[00:00:38] Tyler: [00:01:00] Hello, and welcome to the Swell Season Surf Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Brewer. Jesse Fane is an Australian born wanderer who's been surfing for the past four decades and is now a dedicated kite, wing, and foil enthusiast. Jesse's been around the block when it comes to the surf industry, working as an editor for Waves Magazine in Australia, Surfing Magazine in the U.

[00:01:28] S. before, working as a media director for the ASP when he traveled the world writing about the tour for over a decade. Since then, Jesse has settled in L. A. where he ran Insight Clothing Brand for six years. He currently coaches surfing. And volunteers as a surf therapist with a walk on water, an organization that has had a huge impact on a number of lives.

[00:01:54] Jesse became involved with them over the last few years and has moved into a more prominent role with the [00:02:00] organization. And for those of you who are not aware of their mission, a walk on water seeks to harness the ocean's transformative powers and deliver life changing surf therapy to children with unique needs and their families.

[00:02:14] They constantly strive to enhance our, their programs and strengthen their community and provide access to more children in need and their families while remaining true to their core values, empowering children with the feeling of pride and accomplishment. And as they unlock their inner athlete through the emotional and incredibly transformative experience of surfing, uh, walk on water is going to be coming through the Northeast over the next few months and are looking for volunteers.

[00:02:43] So I encourage all of my listeners to check it out and volunteer and sign up. And, uh, with that, we have our freaking awesome guests. I'm so stoked to have on Jesse Fain, uh, Jesse, welcome to this swell season surf podcast. Stoked to have you [00:03:00] on mate.

[00:03:00] jesse: Yeah, thank you Tyler and you know, thanks for that intro and you know, that just made me super proud just hearing, you know about a walk on water especially and just, you know, it's one thing to be there and be in part like involved doing it on a day to day thing, but you know, just remembering what the mission is and remembering like who we get to do this with, you know, it's such a, you know, privilege.

[00:03:23] So, you know, thanks for reminding me of that little part.

[00:03:26] Tyler: yeah, well, I was curious, like, you know, you grew up surfing Nairobi, which is a iconic surf spot with a lot of legendary surfers that have come out of there. But I was wondering, like, was there, growing up surfing over there, this sense of giving back to the community like a walk on water does? And I was curious, like, if that is a common theme that you've had throughout your surfing career and surfing life.

[00:03:54] jesse: Yeah, that's a good question. I remember when I was 20, I was editing waves [00:04:00] magazine, like you mentioned, um, and I got introduced to, I believe it was, a blind surfing association that was doing an event. Cause I remember Barton Lynch was involved and I've got to go down and help out with that. And, you know, I might not remember the title of the organization, right, but it was definitely blind surfers.

[00:04:20] And we took him into the water and wrote some like whitewashes with them. And, you know, it was, I remember that being an incredible experience. And, I don't know how often that was happening back then. And I don't live in Australia now, but I'm sure there are like surf therapy, like organizations throughout Australia.

[00:04:36] Um, You know, Australia is such a coastal dwelling country. Um, and surfing is such a part of the way of life in Australia. So I don't doubt that there are great organizations doing so much good like that. Um, now and probably for a long time. Um, I didn't see a lot of that when I was a kid for sure, but you know, I think [00:05:00] one thing that is super significant to the surfing lifestyle in Australia are the boardwriters clubs that are everywhere and have been around since like the sixties and bring the local community together, kids and all.

[00:05:13] You know, up to the oldest, um, surfers involved together and, and, uh, obviously that's competitive surfing, but it's more than that. It's like, it's, you know, it's handing down the, like the cultural, you know, significance of what we do to the next generation. And it's, you know, talking story, it's like, you know, cleaning beaches.

[00:05:33] It's, you know, it's, it's being, having a, an eye out for your local community. And, you know, that involves people who aren't as. Fortunates like we are to get to go do whatever we want whenever we want. So, you know, I think that kind of mentality of community is very alive in surfing all over the world, um, at every local beach and, or kind of Mecca of surfing in an area.

[00:05:55] And, um, you know, I, I would love to think that there's always been things [00:06:00] that have stemmed from the stoke we get from surfing that makes us want to go and do better things, um, out there beyond just catch ways for

[00:06:08] Tyler: It's interesting, like we grew up at a time when I think surfing was changing, you know, like, uh, seventies, eighties, surfing was, was probably a little bit more considered outcast than to a certain extent, maybe more so here in the U. S. than, than in Australia. But. There was always like a little bit of rebelliousness, I guess.

[00:06:29] And, and I think it's interesting to have seen like over the last, I think, 20 to 30 years, like how, uh, the idea of surf therapy has really become more and more prominent in the culture and the idea that surfing can heal. You know, you have not just like walk on water, but you also have life rolls on, which is another organization you've been involved with.

[00:06:54] Um, you know, we also have like wounded warriors projects where people have taken out [00:07:00] veterans for surfing and, you know, it's, it seems to be like. As surfing has become more mainstream, the, the therapeutic values have kind of expanded in the understanding of like, oh, this is good for people and this is good for kids particularly.

[00:07:17] And I was curious, like for you, like when did you have that moment when you realized like, oh, I need this, this gives back. And particularly with the walk on water and roll and life rolls on, like how did you get involved with those groups and, and when did you get involved?

[00:07:32] jesse: Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of things that come to mind when you're asked questions like that, you know,

[00:07:37] Tyler: Well, I rambled a little bit. So to

[00:07:39] jesse: no, but I, you know, I think that's, again, the essence of surf therapy and all these different taglines all stems from. You know, the good that surfing and being in the ocean does for all of us. And we all get to know that firsthand.

[00:07:55] And like, unless you have that experience, you know, the stuff that comes after it, [00:08:00] isn't going to be there. And, you know, the fact is since people started surfing, like they felt better and, you know, you want to share that feeling with other people, And, you know, it just keeps getting wider and wider, I think is what's happened.

[00:08:11] And we're looking for more people you can share that experience with because, you know, therapy is supposed to make you better in one way or another. And, you know, being in the ocean, you know, on so many levels does that for us? Like, you know, it resets us and it like, you know, it makes us feel connected to this bigger universe or world that we're a part of.

[00:08:31] And, um, You know, being in nature, obviously. And then, you know, the internal joy we feel, the, you know, the sense of confidence that it brings in us and others, um, that we can share that with. You know, there's so much of that, which is just, you know, selfishly, we get all that stuff and you, you know, hopefully unselfishly, you want to share it with others.

[00:08:53] Um, You know, I became more involved, like you said, life rolls on. When I moved to LA 20 years [00:09:00] ago, um, you know, I got to meet Jesse Billauer and become really close friends with him. And so I got involved immediately with his events were happening in Santa Monica and Malibu and I was here. So, you know, I started volunteering with that.

[00:09:14] I was. Like you mentioned, working at Insight. So like I would try to bring people from the company to get involved and just help out. And it kind of became a part of something we were doing. And then, you know, I ended up being on the board at, um, like advisory board with, um, life rolls on and, you know, just help me understand, like, you know, how much goes into these events beyond just like showing up and helping someone catch a wave.

[00:09:37] Um, so, you know, that was super helpful for me just to like see the, you know, the, it's one thing as a surfer, to know the stoke and want to be in the water sharing that stoke because you're getting to do it yourself at the same time. Like, let's be honest, like every time I'm on a wave with anyone, I'm having a good time too.

[00:09:54] But there's so many people who don't necessarily go out in the water with any of the [00:10:00] children or, you know, young adults or adults that, um, Experience the time in the water, but there, you know, there's people volunteering in so many capacities, their time, their energy, their products, their brands, um, to help make all these things happen.

[00:10:13] So it's, it's such a big community, like I was saying before, that helps this happen. So like for me, when I got involved with life rolls on and, you know, saw a lot of different components, naturally tried to do the things that, you know, I had the motivation to want to do and the time to be able to, um, you know, I did that as, much as I could back at that time.

[00:10:34] And then I think a walk on water was happening. Um, you know, it began about 12 years ago and I definitely became aware of it within the first few years of it because it was founded around Malibu. And when they started doing events in LA, whenever there was one that I could be at, I would go to and help out.

[00:10:54] And a lot of You know, a lot of my dear friends, um, have founded the organization and are a [00:11:00] part of it to this day. So, you know, whenever it was nearby, I would go to it, but I wasn't traveling to events in other areas for it. And there's a lot of other, you know, there's TheraSurf and there's Surfers Healing and different organizations that do similar stuff in this same area, which, you know, we'd, we'd all go to any of them.

[00:11:15] It's just like a chance to give back and to have a good day at the beach. And, and then what really happened for me that signi, like signified, excuse me. My relationship was my daughter and when she got to, you know, obviously my daughter surfs and I loved getting to introduce her to the lifestyle and to the pursuit of surfing and, um, you know, taking her on a board and doing all this with her.

[00:11:41] I did that for years. So then when she was at an age old enough to come and be at these events with me and like help out in like the Grom squad, we call it with a walk on water, but like be on the beach and playing with the, the other children, And just making them feel comfortable and like helping hold their hands and walk them to the water's [00:12:00] edge and get them comfortable with the water.

[00:12:01] Because a lot of the, the children and people coming and families that we're serving at these events, some of them have never been to a beach before. Um, let alone touched water, let alone been on a surfboard, let alone, you know, had the experience of riding a wave with a stranger or, so there's so many firsts happening and, you know, having someone like my daughter, who's like this beautiful spirit and just like, Similar size to the kids and a lot of other kids that have volunteered their time with or without their parents involved really have been a great bridge for those children to feel safe and to like be You know open to what's happening And so with her getting involved, you know It really amplified my desire to be at as many events as possible to have her understand her value in helping like that and You know, see her, you know, creating her own relationships with the children and families and people in the organization and other kids volunteering, [00:13:00] just her building her community like that.

[00:13:02] So, you know, the last few years I was able to do a lot of events with her. And then, you know, my friend, Scott Desidero Desi, who was running, you know, the organization. He was like, you know, um, really welcoming. Like I'd known him for like 30 years, but hadn't seen him a lot over the last few years to like with him involved in him reaching out and seeing if I could be at events and gypsy could make it, you know, obviously it just gave me way more motivation to make sure I dedicated more time to it and, um, And so that's kind of how I got more involved for sure.

[00:13:35] Tyler: It's interesting, like, I think as a parent, you've done two incredible things here. You've, one, like, introduced your daughter to surfing, which is a wonderful gift. But two, you're exposing her to helping people, which I think is really important for especially a lot of kids. It's like, it, it normalizes, you know.

[00:13:58] Being with kids with other [00:14:00] disabilities or challenges and makes them, I think, more adaptable and more aware of people around the world and all the different, uh, types of people. It makes them more comfortable with that, which is wonderful. And also gives a sense of pride, which is, is phenomenal. So it's, it's a really, it's really cool to see, really nice.

[00:14:21] I'm curious, like, how did you introduce your daughter to surfing? I'm always asking parents this, like, I'm always curious, like, how, how do you do that because it always seems like a bit of a challenge, you know? And some people will just like, in Hawaii, they just throw their kids in the water and just naturally learn to swim.

[00:14:42] And then some people will, will just like actually act like, nah, this is my thing to try to be like. Try to push them away so that they want to do it more and some will force it on them. So I was curious, like how you got her involved with that.

[00:14:57] jesse: Yeah. I don't believe I overthought it. I [00:15:00] think it was just like, as natural as could be, like, obviously the sooner she was out of, you know, hospital and out of the able to go outside. I just wanted her to like, go touch the sand, touch the water. And, you know, I have a photo of her when she's like, you know, a week old touching the water at Topanga, like, you know, um, where I was surfing and, um, um, You know, L.

[00:15:23] A. The water is colder most of the year. And, you know, so it's not as easy if you're in a place like Hawaii or somewhere warm, just to, like, let them feel naturally inclined to want to play in the water, um, or take him out. But I know when my daughter was six weeks old, I, I would go stand up paddling and put her in, like, you know, a baby carrier and, and just, I just wanted her comfortable with the rhythm of the ocean and just to feel comfortable.

[00:15:48] And you know, she would just fall asleep on me. But it was like, I, I wanted to have her have that environment be something familiar and not to have pressure or expectation of what that [00:16:00] would lead to. But just, you know, I want her to enjoy this big playground that we have and, um, and feel safe. So, excuse me, we ended up moving down to Chile in South America when she was not even two.

[00:16:13] Um, So, you know, and in the water is colder there and, you know, less inviting. Um, but it was probably when gypsy was, you know, definitely once she was four, I know on her fourth birthday, I took her to Hawaii and, um, excuse me, and spent two weeks in Hawaii and, you know, she was in the water every day and on the front of my board with me and I just like, you know, writing a stand up paddleboard and.

[00:16:39] Pick her up and, you know, give her the experience of surfing waves with me. And like, I remember like so vividly, cause on the flight over there, I remember saying, you know, we're going to see rainbows. We're going to see dolphins. And the very first surf I took her out, there was like a double rainbow. And she was, she was like blown away.

[00:16:55] And like, she was hooked because you're not just surfing is like [00:17:00] so little of the amount of time surfing is standing on a wave. It's like, it's so much beyond that. It's just that. You know, the going to the beach, the traveling to destinations, the thinking about what you need and, and just like, it's all that.

[00:17:16] But those seconds when you're in the water on a wave, as you know, they're just special moments where hopefully everything pauses that's going on in your mind and in the world. And that's all you're like having to soak in every little bit of it, the way the wave looks, the, you know, what the wind's like, if there's a rainbow, if there's and those little things and the rush of.

[00:17:36] They get imprinted and, you know, they're just something that we keep chasing because it's just so fun and it's pure. So I think, you know, I was lucky that Gypsy, You know, got a lot of that exposure in those years. And then, you know, as soon as she was able, you know, I would, you know, pretty tentatively push her onto a wave and just [00:18:00] like, you know, obviously I had her swimming and able to swim prior to that.

[00:18:03] But, you know, like I remember some of those first times when you let go and she's on a wave and you can't get to her, she falls off quick enough. So you're just like hoping it all goes well. Cause I think that's the main fear is just. You don't want them to have a negative experience at that early stage.

[00:18:16] But luckily she didn't.

[00:18:19] Tyler: So then back to walk on water, like there's that therapeutic aspect that we just talked about. And I'm curious, like, how do you, how do you make sure that it's a pleasant experience for those kids that are in there? Like, what goes into training the volunteers and kind of the setup that you have when you go in the water and take them out?

[00:18:43] jesse: Yeah, I mean, a walk on water has done an amazing job of having teams of different people doing everything from like saying like the Grom squad, then there's beach safety, there's water safety teams that are out there the entire time around you. And then there's the [00:19:00] people like men and women who are with the children or the, you know, the young adults on the boards.

[00:19:06] And so there's so much eyes on what's going on and anyone who's actually going to be on a board with a child. Any of the children or the kids, I should say, um, you know, these are experienced water people and we're making sure that they have been with, you know, other people on a board prior and, you know, and if people are trying to volunteer who haven't done that, we'll put them out there with the Grom squad over to the side and kind of show them how to hold someone.

[00:19:33] But one of the most important things that we like really ensure everyone's aware of is like, we're not trying to teach these people to surf necessarily at all. Like some of the people who come back, you know, we do start riding waves and surfing with them and they start wanting to do it, you know, by themselves even.

[00:19:49] But the essence is getting him off land, making them feel safe to be in a different environment, like the ocean. And you know, a lot of time goes into just [00:20:00] building some rapport with whoever you're with and like letting them feel safe in your presence. Because, you know, like I said, a lot of them it's their first time at the beach.

[00:20:09] So it's, it's having hypersensitivity to whatever's going on with these people that you're meeting. Some of it, like obviously we build relationships with the people that we see, you know, multiple events or beyond, but a lot of the time it's your first interaction with these people. So You're trying to read what's going on with this person and trying to communicate and some of them are non verbal.

[00:20:30] So, you know, a lot of it is just, you know, an awareness of their comfort and trying to, you know, give them confidence to go beyond that. So one of the most challenging things sometimes is just getting them to, you know, either let go of their parents and to get off the beach where there's a lot of people and a lot of things going on that are distracting and kind of overwhelming for some of them.

[00:20:53] Um, You know, I'm trying not to generalize because there's, you know, there's the full spectrum. Like we're not like [00:21:00] we're taking people out with unique needs, meaning none of it's the same. It's all different. Everyone's unique. And so, you know, a lot of the time it is really just if you can get them into the water and then slowly you start moving away from the beach.

[00:21:15] a different thing happens every time, which is so beautiful, but you see this, you know, for a lot of them, they just relax into a whole different state of being because, you know, they're away from the noise and all the people and they're feeling water with their fingers and toes. And it's just like, you know, it taps into a part of them that is so therapeutic.

[00:21:36] Like, you know, it relaxes them. You feel their body go from really stiff and scared to like relaxed. And then, you know, generally speaking. They're like so excited to catch waves. And as soon as you catch one, they're indicating they want more. And it just keeps going from there. But like I said, it's all individually kind of figured out.

[00:21:56] And the, the people who were going out, the surf therapist. [00:22:00] You know, a lot of it is through their experience, being able to read a situation, ensure that, you know, obviously they're being safe first, but, you know, they're trying to broaden the experience as best as possible, depending on the conditions and the person they're with, and it's, it really is case by case, every time it's a different experience.

[00:22:20] And, you know, some are a little bit more challenging than others, but, you know, overall it is just, as soon as they, like for their first time, felt the water, you just see a change come over them. It's like, you know, it's a whole new experience that just, you know, really helps relax them.

[00:22:36] Tyler: I'm curious and the parents, I feel like, and the people I've talked to in the past with the walk on water, like, These programs end up being almost therapy for the parents as well. And I, I'm curious, like how you, you navigate and engage with the parents too, because I imagine for them, it must be a lot of [00:23:00] anxiety too, at first to get their kid in the water, to be attached to, from their kid for the first time, maybe even, you know, like that's, or like you said, some of them may not have ever even been to the beach and it's so unfamiliar to some of them.

[00:23:13] jesse: yeah, you know, it's they're kind of heroes like these parents like, you know Like I don't have a child with those kind of needs and you know All of these children that we're talking about or old children, you know I just such brave special people in their own right but you know their parents are just they have a full time job that never gives them a break of challenges that you know Most people around them don't understand or know how to deal with.

[00:23:40] So like when we, we really say we're serving these families, like it's not just about the ones that get to go in the water. It's the, it's. As much if not more for the parents to be able to see their children having a normal, happy experience, just like any other kid should be able to, and for them to be able to relax.

[00:23:57] And like, as you said, like it's no doubt [00:24:00] hugely nerve wracking initially, but but what they quickly see is like all the sense of safety, all the support, all the other families experiencing the same thing. And as soon as they see their children in the hands of experienced people and having a great experience, you know, it's like the first time they probably get to sit down and relax in a long time.

[00:24:20] And just like, you know, the amount of, you know, I have not done this nearly as much as many other people, but the amount of times I've shared, tears with families who I've just met who are just like crying at the fact that they're seeing their children have this normal happy experience and You know and for them to be able to witness that and to appreciate it But then also like, you know, the cool thing is always hearing afterwards like, you know There's a lot that goes into getting their kids And we get Children ready and to these events on time and able.

[00:24:54] And we have like great people involved in the organization that facilitate making that as easy as possible [00:25:00] from, you know, getting Getting into the event, then from the event into the wetsuits down to the, um, the water's edge and, and so on. But after the events, like these children like pass out and sleep in the car and, and like, uh, relax.

[00:25:14] And it's like a different, you know, the parents get to see their children worn out from doing something physical and fun and safe. And it's just, there's so much to it. Like it, you know, it's so much beyond like, You know, as one of the surf therapists, you know, we get celebrated a lot in the photos because it'll be a photo of us with someone on the, on a wave.

[00:25:34] But, you know, like I said, there's so many volunteers doing things which all make it possible. And, you know, it's the entire experience, which makes the day special. Like it's the part of the wave is again, really quick. The whole thing that comes together to allow that is all like a team effort. And it's um, yeah, it's a, like I said at the very beginning, it's such a privilege to just be a part of that kind of community that comes together to do whatever we can do [00:26:00] to just let these families and those kids have that kind of experience that, you know, otherwise I'm taking that for granted for myself.

[00:26:07] Like I can go to the beach any day I want and go catch a wave. And you know, these people either never have or never could, if they didn't have this sort of help.

[00:26:15] Tyler: I always think about, like, how when I surf, sometimes Like that when I see my best friend or one of my friends get a really good wave You're just as stoked and that's kind of a similar thing here You know, you're you're getting that that stoke and that dopamine out of it, too And I was hoping you could speak to some of the how the volunteers respond to all of this and what sort of changes that brings for them because I used to, I used to be friendly with this guy who ran this other organization for snowboarding where they took a lot of kids with needs snowboarding.

[00:26:53] He once told me, he's like, I do this. Yeah, for the kids, but it's actually almost more for the volunteers and the [00:27:00] adults because For them, this is such a huge change for them actually, and really can actually have huge impacts around their community because those people transform and spread that positive vibe as well.

[00:27:13] And I was hoping you could speak to that sort of transformation that you see as well.

[00:27:18] jesse: Yeah, well, a hundred percent agree with that. I mean, it's being of service and you know, that goes back. However far throughout mankind It's like, you know doing good for others is the best way to do good for yourself And it's like it's really as simple as that like, you know, like I'm in recovery, you know I've been sober for the last like almost 11 years and like that's such a big part of that community But it's you know In any community, it's like helping others, you know, get more out of their life.

[00:27:46] It's just such a enriching thing to be a part of. And, you know, so the volunteers, uh, you know, they, they get that without knowing that's why they're doing it. And then, like I said earlier, it's like, Anytime I get to be on a [00:28:00] wave, you know, selfishly, I'm having a great time. And if I'm doing it with my daughter, with another kid, with these families, kids, you know, it's all the same experience on the wave I'm surfing and I'm having a beautiful time.

[00:28:11] Um, but being able to bring together people who, you know, Get to do that for themselves and leave. Like I was talking to one of the volunteers a couple of days ago and you know, he's retired and he gets up at four in the morning to help make sure like, you know, the truck full of all our stuff gets to the event.

[00:28:29] He's setting stuff up and. He was explaining like his wife was saying or like, you know, like, you gotta get up so early and you don't get home so late. And he is like, yeah, but that is what energizes me for like the days or the week after, like that it's plugging into like that, you know, that greater good that just energizes you.

[00:28:47] Like, and you know, you're tired from their long days. No doubt about it. And um, a lot goes into it physically setting everything up and in the water. And, you know, I've been trying to in like. Clued [00:29:00] like chiropractor and massage therapist at our events to, you know, so the volunteers are getting an adjustment or getting a little bit of, um, you know, what they need to be able to do what they're doing, like some help on that end.

[00:29:12] But you know, again, everyone who comes is, I've said this before to people, you know, I spent a lot of my life around surfing events where, you know, basically everyone loses except one person. And so everyone there, the whole community that's there is there to watch one person win and everyone else in essence is either lost or has been a witness to one person winning, you know, at these events, we have hundreds of people and literally everyone is winning and that's the difference.

[00:29:41] It's like everyone who shows up. is playing a part and sharing smiles and is playing, you know, as equal a role as anyone else to make this possible. And it's not like we, we celebrate and have award ceremonies for all of the, um, the athletes to get trophies and, [00:30:00] you know, give their parents and them that sense of like achievement, but you know, the, the volunteers who are sound like surrounding that and, you know, in and out of the photos of that, uh, you know, they're celebrating the same thing because it's like it, they're heartfelt moments.

[00:30:14] Like we're seeing, like I said, these people have these first experiences or return experiences that they don't get to do very often. And, you know, it's a celebration for, Everyone who's down there to just, you know, be a part of it and that that's key to it. It's like the sense that People are showing up and being of service to help this be possible But everyone's winning and you know, that's the best kind of day at the beach Like it there's no sense that you lost when you show up Oh, yeah 100%

[00:30:44] Tyler: I, I wanted to ask about your, your sobriety. Are you comfortable with that at all? Um, and I was curious, like what, what led to that and what that your recovery has been

[00:30:59] jesse: Yeah,[00:31:00]

[00:31:00] Tyler: mind. Yeah.

[00:31:18] jesse: of support that has helped me. You know, move forward and learn how to let go of, you know, thoughts and old patterns that, you know, just don't serve me anymore.

[00:31:27] And, you know, that's opened a, opened a wider sense of more community. And, um, ultimately like just a journey that, you know, we'll continue till. The end of my time, like it's, I feel like, you know, for me, how it happened, you know, as we were saying, like I spent a lot of time around surf events and I grew up in Australia and you know, alcohol was always from my earliest memories, just like water.

[00:31:54] It was part of every social interaction every day at the beach, every party, every [00:32:00]event there was, you know, it was just rampant. And, you know, I, I feel like, It was pretty obvious to me that I had an allergy to that from the beginning. Like I would get drunk immediately, like one beer, I was drunk, but you know, would I stop now drink until I usually kind of like blacked out or ended up in like situations that I never would have imagined or scripted if I was up to me at the beginning of the night.

[00:32:22] But you know, that happened a lot. And you know, I had a lot of fun around the world and a lot of parties and, you know,

[00:32:31] Tyler: And you can't remember any of them.

[00:32:33] jesse: nah, you know, I wouldn't, that wasn't like every time, but you know, it's, it was obvious that there was, you know. situations would come about that just, you know, I was handing over control to alcohol or substances that, you know, was giving me excuses to like, just, you know, do things that, you know, ultimately, and just wasn't the way I wanted to be living.

[00:32:56] And, you know, like I said, it was a lot of fun. Like I got [00:33:00] privileged to be around so much fun for so long. Um, but, you know, it became patterns. Came into place because I was traveling so much, you know, the decade that I spent traveling on tour, like I was on a plane every couple of weeks going to another place.

[00:33:14] And wherever we went, that was the highlight of that little beach or that big beach, you know, whatever it might be, um, for the year. So there were so many parties and it was just like, you know, you'd go from one to the next, to the next. Yeah,

[00:33:27] Tyler: Circus,

[00:33:28] jesse: exactly. And you know, I have nothing negative to say about any of that.

[00:33:32] Like I got to enjoy so much of it, but you know, I wasn't competing. I think that's something that like a lot of people when they think of me and, and know that I've like grown up. Surfing and, you know, and surf to a level where they confuse the fact that they think like, Oh, you're on tour. You're like competing.

[00:33:50] It's like, no, I was working, but like I could go out every night and wake up and do my job. I didn't have to, like, you know, compete to be on tour. I had to do a job. So, [00:34:00] you know, I think, you know, there was. I was able to go party a lot more than the average because, you know, I,

[00:34:07] Tyler: You didn't have to compete.

[00:34:09] jesse: yeah, I could

[00:34:09] Tyler: unless you're competing with drinking at night, you know?

[00:34:13] jesse: Well, I wasn't the biggest drinker. I was just like, I was drinking regularly is what I'd say, because, you know, I was, you know, like I said, I, I, I would say I've always had an allergy to sugar and to alcohol and just, it affects me. Like I'm super sensitive to things. And, um, you know, but I would drink a lot, like regularly in the sense of.

[00:34:33] Tyler: do you think it was, um, like a reason you were drinking as well or was it just a habit? Like were you

[00:34:40] jesse: I think initially it was just the culture I grew up in. No, it wasn't at all for that. Like I was drinking to try to fit into the people that I looked up to a hundred percent. Like, and then, you know, you do that enough and it becomes just like what you do. And, and then I'd be at events and, you know, again, nothing negative.

[00:34:56] And it wasn't like, It wasn't causing problems for a long [00:35:00] time, but I guess to get to the point of like recovery, you know, I had a child and like a lot of those habits and behaviors and ways of coping with, you know, any situation, any sense of work stress, any sort of relationship stress, like, you know, my instinct would be grab a drink or like whatever other substance maybe came into the picture later.

[00:35:20] And, you know, that just means you're avoiding things, you know, and ultimately it, for me, it, It definitely didn't aid me in dealing with things as calmly as I would like to, you know, I, I think just through life's journey, you, you go through things, not everything works out the way you want and you either accept it or you don't.

[00:35:41] And I was getting to a place where I just couldn't accept most things that were happening. And I was just getting really wound up and upset and taking that out in negative ways. And I think the journey of recovery is in, You know, learning to accept things as they are, learning to see what you're doing.

[00:35:58] And you know, are you doing things that are [00:36:00] helping the situation or are you doing things that are ultimately harming yourself and those around you? And like when you can, when you can see that a little clearer, which, you know, it's pretty hard if you're drinking and doing drugs, but if you remove the alcohol and the drugs, you know, you get to see how you're behaving a little bit clearer and you don't always like it, but with support, you can start realizing, okay, like here's other people that are showing me how they stopped doing these things that aren't helping what they did instead of that.

[00:36:25] And yeah. You know, start walking a different path and, you know, I've been very lucky to just, you know, meet so many inspiring people that have just made that journey easy. Like, it's not a hard thing to do when you've got examples in front of you that make sense to you. And it's usually like, you know, as we're talking about my surfing.

[00:36:44] career and lifestyle. Like, you know, I know so many people thankfully who, you know, have gone through similar things and, you know, have inspired me in their surfing and inspired me in this road of recovery that just, you know, makes it easy. I'm hanging out with the people I want to hang out with [00:37:00] doing what I want to do instead of doing things I know I shouldn't do that I don't want to do, but I end up doing it because I'm hanging out with people that do that all the time.

[00:37:07] It's just changing the path you're on.

[00:37:09] Tyler: Well, I imagine like you grew up in Narrabeen, which, The surfers from there have a bit of a reputation for that. I mean, I seem to remember reading about Damien Hardman and Rod Kerr having a drinking competition from Japan across the world, basically on a plane. And, you know, like you had all of those types of influences and Chris Davidson, unfortunately, you know, rest in peace and other surfers from that era and that area, you know, uh, unfortunately.

[00:37:40] That was, you know, what prevented many of them from succeeding,

[00:37:45] jesse: Yeah. Yeah, I mean, those are some significant names you just mentioned in my upbringing and my life. Um, you know, I went to school with Devo and one of my like super close friends and, um, yeah, you know, the Narrowband is not unique, but it [00:38:00] definitely was in the spotlight. And there's a lot of people, super successful, talented surfers that I grew up with and drinking was just a huge part of that culture.

[00:38:08] And, you know, maybe still is, I doubt it's the same because, you know, times are different in general, but, you know, like I said earlier about boardwriters clubs, like, you know, I got introduced to drinking beer when I was 12 at our boardwriters club by the older guys. And that's, you know, I didn't think.

[00:38:23] anything wrong of it. I just thought, man, I got to learn to drink like them to fit into this group. And I wanted to fit in with that group. And, and those like impressionable minds, you know, at a young age, you know, that's easily the way it is if that's just what's going on. And that was just normal in Australia at the time.

[00:38:40] Like, you know, nothing, I'm not saying anything negative about those guys that gave me beers. It was just normalized.

[00:38:45] Tyler: Well, it was, it was a different time. We had a different, I think the world had a different relationship to alcohol. And I think it's, you know, especially since COVID, I feel like that relationship is changing. You're, you're [00:39:00] seeing a decline in actually alcohol sales.

[00:39:02] You know, and you're seeing actually, you know, increase of mocktails and mixers and non alcoholic beer now that's becoming more and more commonplace. And I think everyone is becoming more, uh, open about discussing it. And it's not something you can, you have to hide anymore or feel ashamed of, which I think that also probably limited a lot of people from seeking help.

[00:39:28] And a lot of those people from, from getting help because of the, the shame that comes with that. Yeah.

[00:39:46] jesse: people who do things differently. I know for me, the world of recovery, like I had no exposure to that at all throughout my life until I was in it, like, but so I'm very happy to talk about the fact that I'm involved because [00:40:00] if anyone, you know, yeah.

[00:40:01] here's something in regards to, you know, there's choices, there's people that will support you on a different path. If you know in your heart what's going on in your life, you want to be different, you know, it's good to know where to turn. And I, you know, I just, that wasn't even, it wasn't even in my realm.

[00:40:16] Like no one at that time in my life, I shouldn't say that. Cause I do remember Pierre Toste, who, um, was the ASP photographer. He didn't

[00:40:27] Tyler: former pro surfer from

[00:40:28] jesse: Incredible surfer. Yeah. Yeah. Like Pierre was like one of like such a dear friend and who I traveled a lot with, but you know, for his religious beliefs, mainly he didn't drink.

[00:40:39] And, and I just found it like so bizarre to be around him. Like we'd be sharing cars and hotels and places and you know, I'd be drunk every chance I could get to just go to every party and, you know, do whatever seemed fun. And he just like never did. And, you know, And we were like the odd couple because like we were together and doing completely the opposite [00:41:00] thing all the time.

[00:41:00] Like, you know, I, I've literally called him in my sobriety and said, man, like, you know, I hope I didn't just like make your life harder than it needed to be. Cause. You know, like I just didn't understand. I didn't understand that, like, you know, some people just make better choices for themselves instead of just going with like whatever's available.

[00:41:20] And that's just, everyone's journey is different. And you know, I'm not here to judge anyone or tell anyone what to do, but it's, I do know that the world of recovery has just been just the most beautiful, you know. New world in the sense of people that I knew before that I've gotten to know so much better since you know surfers and non Surfers and just men especially being vulnerable with each other to just like acknowledge the fact that you know Life is hard sometimes like dealing with relationships is hard dealing with the loss of loved ones It's hard dealing with job losses or job changes and all of it the whole spectrum being a parent

[00:41:57] Tyler: The expectation of being a man and what that [00:42:00] means even is such a, you know, loaded thing where you're, you're expected to be stoic and expected not to talk about your feelings with other men and, and, and expose weakness or whatever. And it's Yeah, I mean, it's, it's, it's hard, I think, for us as men sometimes to, to feel comfortable doing that.

[00:42:23] Um, it's changing, I think, but for God, like, our parents and, and some of the generations above us, you know, they, they didn't have that, you know, it was, it was, you know, you, you had to just drown it or stuff it down all your problems instead of talk about it.

[00:42:39] jesse: No, it's, it's definitely interesting. Like, you know, I grew up in Australia. My mom is actually a therapist, but you know, like, she's from America, but is an Australian citizen living there now. But, um, yeah, most people's experience, especially in Australia at home was very different to what it is now.

[00:42:55] Like in living here in California, there's so much more awareness about, you know, [00:43:00] you know, addiction, mental health, and the need for people to connect and talk and just like have that connection. And, yeah. Hopefully the sense of support, um, in whatever area you might be struggling. It doesn't have to be alcohol and drugs.

[00:43:13] Cause like what it all seems to boil down to is like our thinking and how we kind of accept life as it is, or we don't. And when we don't, that's when we struggle. And it's, you know, it's, it's a daily, daily journey of like whatever pops up and how you deal with it and finding better ways to deal with things and people to talk to about that.

[00:43:33] Tyler: I want to talk about a little about your career. Um, what's the deal with waves magazine plucking young editors. I mean, it has a history with like Kidman and you, like you guys are barely out of puberty and you're running waves magazine, you know, it's crazy. How did that opportunity come about?

[00:43:55] jesse: My opportunity came about directly because of Andrew Kidman. Yeah, I took over the role [00:44:00] when he left to go make that film Litmus. Um, and you know, it's a little, um, insular in the sense that we both grew up surfing at North Narrabeen and, you know, Waves Magazine. Which was like the, you know, the baby brother, so to speak, of tracks magazine was in Sydney.

[00:44:18] So, you know, like we're in the realm of where that magazine was happening, but, you know, Kirk Wilcox was the editor, I believe, before Andrew Kidman and. I think he got Andrew involved helping him. And then when he left, Andrew took that over and did like, you know, an amazing job with that magazine for a long time.

[00:44:37] And Andrew was someone who I looked up to as a surfer at narrow band. I definitely looked up to him as a human. He was, you know, in the sea of, you know, that macho kind of narrow band beer drinking culture. He was a light that was different. Yeah. And, um, And I, you know, I really, for a long [00:45:00] time, um, you know, I've just had so much respect for Andrew, like when I was growing, cause he just, he was different and, you know, he was creative.

[00:45:08] He was sensitive. He was a musician. He was like an incredible suffer. Like he was an Australian, um, like Australian national champion when I was like, you know, 15 or something like that. So like I looked up to him just for his surfing. Um, but I, I knew I could always tell that he was like, you know, there was a sensitivity to him, to everything.

[00:45:29] And then obviously when he started editing and writing and taking photos and making music, that all shines through for anyone who's ever seen any of his work. But, um, You know, he was a huge mentor for me and the op

[00:45:43] Tyler: great head of hair. Holy shit. I'm so jealous of it.

[00:45:46] jesse: likewise, he's definitely, but he, um, him and his brother, Simon, you know, they were both friends of mine. So like I would, and we had to, we had a similar bike ride we had to get to, to North Narrabeen. So like I would see them on [00:46:00] the keys to leave surfboards at this house at Worrywood. So, you know, I would see him a lot, um, on the way to the beach and at the beach, but yeah, he was editing waves when I was in high school and The way it came about is indirectly, I did work experience with him when I was 15.

[00:46:18] Like you had a week of school that you had to go do something. I had no idea what I wanted to do except surf. And I had a surfing contest that week. And I remember seeing Andrew one day and I was like, could I like hang out with you for a few days and just like tick this off the list? I had no aspiration to work at a magazine.

[00:46:33] I'd never thought of any job at that point really, um, as a career, but he said, yeah, so I did that. And. You know, I was only in the office within maybe a couple of days of the week, the office was in the city and, you know, drove in there with him. And, you know, I remember writing some captions to some letters, um, for the magazine and maybe helping pick some photos.

[00:46:55] And, you know, that was pretty much the experience. Um, because, you know, The other day I was at a [00:47:00] surfing event. One day, maybe he was writing a story from home and didn't want to go to the office. So like we just kind of surfed or, but I guess I planted the seed that I was interested when I was like 15. So then fast forward a few years later, when I finished high school, I spent a year traveling around the world after high school with no real destination, but I went all over the world by myself and met up with different people and Surfers that I had met prior in Hawaii and California and then went to Europe for a few months and just, you know, drove around Europe with a couple of mates.

[00:47:31] And during that time, you know, this is before internet and before like email, I was writing postcards to people and letters and just sending them off from all these different places. And I remember writing a postcard from Mundaka and sending it to Andrew at the magazine, just saying, mate, I've ended up at this place that I was like obviously dreaming of as a kid, looking through magazines and just like send him this postcard.

[00:47:56] And so when I got back, he, you know, the end of that year's travel and I [00:48:00] ended up going to university and studying psychology. And Andrew reached out to me at one point and said, Hey, there's a job going at tracks. You should, you know, see if you could become like a young writer at tracks. And I went for that job and didn't end up getting that job.

[00:48:15] Wasn't even looking for

[00:48:16] Tyler: one of the Blakey's? Oh, it did. Ah!

[00:48:20] jesse: Yeah. So Blakey became that young person there at Trax. I went off to university a year later and I, you know, I basically was just dedicated to my studies was hardly even surfing that year. I was like studying psychology. I was so into it. I was like elected the president of the psychology club at the university.

[00:48:40] Like I was just such a like, you know, a type person, like whatever I'm doing, I'm doing just that until like I have a handle on it.

[00:48:47] Tyler: have any

[00:48:49] jesse: And Andrew left these messages on my answering machine at my mom's house saying like, give me a call. And that turned into him saying, Hey, I'm going to leave the magazine. I'm going to go make a movie.

[00:48:59] And [00:49:00] I know, I think you'd be someone who should interview for the job. I'll put your name in the hat if you're even interested. So I, and then I, I remember being, Kind of confused if I want to leave university, which I was loving to even possibly end up with a job. I, I didn't think I'd get it, but so I, anyway, I went and met with a, you know, creative director and did an interview.

[00:49:20] Then I ended up getting like asked to do some, write some stories and went through this whole process. And there was other people. But to your point, you know, I was a 20 year old kid that, you know, they could get very cheaply and mold how they wanted to, no doubt. And, you know, easily influenced to have the magazine be a certain way at that time until I kind of, you know, learnt the ropes and could kind of do something for myself.

[00:49:43] But yeah, unexpectedly I was offered the job as editor and, you know, I was 20, I'd never even had a job at that point. So my first job was, you know, jumped to the top of that little pool, so to speak. And, um, And yeah, my career kind of started and [00:50:00] continued.

[00:50:00] Tyler: crazy, man. That is such a cool story. Um, I'm like, I'm jealous, slightly. Because, you know,

[00:50:10] jesse: studied literature,

[00:50:11] Tyler: Yeah, I went to school for creative non fiction writing. I was, I was on a track, I wanted to be a surf journalist, and then I met Alan Weisbecher, who wrote Captain

[00:50:21] jesse: Yeah, love his books.

[00:50:23] Tyler: and he told me, I told him like, what you do, I want to do, and he's like, don't bother kid, it sucks, and basically like shit on it, saying there's no money, and all this stuff, and I was just like, kind of heartbroken, and I was like, all right, maybe.

[00:50:39] And then, then college actually ruined writing for me. So it was like whole thing. But I, I always was like, Oh my God, like waves particularly. I really enjoyed, I thought it was like very playful. There was a progressive edge to it as well, but there was. Still a little bit of [00:51:00] like that, that juvenile humor is to it.

[00:51:04] Let me ask, like, did you ever feel pressured by the sponsors when you ran it with

[00:51:08] jesse: The advertisers? You know, great question again, and it brings me to a lot of thoughts. At Waves, no. Like at waves, I, you know, it was me and an art director that did the whole magazine. And this is before we had digital labs. It was like, you know, it was a different time in, you know, in the publishing world than it became.

[00:51:28] And obviously has kind of almost gone away now. But at that time, I had complete freedom. Like the first issue, you know, the things that we put in the magazine were ridiculous a lot of the time, like, but we got away with it. No, there was no check and balance. There was no one stopping me and saying, are you sure?

[00:51:46] Like it was like a 20 year old with my juvenile, you know, experience. Doing whatever I wanted. Like when Andrew left, he basically said, you sit there, good luck. And that was it. Like, no, like, let's train you how to do this. I did have Neil [00:52:00] Ridgeway who was working at tracks and we were in the same room.

[00:52:02] Like, and Blakey was still there. So like, I remember the first day grabbing Blakey and saying, cause we were already friends and I was like, mate, you gotta help me understand what I got to do here. Like I got a deadline, but I don't know how to do this. And, you know, I was thrown in the deep end and, you know, there was some support, but it was mainly like, I'm in the deep end and I'm either going to figure it out or I'm going to be out of the door in a month or two.

[00:52:22] And, um, so I guess to your question, no, there was zero like supervision or kind of editorial influence from the advertising part. But what came to mind is like, You know, I did that for two years, and then I was, you know, hired to be an editor at Surfing Magazine here in California when I was 23. I was the senior editor at 23, which makes no sense.

[00:52:48] That was my

[00:52:49] Tyler: would have been working then like with Brissac, I imagine,

[00:52:52] jesse: Before Brissac, Skip Sneed,

[00:52:55] Tyler: and Nick

[00:52:55] jesse: and Nick Carroll was in Australia, and Steve Zeldin is who, [00:53:00] uh, Zelda's who hired me, like we had met in Hawaii and he had asked me to write some stories for surfing while I was in Australia for like some of the things happening in Australia during that season.

[00:53:11] And afterwards it just like, he asked, you know, would you ever want to come over here? And I was like, I got dual citizenship. And he was like, really? He is like, well, we actually have a position. I like an editor now. And you know, I think within a few weeks I had like. changed my life and moved to San Clemente.

[00:53:26] But once I was there, the sense of, you know, advertising influence and money and ultimately the greatest sense of responsibility of what goes into a surf magazine, that it's going to be seen potentially by a hundred thousand people across the United States, instead of, you know, at best 20 to 30, 000 Australian surfers, um, you know, it was just a different level of, um, um, You know, of responsibility, I think, for like who's seeing [00:54:00] it on the newsstands.

[00:54:01] And, you know, like we did things at Waves where, you know, I knew we have to get in trouble for some of the stuff like, and ultimately one time we did something and the publisher brought me in and basically told me we'd just gotten the magazine banned from Some small country in Asia and I like I didn't even know we sold it there and he just laughed and said yeah But I thought it was funny didn't even care and I was like such small circulation and And so, you know, it was, yeah, the, the, the divide between the advertising department and my department was very big.

[00:54:37] Like, but at surfing magazine, it was integrated. Like I remember we were doing a story, Nick Carroll and I were writing a story when, um, K2, the, the, they put up the money for like the big wave. Exactly. And when that was happening, you know, the context is, you know, it was offering 50 grand for whoever rode the biggest wave of the winter.

[00:54:59] [00:55:00] And we did this big story where we were like interviewing all these big wave surfers and, you know, names within the surfing culture of their, you know, was that a good or a bad thing? Is that going to lead to people, you know, jumping off a cliff, so to speak, to get the money and get killed? Or is it, this is great.

[00:55:15] Is this like outside surfing money coming in to, you know, um, help boost this and, you know, and there was opinions on both sides and we were trying to do an article about that. And, and ultimately we got, we had it on the cover and the publisher brought us in and just said, Hey, we can't run this the way this is because the advertiser is threatening to pull out and they're the back cover of the magazine for the whole year and it was like, you know, if we lose that, that's people's jobs and we can't do that.

[00:55:43] And so. That was the first time in my young career that I realized, you know, you can't just do whatever you want. You've got to have some sense of responsibility to keep being able to do it for the greater good of what you're doing. But at the time it really didn't sit, sit well with me. It felt like, wow, we're not allowed to [00:56:00] tell a story the way that we're, you know, hearing it and trying to do that.

[00:56:04] And, you know, that's, that was just part of my, I guess, education.

[00:56:09] Tyler: Well, it was a time in surfing too, when all the companies are going public, everyone was looking for, you know, the, the, the non surfing, uh, demographic almost, you know, they wanted to appeal to a more general audience. So I could see that having some influence for sure at that time, particularly this is, we're talking like late nineties here at 97, 98.

[00:56:35] Um, how did that lead to the ASP then? Cause this is like. This is how I think, uh, many of us who grew up around that time period were, were probably introduced to you would, you know, it was like the, the, the budding beginning of the internet and the ASP had their website and they had like these write ups that I would check after every contest, every day, you know, when there would be heat right up and [00:57:00] I would be looking and I'd be like, there it is.

[00:57:01] Jesse Fain writing lovely little recap of the day for, for the tour. And it was way. Before the webcast, it was a way for us to stay connected to what was happening. And I'm curious, like how that came about and how fucking stoked were you at the time? Yeah.

[00:57:37] jesse: you know, Skip Sneed and I were kind of there to be running it.

[00:57:40] And like basically the ASP Graham Stapleberg at the time, who obviously being at the magazines, we were dealing with the ASP and going to events. And so we like knew each other, but at the time this was back when like the ASP was not loved by the surf industry or the surfers it was like a [00:58:00] lot of contests in like not the best time of the year and not the best waves and you know it was just there was a lot of judgment about the tour and basically credit to G and the ASP at the time, they, they, they were trying to help, you know, change things.

[00:58:20] And they were trying to figure out ways to do it. And one of the ways is they wanted to ensure that the surfers had more of a voice. So they were hearing what the surfers wanted and didn't want and trying to integrate that. So like my first job for the tour, Basically, I've heard that they were thinking about creating a position called a Surfer Liaison, is what the title ended up being titled.

[00:58:42] But it was basically a voice for the surfers in between the organization, the sponsors, the media, to just like help communication. And so when Gee mentioned that, you know, Uh, you know, Rochelle Ballard and Megan Abubu come to mind because they were like people I was friends with who were [00:59:00] talking and they were telling me that they were looking to find something like this.

[00:59:03] And, you know, I was looking to leave living in San Clemente and I was like working in a magazine. I was 23. I'd already edited magazines for three years and all I wanted to do was go travel to all these places that I'm like sitting in a, in a, you know. An office helping project this lifestyle, but I'm sitting in an office in San Clemente.

[00:59:23] So, you know, I had a meeting with G and he mentioned they were thinking about doing this. And I was like, well, look, I'm interested if you're like, if it happens and then sure enough, I get, I got that job. So I left the magazine, which seemed like a really. Sketchy decision to a lot of people at the time.

[00:59:40] They're like, why would you leave like surfing magazine like this? You know iconic thing within our culture to go work on the tour that everyone's talking shit about I was like because they go in there they go in there they go in there and like I get to go surf and be Around all these people that like our friends of mine or people that I look up to and you know [01:00:00] At the end of the day, I was like, I didn't have a child.

[01:00:03] I didn't have mortgages. And I was like, um, you know, I was actually, I did have a place in Australia already. I shouldn't say that, but, um, basically, you know, I just wanted to travel and that was just a way to get paid to travel. And, you know, my paychecks were tiny, but like the lifestyle was everything.

[01:00:19] And, um, so I started doing that and I started trying,

[01:00:23] Tyler: Today and they paid for your travel to was

[01:00:26] jesse: Yeah. So like,

[01:00:28] Tyler: man. I mean, come on. Like, you're getting free trip around the world. Basically,

[01:00:32] jesse: And, and, you know, so I got that ticket to travel for that year. And during that time, you know, my job was to try to like organize meetings for all the surfers at every event and like have a, you know, a platform to hear what their issues were and to communicate those issues to the board and to like,

[01:00:50] Tyler: I want to be a fly in the room on that. Those meetings. I wish. Oh, yeah.

[01:00:55] jesse: so lucky with my timing because, you know, G hired me. [01:01:00] Then that first year he ended up leaving the tour to work for Billabong. And that's then when like Peter Whittaker got involved. And, you know, Peter Whittaker, um, and I lived together in Laguna and traveled around the world and Rabbit got involved.

[01:01:14] And then that's like the whole dream tour started coming together. And so like at the beginning of that, I was representing you know, that, that role of trying to be a voice and unify the surface voice because plenty of opinions, but trying to figure out like, okay, what are the, what do we need to change now?

[01:01:30] Like what's the general sense of this and hearing what the tour could do as far as the, the, you know, the ASP side of it and what the sponsors wanted and just trying to facilitate better communication. Um,

[01:01:42] Tyler: Well, it looks like it was fruitful, though, then, because it kind of birthed the, the dream tour, you know, like,

[01:01:48] jesse: well, yeah, lots of people played lots of roles. Like I got to be, you know, in, inside of that.

[01:01:56] Tyler: yeah,

[01:01:57] jesse: But you know, I wasn't the one trying to, I wasn't [01:02:00] changing the direction. I was just communicating what people were saying and making sure instead of 50 people yelling, there was like a voice to say what, this is the general feeling of what's going on at this event or how we could change it, whatever it might've been at the time.

[01:02:13] But like I said, rabbit, Peter Whitaker, lots of great people from the sponsors and you know, people within the media, like it just, people started, you know, the tide turned where people started like working together to get things on a different path maybe, um, you know, like obviously events like Quicksilver, going to G Land, help and like, you know, all the, all the different sponsors start putting on these events that like, you know, start gambling.

[01:02:38] Let's, let's throw a lot of money into putting an event in a place where we know the waves are good, but we don't know how that's going to be received because, you know, like you said about the press releases and how, how that became, you know, how it unified more of the. Community around the world, because you know, the way that not to make this about me, but like the way that happened for the [01:03:00] press releases was again, it wasn't my job at the time.

[01:03:02] There was Jody Holmes was the media director. She was pregnant, wasn't traveling. We were in Brazil in 99 and Occy was about to win the world title. And I realized, Hey, there's no one here to do anything about this. So I just like, I was like, I just, I want to record this moment. So I like, I ran down to Occy and was like, Hey, if you, You know, if this happens this way, you could win the world title today.

[01:03:23] And like, we basically, it, that happened, got to like be in the middle of that emotion. And then I was like, Hey, let's organize a quick little press conference for the people from international media that are here. The local media got Aki to sit down and like contain that emotion and share it with all of us in the room.

[01:03:41] And then I just like wrote her a story about it. And I was like, I'm just gonna, we had just gotten, You know, at the time we were still faxing everything to people, but like, you know, like I printed out this story, I faxed it to Jody. She sent it to like Reuters and AP, it went out. And then I like at that time we had just started [01:04:00] getting emails around that time.

[01:04:01] And very few of us were using them, but like we were starting to get them. And I was collecting them every event I went to the different sponsors, the surfers, the different people. And I just started sending, you know, that first one was Aki's world title and I sent it to whoever I could send it to and then, you know, it just, you know, started realizing, well, that's, I can keep doing this every event.

[01:04:22] And then before I knew it, you know, ASP is asking me if I can be the media director because Jodi was, you know, she had her son and, um, So, you know, I took over that role and each event I would just collect more of those. I just created the first database probably within the surfing community. Cause I just started, I was being paid to go to these events.

[01:04:41] I would just pull together all the people I could get their email addresses, send the stories to them, get it to the magazines, get it to, I knew what it was like to be sitting in a magazine and not know what was happening at a pro surfing event. And it seemed ridiculous to me because I was like, those people need to know first.

[01:04:56] So the magazine is. You know, including what's happening. [01:05:00] That's really special if you're at the event. But if you're in San Clemente sitting at Surfer and Surfing, and people are sending you great photos from Indonesia, and you hear there's an event happening in Japan in two foot waves, it doesn't matter if Kelly Slater won it or Danny Wills won it, you're like, whatever, it's not that big of a deal.

[01:05:16] You know, I started sending out daily Emails to try to make people care about what was happening. Cause when you're at these events, it's amazing. The whole community there, the surfers are putting their heart into it. You know, sponsors are putting all this money up for it. And the whole community is loving getting to celebrate, you know, these incredible surfers on whatever the waves are like, and, um, Obviously, as the event started going to better waves, you know, it became easier.

[01:05:41] And then as the webcast and Mano Zool and Hobson from the ASP started developing that technology, you know, it all just started coming together where we had like those daily reports getting put on a website and photos from Pierre getting put on a website. And, and before you knew it, there was like, you know, streaming images of what's [01:06:00] happening right now as it's happening.

[01:06:02] Tyler: It's crazy. You started like the year, like Derek Hynde started, restarted covering the tour also and were there, like you got, got a little cameo in Pro Land too, his movie,

[01:06:15] jesse: Yeah, actually, I helped him with that because he, I think he got his camera stolen and some tapes at one event in Europe. So I had a little video camera and gave him mine and, um, you know, Derek, Derek's a dear friend and someone I've always looked up to. So, um, yeah, he, I remember that year, but. Yeah, I got very lucky to start on tour the year Andy first was on tour and Tim Curran and, you know, traveling, you know, it was a different time and, you know, it changed very quickly while I was there and I got to be in the middle of that and play whatever role I did in that.

[01:06:49] But, um, yeah, it's funny with those press releases because, like, I wasn't doing it for any desire except to share where I was and my stoke and what was happening, [01:07:00] but I know it became something because, you know, years later when I moved to California for insight, you know, I would go to stores that I'd never been to and meet these retailers and people all across America.

[01:07:13] And I'd say my name and they'd be like, wait a second. Why do I know you? And I was like, oh, you probably were getting press releases from me like a few months ago or the year ago, or two years ago. And I'm like, yeah, I used to get all those ASP press releases. So like it, it ended up helping me with insight because everywhere I'd go, these retailers would know me even though I'd never met them just because, you know, I was writing about pro surfing and people care.

[01:07:36] Tyler: Let's, let's dive into that. How did that opportunity come about with Insight? Um, so for our listeners, like Insight had a really burned pretty, pretty bright, really quickly, uh, I think, especially when you got involved, but Some of the most revolutionary advertising for a surf brand at the time, I feel like, [01:08:00] and, uh, it really, you could see, like, when you got involved with them, like, there was a big change in everything that they did, and it was, they became super prominent, and it was really impressive, and I was curious, like, to especially go from, like, writing and media To running a clothing company must have been quite an experience and must have been kind of, kind of jarring too, because it's a whole new level of skills you have to learn.

[01:08:28] jesse: Yeah. I mean, again, right place, right time. You know, right time. Maybe I don't know how much credit I should get for much of what you just said, because I, what I'll say is like, I grew up surfing. My very first custom board was by Greg Weber, who did insight surfboards and was connected to that brand. So like I had an affinity to insight.

[01:08:48] As soon as I was surfing and competitively surfing and like, you know, um, so that, that seed of that brand was planted at a very young age for me. And, you know, to me, [01:09:00] insight was a surf board brand. And then it became through George Goro and Drew Downs, they started making clothing to support the boards initially.

[01:09:08] But then, you know, George is a super creative, um, guy and friend of mine, um, that I'd grown up with him and like in the same area in Sydney and him and his younger brother, um, Steve Garrow, just, you know, incredible creative people. And they started, you know, doing. You know, the advertising for the surfboards and the clothing that came with it.

[01:09:29] And then the brand kind of, you know, really quickly in Sydney became this, you know, brand that was different to the typical surf brands. It was just about clothing for the beach. It was like clothing to go out in the city and like go party in and like exactly streetwear before that tagline maybe had been kind of, you know, really cemented in Sydney, let alone Australia.

[01:09:50] But Yes, it was streetwear sensibilities and skate and punk and all these different things. It was just, it was different than what the typical surf brand was at the time and the [01:10:00]advertising was similar. It was just like, you know, it was a rebellious, creative, funny take on whatever. And

[01:10:09] Tyler: Thanks.

[01:10:10] jesse: So when Insight was getting established in Sydney and doing really well in Sydney, I was a fan of what they were doing.

[01:10:16] And like, you know, fortunately I knew people there and they were giving me some clothes. And then actually my last year traveling with the ASP, Insight had already like asked, can we like give you free clothes? So you're wearing our clothes wherever you're traveling. And I was like, are you kidding me? I love your clothes.

[01:10:31] Sure. And, um, And then they even paid me a little bit to like, be a part of it, like that, to feel like, you know, like, you know, we want you to feel a part of what we're doing and all you have to do is wear our clothes. And so I was already connected and then they were. It just coincided. I was in trestles for one of the boost mobile pro events and the ASR trade show was happening down in San Diego.

[01:10:55] And insight had been offered, I think, a free booth from whoever was [01:11:00] doing it to try to help introduce them to the U S market. And I happened to be there and I just literally. you know, introduce my friends from inside who were sitting in this booth, not knowing anyone to everyone who walked past. Cause these were all people I knew from the surfing world who were like pro surfers or people that were connected to this brand.

[01:11:18] Cause I'd worked on this company, like this event that was sponsored by these people. And so I was just introducing them to everyone. And just like, as a mate and, you know, at the end of that show, they were like, Hey, we need you involved in our company. You know, everyone in the U S I was like, man, I hardly know anyone in the U S but like, I get to travel and meet these people all over the world.

[01:11:38] And you know, I basically long story short, um, You know, they ended up at the time that I stopped traveling on the tour. I was going to go live in Chile. Like I just finished building a house down in Chile and, um, I was planning to just go live there for a couple of years and like just surf and have a break because I'd been traveling and I was just worn out.

[01:11:57] I was burnt out, honestly. And inside [01:12:00] asked if I would, um, you know, come for a meeting. And I just figured it was about, you know, seeing if I could connect him to some people and they were like, Hey, we want you to like, move to America and run our brand and introduce it to the U S and, you know, it seemed like a crazy concept to me because I was like, I've never worked in fashion.

[01:12:18] I've never run a company like that. And, but you know, what I,

[01:12:22] Tyler: Um,

[01:12:45] jesse: And, you know, I ended up doing it for the next six or seven years, um, and changed my life. But, You know, it began just with that idea that I just want to help my mates, um, because I care about what they're doing.

[01:12:56] I think what they were doing was super creative and special, and it was a [01:13:00] breath of fresh air. Like, I'm a big fan of all the surf brands. I don't want to, like, say anything negative, but it was something different at the time. It was, it was pushing You know, they didn't have the top pro surfers, they couldn't pay for the advertising and make the things to be on that same level, but they were doing something that was undeniably special and everyone who saw it felt a connection or was entertained or just felt like, you know, this is something that, you know, is getting attention.

[01:13:28] And so for me, it was like, you know, I want to help that get in the door. And like I said, like, I got so lucky because of what I'd done on the ASP. My name seemed to be out there within people that I didn't know. And I'd walk into these stores and they'd give us a chance. Like I remember I'd like, I'd go into Jack's or I'd go into whichever store.

[01:13:48] And somehow me telling what I had been doing for the last decade with the tour made them want to give us a chance. And I'd meet reps and same thing. We'd get people involved that, you [01:14:00] know, we probably shouldn't have, or magazines like surfing and. You know, Zelda over at water magazine years later would like give us a double page spread for free because we're friends and you just like if if no one if a page, you know, was available at the end just before deadline, they'd be like, Hey, Jess, can we help you?

[01:14:16] Because like the advertising was so special that, you know, they would give us extra opportunities that our budget couldn't afford. And so like people like that just really helped us have a chance.

[01:14:27] Tyler: I mean, listen, for our listeners, like the ads were so cool and creative. Like you, you had like the whole checkered beach with someone boosting the air and people like it just, it was something so different than, than what had been out there.

[01:14:44] It was, it felt like art installations you were building as opposed to an ad.

[01:14:48] jesse: They really were, they were out at installations. Like we, one time, one of our campaigns was done up in central California and like, you know, they built like the team, Steve Garrow, the creative director. And, you know, [01:15:00] we had, you know, people, lots of different names I could mention, but like ultimately they built like a house in essence, it was a skatable house that every room was like, you know, shot for this campaign and all the installations, you know, real work went into these things.

[01:15:15] It wasn't like Photoshop stuff. It was like real artwork being created and then, you know, and then just destroy it afterwards. But it was like that act of making something special and just had a bit more Feeling and soul to it, I think, then a lot of the other stuff that's just like a logo on a, a surfing shot.

[01:15:32] It was just, you know, it made you, you know, we all turned through the magazines, it would make you stop and you'd spend a moment with this and you'd be inspired or you'd laugh or you'd think it was ridiculous, whatever. But it was like, you know, it was people being creative and, and having the confidence to do something a little different.

[01:15:49] Tyler: It would have been dominating if you guys just got your sizing right for the States. Cause we, my dad's shop, we bought it. I was [01:16:00] enthusiastic about it. And then I put on an XL. I was an XL at the time, a little bigger now, but I was just like, what the fuck? I'm not fat. Stop calling me fat. You know, and like other people that put on like, who are like large, you know, normally like a, like they would wear like a, you know, a medium and they had to wear a large.

[01:16:20] And I was just like, fuck man, what is this Euro size? And yeah,

[01:16:26] jesse: you know, we were a very successful, Australian little brand, so to speak, that came across the pond to the U. S. And, you know, there was a lot of learning to be figured out. And we just, we just had so much support that I'm so grateful for because I got to meet so many great people here in the U.

[01:16:42] S. And, you know, I've been here 20 years and that's thanks to Insight, you know, working for enough years to have me have a base here and feel at home here. And, you know, I'm super grateful for, So many people that I got to work with and the retailers that gave us a chance and the magazines that supported us.

[01:16:58] And obviously the customers [01:17:00] who like bought our stuff and thought it was something they wanted to represent.

[01:17:04] Tyler: Now, I want to, I want to dive back a little on, on Chile and how that became such a prominent place for you at a certain time of your life. Uh, I was curious, like how you got introduced to there and you know, how you ended up with a home and spending so much time down there. Yeah.

[01:17:22] jesse: Iron. Uh, Derek, you know, I'll never forget it. He, he was sent. VHS videotape of some empty left handers. Um, and he was, you know, graceful enough to share that images with me. And, you know, like all of us knew there had to be waves on this huge coastline of southern Chile. But, you know, he saw a video and ended up buying some land with the guy who, um, at the time worked Had the distribution for Rip Curl in Chile, this guy Max Mills.

[01:17:53] And, um, basically they bought some land and he showed me this video one day and I was like, man, like if an opportunity [01:18:00] comes to get some land near you, I'd traveled a lot, but I'd never been to Chile and, um, and anyway, a year goes by and. me one day and it's like, Hey, do you have some money? Cause like my partner's original piece of land, he has to sell it for what we're building.

[01:18:16] And, um, I, I ended up buying it sight unseen before I'd ever even been to the country.

[01:18:21] Tyler: that's crazy.

[01:18:22] jesse: it was, it was more money than I really. You know, had to throw away, but it was like, I had it in my bank at the time and it was just good timing that I had that amount of money that I could like send to a stranger in Chile.

[01:18:35] And you know,

[01:18:35] Tyler: my God,

[01:18:36] jesse: a few months later, you know, I got to go there for the first time and see some dirt that apparently I had some sort of ties to. And, and, you know, I just, I had an incredible first trip and you know, I got to go back in time, you know, and it was the, the romantic connection that I have. with Chile was because of, you know, those first few trips that, [01:19:00] you know, I would just drive down these dirt roads all over the place by myself or with a friend and just find waves that no one had surfed or not many people would have known about.

[01:19:10] And just, I saw so many of those places that I was like, God, this is like, you know, cold water dreamland. And, you know, I, I really, it just is such a. special place and that I'm really, really grateful that I got to, you know, build a place and I've had, you know, hundreds of friends from all over the world get to go there that probably never would have gone had I not had the chance to build a house in this really remote place.

[01:19:36] And so it's, um, yeah, it's been

[01:19:38] Tyler: have it or is

[01:19:39] jesse: I do.

[01:19:40] Tyler: wow,

[01:19:41] jesse: Yeah. You know, I've been very lucky, like,

[01:19:43] Tyler: I bet too.

[01:19:45] jesse: Uh, maybe, you know, like I never did it. Like I've done a few things in my life that I did with the point of view of like, Oh, this is an investment. Like I didn't do it for that. I just was like, this is if I want to use the word investment, it's just in my surfing fun.

[01:19:59] And, [01:20:00] um, and And just the chance to share time with people in a way that's a little bit more intimate where you're just like, you're there to like, be together and go surf and have meals together. And, you know, I've, I've been lucky that I've had a few of the surf brands over the years, like, Want to hire it, like rent it, sorry, to like do a project down there.

[01:20:19] And, and that's kind of helped me keep it, but you know, it's a remote place. It wasn't super expensive and it was done a long time ago. Like I've had it for 20 years, my house. So

[01:20:29] Tyler: Um, all right, question then. Do you prefer your empanadas baked or fried?

[01:20:35] jesse: good question. I'd say I like the baked ones down in Chile for

[01:20:38] Tyler: Me too. And do you like completos?

[01:20:42] jesse: That's so funny that you know this, like, you know,

[01:20:45] Tyler: I spent a good amount of time down there, so I spent a lot of time eating those completos. Oof.

[01:20:51] jesse: yeah. Which is a very glorified hotdog for all the American listeners to this. But, um,

[01:20:56] Tyler: It's a glorified hot dog with a shit ton of guacamole and mayo.[01:21:00]

[01:21:00] jesse: exactly. Yeah. Like, you know, I brought Ava down there. Um, and before we went, I was kind of telling her like, you know, it's so funny, like one of the main things that like, you know, any gas station you stop at or like every little town, the like hot dogs are like a big part of the, like the cuisine down here that they've made into like something that looks special.

[01:21:20] You see, and you're like, wow, that's like, that's a real, you know, that's a meal. It's not just a hot dog.

[01:21:26] Tyler: They're massive, like, listeners, they're massive, and it's like this long, narrow dog in a sea of guacamole.

[01:21:34] jesse: Yeah, onion, tomato, like everything that you can put on it.

[01:21:39] Tyler: it's awesome. I, I, yeah, I'm, I'm a big fan of that area, that part of the world, both north and south.

[01:21:48] jesse: That's awesome that you've been there. Like I, you know, to this day, I still, most people I talk to that have traveled quite a bit haven't been down there. And, you know, I've been very fortunate to drive, you know, [01:22:00] from the very tip of Southern Chile. Like I've been to the very bottom and driven the whole West Coast and Peru and through Ecuador.

[01:22:08] Tyler: drive, too.

[01:22:10] jesse: Chile's not sketchy. The North

[01:22:11] Tyler: no, the drive is sketchy. Not, not like Chile in itself, but the drives can be like kind of gnarly. In Peru, I was on a bus that caught fire and exploded. Yeah.

[01:22:29] jesse: is really safe until you're up into the north and then it's just deserty and like feels a little bit more kind of frontier land, so to speak. And then you get into Peru and it kind of continues like that. And then Ecuador definitely felt more dangerous.

[01:22:44] Tyler: Yeah, yeah, it, it's, it's got more adventure for sure to get up to Mon Pichet,

[01:22:51] jesse: uh, no, wait, where is that?

[01:22:53] Tyler: that's in Ecuador.

[01:22:54] jesse: I went to, um, I mean, this is going back over a decade when I did this trip, but it was [01:23:00] Manzanita and then from there over to Quito, but I didn't go north of there.

[01:23:04] Tyler: Okay, it's a little bit north. It's a left hand kind of point break too. But um, yeah, that's, that's incredible. Yeah, I, I love South America so much and Chile particularly is like such a, it's a great place because it feel, I mean, it's been a while since I've been there now too, but It always felt like, uh, Central California was, you know, 30, 40 years ago, almost, like going back in time.

[01:23:32] jesse: exactly.

[01:23:33] Tyler: It's, it's incredible. Um, I want to ask then, like, after Insight, like, you've, you've kind of bounced around with different positions, and I'm curious, like, what, what do you call yourself now as, as a, as a job or career? Like, what does Jesse Fane, you know, do to kind of, you know, keep, keep going? Keep surfing.

[01:23:54] [01:24:00] Yeah.

[01:24:14] jesse: like, you know, I've never been, you know, Like I said earlier, like my first job, I was the editor of a magazine.

[01:24:20] My next job, I was the editor of a different magazine. Then I was like working on tour. Like I've never like had a job where I worked my way up. I kind of somehow ended up with a job that allowed me to like be in like that upper echelon, so to speak of that particular. you know, role or, um, but you know, in essence, I've just been a surfer who's had, you know, I've followed my desire to want to surf and have this lifestyle be the core of what I spend my time doing.

[01:24:47] And if a certain job has allowed me to do that, you know, I've never really had jobs that were away the essence of surfing.

[01:24:56] Tyler: I was gonna ask, do you ever get the urge to, like, try [01:25:00] to find something outside of the surfing world?

[01:25:02] jesse: I definitely don't now. I feel like, you know, when, as I said, I was studying psychology. So before I began this whole 30 year career, I had no desire to have a job working in the surf industry. I wasn't looking for that. It came knocking on my door and, you know, I kind of did at the time. Like I didn't know if I wanted to leave university, but I'm super grateful I did.

[01:25:26] But there's been times when, you know, I had 20 years of a career that was seamless. Like I never had a day off of not having a job, but then, you know, we moved to Chile and, you know, Back to the time of my like recovery world entering, that's like I went through a separation. We had a daughter and it was a really tough time for me and you know, for her as well.

[01:25:47] But I mean, it was it was a big change and it really threw my world upside down and it made me question Who am I? Who would I want to be going forward? And you know, first and foremost, I want to be present and I want [01:26:00] to be a great dad the best I can. And, and, um, you know, so that I refocused my priorities and what I did after for a job really was secondary.

[01:26:10] I think prior to that, it was like, you know, I, it was about me and what my identity was through my job. And, After that change, it was like, it's about me being there for my daughter and, you know, and not there just in the sense of like providing, like it's, I want to be there. I want to share the experience.

[01:26:27] I want to like be with my daughter and, you know, clearly I need to work to be able to pay bills, but you know, I'm not ambitious to try to gain more money to have money sitting in a bank or to just send someone off to be with someone. I want to be in the experience. I want to enjoy like those. Those shifts in perspective about being more present, being there, you know, I'm not chasing more money, more titles of, you know, I've, I've been very fortunate.

[01:26:56] Like, you know, I've had jobs that from the earliest age I had [01:27:00] titles that people spend their College years, hoping to get a job to maybe work up to that job. And I started in those sort of jobs. So it's like, I've kind of gone backwards in a sense. I'm like, you know, I need to earn enough to keep my head above water, but like, I want to enjoy my time more like, and I want to be present with the people I'm, you know, I'm lucky to have in my life more, so I'm trying, you know, in the last decade, it's been, like I said, way more about being available to do the things I want with the people I want, then about the things You know, make that harder to do.

[01:27:32] So, like, I've had different jobs and you know, I get a lot of people asking me to help connect them to different things because of experiences that I've had and relationships that I have with people. Um, and you know, a, a, a, You know, whatever I need to do, but I'm not going to do something that is like, you know, not, you know, caught connected to the lifestyle that I love or not like respecting that lifestyle.

[01:27:58] And you know, doing [01:28:00] things like being involved with a walk on water has just been such a perfect marriage of so many things in my experience to like where my passion's at and being able to like, you know, show up and help people, but, you know, also, you know, help myself get to keep going forward.

[01:28:14] Tyler: When's the Jesse Fane memoir coming out? Yeah.

[01:28:30] jesse: and, and like, you know, I used to write so much and I struggle to even have to sit at a computer and write anything now, it's just like, I don't get enjoyment out of it.

[01:28:40] I used to think that one day, you know, when I'm old and I'm retired and I'm living in Chile by myself, I'd write a book. Like that was like this romantic idea of the future. You know, I don't want to be old or not doing things that like I can do. I don't even want to be thinking about that. I want to be out there surfing, kiting, foiling, like you said, all these things [01:29:00] be with my family, with my friends, you know, you know, it's a different perspective.

[01:29:05] Like I'm trying to just truly enjoy my time and you know, As a result of getting certain things out of the way, like alcohol, like drugs, like, you know, I don't eat refined sugar, like all these things that were just like not helping me feel healthier and having the energy to do the things that I want to do as much as I can, you know, as a result of getting a lot of that stuff out of the way, like I have spent so much more time in the water in the last, like, Decade of my life than I ever did when I was younger.

[01:29:36] You know, like I'm, there's not a bad day for me in the ocean. Like I'm either surfing, kiting, foiling, kite foiling, wing foiling. Like I always want to be at the beach and you know, I'm grateful that I have found, and you know, and it hasn't always been easy. Like I'm always having to, you know, hustle a little bit to have something that sustains me to be able to do the things that [01:30:00] I like to do and travel.

[01:30:01] And, but, you know, I've been one of those very fortunate surfers. So I got to give credit to a lot of people that have supported me, whether it be companies and shapers that have like made me boards, like we were talking about Dan from solid surf boards and who have like, you know, sponsored me to live the lifestyle that I love and like, That, you know, Gary Siskar is like an amazing friend of mine who is like, help me get involved with the kiting world and foiling and winging.

[01:30:27] And, you know, he works at a company, right? Engine that slingshot is connected to and like all my gear that I'm looking at here is all thanks to him and that company and brand. So, you know, without people helping me. you know, throughout my whole life have wetsuits and board shorts and clothing and, you know, the ability to like have extra money to buy the tickets to go to the places I want to go to, you know, I wouldn't have had half the life I've had.

[01:30:53] Tyler: That's amazing. Um, so let's let our listeners know, when are you, when is a [01:31:00] walk on water coming to, coming through the Northeast, uh, what dates, and let's also do the shame, shameless plug of where they can sign up to volunteer and where people can follow walk on water and also where can people follow you?

[01:31:14] jesse: Yeah, sure. Well, walkonwater. com is the website for every bit of information anyone is looking for in regards to signing up to volunteer at any of the events and to see our schedule. Um, you know, we do events all over California, Southern California especially, but we also go off to Pacifica and like just below San Francisco there for the East Coast events coming up in June, June 7th and 8th will be in Spring Lake with, um, Sam and Nicole Hammer.

[01:31:43] Like they facilitate that event basically. And we get to do two days there. Um, And then in September, we go to Montauk on. Six and the seventh. And I can't forget the 6th of September cause it's my girlfriend Ava's [01:32:00] birthday.

[01:32:01] Tyler: okay. Party in Montauk, everyone.

[01:32:03] jesse: Exactly. And then there'll be on the night of the seventh is we do a big, um, fundraising event for a walk on water there, which is, I was at that last year and the community of Montauk and New York is amazing and the support they give us financially and just energetically is just, you know, it's next level.

[01:32:21] And I'm super grateful to get to be part of that. And then we go back to your hood in Rockaway on the 28th of September, um, and that's new. Like we've only done that, we've done two events, um, and you know, the guys there, um,

[01:32:36] Tyler: From Scootin.

[01:32:37] jesse: Scoot, yeah, Will, and then also the two Mikes, um, they,

[01:32:42] Tyler: Mike and Mike of locals are the

[01:32:44] jesse: Yeah, so like those guys, you know, and bring all their crew.

[01:32:48] So like, you know, but we definitely, the Rockaway event is the newest one. So like, you know, we definitely want every surfer aware and people who want to get involved and help out to, you know, that [01:33:00] they're all welcome and needed. Cause you know, we're, we're trying to broaden our reach to these families and community, um, and obviously the kids that we can, you know, help do this with.

[01:33:11] Tyler: Awesome. Well, Jesse, I really appreciate your time here. Um, it's fun to kind of nerd out and hear all these stories. Uh, I mean, You know, I definitely grew up on your press releases and waves magazine and surfing magazine. So really, really stoked to have you and be able to talk to you. And, um, I really love what you're doing with walk on water.

[01:33:36] And, you know, uh, I can't wait to volunteer myself when you guys come through. Um, and, uh, yeah, and, uh, listeners go check it out. Go check out a walk on water. Uh, it's incredible program and please, if you are around in September, volunteer, uh, here in Rockaway or if you were out in Montauk, definitely go do it.

[01:33:58] Cause it'll. It'll [01:34:00] make your year. It'll put a smile on your face and you're going to feel incredible and I think, um, that's probably one of the best feelings you can get from surfing actually is seeing someone else get a really good wave and get them stoked. Um, so yeah, and, uh, we'll all check you on down the line soon.

[01:34:17] Thank you for listening. You.

[01:34:19] jesse: Awesome. Thank you.

[01:34:21]Tyler:Oh, all right.