By Mike Latronic – In the world of surfing, there are those who ride waves, then there are those who redefine what it means to be a surfer. Jamie O’Brien is the latter. One such maverick—a professional surfer whose name has become synonymous with fearlessness, innovation, and the relentless pursuit of fun and passion. The business of JOB is just as impressive.
Born and raised on the North Shore of ‘Oahu, JOB didn’t hatch as an uber-talented surfing phenom, but he certainly had help from his supportive parents, surroundings, and influence.
His parents are Australian and father Mick just so happened to be a North Shore lifeguard so young James was introduced to the ocean, and in particular Pipeline, at a very early age. In his formative years Jamie was taller and more lanky than most of his schoolmates and oftentimes, although pulling all the moves, appeared a bit slower and -even clumsy. Blessed with more than a few double jointed bones and a fiercely competitive nature, JOB’s awkward phase was all but gone in his early teens and by his late teens, he’d already carved a name for himself in the fiercely competitive Hawaiian surfing scene. Most notably, O’Brien won the Pipeline Masters at just 21—a feat that firmly positioned him among the elite.
But what set Jamie apart is not just his extraordinary tube riding skill and antics on the board, it was his willingness to challenge the status quo. While most surfers his age were focused solely on competitions and sponsorship deals, Jamie took a different path. Understanding the changing dynamics of media and the growing influence of digital platforms, he ventured into the world of content creation. I know this first-hand, as I had supplied some of the clips that went into his first movie. After doing DVDs and movies JOB made a smart and timely move to get on Youtube. His YouTube channel, “Who is JOB,” became an instant hit, blending jaw-dropping surf footage with humor, adventure, and a behind-the-scenes look at the life of a professional surfer.
Today, with millions of followers across various social media platforms, Jamie O’Brien is not just a surfer—he’s a brand, an entertainer, an innovator and one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the surfing spectrum today.
In this interview, we dive deep into the life of Jamie O’Brien—his early years, his unconventional career choices, and his views on the future of surfing and digital media. Whether you’re a die-hard surfing fan or someone curious about the intersection of sports and digital influence, Jamie’s story is one of resilience, creativity, and unyielding passion.
FSM Where did it all start for you?
JOB The first wave I remember ever riding wasn’t technically my first wave, but the first time I had a significant memory. We were at Hale’iwa and I was on the front of the lifeguard board. My dad was a lifeguard at Hale’iwa and he was like, “Oh, I’m gonna go get a wave with Jamie.” And I think we were just kind of right in front of the tower and I was in front of the board and we just kept moving closer and closer to the lava rocks. I was like, “oh my God”. I just started crying. I got super scared. I went from being really excited to super scared and it kind of just, it shocked me. My dad couldn’t figure out why I was crying and I couldn’t tell him why I was crying ’cause we were coming towards the rock so fast. And he just kicked out and I was like, wait, whoa, we were not gonna hit those rocks. So it was pretty trippy. But that was my first memory.
FSM And those are not the smooth kind of lava rocks were they?
JOB Yeah. in Hawai’i they call ’em a’a’. ’cause when you walk on ’em, you’re like, ah, ah, ah. I’m not too sure why there’s different forms of lava, but that one is nasty.
FSM You’ve been raised at Pipeline most of your life haven’t you? That’s quite a commute to work!
JOB Yeah, yeah. It’s not really much of a commute. Basically my dad tried to set us up and also himself, you know, to make life easier. My dad loved surfing. He loved every aspect of it and he was a surfing fan. My dad’s favorite surfers were my favorite surfers. He loved Gary Elkerton. I was like, I love Gary Elkerton. And I liked getting all the same sprays as Elko. From age one to three, we lived at Sunset Beach with Derek Doerner, a really good friend of my fathers. Then,my dad got us a house on the beach at Ehukai, like right next to the lifeguard tower. For my dad, this is a dream case scenario, right? We were lucky to be raised on the beach at Ehukai. Without that big move, I don’t think I would be where I’m at today.
FSM That was a colorful time for surfing and in general.
JOB It was like such a cool, surreal thing for me to be a part of the late eighties, early nineties boom. And that’s really kind of where I feel like I got my personality from. I am an eighties baby, I’m colorful and I feel electric. And that’s kind of the vibe that’s, that’s just me. You know, we’re psyched.
FSM What was it like going through adolescence here in Hawai’i? I recall you being really lanky and tall for your age. Was there ever an awkward stage? How did you stack up against your peers in those formative years?
JOB I felt like I was always really good. I would win some contests and I would lose some. And then there was a point that like, yeah, I felt like I was lanky and awkward and I was growing at a rapid pace but I feel like I was always kind of right there at the forefront. I was kind of double jointed too. Like I could do the splits and some other weird stuff. I was just trying to find my path and what I wanted to do. My dad was pushing me to longboard, boogie board, shortboard, kneeboard, paddleboard. Like, bro, he had me just spread across the board. I was like, come on dad, let me focus on shortboarding. We were chasing down every single contest trying to get as many trophies as we possibly could. It was just like this hustle when my dad didn’t work on the weekends, I was “working.” I remember guys like Joel (Centeio), Fred (Patacchia), Sean Moody were always the guys to battle it out. Everyone gave each other a good run for their money.
FSM The North Shore. What was that like?
JOB Yeah, I mean, the eighties…, it was colorful, it was fun. The beach was my playground. The ocean was soon to be my biggest playground ever. It was super cool. My dad would work as a lifeguard and every time I was done with school, I would go to the beach. It was like this mandatory thing but it was perfect ’cause I could come out after school and hang out under the lifeguard tower and then that would lead me to surfing and making friends on the beach and that became my life.
FSM Living in front of Pipeline is like working in a gladiator pit. On any given day you are dealing with real beasts to tame. How’s the wear and tear and wipeout factor after all these years?
JOB I’m luckily pretty flexible and it helps you and prevents you from getting hurt, but that’s only so far. You’ll like to get to a certain point where you did something and oh, that really really hurts. I broke two legs at Pipeline. I got knocked unconscious multiple times. It’s, it’s surfing, it’s inevitable. I did something to my MCL. It’s like, sometimes you get hurt in the weirdest times, you know, times the waves are small and next thing you know, you’re like getting carried up the beach. I’m like, how the heck did that happen?
FSM Do the wipeouts and challenges ever get easier? Does that fear ever fade?
JOB Yeah, the fear factor started early but I think it’s just like anything in life. Things are thrown at you. You get scared, you keep coming back for more because you just want to defeat the fear at the end of the day. That’s what life’s all about, is going up against all your fears and conquering ’em. Like I knew things were scary, but I knew I could kind of fight through it. Every time I wipe out at Pipe or backdoor anywhere, really, I’m like so scared. I’m like such a wuss. I’m gonna do all I can to not wipe out. I hate wiping out. It’s such a weird thing. The last couple years at Pipeline have been the most scared I’ve been. I took this weird wipe out a couple years ago that kind of got in my head. The mind’s a powerful thing.
FSM Is there really any way to avoid the wipeout or control it?
JOB There’s a lot of different ways and a lot of weird techniques, but really you could make the wipe out even worse. You could do like these weird things with your arms and like, you’re doing like these weird egg beaters and you’re like, or you’re trying to control yourself from not doing front flips and backflips and all these like, crazy things.
FSM You were among the first pro surfers to embark on doing video projects? How did all that evolve? I think I had some clips in your first gig to help get you going!
JOB We did…Freak Side? No! “Freak Show.” It was my first movie and I didn’t even know what I was doing. I always went on these (Rip Curl) surf trips with Mick Fanning and Zane Harrison, Nathan Hedge and Darren O’Rafferty. And like, I always felt like when the movie would come out, the Rip Curl movie, I was like, where’s all my clips? I felt like they were just sweeping me under the rug or something. So I was like, I wanna make my own movie. And they are like, “No. We’re not ready for that.” I was like, I’m gonna do it. I remember actually coming to you guys cause I know you got some sick clips. ’cause your archive just goes forever, and yeah, thanks for helping me out. That was cool.
FSM Stoked to help.
JOB That was a huge thing for me, you know, being young and ambitious and I was just trying to be like an Andy Irons to put out a Raw Irons and or the Bruce Movie, you know. I just saw them and I wanted to be like them and put out videos, but I didn’t know if anyone really wanted to watch ’em.
FSM Your videos are very popular, time tested and your entertainment platforms are some of the biggest in surfing. Maybe Rip Curl should have backed your video goals? What keeps you stoked about creating this and continuing it?
JOB So ultimately the battle is part of the game. I kind of look at it now and I’m like all right, I won the battle. I’m still going. But like, is that what life’s all about? I don’t know. I’m keeping my name relevant in the game, you know, being like one of the older guys in the game, I’m super blessed to be where I’m at. I’m super happy to still make a living from surfing and wake up every day and look at the ocean and go, all right, what are we doing in the ocean today? I could jump on a plane anywhere in the world and go and film. It’s just cool. I’m just happy, so happy to be here. I’m like freaking 40 years old and like top of my game. Everything’s so good. I feel like the reason for living is meeting new people, creating memories, traveling the world, and also, you know, giving something to people, like something fun, something electric, you know, like giving someone hope, getting someone off their couch. I’ve realized that people are so happy and you make them so happy and they watch your show every Monday, 9:00 AM Hawaii Standard time. And you’re like, wow. Like, you build such a cool community. I think that’s very special about YouTube and, and what we’re doing, in that space because we’re like letting them into our home and making ’em feel a part of our family, which is really cool.
FSM I think humans are attracted to playtime and you have that vibe going on. Does it ever get challenging to stay in playtime mode?
JOB I think the playtime vibe just comes from honestly stepping away from the industry and not doing what they wanted me to do and just following my own lead. My biggest goal was to build my brand. Then that allowed me to free up to do whatever I want. We could set up a slip and slide.
We could go tandem surfing at Pipeline. We could go down the sewer drain, like we could do anything. The world’s ours. We weren’t locked in like any one place for a surf contest or try to qualify for the championship tour. It was like people wanna watch slip inside storm drains surfing in mud puddles. You know what I mean? I feel like, yeah, I’m 40 now, but you know, it’s like most people retire when they’re 50 or 60 years old. Like, I’ve been retired and having a blast my whole life and, and I’m just fortunate enough to film it and document it.
FSM Your moniker is “Stay Psyched!”. Is that your legacy?
JOB The end goal is to get someone off their couch and get in the water. I just wanna put out good videos and make people psyched to go surfing. I am so lucky to have reached these goals and be a part of this really cool community here at Pipeline and the whole surfing world community, but I just don’t wanna be that surfer that came and went. Like, where’d he go? Oh, he surfed Pipe for 10 years and now he is gone. Like, what happened to Jamie? Well, he is right here. He has been surfing here for 40 years and I wanna be forever known here. That’s why I bought a house here. You know, making that decision to do my own thing was the best decision I ever made.
FSM Last words of advice?
JOB Just surf, have fun, Get out there. No matter how good or bad the waves are, the ocean is a natural healing place, you know, just get wet. Sometimes I get in my own head, I’m like, no, I’m not paddling out there and I’ll paddle out anyway and then I’m so glad I paddled out. Have fun and if you wanna get to know people in a lineup, be friendly and give people compliments. I see people out there. I could tell they got a good wave and I just love to give ’em a good compliment ’cause it kind of makes everybody’s day when you get a nice compliment.