Interview: Chad Jackson

Mini-Industry Profile: Chad Jackson
By Neal Kearney
Even before Sean Penn graced the screens in Fast Times at Ridgemont High as Jeff Spicoli, the zorbed-out beach bum, the public's perception of surfers has been that of stoned, out of touch, out of reach degenerates. In many respects, this view had its merits. The 1960's and 70's were a time of experimentation and drug use, and surfers, with their free lifestyles and unique personalities, were no exception. Many surfers of the era, including such big names as Michael Peterson and Cheyne Horan, have admitted to being heavily doped up even at the peak of their career.
It was Spicoli, however, who cemented the stoned out, surf bum image into that of the popular imagination. Since then, most depictions of surfers in the media have been that of ripped space cadets on a search for munchies, glossy-eyed numbskulls whose primary function is to provide comic relief. Such stereotypes have negatively affected hopes for the legitimization of surfing.
You know what I say? I say that surfers should embrace the Cannabis connection. After all, these days “Green” is in, and companies of every sort are scrambling to incorporate any kind of eco-friendly components into their products. A handful of large surf companies have integrated eco-friendly aspects into their marketing campaign (think board shorts made from recycled bottles, etc.), and the rest of the industry has taken notice.
Like all fads and crazes, this environmental push started with dedicated individuals whose motives reflect a deep concern for the preservation of the Earth, not a desire to keep up with the latest movements. For these environmentalists, while this shift to eco-consciousness has been long overdue, it allows them to bring their product to the mainstream.
Meet Chad Jackson of Los Osos, California: a surfer/shaper who aims to advocate awareness with his eco-friendly hemp surfboards. Along with his shaping, Jackson is an experienced waterman, and he swears by his hemp boards in all conditions, from 2' to 20'. I recently caught up with Chad Jackson in his shaping room in Los Osos to discuss his love for nature, sources of inspiration, and where he plans to take his hemp-based surfboard revolution.
Kearney:  How did you get involved?

Jackson: I have always been a nature freak growing up in the beautiful Central Cal and Hawaii, and have had a dream since I was about 17 to link the environmental movement to the surfing world and help change the world at large. I went to Cal Poly SLO for eight years studying physics and engineering until finally graduating under Earth Sciences, where my professors beat into me the problems our generation will face and how we can solve them with science. I have now committed my life to being a leader in the environmental movement through surfing, traveling and networking.

NK: What kinds of materials are you using and where do they come from?

CJ: I am shaping blanks made from soybean oil and sugarcane oil, biofoam and ice-9 respectively. They are 100% non-petroleum and are getting closer and closer to being equivalent in strength and performance to the old Clark foam. A few years ago I linked up with Neftali Espino, a surfer/shaper like myself, and Aaron Carvajal, owner of USHempCo. Nef and I were laminating regular surfboards with hemp cloth we were getting from Aaron. Three years later, the dust has cleared and I am now grassing non-petrol blanks with hemp cloth and finishing them with a non-petrol resin. The result is the first high performance, fully functional eco-board the world has seen. I am partnered up with USHempCo and another company Local, and we are bringing these boards and a whole line of hemp clothing to the market and the surf industry. I have been riding these boards for a year now and I am able to ride the tube as deep as ever and whip airs like I am on a Surftech popout.

NK: How does your archaelogy training and interest in Indian life and culture
fit in?

CJ: I have been doing archeology on the Central Coast with the Chumash and Salinan Indians for four years, a nice escape from the uber-hype of the surf scene. This has definitely cultivated an even stronger connection for me to the land, ocean and culture of indigenous peoples. The link between these cultures and the land and ocean is inseparable.  Like the Polynesians and other maritime cultures there is and always has been a fine line between living in harmony and over-exploiting the natural resources of an area. The Native Americans lived by the rule of the seventh generation. It meant that they only harvested the resources of nature to the extent that there would still be ample supply for six more generations into the future ensuring that the seventh generation would enjoy the same bountifulness as the current generation. Ya think George Bush and the powers that be are taking this into consideration? More like, ‘Fuck the future, I'm gonna get mine.’ There is an inner-sense of comfort you feel when working among old Indian sites. You imagine the same peacefulness that exists in some Asian cultures where every chore is done with utmost care and flow, always grateful for the gifts nature provides for us. Also inherent is the remembrance of defeat and conquest of the people and the loss of their way of life. All this motivates me and others to protect and bring back the ways of the Indian and indigenous cultures the world over. Hemp can play a big role in this as many indigenous cultures can grow hemp on their reservations for industrial uses. Hemp can grow on the most impoverished of lands and can reclaim non-fertile soils in a few years. The thousand of uses for the hemp plant, its vigor and its magic make it the number one plant to turn around global warming and replace petro-chemicals with bio-based polymers, fuels, fibers and food.  

NK:Where do you plan on taking your board building?

CJ-I am going to continue bringing in new bio-technology as it is perfected and market the boards to the world at large. We are going BIG with this and one thing is myself and my team riders are going to travel and compete and blow minds in and out of the water basically proving that these boards perform identical to petrol boards, so it will be a no-brainer.

NK: How does working with hemp differ from fiberglass?

CJ: A little harder to saturate and sand, but the micro dust is nowhere near as toxic and bad for the user.

NK: What are the benefits of eco-friendly board building?

CJ: Less impact on the respiratory and skin of the user and of course way better for the environment and economy.

NK: What do you see boards being made with, say 50 years in the future?
   
CJ: Full on bio, not one speck of petroleum and possibly surfboards being grown on trees.