Jack Robinson sells Margaret River surf shack for bullish $3.6 million, debuts Chanel sponsorship

“(Chanel) is this balance between performance and aesthetics… it’s a pretty good metaphor for surfing.” 

The perennial world title contender turned pearl necklace merchant Jack Robinson, famous for rocketing down the ol mail chute and wafting through the exit door at Teahupoo and Pipeline, has sold his Margaret River compound for a bullish $3.6 million. 

Aussie Jack Robinson, who is twenty eight and married to Julia Muniz, a Brazilian-born entrepreneur and model, daddy, also, to baby Zen, had listed his redundant Gnarabup estate, on the beachside there in Margs, with direct access to boat ramp and all the waves and Great Whites the region famously offers.

It was listed with Ray White Margaret River thus,

 “Top Row Gnarabup. Iconic Surf. Pure Coastal Soul: Wake to the rhythm of the ocean, step onto your deck, and watch the lines roll into Main Break, The Box and The Bombie. This is front row living at the epicentre of Margaret River’s world class surf coast: an address defined by swell, salt air and golden light.”

Jackie’s house at 53 Baudin Drive, Gnarabup, offered six bedrooms, four bathrooms and with room for three cars.

As I wrote at the time, I’d would’ve taken it but I’m short of cash and don’t dig the Whites.

(Or the Sharks.)

Well, someone with cash, no fear of the dang White, and an eye for a beautiful forever estate where the chillun can roam naked, dogs are untethered and the blue of the Indian Ocean fills every window, dropped three-point-six on the place.

It was a bullish result in a state where the land is plentiful but priced as if it were as rare as a piece of dirt in Hong Kong. 

And hot on the ol heels of the Margs sale was news of his new relationship with Chanel, the French fashion house famous for its founder Coco’s collaboration with the Nazis, and which was announced to the world in a spread in Australia’s Esquire magazine. 

From the excellent long-form interview, which you can read here.

Today, he’s not here to surf. He’s here to be photographed. On Robinson’s wrist sits a Chanel J12, its polished surface catching the sunlight whenever he lifts his arm to shade his eyes. It’s an image that could feel incongruous – high luxury framed by salt air and sea spray – but Chanel takes the same approach to its watches as Robinson takes to his surfing. When it comes to precision, dedication and craftsmanship, they’re on the same wavelength. 

Robinson feels aligned with the Chanel watch he wears during the shoot. “It’s this balance between performance and aesthetics,” he says. “I feel like it’s a pretty good metaphor for surfing.” 

Two years ago at the Olympics, Jackie was forced to remove his rising sun graphic, the flag of Imperialist Japan, from his surfboard after a complaint from South Korea.

“I saw his post, thinking that board can’t be used because Olympics is a pure sports event,” South Korea’s team manager told Reuters. Eventually the South Korean Olympic team visited Australian counterpart not to see that board during the Games.

“I do want to tell people that even if this design is chosen out of personal views, it can be embarrassing. This isn’t about South Korea protesting but this is what invokes some people’s scars so it should be banned for use despite freedom of expression.”

Imperial Japan’s occupation of Korea from 1910 to 1945 was marked by atrocities that left deep scars on the Korean people and their collective memory. 

Rape, tortures, massacres, women and girls forced into sexual slavery, etc etc and etc.

Jack Robinson, a kid from Margaret River, is unlikely to’ve been blessed with an interest or even schooling in mid-twentieth century history, and was merely paying tribute to his idol, the great Andy Irons, whose Rising Sun trunks kept Billabong staff in bonuses for half a decade in the early 2000s.

Question: What’s your fav war movie of all time?

I lean towards Fury although that may be a simple desire to lean into the adorable masculine tits and the grooved thighs of Brad Pitt.