Jacob Reeve. Ce nom devrait être connu de tous les passionnés qui se respectent, pour faire simple c'est une grande légende du bodyboard californien; dans le milieu des années 90 il était l'un des riders les plus médiatisés et connus dans le monde notamment grâce à l'émergence des vidéos "made in USA" de cette époque; Jacob y avait régulièrement des profiles montrant un niveau impressionnant tellement il était précis et maîtrisait avec grande facilité les flips et autres reverses airs sur toutes ses vagues.
Aujourd'hui à 38 ans il surfe encore beaucoup et aussi bien; il vit toujours à Oxnard à un peu plus d' une centaine de kilomètres au nord de Newport et ses homespots sont quelques wedges jusqu'à Ventura.
Étant gosse j'ai bien du regarder une centaine de fois sa section sur le film de Jason Wolcott "monkey's" ou celle de Dyslexic et ce qui est étonnant presque 15 années après c'est cette intemporalité dans son style et ses moves; cette semaine il a répondu à 10 questions, et j'en suis plutôt ravi :)
Hi Jacob, where are you now, still living in Oxnard?
Good surf at home these days?
Hi Frederic, Yes, I am still living in Oxnard. The house we own is within 15 minutes of 4 of my favorite spots in Cali. Its been a decent couple years of waves. Just this week, my family and I decided to rent out our house and camp at spots along the coast of Cali for the next year.
If i remember good in 2007 you created bbx (bodyboard expedition) project; is it still relevant? Can you talk us about it?
The BB Expedition was an idea James Prola and I had to create a more entertaining way for extreme sports athletes to compete and showcase their abilities. Instead of judges, you would have the public decide who is best. We were in the process of blowing it up, getting investors and all and spreading it to other sports when one of our investors named Damon stole our business plan and started it with Cameron Stele with the stand ups - they called it “Innersection.tv.” We had worked really hard on it and wanted to do it full time, so when that happened and our investors were gone and our resources were depleted, it brought us to a crossroads. Shortly after that time, James got offered a high paying job making 3D movies in SoCal and had to take it.
We have talked about doing more of them, but both of us are so busy now with other things we haven’t had much time to invest in the BBX. Im glad the idea is working for the stand-ups, -I would do it way better than innersection does it (in my opinion), but the idea is there. I don’t hold any debt towards those guys but I would love to see it start up again in the bodyboarding world. If I had the right team, we could make it happen. I just don’t have a tun of time to put into it.
Religion seems to be a important part of your life; i have read you were professor and that you wrote books; all of it concerns Christian religion? do you still try to surf when you can?
I actually don't like religion at all. Jesus didn't come to start a new religion, he came to show us who God truly was and He came to reveal who we truly are. He didn't come as much to be an example to us but of us. He called himself the son of man more than he called himself the son of God.
I believe most religion is actually anti-christ. It offers a false perception of God -that is unless it is caring for the poor and afflicted. I believe Jesus is the truest representation the world has ever had of who our Father and Creator really is.
Many of my teachings are online at www.intheschoolofjesus.org if people want to know more of what I believe and what the bible teaches.
As far as surf, the good thing is that I am my own boss so even though I have a tun of responsibility, I can surf just about whenever I want. My kids are home-schooled and they love bodyboarding and surfing so we go all the time.
Between the mid-90s and early 2000s', californian pro bodyboarders like you were one of the most exposed in the world scene; thanks in part to filmmakers like jason wolcott, John McKinney, brian stoker or Sean Manning (Riders Of Tubes) for the best known;
Can you describe the bodyboarding scene today in california? are there a new generation with potential?
The Bodyboard scene has died out a lot in central Cali. Especially up in this region where I am from. There are a few 20 somethings that rip in my area and they might start putting some documentation out there, but I only know of about 4 teenagers that bodyboard in my area.
Beyond my region, I am probably not the best person to ask. I have been a bit isolated in the last few years from the larger Cali scene. I have mostly been surfing by myself at my spots or with my kids. I know there are lots of guys in So Cal, but the sports epicenter is obviously far from Cali now. I believe within the next few years I will get back in the mix of things because my kids are starting to want to compete.
I believe that Cali does still have the potential to produce some top level talent, we just need to have the guys to travel, and document. Most of our best waves are in cold, isolated, shark infested or localized waters so its hard to find guys that will go frequently.
What are your favorite spots in cali?
I dont know if I can say. Two of the best wedge/beachbreak waves in Cali are within 10 minutes from my house in Oxnard. There is also Rincon which I go to often when its big - Still love that wave. I haven’t seen another bodyboarder out there in the last few years.
A couple hours north there are some amazing reef breaks and beach breaks that can get really heavy too. No name spots mostly.
Can you talk us about your deal with toobs, what type of board do you like to surfe?
Toobs boards are by far the best boards I have ever had the privilege to ride.
I have used the same shape for about 4 years now. Its a semi-custom board,
I use the "10" curve
length: 39.5
Nose: 11.5
nose to width:17
width: 20.5
tail: 17.5
normal thickness - not shaved down
bat tail - sharp
faint narrow channels
x mesh
single stringer
Do you change your board template or core depending surfing conditions (especially in cold water)?
Not really, I just might take one that is older and more broken in if its colder.
The biggest injury you've had while surfing?
I have had three major ones that are all tied:
1. Broke my top rib in my upper back/neck and slipped two disks doing an invert on “big wednesday” in 1999 in Cali at Rincon. Took me two months before I could get in the water again, six months to surf at full capacity again. My rib was broken in such a way that it was not able to be reset. It is still broken to this day.
2. I also broke my nose (hit it on my leash plug landing an air) in 2001 at Emma Wood. I wont put leash plug in the middle of my board again.
3. Broke my thumb and dislocated a bunch of bones in my left hand from hitting the reef at pipe in 2003. - When I came up you could see all my bones in my fingers because the reef ripped the flesh away - now my fingers freeze in one position every morning when I wake up and I need to do therapy to get them functioning.
Best moment in your bodyboarding career?
Traveling to new amazing spots and seeing the world. Being one of the first foreigner guys to surf Fronton in Canary Islands and El Gringo in Chile was pretty amazing. I think I was on the first two trips where those two spots were first documented and revealed to the larger BB community. Living in Hawaii at Wiamea Bay was also amazing. I also won a smaller contest at Pipe one year against a bunch of the guys who would later become world champions. That was pretty special.
Many thanks Jacob, i let you saying what you want now
Mahalo! Shalom! If theres a videographer out there who wants to devote some time to help me put on some more expeditions, get a hold of me. Thx!
