Born and raised in Hawai'i, Tusi was an all-state linebacker on the Kahuku high school football team and went on to play football at the collegiate level. During a visit to his brother Faasea, a former Kahuku and USC football star, he broke his neck on a sand bar while body surfing in Seal Beach resulting in a C-6 spinal cord injury. He went through nine months of hospitalization followed by intense physical therapy and graduated in Dec. 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from BYU – Hawai’i.

Tusi has attended Swim With Mike events at USC and at the University of Hawai'i and helped expand Swim With Mike’s reach across the USA. Since graduating, he's been an administrator, project and data assistant and teacher at Kanuo ka 'Āina Learning ʻOhana (KALO). While filling those roles he was profoundly influenced by the rich Hawaiian culture and its emphasis on place-based learning. Facing his own physical disabilities and the logistical difficulties of commuting, Tusi found a conducive academic environment in online education, which allowed him to excel and reaffirm his capability for self-directed learning. He'll continue that journey at USC this fall in the Data Science for Learning Applications master's program.