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In the magazine business there are a few guys who you simply couldn’t function without. They are the guys who you want to pay and you want to keep working hard because their passion and artistry always shines through... Since the very beginning one of the guys on that list has been Jason Wolcott. Here, long-time friend Wes Matweyew reflects on his time on the planet with

Jason before firing off a few Qs to the man himself…

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I met Jason and his friends decades ago but I don’t think he remembers. He and his pack of bodyboard friends all surfed the same little wedge that I liked to surf. They were asking each other where they had surfed

that morning. At the time as a surfer I found it offensive that spongers would even call it surfing. But I had to eat my words when he showed me just what kind of waves he was riding and what he did on them. He is a straight up nut – he should be dead. Quite a bit later we met again when Jason approached my van (somehow getting past the attack Chihuahua I had guarding it). He had just started shooting photographs of us kiteboarders and he wanted to know if I would be willing to trade some kite lessons for photographs. I had my eye on this girl that hung out there and figured I’d have a better chance asking her out if I looked like a pro with a photographer shooting me so I agreed. On that first day of shooting we ended up with a shot that scored the contents page of Kiteboarding magazine, and a friendship had begun. We got my first and only cover together with a strapless kitesurfing barrel, and since then Jason has actually lost count of his cover shots (he gave up keeping track after 75). Since he admitted to being a pro sponger, I held that against him and wouldn’t let him near the water with a kite until he was staying upwind on my kite buggy and two line foils. He gave me payback by power sliding through the dead seals that were rotting on the beach. I had to keep the buggy in the van I was living in which wasn’t a very pleasant experience, so I had no choice but graduate him to inflatable C kites in the water. He excelled and was soon throwing powered low-to-the-water kiteloops that had me scared for him. That’s the strange thing about Jason: he can do it all. He longboards, shortboards, bodysurfs, kites (strapless surf style, twintip, and foils), and he is one of the fastest people you will ever see on a snowboard, and yes… he even still bodyboards. I guess there is a name for this kind of a guy: and that’s a waterman. His outgoing personality, genuinely positive vibe and insistence on legitimate style combined with a lifetime of shooting photos has seen his shots featured in every kite magazine on the planet.

Living in Bali has its privileges, especially for a goofy foot. Here’s Uluwata, the wave that put Bali on the map. Credit: Uluwata surf photos

"Jason: he can do it all..."

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"He has high standards wit h his photography and also in life..."

And despite being stuck on the beach most of the time, he has kept progressing with his riding and can give the best guys a run for their money in the water. He would have surpassed all of us if he weren’t stuck behind the camera all the time shooting us. (Snowkiting not so much, and we gave him the nickname ‘one way Wolcott’ as he could only go up hill and had to carry his board and kite back down until he figured it out. Now that’s a walk of shame…) He has high standards with his photography and also in life, which frustrates the hell out of me, but those standards continually pushed me and everyone else around him to become better riders and, in some cases, better humans. Jason’s talent and knowledge of the surf spots are an ideal combination for shooting the world’s best surfers. He knows the lineups intimately and I was jealous of the trips he would go on with my heroes from the world of surfing. Whether it was our local beach break shooting with Dane Reynolds and Bobby Martinez, or on some amazing trip with the Fox team: he was always shooting something rad. He allowed me to live in his spare room for a while (since my van stunk like dead seals) so I took full advantage of his early morning surf

checks and networking with the best surfers in the world. I would casually show up when they finally settled on a spot for the morning and would score the most amazing waves. He was the driving force that got Ian Alldredge noticed and paid and, continuing on that path, produced some of the most amazing watershots of the best kitesurfers at some of the world’s heaviest waves. He is very lucky to still have both his ears and his head as he puts it all on the line to produce crazy images. Thankfully he is perfectly comfortable body surfing over the falls as he shoots, as that’s what he does for fun anyway... Now he’s ticked off covers on most magazines on the planet and made his name as one of the greats of his era, he finally has the time to get a bit more riding in himself. His riding style, progression and power have come into focus, surpassing many of the pro riders that he’s accustomed to shooting. You can almost sense the pent up frustration from having to sit on the beach or swim a camera in epic conditions for so many years… But enough from me. What has he got to say for himself?

How to avoid crowded lineups? Bodysurf. Credit: Rudolph Huagenader

Sneaking out between photo sessions on a trip with Keahi. Credit: Adbul Samad

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Where do you reside and what is your life like there?

JW: I live in Bali, Indonesia. I am from California originally but bailed on the First World after getting shredded in a divorce. Life is good here. I am married to an amazing Indonesian woman and we have two little kids who keep me stoked, busy, stressed out, and permanently smiling. When I’m not behind the camera, I pretty much play with my kids, watch NHL hockey on Apple TV, and wait for the wind to come up…

You have been flying kites of every style from virtually the beginning.

What is your favorite kite presently?

JW: Ya, I have flown all kinds of kites from two line foil kites to Peter Lynn foil kites in the beginning, progressing into C kites and eventually the first generation of SLE kites. I got to ride some prototypes of the Crossbow 1 and 2 as well as the Naish Sigma weirdness… For the past seven years I have been riding for Cabrinha and have been on Drifters since the first year they came out. I also ride a lot of lightwind kites and love my Cabrinha Contra 17m and 15m for the cruddy wind we get here in Indo.

What is legitimate kite style and riding to you? Who are the guys you

look to for inspiration? JW: Legitimate is so subjective but I’ll give you my take on it… To me, surf kiting is what I love. Using the kite to catch as many waves as I can and helping me do turns I could not do surfing. Or maybe could do if the lineups were not so full of humans… As far as style, I have been a big proponent of strapless down-the-line sideshore wave riding with an influence on doing what feels most like surfing and looks the most like surfing… Which I am the first to admit is somewhat complicated by the fact we have a bar and lines and a kite to deal with. As far as inspirations, I look up to riders like Ian Alldredge and Keahi as they have the best style and ride the way I wish or aspire to ride. It’s hard because both those guys are regular foot and I’m goofy so I watched a lot of footage of them in a mirror. That’s strange… I learned a lot from Mauricio Abreu, Peter Trow, and Ben Wilson as well as you, Wes Matweyew! I have been lucky to be around the best surf-style riders in the sport for so long that a little bit of all of them rubbed off. I think I learned a lot from shooting with Patri McLaughlin, he is my favorite goofy footed kiter. He rides with lots of speed and power and charges like a drunk monkey.

What is your favorite thing to do on a kite? JW: I Love to ride long left hand reefs in sideshore wind, to go fast and smack the lip. I love that I can ride so many waves in a session… it makes me not want to paddle my shortboard…

Have you found anyone who can shoot you and make you look as good

as you have made all of us look all these years?

JW: I’m just grateful to anyone who has taken the time to photograph me. I have been lucky to have my picture taken by some amazing photographers, but I would like to shoot with myself. Although I take a lot of chances when shooting and I’m not sure I would want to ride as close as I make the pros ride if I was shooting with myself…

I cannot keep up with you on a scooter if I tried, what’s the worst accident

you have had riding one?

JW: A broken leg and dislocated knee. I hit my foot on the foot of another motorcycle rider head on. I don’t know how but I did not crash… I just pulled over screaming. I am lucky to be alive as I had my wife on the back of the bike and we were passing a truck when it happened… I have since slowed down.

What do you look for in a kitesurfing board, as you’re just as particular

about that as you are about only publishing legitimate cutting edge

riding?

JW: I like to ride boards that are a bit smaller than my normal paddle surf shortboards. So around 26-27 liters of volume and under 5’10. I have had some great boards over the years. Some of my favorites are the Cabrinha Proto, a Gabriel Lloyd custom, and my Firewire Tomo Vader. I ride thruster set ups with bigger fins than I would normally surf.

Where is the best secret spot in the world? Coordinates please? JW: I have been fortunate to see and kite so many amazing locations in my 15 years kiting. But for me, Peru was magic as a goofy foot. Such perfection. And I have some amazing off the radar spots that I go to but I’m not telling…

Jason enjoying some afternoon breeze at home. Credit: Gerhard Engelbrecht

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What are your biggest no no’s that you can pass on to aspiring

pro kitesurfers so they can avoid the pitfalls that will keep them

from progressing?

JW: Don’t be a dick. Be humble, ride hard, listen to the last generation, keep trying and dream big. Oh yeah, and most important: travel far.

Jason would like to thank Cabrinha kites, Palm Bay Bali, and Liquid Eye Water Housing Systems for all their support in front of and behind the camera.

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tJason and River, the next generation...

"Keep trying and dream big."