Rick Rubin Talks Surfing with Jack Johnson (Podcast)

“What am I?” ponders Jack Johnson, as he kicks off the latest episode of music producer Rick Rubin’s podcast, Tetragrammaton.

“I’m more of a surfer than anything,” the Hawaiian musician continues. “As far as an activity or any kind of hobby or anything like that. It was just always there.”

And that spawns an hour-and-a-half long conversation between Johnson and Rubin, in which they discuss many things, including surfing’s connection to songwriting, Johnson’s early days on the North Shore, Kelly Slater, Gerry Lopez, and more.

Johnson is a surfer-turned-world-famous-musician, having grown up on the North Shore of Oahu, amidst the Momentum Generation, which featured the likes of Kelly Slater, Rob Machado, Shane Dorian, Taylor Knox, Benji Weatherley, and Kalani Robb.

Rubin is one of the world’s most coveted music producers, working with everyone from Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys, to Metallica and Slayer, to Red Hot Chili Peppers and Weezer, to the late, great Johnny Cash and countless others.

And it turns out, Rubin, the Zen master himself, is a surfer, too.

“Surfers are different than everybody else,” says Rubin. “Surf movies are so interesting. They have so much power. It’s so much fun to fall into the world of surf, through film. There’s some magical connection between film and surfing. You can watch it forever.”

Recently, some footage surfaced of (what appears to be) Rubin surfing. It was not confirmed, however, it’s exactly how one might imagine he’d surf – whacky maneuvers, banging his head like a cartoon monkey, and absolute joy whilst riding a wave.

So, kick back and hit play on the podcast above.

"True to Rubin’s Zen practices, the conversation ambles and rambles, going nowhere in particular but revealing golden truths along the way," wrote SURFER Culture Editor, Jake Howard, about the pod.

If you’re feeling a little jaded by surfing these days – crowds, sh*tty waves, more crowds (*raises hand*) – these two will rejuvenate your stoke.

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