![\"\"](\"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/mw-cover-052621-rich-luster-chet-ac-14.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Fun guy Richard Luster earns a spot on the NBC TV show America’s Got Talent with his wonderful big voice and his larger-than-life costumed character, Chet. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n We could all use an encouraging pal to gently lift our spirits, especially in today’s rather uncomfortable times.<\/p>\n Thankfully, Richard \u201cRich\u201d Luster offers just that type of soothing comfort with Chet, his costumed character and emotional support friend.<\/p>\n When he’s not working his day job as a bridge structural engineer at Hawai‘i Department of Transportation, the 63-year-old Luster dons the homemade costume to bring laughter and smiles to friends and strangers.<\/p>\n \u201cI have fun with life,\u201d says the Kunia resident.<\/p>\n Richard Luster (as Chet) spends time with his sons Kyle (left) and Sean (right), and wife Ricki.<\/p><\/div>\n And Chet \u2014 who comes complete with bulging eyes, a huge pear-shaped nose, shaggy fur, pineapple-print pants and hat, and massive fingers \u2014 is an unmistakable sight to behold.<\/p>\n But just as important as Chet’s larger-than-life look is Luster’s powerful singing voice, which is what really caught the attention of producers of NBC’s America’s Got Talent<\/em> (AGT<\/em>). Now, he and Chet are a part of season 16 of the show, which premieres June 1.<\/p>\n Surprisingly, Luster didn’t have to submit an audition tape to land a spot on the show. Last December, he received a call from an AGT<\/em> producer, who had visited Luster’s social media page and was impressed with his performance of Josh Groban’s version of Broken Vow<\/em>. After determining the call was not a prank, Luster agreed to work with the show’s production staff to help bring Chet to the big stage.<\/p>\n Luster admits that the process of taping his AGT<\/em> segment was challenging. For one thing, there were grueling 12- to 14-hour days of taping that had to be completed over 72 hours. For another, Chet’s costume weighs a hefty 50 pounds. That required Luster to lug around the extra pounds from tape site to tape site, and forced him to drink more water than a camel on set, he jokes.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was like wearing a sauna suit while still wearing a mask,\u201d Luster recalls. \u201cEach night, while exhausted, my wife and I stood with a blow dryer, drying out every inch of Chet.\u201d<\/p>\n Chet wows audiences while in full performance mode. PHOTOS COURTESY RICHARD LUSTER<\/p><\/div>\n And while Luster was busy sweating profusely in costume, his wife, Ricki, was handing out aloha-themed items to AGT<\/em> cast and crew-members, sharing as much island spirit as she could. In addition, Luster says he constantly had an executive producer by his side overseeing what was needed to ensure that Chet’s performance was magical.<\/p>\n \u201cShe was fantastic,\u201d notes Luster, adding that the producer told him, \u201cI love (your) message and am glad that the people in your area do as well. I know Chet and his message will go far.\u201d<\/p>\n It already has. According to Luster, organizations have already reached out to him about wanting to further promote Chet’s compassionate philosophy of emotional support.<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully, organizations (continue reaching) out, so Chet could be of some comforting use to everyone,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Richard Luster works as a bridge structural engineer in the state Department of Transportation Highways Division.<\/p><\/div>\n In many ways, Luster has his family to thank for the genesis and development of Chet. For the past 15 years, the Lusters and their two sons, Sean and Kyle, have been showing up at airports dressed as Santa Claus, gameplay characters Mario and Luigi, and a host of other iconic characters, ready to entertain recent arrivals.<\/p>\n \u201cIt has become a bit of a competition between our sons and us to see who can out-do each other. We always tease each other, saying, \u2018It’s on!\u201d Luster explains.<\/p>\n But what ultimately convinced Luster that he needed to create a friendly character was witnessing travelers carry their emotional support pets onto planes. Before long, the idea for Chet was born \u2014 a perfect alter ego to the equally colorful Luster.<\/p>\n He decided to name him Chet after a goofy reindeer-in-training from The Santa Clause<\/em> movie series.<\/p>\n \u201cReally, Chet’s a more colorful version of our dad,\u201d explains Kyle, \u201cand that means his heart is even bigger, and he’s super funny and he’s going to bring a smile to your face.<\/p>\n Coworkers Ryan Nakata, Lester Molina, Chris Tomooka-Saito, Kathy Yoda and Stan Louis of the state Department of Transportation Highways Division in Honolulu take the time to visit with their pal, Chet.<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cThat’s a powerful thing that not everybody’s able to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Growing up in Los Angeles as the oldest of three children, Luster was raised in humble circumstances by a single parent. In such an environment, all he had to keep him happy was music, and record stores became his home.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom soul to early rock, disco to the ’80s, my diaphragm exuded every single melody, lyric, song I could belt out,\u201d Luster says.<\/p>\n He moved extensively in his youth, attending several schools and eventually wound up in Elizabeth, New Jersey. There, he joined the U.S. Army and later completed several degrees in structural engineering, along with a master’s degree and Ph.D. in management use of technology.<\/p>\n \u201cIn my job as a bridge engineer for the HDOT, I have prided myself on saving the state money while trying to maintain, repair and replace bridges throughout O\u2018ahu,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/image000000_05_2.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/chet-agt-16-042021.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/mw-cover-052621-rich-luster-chet-ac-21.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/mw-cover-052621-rich-luster-chet-ac-10.jpg\")