days. “We slept on the couch a lot in the beginning, but with every challenge, there’s a great victory or great loss. You need to stomach the risk for the reward.”

And the reward is materializing.

Their sparkling downtown Honolulu office at Ali‘i Place is bustling with a pleasant efficiency.

“We want our business to be fun, upbeat and organized,” adds Ryan. “Rustan and I are very down to earth — our doors are always open and we want to preserve an ‘ohana atmosphere and make it a fun place to work.”

Their Web site offers testimonials from satisfied clients. With work primarily focused on the residential market, they’re now exploring property management opportunities, as well. But according to Ryan, the focus is always on serving clients and looking towards the future to serve them even better.

“We want to revolutionize the way people do real estate,” says Ryan. “We foresee that the next three to five years will be a time when the buzz will be about utilizing communication and technology to create a well-rounded, efficient real estate agent.”

And it’s no surprise that they’re visionaries — it’s in their blood.

Their grandfather, Ruddy Tongg — who is responsible for adding an extra “g” to the Chinese surname, to be different — was known for many things, including being the founder of Aloha Airlines.

Their father, Ronnie, a family law attorney, world-class polo player and pastor, recalls that it was compassion and generosity that led to his father Ruddy’s success.

At the turn of the century, Ruddy’s parents arrived in Hawaii from China as sugar laborers in Honokaa, on the Big Island. Ruddy graduated from Hilo High School and in three years, earned an engineering degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, working his way through college as a cook.

“My dad worked with huis and started a development in Palolo,” recalls Ronnie Tongg. “After an incident when he couldn’t get on a Hawaiian Airlines flight because of racial discrimination, he started Trans Pacific Air, the company which later became Aloha Airlines.”

Ruddy was not one to let things stand in his way and that’s how the family became avid polo players.

“We lived at the end of Kalakaua Avenue and my dad would drive by Kapiolani Park and see the Dillinghams and Baldwins playing polo,” recalls Ronnie. “So he thought, ‘if they can play polo, why can’t we?’” The rest is history. Ruddy would later buy the Santa Barbara Polo Club and take teams to Europe — one of his American teams even won the Gold Cup.

It’s this family legacy of hard work, compassion and vision that is being carried on by Ryan and Rustan Tongg.

The brothers admit there are obvious challenges because of their youth.

“It was hard in the beginning, but knowledge and professionalism has changed that,” says Rustan. “Of course appearance does matter, so we have to work harder because we’re younger. The bottom line is to treat everyone with respect.”

But as it has been with everything else in their lives, they’re in it together.

“We can cover for each other at the drop of a hat, so the end result is a satisfied client whose needs are always met,” says Ryan.

“You win polo games with that kind of teamwork, and we have been fortunate to carry that same success over into real estate,” adds Rustan. HS