Photo: Chasing Dreams
“Professional surfer” isn’t a career choice with a clear path or even a universal job description. The goal is pretty simple, though: surf and get paid. But there’s definitely no single way one goes about accomplishing that. You don’t have to wear a contest jersey these days. Or land on the cover of a magazine. There’s a million different ways to surf a wave…professionally.
Clear road to success or not, Hunter Jones is a guy who will tell you he grew up dreaming of the life he’s living out today. And ironically, the people he says had the biggest hand in encouraging him to pursue those dreams weren’t surfers at all, but his parents. That’s why he’s dedicated his latest endeavor as an employed tube hound to them. The project is a children’s book co-authored with another Los Angeles native, Jon Pickle, a father, storyteller, award-winning movie trailer editor, and former professional surfer who approached him with the idea in 2020.
“Pickle was one of the local rippers that I grew up watching,” Jones says. “His kids were much younger at the time, and he’s like, ‘Gosh, I really want to make a children’s book. I want something for my kids, and I can’t find anything.'”
Pickle’s idea was to use Hunter’s life story as an outline for their book. The message is in the title, Chasing Dreams, where surfing is the lens for envisioning the life you want. They used Hunter’s tale of working to surf professionally to explore universal themes of courage and creativity and encourage children to dream boldly and believe that anything is possible.
Whether they realized it or not at the time, there was a whole other level of cool irony in there. Pickle worked in the entertainment industry and was navigating the pandemic without consistent work, like many others. And Hunter was still new to getting the bills paid as a surfer. He’d transitioned from college to an internship at the WSL, and eventually a full-time job there, which he left after two years with the intention of carving out his own path. Both were at places in life where they were actively living and experiencing the very thing they were setting out to use as an inspirational message.
“I want people to look at me and feel like they can do anything they put their mind to and achieve what they want to achieve.” ~Hunter Jones. Photo: Chasing Dreams
“I knew (surfing professionally) was possible. I didn’t know how I was going to do it, and you know, from that day to now, I always had an intuition,” Hunter told me, looking back on his childhood dream as well as the years-long effort alongside Pickle to get their book published. “I kind of trusted my gut. The story, the path isn’t always clear, but you have to follow your intuition. And that’s kind of what I’ve done with my whole life.”
Hunter’s dedication of the new book to his parents is him crediting them with encouraging him to do the things he loved as a kid. His dad would have him write down his goals and dreams, and even though Hunter can’t remember the specific details of those lists today, he remembers jotting down things about surfing, skating, and going to Hawaii. Neither of his parents surfed, but they were as committed to his love for surfing as he was.
“My dad got a half pipe built in my backyard, and we (Hunter and his brothers) grew up skating. He got me the surf lessons,” he remembers. “I had no idea (what being a pro surfer was), we would just always talk about it, you know? We would talk about those things I was passionate about, and that’s what I hope to instill in this next generation, the parents, and my future kids.”
The authors with their new book. Photo: Chasing Dreams
Life – like the book coming together – may not always have a clear road map. Jones’ dream of being what we’d call a professional surfer was really just starting to take shape when the duo set out to tell their story. It’s been six years since the idea was first pitched in the lineup, and in that time they created a version that ran into snags with a publisher, all while navigating their own jobs. They took a break. When they came back to the project they “did a full revamp.” Some of the artwork and design was changed, and they eventually partnered with the Surfrider Foundation before getting the book across the finish line.
“I want people to look at me and feel like they can do anything they put their mind to and achieve what they want to achieve,” Jones says now that the book is a real thing. “Hopefully, the kids that read it are inspired to chase whatever gives them the most joy in life, and that no dream’s too big. Dreams take us to magical places, and if you follow them, you typically find something pretty special.”
Editor’s Note: Learn more about Chasing Dreams here. And you can find the book on Amazon here.
Photo: Chasing Dreams
