I want to die of a head wound at Pipe, says the ever-candid Jamie O…
Jamie O’Brien is a thirty-ish surfer from Pipeline, yeah actually from Pipe, who threw away a probable career on tour to chase… laughs. Pro surfer or free surfer? Jamie figured he’d find a third way, in his case, creating the online web series Who is JOB, now into its fifth year.
For Jamie, it was a way of turning his life on the North Shore with his pack of goofy pals, which let’s face it, ain’t that serious, into a serious career alternative. And, Jamie wasn’t down with how surfing had become even more serious since his ASP rule book burning days.
“Everyone’s just kinda hipster and wants out of being fun,” says Jamie. “Who is JOB is like Volcom and …Lost in the early days. Everyone is so f**king serious! Surfing’s not what it was in the ’90s and 2000’s, it’s lost that whole punk rock, rockstar vibe, which made surfing really cool.”
But he knows – he gets it– that it’s given his career a second wind. “It’s definitely given me more traction in my career. And it’s a still a surf career but it’s… fun. That’s what you get from thinking outside of the box a little. And people respond to the underlying message which is, let’s do stupid stuff! Let’s surf and have fun! Everyone embraces it. I have five-year-old kids coming up to me. I have people older than me coming up to me to talk about Who Is Job. I do what I do and I surf and my friends may not be the best surfers abut we have the best time. I just love it. Every day I wake up and think, this is so fucking rad, man. I just think of the stupidest things to do and get shacked.”
Now let’s see how he responds to the Proust questionnaire…
Your favourite virtue: Honesty.
Your favourite qualities in a man: Self-reliance.
Your favourite qualities in a woman: Self-respect and a desire to protect her personal virtue.
Your chief characteristic: I’m straight-forward.
What you appreciate the most in your friends: Loyalty.
Your main fault: Drinking beer.
Your favourite occupation: Surfing.
Your idea of happiness: Home, Pipeline. Not travelling.
Your idea of misery: Small waves.
If not yourself, who would you be? One of my friends at home. Just a normal human being hanging out.
Where would you like to live? Pipeline. North Shore. Hawaii. If you grow up somewhere that’s spot-on you don’t ever want to leave.
Your favourite real-life heroes: Anyone with a story and a well-rounded life, Greg Noll, Jimmy Blears, Dave Wassel, Shane Dorian.
Your favourite musicians: Life is too simple to worry about the musicians in the world.
Your favourite food and drink: Newcastle beer is my favourite drink and my favourite food is Poke.
What you hate the most: Liars.
World history characters you hate the most: Kim Jong-il.
The natural talent you’d most like to be gifted with: To be a professional BMX rider.
How you wish to die: Head wound at Pipe.
What is your present state of mine: Positive.
Your favourite motto: Living the dream.