KL:
Where does your genealogical lineage trace back
to?
PJ: Apparently Ireland. Being Australian and being
Irish means you were a convict on a boat. 
KL:
Nice. You seem to have taken a liking to California,
huh?
PJ: Yeah, it's a funny place. I've been coming
in and out of here since I was 17 and you get
adjusted to things. You live out of your suitcase
your whole life and you just kinda ramble around,
but I met a lot of my friends when I was younger
here, and all the good people in my life are in
California, besides my family in Australia that
I love. It's nothing I really planned, but it's
pretty cool.
KL:
What is your cup of tea?
PJ: I guess creativity is what I like best. It's
my favorite thing to do, to think about things—what
to do next, or what would be cool...
KL:
What disturbs you the most?
PJ: People just accepting things as they are even
if it's not right. Not having the strength to
stand up and change it together. That's definitely
an energy I've noticed lacking in the world today.
I don't know if we're all in a stupor with MTV
or whatever, but definitely in the past if people
wanted change they went out seeking it to make
the world a better place. But we seem to be lacking
drive in that lately.
KL:
In the surf video Aqua
Dulce, you expressed hope for the opportunity
for females to make a career out of free surfing;
do you think that dream is closer or further now
from becoming reality?
PJ: It's a hard call. I think the hardest thing
about that is we've lost a lot of women's publications
and magazines. Obviously that generates the ability
for the girls to make a living out of it. But
you know hopefully with everything that gets lost
there are new doors that open, and maybe there
is gonna be a new wave of publications and platforms.
Because you know surfing is a sport about free
expression and I think women's surfing, even more
than the men's, should be about that. You know,
you have the girls that shortboard, and you have
the really young girls, and the women, and the
girls who ride longboards, or retro boards, and
for us to continue in the industry as a sport
or a pastime we need to have that broadness.
KL:
Word on the street is that you're helping out
for a new magazine called "Wet". Can
you share with us about that?
PJ: Yeah, I don't feel like I do a lot for them,
except offer advice and support. Having tried
to start a couple businesses myself, I know I
valued any kind of support I could get. Now that
I'm not competing anymore doesn't mean that women's
surfing isn't close to my heart. I want to see
more opportunities arise for the girls coming
up than what I had. That's important to me, to
see that still be carried on. And I have to be
around to see that happen. We need a quality print
magazine that tells the story.
KL:
And you think this will be one?
PJ: Yeah, I think so. They have a good team of
graphic artists that I'm impressed with, and some
very, very good writers involved, so I can't see
how we could fail with that.
KL:
Is it getting the advertising dollars it needs?
PJ: Hmm, that's obviously a hard thing, and I
don't think it's a reflection of the magazine,
or the concepts, the idea itself, as much as there
is the perception that because three other magazines
before it haven't survived, that it's a risky
venture for advertisers to pay a lot of money
for.
Prue Jeffries
Interview | 1
| 2 | 3
| 4 |
5 | 6
| 7 |
|
|
