110: Jonathan Weaver/Jack To A King

It’s the final episode from my Portland series, recorded during a breakneck week spent exploring the City of Roses with my various guests. And this episode, recorded with my very old friend Jonathan Weaver, is a fitting departure from the usual format.
That’s because we recorded this episode during a very pleasant and leisurely drive around the Oregon coastline. I rode shotgun, grabbed the mics and spent an extremely enjoyable day riding around, checking the surf and having what is even for me a properly meandering conversation.

And what a perfect format it was for exploring Jon’s inspirational and circuitous career through the industry. I actually gave Jon his first gig as a writer way back when I helped to run Whitelines, and he’s sure come a long, long way since then; ticking off stints as a snowboarder, team manager, and general industry mover and shaker at brands like Forum and Nike as his career has flourished.
Listeners often ask how to ‘get’ a career in the action sports industry, and absorbing the lessons in this episode would a very good place to start.

Above all, it’s the story of a brilliant life in snowboarding and beyond, powdered by passion and curiosity. I’m very proud to call Jon a close friend, and even more stoked to have him on the show for the episode. Hope you enjoy it.
Listen to the episode here:
HUGE thanks to Travel Portland, Hertz and Black Diamond for their help in pulling this entire Portland trip together.
Connect with Jon
Show Notes
- 16 ft at 16 seconds.
- The tow scene.
- The drive every couple of weeks.
- Getting the arms moving.
- Regressing.
- More surfing these days.
- First time surfing together.
- News of Jake Burton.
- Impact Jake had on so many lives.
- Working at Whitelines.
- Hearing brutal honesty.
- Made in Britain.
- Dryslope scene.
- Chatham Snowsports Centre.
- First trip ‘on snow’ aged 16.
- Parental expectations.
- First generation university-goers.
- Ski season in Val D’Isere.
- Studying International Business.
- Snowboarding in Finland.
- Making Hungerpain.
- The Austrian snowboard house.
- Working at Burton.
- “There’s always a way of doing it”.
- The rail by the Thames.
- Taking in the Oregon scenery.
- “Doing the weekend warrior thing”.
- Riding for Forum.
- All-nighters at ISPO.
- “Well, you’re not the next Shaun White”.
- 5 years at Forum.
- Forum’s film.
- Building a European team.
- “They didn’t mind a night out”.
- One night in Mayrhofen.
- A phone call from Phil Young.
- Nike 6.0.
- Chefs and physios.
- Riding with helmets.
- Kevin Pearce’s accident.
- Speaking German.
- Move to Portland.
- “If it’s not now, it may not come along again”.
- Having a great crew.
- Ending the program.
- Doing things the right way.
- Launching in Chile.
- Riding with world-class snowboarders.
- Board control.
- First time heli-boarding.
- Being highly exposed.
- “The worrying thing is no one is out there surfing right now”.
- Local surf spots.
- Nike’s training category.
- Crossfit explosion.
- Obsessions.
- Having kids.
- Swansea City.
- Paternity leave in Austria.
- The Jiggaflip.
- Injuries.
- Insurance.
- Joining the women’s business.
- Sports bra reference points.
- Tread gently.
- Patriarchy in sports.
- “You need to see it to be it”.
- Trevor Noah on Serena and Sexism.
- Tayla Harris trolls.
- New print titles.
- “People are prepared to pay for good content”.
- Learning more about the people.
- “Snowboarding is in a better position today”.
- Volcom’s advert for the Olympics.
- Arbitrary deadlines.
- Learn as you go.
People Mentioned
- Curtis Cisez
- Jake Burton
- Adrian Cairns
- Wayne Taylor
- Jamie Nicholls
- Sam Cullum
- Chris Schulz
- Chris Chatt
- Bryce Kanights
- Jonny Barr
- Mark Ruperelia
- Josh Wolf
- Tom Elliott
- Tim & Gendle
- Damian Doyle
- Charlie Clark
- Mack Dawg
- Henry Jackson
- Tom West
- Mike Rose
- Ian Sansom
- Marian Kaeding
- Shaun White
- Hasi
- JP Walker
- Joni Malmi
- Travis Kennedy
- Steavie Bell
- Eddie Wall
- Lauri Heiskari
- Pat Moore
- Jonas Mustonen
- Danny Larsen
- Phil Young
- David Benedek
- Sparrow Knox
- Jamie Nicholls
- Josh Bryceland
- Gigi Rüf
- Halldór Helgason
- Nicolas Müller
- Marc Swoboda
- Marco Smolla
- Bobby Meeks
- Peetu Piiroinen
- Gjermund Braaten
- Silje Norendal
- Kevin Pearce
- Sky Brown
- Henry Jackson
- Alex Schwani Schwan
- Bryan Fox
- Frode Sandbech
- Cyril Muller
- Josh Muzzey
- Joe Carlino
- Per-Hampus Stålhandske
- Sage Kotsenburg
- Sani Alibabic
- Will
- Mike Tobia
- Louie Vito
- Steve Gruber
- Owen Tozer
- Joel Bettner
- Duncan Carr
- Java Fernandez
- Anna Gasser
- Gerry Lopez
- Scott McMorris
- Lizzie Holloway
- Phil Young
- Greg Martin
- Tobin Powell Heath
- Megan Rapinoe
- Alex Morgan
- Wille Yli-Luoma
- Brian Fox
- Lee Trundle
- Leon Britton
- Danny Wheeler
- Kevin Keller
- Tesa Aragones
- Iris Yen
- Jamie Vardy
- Serena Williams
- Trevor Noah
- Greta Thunberg
- Wayne Rooney
- Tayla Harris
- Shaquille O’Neal
- Hailey Langland
- Jenny Jones
- Alex Yoda
- Neil Hartman
- Tara Tamai
Places Mentioned
- Niseko, Hokkaido, Japan
- Tokyo, Japan
- Portland, Oregon
- Austria
- Portugal
- Switzerland
- Halifax, UK
- Calshot, UK
- Milton Keynes, UK
- Holland
- Val D’Isere, France
- Talma, Finland
- Mayrhofen, Austria
- Morzine, France
- Mt Hood
- Sweden
- Saas-Fee, Switzerland
- Amsterdam, Holland
- Laax, Switzerland
- Sochi, Russia
- Baldface
- Chile
- Spain
- Chamonix, France
- Manzanita, Oregon
- Mt Baker
- Bachelor
- Mt Hood
- Innsbruck
- Bend, Oregon
- Mt Yotei, Japan
Companies/Brands/Organisations Mentioned
- Nike
- Forum
- White Lines
- Burton
- US Open
- First Choice Holiday Company
- ISPO
- Lib Tech
- All Conditions Media
- Volcom
- Quicksilver
- Dragon
- Salomon
- Stance Marketing
- The Toffee Club
- Cinema 21
- FIFA
- Koruah
- Patagonia
- North Face
- Travel Portland
- Hertz
- Black Diamond
- Kex Hotel
- Gentemstick
Films Mentioned
- Point Break
- Hungerpain
- Standing Sideways
- That
- Supernatural
- Fruition