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Surf's Up, And So Is His Conscience

BY DARRELL R. YUEN
FEBRUARY 2005

New York -- Jack Johnson, surfer/filmmaker/musician, is living a life most of us could only dream of. But it’s not his talent, fame or good looks that we should look up to. Rather, it’s his nice demeanor and passion for the greater good that really puts Johnson heads above the rest.

An accomplished surfer from the North Shore of O’ahu, Hawai’i, Johnson has a built-in mellowness that comes from the lifestyle there. A typical summer day for Johnson as a teenager probably consisted of rising with the sun and hitting the water early for “dawn patrol,” when the ocean is glassy and the waves perfect. Back in from the surf by mid-morning and cruising with friends the rest of the day, perhaps another surf session in the afternoon, then over to someone’s garage to continue the cruising, talking story and “grinding” good local foods until the wee hours of the night. Not many hassles, not a lot stress.

And this mellowness comes through in Johnson’s other two talents. As a filmmaker, he made what some call a modern classic surf movie that exudes his cruiser style. Thicker Than Water, released in 2000, was instantly greeted by the public with some degree of fanfare. Shot on film (as opposed to video), the movie resembled those from the ultra-cruiser early days of modern surfing in the 1950s and 1960s.

Johnson scored that film, which lead him to his current career as a bona fide rockstar. During the period of the late 1990s when he was filming and scoring Thicker, he had become acquainted with fellow surfer, Garrett Dutton, otherwise known to music fans as the Philadelphia blues/hip hop/rock sensation, G. Love, who recorded a song of Johnson’s in 1999. Rodeo Clowns became a commercial success and Johnson’s music career had begun.

In 2002, Johnson released Brushfire Fairytales, which launched him into the rockstar atmosphere. With seemingly unending radio play of his hit single, Flake, Johnson’s debut album was a smashing success. Johnson has not looked back since. With many appearances on late night television shows, non-stop touring and even an upcoming Saturday Night Live appearance this March, Johnson’s rockstar lifestyle seems to just be getting started.

This is all well and good, but there are a lot of great musicians with multiple talents who also strike other as being nice people. So, why did NICE choose Johnson to profile?

Well, Jack Johnson, aside from his continued interests in surfing, filmmaking and music, has also found the time to exercise his philanthropic muscle by founding the Kokua Hawai'i Foundation. Chartered in 2003, the organization is focused on enriching environmental education programs in Hawai’i. The group organizes recycling programs in the schools while currently developing teacher resources, lesson plans and curriculum to further environmental awareness in the children of Hawai’i.

The group’s big fundraiser is the annual Kokua Festival. Now in its second year, the Festival – to take place on April 13th and 16th on Maui and O’ahu, respectively – will feature Johnson, Jackson Browne, Ozomatli and G. Love & Special Sauce, among others. Kokua means “to help,” and it was an important concept that helped in maintaining a civil society in ancient Hawai’i. Very simply, the ancients would not have been able to survive on the most isolated island chain in the world without everyone in the “hui,” or group, pitching in toward the greater good. Johnson seems to have embraced the concept of kokua with his vision to keep his home state green and beautiful.

Johnson is releasing his third album, In Between Dreams, on February 28.