Jamie O’Brien has come a long way in his career. It could be argued that he made the surf vlog a feasible option for a free surfer’s career. He’s a living legend at surfing’s most famous wave. He’s become a star who is recognizable outside of the surfing world, which is something only a handful of surfers have been able to do. He’s been in the spotlight for a long, long time, so when this little video popped up in our suggested clips on Youtube, our interest was piqued. It’s a Red Bull profile from 2008, and it shows a different kind of Jamie O’Brien. A little more serious, a little less psyched.
Something he says at the end of the profile shows that he’s always known what he was going to do. “I’m going to keep digging at this tour for a few more years and see how that goes,” he said. “If it goes good, I’m on. If it doesn’t, I’m just going freesurfing and having fun. That’s why I started surfing, right? To have fun and travel the world and surf the best waves.”
To say that he accomplished that last sentence would be an understatement.
