We sat down with surfer and YouTuber Jade Darmawangsa to learn more about her job as a content creator and her passion for outdoors activities like surfing, which she learned to do before she could even swim. While her content generates millions of views across platforms, she grounds herself by spending time in the water—something that seemed impossible just a few years ago.
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“I think surfing is the first real sport/thing I experienced where you feel like you’re completely in the zone, like time almost stops and you’re just in the water. It’s my form of meditation.”
–Jade Darmawangsa
Outdoors.com: Tell me about your outlook on life.
Jade Darmawangsa: I think, when I was growing up, I was told that you can only be one thing. Like you can either be smart, but you can’t be fun. You can be an entrepreneur. But you can’t have a balanced social life, you have to keep grinding. I think that’s part of why I love surfing. What I do is find the balance between both. When people think of an entrepreneur, they don’t think of someone who’s in the ocean most of the day, but I am, and I find balance between working and being outside.
Outdoors.com: What are three things about you that would surprise us?
Jade Darmawangsa: I think people might not know that I’m very emotional and very sensitive. Obviously on social media I have this outdoorsy adrenaline like entrepreneur vibe, but I’m honestly very emotional. I would say gentle is a good word. I’m very in tune with emotions and other people’s emotions.
Outdoors.com: Why do you love surfing?
Jade Darmawangsa: I think surfing is the first real sport/thing I experienced where you feel like you’re completely in the zone, like time almost stops and you’re just in the water. It’s my form of meditation. I live a very stressful life and I’ve had a very stressful life, starting my businesses and being my own boss. So surfing is the only thing that really gets me into a flow state and present with whatever I’m doing. There’s no phones while you’re surfing, there’s nothing. It’s beautiful.
Outdoors.com: What is your most memorable surf competition and why?
Jade Darmawangsa: I actually competed at Red Bull Foam Wreckers about it a week ago. I got second place in my heat, and I made it to the semi-finals. That’s my first competition. And I think I did pretty good for my first comp. I was very surprised that I even placed. And I trained a lot for it. I only learned how to surf three years ago. It was on my bucket list to do a surf competition. I just was so nervous that I wasn’t good enough. Then like this year, I was like, f*** it. I want to enter the competition and I want to try something even though . . . I know I’m gonna suck. And actually, I didn’t suck. If you just put yourself out there and try your best, like, you’ll be surprised. The problem that most people run into is letting people’s thoughts about them stop them. That’s what I was afraid of, I was afraid people were gonna think I was stupid, but actually, they didn’t.
“Failing also can be learning. Just because you didn’t do something or hit your goal, doesn’t mean you’re failing, right? That just means that you learn a lesson and you have to keep going.”
–Jade Darmawangsa
Outdoors.com: What is your greatest fear?
Jade Darmawangsa: Fear of the unknown, fear of failing. Fear of the unknown because I’m working on a bunch of stuff, and I don’t know if it’s all going to work out. I mean, it’s a recession. So, it’s pretty tough out here. I think that I used to have a fear of failing more. I realized failing is not a real thing, because failing implies that you start and stop. But failing also can be learning. Just because you didn’t do something or hit your goal, doesn’t mean you’re failing, right? That just means that you learn a lesson and you have to keep going.
Outdoors.com: What things do you think contributed to your business success?
Jade Darmawangsa: I really try to face my fear as much as I can, in the most extreme possible way. When I first learned how to surf, I didn’t know how to swim. I was afraid of the ocean, so I thought surfing was a great opportunity to face my fear. It’s my motto. My mom has always said if you’re scared of something, what can you do that will fully expose you to that fear? You don’t want to do something that’s actually fully debilitating for your mental health, but the surf competition was a good example because I wanted to do it, and at the same time I was scared out of my mind. I think in business it’s similar. I‘ve started so many companies in the past and stopped many companies. I was worried that if I stopped people were going to look down on me. Some people did but I don’t give a f*** because I’m so used to doing things even if there’s resistance . . . because usually it’s worth it.
Outdoors.com: Tell me about the mental strategies that you use in business.
Jade Darmawangsa: Usually, when there’s discomfort, it’s a thing you should do. Obviously, there’s examples that are extreme, like if you’re doing something illegal or harmful, don’t do it. But if there’s a gut feeling you should do this but it’s uncomfortable, you’ve got to do it. That discomfort means you’re growing, and if you’re growing, it means you are getting better as a person. Leveling up. A lot of business strategy is mental. [Also,] getting a therapist, because a lot of the problems I had actually in business related to my childhood. If I was scared of what people thought about me and I related it to my fear as a child when I was growing up.
Outdoors.com: What is your craziest story?
Jade Darmawangsa: How I got started surfing. I picked up surfing three years ago when I didn’t know how to swim. I found this random surf instructor in Huntington Beach. I didn’t tell him I didn’t know how to swim and then he taught me to surf. And then later I told him, he’s like, what the f***. I fell in love with surfing at that moment. I’m scared of falling off my surfboard because I don’t know how to swim, but the whole point of it is staying on your board.
