What’s this, you weren’t aware of Jamie O’Brien being the craziest human being in the ocean? The photos have been making their rounds through the internet and your social media feeds all week since JOB decided lighting himself on fire before grabbing a backside barrel at Chopes would be fun. But we haven’t seen the video…until now.
The story of how this idea came to life is actually about as great as anything else Jamie O’s ever done (Not that surfing the most dangerous wave on the planet while on fire is funny. Unless you think it is). Around a year ago the creative minds putting together Who Is JOB were looking for something a little more wild than normal to feature in their web series. O’Brien reached out to his fans through social media, asking for stunts they’d like to see him pull off. “They said ‘it would be cool if you lit yourself on fire’ and I thought, might as well. So I went into Red Bull and I said hey, I want to light myself on fire and go into a barrel at Teahupo’o, and they looked at me like are you for real?” It really makes you wonder which ideas get shot down when Jamie O’Brien calls for a pitch meeting with Red Bull.
The process at that point, from getting the thumbs up to putting a full team together to make it all possible, is quite fascinating. You should check it out in Red Bull’s interview with Jamie O’Brien, including everything he had to say about surfing the world’s most dangerous wave while on fire, here.
The full episode of Who Is JOB 5.0 is set to air August 7th.
