No permission to surf Pipeline needed with Jade Darmawangsa

You can listen to The Wipeout Weekly episode with Jade Darmawangsa, the ultimate beginner surfluencer on your fav pod platform or below.

This Wipeout Weekly podcast episode transcript was abbreviated to a blog post format by my good friend Chad (ChatGPT). He takes liberties, you know, so this time I asked him for the facts only. Which is why it reads as dry as f. When in fact the episode is beyond fun. Because Jade needs no permission to surf Pipeline.

You will find the full transcript below it. Host: Zuz Wilson | Guest: Jade Darmawangsa

Learning in public: Jade Darmawangsa’s journey from foamie to shortboard & Pipeline (on a small day!)

In this episode of The Wipeout Weekly, Zuz interviews Jade Darmawangsa, a digital creator and entrepreneur who began surfing in adulthood with no formal training or water background. The conversation covers Jade’s entry into surfing, her decision to document the learning process on social media, and the technical, emotional, and cultural challenges she’s navigated while progressing.

Starting without experience
Jade began surfing in Huntington Beach, California, without knowing how to swim. She took lessons and started paddling out on foam boards while simultaneously learning water safety and ocean awareness. Her initial sessions were characterized by physical discomfort, limited access to guidance, and a steep learning curve. Despite these challenges, she maintained a consistent routine and continued to surf regularly.

Using social media for feedback
From the beginning, Jade recorded her surf sessions. She used these recordings to analyze her technique and identify areas for improvement. Her content gained traction online, not for performance, but for documenting the full process—from wipeouts to breakthroughs.

As her audience grew, Jade received both support and criticism. The podcast outlines how this public exposure created additional pressure but also served as a useful tool for personal growth and community engagement.

Dealing with public perception
Jade’s surf content attracted attention on YouTube and other platforms, leading to discussions about performance, visibility, and gatekeeping in surfing culture. She continued to share her sessions despite negative commentary. The episode outlines the psychological impact of public feedback, including the tension between transparency and vulnerability.

Training and technical progression
Jade worked with coaches to improve her paddling, positioning, and board control. She practiced specific drills to build consistency and increase her wave count. Her sessions became more focused, with shorter durations and clearer goals. She also changed equipment as her skills progressed, transitioning from foam boards to hard tops and shorter shapes.

In addition to in-water training, Jade incorporated land-based practice to improve her pop-ups and balance. This included surfskating, bodyweight exercises, and visualization techniques.

Surf travel and community learning
Jade attended surf camps and traveled to various breaks in Hawaii and California. These experiences provided structured feedback, peer support, and access to new types of waves. She surfed in different conditions, sometimes with film crews present, and continued to document her progression.

Her public learning process helped connect with other beginner surfers, many of whom shared similar challenges related to confidence, inclusion, and skill development.

Injuries and setbacks
The episode also touches on injury management and the importance of listening to the body. Jade describes breaks from surfing due to fatigue or recovery, and how rest became part of her overall strategy for improvement.

The broader picture
The discussion emphasizes the complexity of surf progression—especially for adult learners without prior athletic or ocean experience. Jade’s journey illustrates how learning in public can be both empowering and demanding. Her approach—combining digital tools, coaching, self-review, and persistence—provides a model for other late-start surfers navigating similar terrain.

Full transcript:

(0:00 – 2:05)

Jade: It’s so strange, like every moment that I’ve had bad days, it builds up, right? And I’m like, what’s the point of surfing if I only catch one wave every three hours? But then like maybe six months or a year down the line, there’s a day where I count like 10 waves and it’s like it’s all part of it, you know? I think that the crazy thing about surfing is unless you live by a world class wave that has no one on it, which is most of us don’t have access to that, it takes so much time just to be in the water, not even catching any waves.

Zuz: Welcome to The Wipeout Weekly, the daily podcast for beginners, wannabe surfers, and seasoned Wipeout enthusiasts. No hype, no filler, just the highs, lows, and honest truth about learning to surf and finding your place in surf culture. I’m your host, Zuz Wilson. Let’s go out.

Zuz: How do you do it and not get tired? Because surfing five times a week and then doing all of these videos for social media, I don’t remember having this much energy when I was 24.

Jade: I definitely upload a lot. I upload definitely around four to five times a week and then once a week on YouTube and then on three platforms, I’ll just repost. I do think that for me, because I’m able to document my journey, I just like seeing the progress.

It’s not always linear, I will say. Sometimes I’m just like, oh no, I don’t want to make a video. I don’t want to show anyone what I’m doing.

But I do know I always am excited looking back at my journey. In terms of time management, I really don’t have any advice other than genuinely loving what you do helps fire you up to work a little later. Also, I think with surfing, I’ve been recently trying to do shorter sessions.

I used to do three, four hour surf sessions. I’m like, oh yeah, I’m getting better. But truthfully, I was just catching one wave every hour.

I was like, what am I doing? My actual surf coach was like, you should just try 45, 30 minute sessions, catch as many waves. And that actually helped. Wow, that’s a good solution.

Zuz: I should try it. The last time I went out, I was out for four and a half hours and I barely caught anything. I was just sitting in the ocean.

(2:06 – 3:30)

But listen, for those people who do not know you and don’t follow you on social media, how did you even get into surfing?

Jade: Oh, yeah. So well, first, I’m Jade. I started surfing at the age of 20.

So kind of early adult. I only started because I didn’t know how to swim. So I just took a surf lesson like everyone.

I just, I actually went on like Airbnb experiences. I didn’t like, I didn’t even know where I found this dude was just named James. Lovely James.

He took me out to Huntington Beach, which is not an easy wave. I would say like, I would love to have learned that like Malibu or something. No, my first experience on any sort of board, I’ve never even bodyboard or properly swam was in Huntington Beach.

And it was like three to four foot. So I was like fighting for my life. But I don’t know how I just fell in love with it so much.

I think just like COVID, you know, there’s not a lot to do during that time in 2020. And surfing was at least one of the things that was still open. But it was just so cool because I was finally like learning something I haven’t learned, which is swimming, like being in the ocean.

So that’s how I fell in love with surfing. And it’s literally been like since that day in March 2020, I was like, I’m going to commit to this. I don’t know.

I feel like for me, when I do want to do something, I just drop everything and do it. Maybe that’s called like, I don’t know, maybe that’s is there is there something that’s called like an addictive personality? I think I have that. 

Zuz: Yeah, it’s called an obsession.

(3:31 – 5:27)

That’s what it’s called. Let’s unpack this whole I don’t know how to swim. So I’m going to learn how to surf.

I had to take swimming lessons before I had my first surf lesson. So did you know how to swim at all? Or you were like, no, I’m just going to be on the board. I’m going to be okay.

Jade: I don’t know why I just stopped surfing. The whole point was you’re on the board. So I thought you didn’t really know.

So I was like, well, if I just stay on the board, I should be fine. Right? Obviously, like, that might not be the case for every spot. But where we where we learned it was pretty shallow.

So it was okay. I was probably smarter to take a surf swim lesson before surfing. But for me, I just generally thought I’m not going to.

But I think I didn’t grow up by an ocean. I grew up in Oregon. So we just swim in rivers a lot.

And I remember like, whenever I was in school, like middle school, we just go to the lakes after rivers. And then I was like, I literally drowned one time, girl, I literally drowned in a river. And it wasn’t even that deep.

It was like four foot. So I was like, after that day, I was like, probably 14. I was like, I’m no longer going to live like this.

I’m going to be an ocean girl. I’m going to figure out how to like do this thing. But to make everyone feel better, I do know how to swim now because I feel I’ve spent a lot of time in the water now.

Zuz: So did you take lessons? 

Yeah, I take actually swimming classes. They’re not like lessons, but they’re for adults. It’s actually really good.

I learned how to swim and float and tread water, all the things that I probably should have learned as a kid. 

Zuz: Wow. Do you remember you mentioned your first lesson? But do you remember it in detail? Did you stand up? What did you feel like

Jade: I definitely did not like stand up and ride a wave.

I think I stood up for one second. And then I fall. I do remember exactly the day though, the conditions are tough.

And I remember my coach, James, I met on Airbnb experiences was like, honestly, we should probably go another day. But I wasn’t, I was impatient. I didn’t realize that surfing is really based on the forecast.

(5:27 – 5:42)

So the first day I got wrecked, like, and I remember he was like, we can try again tomorrow. And I wasn’t going to go because he was like, really trying to pursue, like, tell me to go on a smaller day. But I don’t know, I just kind of decided to go.

(5:42 – 6:24)

And I was like, having a lot more fun. I definitely think where you surf and who you surf with is a huge influence on your surf journey. If I didn’t have James telling me to get back out there, I probably would have been like, peace out.

It’s not meant for me.

Zuz: Where do you surf now?

Jade: I surf anywhere. But these days, I’m either at El Porto, if I’m like just trying to surf near my house, or I usually surf at Trestles when I’m feeling like I want to like get a lot of reps in.

Zuz: And where have you been surfing abroad? I surfed quite a bit of Hawaii, North Shore and South Shore. And then my family’s Indonesian. So I’ve been to Bali a few times.

And then, yeah, just kind of like warm water, tropical weather. There was one time I surfed in Iceland. And yes, it was cool.

(6:24 – 6:39)

Zuz: Okay, I want to hear more about that. 

Jade: Okay, I think Iceland is like every, at least female surfers dream. Okay, let me describe the lineup.

Everyone has a lineup. By the way, the lineup is like five to 10 people max. It’s perfect A-frame rolling waves, okay.

(6:40 – 9:39)

And they’re not too heavy. They’re like perfect. And keep in mind, everyone that goes to this lineup, they’re so respectful.

It’s to the point where if they feel like you’re in a better spot, they’ll point at you and be like, Hugo, or I’ve never seen this in my life. If you don’t want the wave, everyone puts their hands up knowing that to signal that other people can take it. I just found it so cute and respectful.

I’m like, what? But I think the reason why everyone’s so polite is because if you’re going out to surf in Iceland, you’re a different breed. It filters out the people who would be like assholes or really rude. So yeah, everyone’s super nice.

But yeah, like you duck dive or like turtle roll, you see stars. So do you prefer reef breaks or beach breaks? This is a stupid question. No, it’s not a stupid question.

I actually, I’m really bad at beach breaks. So I would take a reef break any day. Not when it’s too shallow though.

Zuz: And these days, do you surf on your own or with a coach or it’s a mix? 

Jade: Honestly, I need to get better surfing alone because I went through a period which is literally like two weeks ago where I could not surf without a friend. And I think the most powerful thing is when you can surf alone because it’s harder. It’s not as fun, but I think it’s important if you really want to grow because my friends sometimes they’re not always going to be available and I can’t always surf on their schedule.

So yeah, I’ve been surfing alone as of like this week and last week, but I usually don’t. I usually have to beg someone to come with me.

Zuz: And surfing with a coach, do you still get a lot of out of their instruction or do you feel now that you’ve progressed so far that you can do it occasionally?

Jade: I definitely think I don’t need a coach, but I need someone to hold my hand mentally and emotionally.

I get so frustrated. So a coach, honestly, these days and all my coaches can testify. Like we don’t even tell Jade what to do.

We just tell her that she’s okay and she doesn’t need to cry when there’s a big wave coming or something.

Zuz:  I saw your videos and sometimes it’s not just you and the coach and your friends, but it seems like it’s an entire crew. So some of these videos take a lot of people to put it together. What’s like the biggest crew that you had filming?

Jade: Well, one time, and this was on accident. Also, it’s funny that you say that because it is true. There’s a lot of people that film, like sometimes in one TikTok, I have two people filming, but it’s not a production in my head because it’s literally, this is how it comes about.

This is how literally all my videos come about. There’s a swell or there’s a day I know that I want to get filmed. And this happened in Hawaii when I surfed Pipeline and I knew it was going to be big and I knew it was going to be at least something I wanted to try.

So what happened was, I think because everyone that knows me knows how much it means to me. They’re just like, we got to see Jade. It’s a carnival show.

We got to watch because it’s like, either she’s going to do it or it’s going to be entertaining, I guess. So this day, this was on March. I’m not joking.

I’ve invited two friends of mine and my surf coach. And then all of a sudden, there’s 20 people on the beach that were my friends. They were like, oh, my friend’s watching.

(9:39 – 10:14)

It’s like, oh, shoot. And then one of them was a videographer. And then they brought their friends that was a videographer.

So essentially, at one point, I had 25 people watching slash helping me film. And it was so funny because I was honestly one person in the film, just film on this camera. But then everyone pulled out their camera.

It was like one iPhone shot, one GoPro, one drone, one chisel. So yeah, like, I’m not even joking. There’s not a video where I plan a crew.

It’s all just like based on like, what my friends are up to. And if I can get someone to film me because I, I genuinely don’t have a plan sometimes. Most of these times.

(10:14 – 14:25)

Zuz: That’s fantastic. You’ve got really good friends. I barely have any footage of myself surfing because I usually go out on my own.

And sometimes I go on my bike. So I don’t even have my phone with me. So here you go.

So when you go out on your own, do you ever feel intimidated in the lineup? Because you mentioned, you know, that you like someone holding your hand.

Jade: If I don’t know anyone in the lineup, and I’m not from there. Yes.

Like it’s I used to like when I didn’t leave but live by the beach, I would travel an hour to surf. And I remember just like, it was all in my head. I don’t think anyone actually feels this way.

But I genuinely thought I wasn’t scared of Okay, I wasn’t scared of the girls. The girls are always super nice. I wasn’t scared of even the old guys.

They’re not that rude. I’m scared of either the 13 to 16 year old little boys. Or I’m scared of the 30 to 50 year old dad that like has super resentful like those are the two demographics I’m really scared of.

So if I do see that I literally pedal towards either a girly group or an old man. An old man’s always usually nice. Well, I yeah, I couldn’t agree more with that sentiment.

But what’s the worst thing that happened to you in the lineup? Well, I think my, my worst like gut wrenching. Honestly, there’s so many but I think I think I’ve always heard this. It was like, you’re either scared of the board the wave, the people.

And this day I was scared of all three. Like I was, I think I was surfing my first time ever surfing in Hawaii. I remember I was only scared of my own surfboard, like the surfboard hitting me.

The wave was scary, too, because I’ve never at this time, this is like a year ago, I didn’t surf Hawaii ever and like surf over reef, really. And on top of it, there’s so many people I was scared of all three. And I remember not catching anything.

And I remember like, sitting out there for three hours getting toasted to a crisp and feeling really sad. I’m like, why am I not catching anything? And I remember, I didn’t cry. But I think at one point, every time there was a set that came in, and I had to like, you know, get out of the way because someone was coming towards me.

I was like, like, God, please, like, I just want to go home. There’s actually many days like, like that. And it makes me really grateful for the days that are, you know, successful, I guess.

But yeah, I guess like, when I’m at a new place, I always am scared. And I think it’s important just to like, sometimes you just got to save those days in your bank. Maybe you’re not catching many waves.

But being out there, I find it’s so strange, like every moment that I’ve had bad days, I like it builds up, right? And I’m like, what’s the point of surfing if I only catch one wave every three hours, but then like, maybe six months or a year down the line, there’s a day where I caught like 10 waves. And it’s like, it’s all part of it. You know, I think the crazy thing about surfing is unless you live by a world class wave that has no one on it, which is most of us don’t have access to that.

It takes so much time just to be in the water, not even catching any waves. But I do think that it’s a part of the journey. And it’s not fun.

And that’s what I feel like. If I could talk to my younger self, I would tell her like, this is training, like not catching waves for a little bit. Hopefully you catch waves in the future.

It is training. So yeah, just celebrating that little smidget, even if it doesn’t feel like celebrating something.

Zuz: Do you think it’s got something to do with being assertive or not being assertive? Because obviously everybody’s got, it’s got a right to be in the lineup and catch waves, obviously, according to the surf etiquette where you sit.

But sometimes we just don’t take waves because we’re like, I shouldn’t really be here. All these guys have been here for a long time. And then yeah, and then you’re just hoping that somebody is going to take a wave and they’re just going to come off and then you can go.

Jade: Yeah, I do that too. Like sometimes when there’s mostly dudes and I see a perfect wave coming after me and then I know that these guys are watching me and I paddle for it. And then like, maybe I just back off.

I know I’m like, oh no, they saw that. They think I’m really bad. Like, oh no.

Like the next thing that comes, they’re never going to, you know, so I, that happened literally today. Like this happens even at my home break. So I guess the thing I try to do though, and I’m still learning this, my coach has told me this.

(14:25 – 16:26)

So I’m still figuring it out, but I think it’s helpful to some people is you have to figure out the art of resetting. Resetting can be going back on the beach. If you have the luxury of the, if the paddle out, isn’t that hard going back on the beach to reset and watching the waves is actually really important because if you’re not assertive, it could be like a lack of, not necessarily confidence, but, um, a lack of like ocean placement, because if you were, okay, for example, if we were always surfing a place where the wave breaks every time, then it would, it would be a different story.

But for most of us, we have to surf dog, dog, she, dog, she waves and, and move. So I actually, whenever I do this, if I get into a cycle where I pull back on multiple ways and I tell myself, Oh my God, the guys are watching. I don’t belong.

I try to go back on the beach, reset and just say, see two peaks. What’s my first peak I want to sit at. And the alternative, if I’m not catching waves there, where do I move? Because if you stay in the same spot, um, you can end up like me and a lot of people too, where you just surf for three hours and catch one wave.

So that’s something I’ve been recently implementing, just moving and having a second backup peak because, or else it’s, it’s really frustrating.

Zuz: Did you ever make any mistakes in the lineup? You dropped in on someone or like you snaked unknowingly. 

Jade: Yes, yes, yes.

I got, I’ve gotten yelled at. I mean, to be fair, I should have gotten yelled at. I dropped in on so many people.

I just remember pulling up and I’m like, okay, this is my wave. And I remember smiling on the wave and I turned around like, oh shoot, this guy’s yelling at me. Oh.

And he persisted to yell at me on the beach and then to my car. So yeah, the answer is I used to not know how to have surf etiquette. 

Zuz: You see, this is what I was waiting for when I asked you, what was the worst thing that happened to you in the line? I was like, somebody, somebody yelled at you or somebody told you off.

Jade: And then yeah. Honestly, like sometimes I’ve, I’m like really, okay. It’s one thing if I’m genuinely in the wrong, like for example, I go to like on a really big day, I go out and I heard someone like, there’s some things where I’m like, okay, I’m warranted to come maybe get yelled at.

(16:27 – 17:22)

But there was one day this dude was yelling at me. And it was literally the most beginner wave of the South Bay. Like, I don’t want to hear it.

Like if you guys know Sapphire, I’m like, that is where everyone learns. So I was like, this dude is yelling at me and I’m like, bro, you’re on Sapphire. I’m so sorry.

Like if you want to surf your own wave, go over there. So sometimes I kind of talk back, but maybe that’s what people don’t like me. I don’t talk back.

Zuz: I just usually ignore them. A guy comes up to me opens his mouth and I just don’t hear it.

Jade: I like to make them uncomfortable though.

Sometimes if they start giving me weird looks, I just look at them back and I don’t blink. And I think they start getting scared. 

Zuz: You posted a few videos of your surf injuries.

So I just want to talk about them a little bit because.

Jade: I am, I am obsessed with surfer drama, all the bad things that can happen to you in the surf. Okay. Before I tell my list of injuries, I just want to say all of these injuries weren’t from surfing on like a day that was too big or a place that’s too scary for me.

(17:22 – 21:44)

They actually happen when I’m surfing, maybe like a two or two foot wave and my, my guard is down. So I want to just put it out there. Like if you’re scared of like pushing yourself when you get hurt in surfing, usually it’s not from the danger of the wave.

It’s just like putting your awareness down. So with that in mind, I think I’m going to go from bottom to top of pain level. So the most chill ones honestly were like probably just a few, like my most recent fin cut wasn’t that bad because it was on my thigh and I was bleeding, but it was at an angle.

So it wasn’t that bad. My foot fin cut though was pretty deep. It did not hit at the angle.

And that one was hard. And I remember my friends couldn’t find me. So I had to go back to my car, but all they had to do was follow the trail of blood.

And then the third one was a lot more painful. It was my head. This was not the fin.

This was just the nose of my surfboard. That one didn’t hurt that much, but I think it freaked me out to get staples in the head. And then I think honestly the most painful of them all.

And I’m fortunate enough to not get stung by a stingray yet. I know that’s very common in Los Angeles. I don’t know how I somehow, I don’t want to, I don’t want to say I’ll never get one, but I haven’t, but I have stepped on a sea urchin and that one burns because at the time when I stepped on them, I just kept like, I was standing on a reef and I just like stepped on one and then I kept stepping on another.

Cause I didn’t know. There was like this giant little thing sticking out of my foot and I had to paddle all the way back and walk on the sand. That was the worst because I was actually so scared that I would like keep stepping on more.

Um, everything else I was, I would say it’s chill. Uh, the sea urchin, I do not like.

Zuz: But that doesn’t stop you from surfing, right? You go back straight in pretty much.

Jade: I know, but I’m not joking. It takes an arm and a leg to get me out there. I don’t talk about this.

Maybe I should make a video about this, but like I post a lot of videos of me getting injured and I try again, but it, I have to talk myself off a ledge sometimes. Like one day, especially with the head injury, I was so freaked out. I could have like, if it was my fin, I could have totally been concussed and like, it could have been way worse.

So I actually took, it took that injury. It took a while to heal anyways. But I remember the first day I went back to surf after my head injury, um, and getting the staples out.

I, I didn’t want to surf and I had to talk to my therapist, which I love my therapist. She really helps me. She’s not a surfer.

She just kind of helped me talk through it. She’s like, she told me to just get out there. Even if I don’t catch a wave that did help.

But still like, even when I was out there, I was like shaking, like my full body was shaking. I couldn’t even paddle properly. I was like lopsided.

So I definitely think it’s harder than maybe it seems online, but I really try. And if I can’t do it myself, I talk to people because when I talk to other people, I’ll get out of like my own head. Um, but I remember thinking like, I was telling everyone around me, I was like, I feel like every time I surf, I’m going to get speared.

And then they’re like, no, Jade, that’s not true. But it, it just took a while. I think after that injury, it took me months to feel comfortable again.

Zuz: Do you ever have days you don’t want to go out?

Jade: Yeah. There are days where I look at the wave and I’m like, okay, for sure. I know my limits usually though.

What I will, I will say is, and this is just me because I want to surf bigger ways. And I, if I, if I don’t do this, I just, I will never get beyond this level. Cause for a while I was scared of, I’m not joking.

I was scared of three foot waves and one foot. I was scared of two foot waves, um, to get past that barrier. I just told myself just to paddle out and I don’t even have to catch a wave.

So there are days, maybe I don’t want to surf, but I force myself. But if I really feel in danger, I just don’t go. I mean, I don’t really feel like I need to, well, I also, it’s because I’ve gotten injured so much now.

I’m a bit more selective before. If you ask me, you’re going to be like, go out. But now I’m like selective.

Zuz: Let’s talk about your progression because let’s say you had your first lesson, I’m assuming on a foamy, and then you started going out more and more, but now you’re on a short board and that’s, that’s amazing. And such a short timeframe. And I saw you, that’s how you surf and carve.

And it looks very impressive. I mean, I can barely pop up. Did you have a coach like three times a week?

Jade: I have something fun to announce on this podcast because I don’t think I’ve said this before, but when I first learned how to surf, so this is after my first lesson on face or Airbnb experiences, I was trying to get a board on Facebook marketplace.

(21:44 – 23:27)

And then I found a group called Girls Who Can’t Surf Good. So I actually joined, I did join in 2020, 2021. And I remember being so stoked.

I loved it. So I just wanted to say that I love, I love what you did and how, how that reached me and my journey. I love that.

So after I joined Girls Who Can’t Surf Good, honestly, my journey has changed because I was like this group of community, this group of girls and motivated me to keep going. So yeah, my next steps, honestly, it wasn’t necessarily like super concrete. Basically what happened was I just, I got an ego.

I was like, I can surf a hard top board. I can pop up on an eight foot wave. Yeah, I can surf.

So I got that board behind me. And I remember for, I’m not joking. Like I would start maybe like casual, like two or three times a week and nothing crazy, like, like on the weekends every day, but then maybe one day during a work week, I did not stand up on the board for six months straight.

Okay. I probably went 50, a hundred times. I could not like, I remember just no dive, no dive, no dive.

And I would just post my little Instagram selfie of me surfing, but in reality, I just ate so much shit. So that was like for a while, I think it only, it took me a minute to realize like, okay, I need to go back to basics. And I got, I went back on my foam board for a bit.

So yeah, honestly, that was, that took around a year and a half just to like figure out what the heck I was doing. What changed the game for me though, to go from a long board to a short board is just getting like foam board, but a smaller size. So from, I got an eight foot board that was a foam, like wave storm and then seven and then six foot.

I honestly just feel like the hardtop boards are a dangerous when you’re not learning. If you don’t have like a consistent break in two, it’s not necessarily more fun. Like, yeah, it looks cool, but it’s not fun.

(23:27 – 24:16)

And I guys, trust me. I wanted the hardtop board. I wanted to be that cute little girl nose riding so bad on a hardtop board, but I soon realized I’m just not there yet.

I don’t even have the upper body to paddle a hardtop. So, um, but what really helped me that this is like, so that was like a year and a half of that will really help me is going to a surf camp. I didn’t have any coaching prior.

I was just literally like YouTubing, looking up tutorials, going to a surf camp is like a one week, usually like an immersive experience. It can be anywhere. I went to Portugal and that, I think changed the game for me because I was forced to do something every day or twice a day for a straight week.

I think the problem with surfing casually in California is you can maybe only catch one or two waves every hour, uh, in a crowded, like on the weekends is what I’m saying. So then the only option is like weekdays, but sometimes you have to work and it’s just really tough. So if you have the time and the finances, I really recommend a surf camp.

(24:16 – 24:51)

They’re pretty affordable, especially overseas. Um, in Bali, they’re like a few hundred bucks, but then you can get attention from a surf coach and surf. Honestly, it’s just surfing every day, straight for a week that changed the game from there.

I just started taking surf lessons once a week. Um, my friend Ryan and then, yeah, I guess, I guess my, like my biggest advice for me was a surf camp because it was so helpful to go back to back. 

Zuz: And you started competing now from what I’ve seen. How’s that going?

Jade: I honestly just compete for fun. I don’t need to, I don’t necessarily need to be on tour or anything fun, like crazy like that.

(24:51 – 25:35)

I was only competing. Okay. This is something about me that might, you know, like there’s a social anxiety is afraid of bro.

Like I am bro. Like sometimes I do things just to be uncomfortable because I don’t know why I like, like it. Like for example, I was really nervous to surf in front of people.

I just was really embarrassed. So I was like, you know what, let’s just do the complete opposite. I’m going to surf in front of a judge.

I’m going to surf in front of people directly. So I signed up for seven surf competitions in the past year. And I really had, I actually like, I had so much fun because I realized it’s not as bad as you think.

Unless you’re okay. Unless you have a really bad experience competing. My competitions are so chill.

They’re not even like high stakes. So I have so much fun because it’s just a bunch of girls just surfing and having a good time. Except this one girl who was so mean to me.

(25:35 – 27:12)

She was in the line. She grabs the nose of my board and pushes it away. I’m like, oh my gosh, it’s like a movie.

But other than that, everyone’s really nice.

Zuz: So you’re out there surfing every day you’re competing. What’s the ultimate goal? Is there an ultimate goal?

Jade: I don’t have an ultimate goal like that to the level of like, I need this trophy, but I have places I want to get surfed at.

And I mainly just want to get barreled at Pipeline. That would be my dream and what I’m every day trying to work towards. But other than that, I’m just so grateful that I get to talk to so many people about surfing because I love it.

It’s so fun. And it’s something that I’ve never thought I would be able to do because before this, I was working like in marketing at home on my laptop. So it’s so fun to be outside.

It’s just so fun. 

Zuz: Okay, so let’s talk about Pipeline. That’s a freaking big wave on a big day. That’s a fucking giant. Are you suicidal? 

Jade: Oh, that’s a good question. I think I’m not going to lie.

No, I’m not. But I think at one point I didn’t care. I didn’t really care what happens.

And I don’t know. And I don’t know if it was because like, oh, like, you know, you know, this is what I was. I had a heartbreak.

I had a heartbreak in like, 2020, 2021. And this is when I just started to learn how to surf. And this heartbreak destroyed me.

It destroyed me. And usually when I get really, really heartbroken, I don’t try to plot revenge. I just want to be the most craziest, best version of myself.

Because that’s the only thing you can really do. Because that’s the best revenge. Revenge is being the most successful version of yourself to the other person.

(27:13 – 28:23)

So you know what I did? I was like, you know what? This guy, he was like, he’s not an athlete. I really into like his sports. And I was like, you know what? It’d be so funny if I started surfing really good, like really, really good.

And then he’ll look back on like the day that he left me and he’s like, oh, wow, Jade, it was really cool. You know, I’m not joking. I swear that might be one of the reasons why I decided to like, not necessarily the pipeline goal.

It was just more like to get really good. That was like my first thing. And then the pipeline thing happened when I watched a film on John John Florence’s channel.

Obviously he’s like the best surfer in the world. He grew up on Oahu North Shore. And I just saw like he said this quote that was so like inspiring to me.

He just said the quote, like, I appreciate my good days and the bad days, the small ways and the big days, all the same as a whole part of the journey. And I was like, you know what? Like I was like, this guy’s a chillest dude, but he’s surfing like these crazy monster waves. I wonder the person I’ll be if I, you know, surf these crazy waves.

So I just knew surfing is so good, not only for your physical, but your mental, like, it’s just such a great way to teach yourself patience, kindness, like a lot of patience, actually. So, yeah, I think it’s a combination of being butthurt, heartbroken and then just trying to be the best version of myself. 

Zuz: I absolutely love this revenge story for you.

(28:24 – 29:41)

I do. But you already surfed pipeline, but this was on a smaller day, right?

Jade: Yeah, I’m not satisfied yet. I want at least at least.

OK, so I don’t want to surf it when it’s like 30 foot because I actually I do value my life. I value my friends and my mom and dad will be very concerned for my well-being. I do.

I do have it’s on my wallpaper of the size I would like to serve it. But essentially, I would like to surf it when I was out there that last time, but a little bit bigger, maybe like eight to ten foot. California, not Hawaiian.

That would be my dream. It’s not for me something for me. I’m not really scared of.

I’m scared by. But I don’t think it’s impossible. It’s the hardest thing, though, is the people that the people in Pipeline pretty gnarly.

Zuz: So you’re not scared of the drop? 

Jade: No, I am. But. I’m not scared of the drop, I’m scared of what will happen after the drop.

And I feel like that’s why I’ve been serving a lot of places that have a bit more steeper drops to practice. But to be honest, I’m scared of everything. I mean, it is the most dangerous wave in the world.

But every like every like person I’ve talked to because I’ve been grateful, like I’ve been able to talk to so many people who have her Pipeline a lot in big days. The number one thing they have told me is if you don’t commit, that’s where you get hurt. If you just commit, at least say you commit, you go on the drop.

(29:41 – 31:09)

And yeah, like the wave closes out on you. You usually pop back out on the other side or you will get thrown around. But the worst thing is if you’re at the top and you like you airfall like with, you know, without your board.

So the number one thing is just I’ve heard is just your commitment. That’s the most important part.

Zuz: Did you ever see Riding Giants by Stacey Peralta?

Jade: I don’t have a desire to do that.

Like Mavericks. I’m like, OK, OK, I’ll just sit down.

Zuz: I hear that you’re doing breath training. How long can you now hold your breath for? 

Jade: Well, underwater, I can only not only I can do two to three minutes on land. I don’t know. I haven’t really timed it, but I can hold my breath for a while.

And they say whatever your static breath hold is, usually when you’re wiping out on a wave, you have 25 percent of your lung capacity. So basically I can hold it for two minutes. That means if I’m getting held down on a wave, I have like 30 seconds, which is pretty good.

It feels good to know that.

Zuz: Do you feel now less scared of the wipeouts or you were basically never scared?

Jade: No, I’m always scared, but I know I can handle it. It’s so comforting to know that you can hold your breath for two minutes and then when you are getting thrown around for 30 seconds, it feels a little better.

The biggest thing I’m scared about is honestly, nowadays it’s not necessarily the wave. It’s my board and then the people. I think people can be really scary because this is like my worst nightmare.

I try to not imagine this, but I’ll just paint a picture. My biggest fear is that it’s a big day. The wave is really hollow.

(31:10 – 31:49)

I’m paddling out back to line up because I maybe missed a wave or something. And I see left of my vision, it’s like the wave is like the lip is like right here, like doing this. And then to my right, it’s a person going like right towards me.

That’s my biggest fear because then the only option you have to do is go towards the macking lip. So yeah, I mean, that is something I have to just like get out of my head, but I’m still afraid, but I’ve learned to do things while I’m afraid. 

Zuz: I need to ask what’s with the pistol squat? I don’t know.

Jade: It’s just for fun. I like to make people go, what the heck? It’s just for fun. Honestly, though, I heard people do it when they surf, like they say single foot isolation is really helpful, but I just do it for the vibes.

(31:50 – 34:11)

Zuz: It looks a lot of fun. I want to try it. I’m not going to be able to do it, but I really, really want to try it now that I’ve seen it.

Jade: I think you could do it. I think it’s going to take a bit because it took me a long practice, but it’s really fun.

Zuz: Do you think surfing is something that you’re going to do for a very, very long time? Does it feel like a job now, for instance, or is it still you’re loving it so much that you’re just going to continue with everything that you’re doing on social media and surfing sort of with the same enthusiasm and frequency?

Jade: I think I’m going to do it for a long time.

I mean, if I have to stop surfing, it’d be only for two reasons. It’d be because I’m having a kid or it’d be because I physically can’t. So I hope it’s option one, but I do think for me, I’ve noticed, and this is actually something I find that maybe will be helpful to people, is when I’m really frustrated with surfing, I don’t want to surf anymore.

It’s usually because I’m too critical of my surfing. I’m not actually in the water, playing in the water. So something my friend told me is the next time you’re frustrated with surfing and you still want to go, but you’re so frustrated, just pretend you’re swimming in the ocean.

You’re not even surfing, you’re just swimming or you’re snorkeling. It’s crazy because the guy that told me this is a professional surfer, has competed for 20 years. He tells me, little OJ, just to go swimming, you don’t even have to catch a wave.

And I thought that was really sweet. So I think if I ever do get frustrated with surfing, I’m just going to resort to bodyboarding or just swimming. And I think that’s really cool because I don’t know, I think especially us women, we get really in our heads and it’s all about doing well versus actually just having fun.

Zuz: Everybody probably wants to know, how are you making a living if you’re out there constantly surfing?

Jade: It’s a good question. No, it’s a good question. I feel like for me, I really try to… Okay.

Again, this is just a business tip for anyone who wants to do social media. There’s a lot of ways. Honestly, it’s harder to grow on social media for sure these days.

It’s like one of the most competitive. Everything is… It’s about two things. Doing the least amount of work for the maximum payoff.

For a while, I was doing random things to make money. I’m not going to lie. I didn’t cover money.

So I used to take photos for senior portraits. I used to work at a church. I used to just do whatever I could on the weekends to hustle and walk dogs or whatever.

(34:12 – 34:52)

I think I realized that for me, if I’m able to do the one thing that makes the most amount of money, but the least amount of time, I should focus on that. Focus on that, even if that means to get there, it’ll take a year or two of not making money. So basically what happened was in 2023, I was working on my social media agency.

I was working with brands. And then I decided because I was so burnt out, I wanted to pursue being a creator on YouTube because I knew there was money. I just don’t know how, like how much.

So essentially what happened was it was definitely really hard. I stopped doing what I was doing and I just had to live really, really, really, really modestly and humbly. And at one point, I didn’t even have money for my own health insurance.

(34:52 – 41:11)

Like it was pretty dark time, but I think I got really, really lucky with the timing of, um, I really do feel really grateful for everything because what happened was right when I was like running out of money with like my, my savings that I had, I had one video that went really viral, which is me waxing my surfboard. And I used to make so many videos. I mean, I used to make videos of me talking about a day in the life of surfing.

I used to talk about like surf gear, but the one video that got over a million views was just me waxing my board. And till this day, I still make waxing videos, but what I learned was I’m wasting so much time. It’s not wasting.

I wouldn’t say that. Maybe it’s more just so I was experimenting with so many videos and now I find a format that works. So what I learned, and I learned this from my friends who do make content is when you have something that works once you have to literally repeat it until you want to throw up.

So I, I, I, from there started thinking literally like every day I would rewax the board. I would wax my surfboard. I would wax my neighbor’s surfboard.

I would wax the person who hates me on the line of surfboard. I would ask everyone for their surfboard. Cause I would wax, wax, wax, rewax, rewax.

And from 1 million went to five, five, nine to 10. And I learned, and I’m not even joking. Like, I think at one point on one waxing video I made like, and at the time this is like life altering money.

I made a thousand dollars from a waxing video. I was like, so I just started to do that over and over until I could not. I now till this day, I have a little trauma making waxing videos because I made so many waxing videos in 2024, like last year.

So long story short, what I, what I was going to say is on like a very, like very like business standpoint, I think once you find something that works once you have to like systemize it. And then from there, that’s the, that was the biggest revenue I was finding, like making videos that went viral and then getting YouTube and TikTok to pay for those like ad placements that they do. And then from there, the brand deals came.

The brand deals are probably the biggest way I monetize my brand right now, like as of today, but that’s not how I started. No one sponsored me in the beginning. No one cared to, you know, work with me.

So that’s how I’m able to now like surf a lot and still make money.

Zuz: Well, you’re the ultimate surf influencer. So what is like the best perk that you ever got?

Jade: Oh, okay.

Well, I have to put a disclaimer on this is not to flex. This is just to like share how cool this is. The coolest perk is definitely like, just cause I love free stuff.

Like I do get free surfboards and as many as I need. And it’s really fun. And I’m so grateful for my shaper, Greg, Crescent Shapes, shout out.

But yeah, just like just the surfboard is kind of crazy to me because it’s like, what do you mean? Like I can just make my own little board if I want for like my next week. That to me means so much because I didn’t have money for boards like two years ago. So it was really sick.

Zuz: Okay. A little bit of dark stuff now, because being a surf influencer also means that you have to deal with trolls and haters. And I’m sure like, do you even read comments on your posts?

Jade: I read comments for a long time until they got really, really tough.

I would say like seven months ago, or I forgot the time. And it was last year. This one guy on a platform, I shall not name it’s like where everyone has forums, started a forum about me.

And it was like really, really bad. I read the whole thing by accident. And I couldn’t go outside for a week because basically people are crazy.

People are crazy online. Okay, people want to kill you and go after you even if you don’t do anything crazy or harmful to the world. So there’s a dark side.

I do not read any more of the forum. I do read comments. But if there’s something if I see a word that says kook or like, I want to, I want to throw you off your board.

I immediately just shut my eyes. And I literally get energy. Like I’m not even joking.

I try to like, cleanse my head because it stays with me. And then my boyfriend knows this every time I read a bad comment, it affects my mood so bad. And I wish it wasn’t the case.

I really wish it wasn’t. So what I do, just to prevent it, it’s just like shut my eyes. But I try to limit my social media time in general.

But that was really hard. But now honestly, some of the trolls are funny. Like I see the memes about me and I start to laugh and I like and get engaged.

So now I’m honestly in on the trend. I’m laughing with them and now they can’t hurt me. So that’s my new strategy is just to laugh with them because some of them are funny.

Like someone made a meme about me like surfing a pipeline and they were like, if I see this girl in the lineup, I’m gonna like do this. And the meme is like someone like grabbing someone else’s board and like flipping them off. And I just comment like that’s really funny.

And you should do that. And then everyone that replied was like, you know, like they didn’t expect that. So that’s really funny.

Zuz: Dude, you made it. People are making memes about you.

Jade: They’re really good.

Some of them are really funny. 

Zuz: I saw a photo of you as a 10 year old kid doing YouTube videos. 

Jade: Yeah.

Zuz: What were you doing then?

Jade: I don’t know. Just trying to live the dream, I guess. I love YouTube as a kid.

I loved it so much. I grew up as an only child, so I had nothing but YouTube. So all I wanted to do was become like my favorite YouTubers.

Zuz: The best advice that you can give to all the beginners out there, because you went through this entire process and now you’re really good.

Jade: Oh, thank you. I feel like the biggest thing that can help you progress, if your goal is to get better at surfing, which I think a lot of us want to, it’s really about the people you surround yourself with and being super celebratory, even if you fall.

Because the thing is, and I don’t know where I saw this, but someone was like, oh, but if you just believe that you’re always good at surfing, you’re lying to yourself, you’re gaslighting. But the truth is you have to gaslight yourself because no one else is going to do it for you. No one else is really going to give you a pat on the back unless you have solid social circle.

I don’t know in my life someone who’s going to tell me exactly what I want to hear every time I want to hear it. So you really have to be your own cheerleader and tell yourself, you might be like, I did so good today, just battling out and trying my best. That might not necessarily feel authentic, but you have to keep telling yourself or else no one else is going to tell you.

It’s not motivating to hear in your head, your own internal voice to hear yourself say, I suck, I suck, I shouldn’t be out here, I don’t belong. I’ve been doing a thing lately when my self-talk was really bad, is telling myself a mantra that’s really easy to remember. It could be just like, I belong here, I’m enough.

(41:11 – 41:57)

I belong here, I’m enough. And repeating it like a psychopath, like a psychopath out loud in the water. And I remember me at Lower Trestles, because I didn’t at the time surf this break a lot.

It’s a very competitive break in California. I was holding myself really, really nervous. I’m like, I belong here, I’m enough.

I belong here, I’m enough. And then I don’t know if anyone noticed, but it made me feel better. And I caught some waves after.

So genuinely surround yourself with not only positive people, but positive self-talk because this here will translate to your surfing. And even if you don’t believe it, just do it. It definitely works.

And yeah, that’s my best advice.

Zuz: And that’s all for today. Check out The Wipeout Weekly for our free newsletter, more stories and ways to connect with us.

Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow for more of The Wipeout Weekly.