“Jesse is a charger! He actually enjoys the big, nasty looking shorebreaks and slabs that most people need a camera to motivate them to even paddle out. He is as positive of a person as they come. He likes keeping his spots hush-hush and keeps a low profile when he is in the water. Jesse is not only the type of person that drives you to charge harder than you ever would, but the “aloha spirit” he radiates makes you want to be a better person.”
-Evan Fa

What’s your name?
Jesse King
Where are you from originally?
North Shore, O’ahu, Hawai’i

Where do you live now?
Same exact place; North Shore, O’ahu, Hawai’i

How old are you?
22

How long have you been bodyboarding?
8 years

Prone or DK? If both, how much of each?
100% prone

Who do you bodyboard with?
Good friends. Bryan Phillups, Evan Fa, Kap Sanderson, North Shore locals.

What is your favorite bodyboard spot?
My favorite is Confidentials, and I also like Ke Iki and Rock Piles a lot.

Where have you traveled to bodyboard?
Puerto Escondido, Mexico 5 different trips

Where do you want to travel to bodyboard?
Ni’ihau, all the small random islands in the South Pacific, West Africa, Sri Lanka.

What board(s) do you ride?
I’ve been riding the same board for the past 3 years. It’s a custom board made by Carlos Rios (shaper of Ballistic Bodyboards). Before that I had a custom board made by Brian Peterson.

Do you compete?
No.

What is the bodyboarding community in Hawaii like?
On my side of the island it’s small, tight-knit, and unfortunately consists mostly of guys coming down from town.

Do you have any sponsors? What companies?
Viper Fins.

What other board sports do you partake in?
Longboarding, shortboarding, and river riding.

What bodyboard goals do you have?
Just to never stop getting better, going bigger, and boosting harder.

Where do you see the bodyboarding going in the future?
It’s hard to say, but I would imagine it’s only going to get bigger. It’s small time in Hawai’i and because of that it can only go up. In places like Australia it’s huge but for Hawai’i it’s different and slightly repressed because of the ridiculous surfing scene.

What riders influenced your bodyboarding?
Honestly, first and foremost my good friends because they’re the ones that push me. After that I think guys like Skipp and Stewart.

What riders are pushing the sport right now?
Jeff Hubbard, Ryan Hardy, the Players, Damien King, and whole bunch of other Aussies.

If you were stranded on a desert island that already has a plentiful resource of bodyboards and fins what three things would you bring?
A good comfortable spring suit, my girlfriend, and my close friends.
What is the best advice you can give to a bodyboard grom trying to get recognized?
Go big and don’t let people push you around. Be you; create your own style.

Any last words of advice? Shout outs?
Mahalo to all the people who spread aloha!