"Death is always just a stone's throw away," says Jamie.
Who knows when the reaper will strike? He lurks, as you must be aware by now, around every corner.
A moment’s distraction crossing the road meets a driver answering an email. A punch you don’t see coming outside a bar. A shooter in a cinema. A religious nut pops his belt on a train.
The Hawaiian surfer Jamie O’Brien, daddy of the insanely popular WhoisJob series with Red Bull, almost bought the farm, as they say, on June 9, his thirty-fifth birthday.
Fooling around in Waikiki, as part of his new YouTube vlog, Jamie was examining an interesting rock on a breakwall and “stating the obvious,” says Jamie, “I turned my back on the ocean. Honestly, I had put my hand up in front of my face at the last second and I face-planted into my hand. It almost knocked me out just hitting my hand. I almost died at one-foot Waikiki. I almost died at one-foot Waikiki. Frick. I got so lucky.”
Jamie says the incident knocked him around mentally and continues to haunt him.
“I was thinking about it a lot. You do all this crazy shit your whole career, crazy waves, sitting yourself on fire, and you almost die at one-foot Waikiki. Death is a stone’s throw away, always, but to realise that. I was overwhelmed. It was one of the heaviest moments of my life. I still trip out when I watch the clip. That night, I was laying in bed, thinking, that I almost died at Waikiki. Literally.”
On the upside, engagement on his Instagram post was excellent.
“I knew I had a really good clip on my hands,” says Jamie. “People were psyched. It had a tonne of engagement.”
But, still, “It’s hard not to take something like that seriously. You always wonder in life, when am I going to die? And then it almost happens. Frick.”
(Editor’s note: Jamie created his new vlog as a way of getting a piece of the YouTube pie and to show fans more of his day-to-day life, rather than the big Red Bull strike missions for his show. “We film with Red Bull then we don’t have anything to do for five months. This shows a little more of me and how we have fun.”)
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3 years later, JOB has 680k subscribers and rising fast … psyched
Is this cash for comment? Did JOB get a free blowup Beachgrit beachball out of this?? Did Beachgrit get a free, used JOB lie low (stolen from the nearest ABC store)???
I think Jamie is trying to get more of a Ben Gravy vibe, which I like.
They could do an on-the-road buddies spin off together.
Seen a few of Alanas new vlogs since the pup and… motherhood did some really cool stuff to her tits. Like, really cool. Jack’s a lucky guy.
One thing sadder than the 40 year old ex-football-star loser is the 40 year old ex-nobody who never let bygones be bygones!
It’s all part of the standard surfer progression – have a brush with mortality (and/or jail or the 9-5), then become Born Again.
“Death is always just a stone’s throw away,” says Jamie….as he staples Poopies’ scrotum to a raging bull.
Incidentally, how much more revenue does he generate with his vlogs etc than the WSL does at each comp?
Never turn your back to the ocean…. first rule one learns.
One foot HAWAIIAN brah. That’s like 1.5 foot everywhere else.
Can’t lie, would love me some long tapered 1ft waikiki.. is it just me or did that not look idyllic as fuck for a twinny, maybe after a few beers? Minus the crowd, of course.
At some point a lot of us come to the realization we are not immortal.
Sometimes I talk to seagulls.
If ya can’t even fucken swear like a man than fuck right off mate I’d rather poke mud crabs up my arse with a burning stick than ever have to hear a grown man say Frick instead of Fuck
ohh, auto up !
“its for my vlogs brah, kids watch and youtube rules and need to bleep and.. brah”
Dude, be careful or People for the Ethical Treatment of Burning Sticks will protest outside your business premises.
I’ve heard those sniveling fucks will stop at nothing.
STOP THE BARBARIC PRACTICE OF TOUCHING BURNING STICKS WITH BUMHOLES AND MUDCRABS!!!
As long as there are grown men who refuse to swear like grown men, there will be mudcrabs and for fucken sure theres gonna be burning sticks and an arsehole willing to protest
I read your last 4 wordsd as ‘arsehole filling to protest’ and thought; well that makes sense and creates an unnecessary picture.
Frick, brah. Frick.
That’s why Ben Gravy already won the VLog war over JOB. Cusses. And hotter chick by his side.
Maybe stepping over people and backhanded shit talking the entire beach on the walk down was in bad taste, considering you almost “died at 1ft waikiki” ??
Ho frick.
I actually liked that shit. Oh well.
By all means, act dickish as you please.. so long as you don’t go and get punked by a knee high wave right after. That’d make you a donkey.
Jamie O’Brien is my new favorite philosopher!
“Death is a stone’s throw away, always, but to realise that.”
“That night, I was laying in bed, thinking”
“You always wonder in life, when am I going to die?”
““I knew I had a really good clip on my hands,” says Jamie. “People were psyched. It had a tonne of engagement.”
And just imagine if you had actually died! The millions of people watching! And you would have been my favorite dead philosopher!
Go surf Pipe, Jamie.
We all get off on that.
Lose the rest of the schtik, bro.
A cow dont give milk forever.
He should have consulted with a local newly-retired professor of Beachboyonomy
Well, bless’im. He ain’t exactly got a degree in anything other than Northshoreology.
EAD Jamie
Eat A Dick ?
Existentialistical Antidisestablishmentarianism Demythologisation ?
Your Portuguese makes more sense.
meu pênis não parece uma berinjela, sou um homem mau?
Homens maus têm pênis em forma de berinjela?
Ah não !
a liga mundial de surf tem um pênis em forma de berinjela?
Eu não sei. Sua cabeça está muito longe no rabo para ver.
Eu acho que sim !
No, it’s Eat A Dick
Upvote !
Ho Brah! How come all da kine? No ack brah…
Apologies I only speak Strine unfortunately
I say old Cobbler, shall we emplace with a casual attitude, another small crustacean upon the the Barbie Doll?
How’s that?
poops revenge !