To slap a single label on Jon Rose would be inaccurate. But several might help, so here goes. Jon was a pro surfer during an era when being a Freesurfer was a good way to make a living. He’s been a model in partnership with brands like Dockers, Tumi, Kenneth Cole, and others. In 2009, he was called into action by the massive earthquake in Sumatra, which led to founding a non-profit called Waves for Water. To date, his organization has positively impacted nearly 4 million people with access to clean water, activated programs in over 40 countries, and responded to over 30 disasters globally. He’s also a photographer, storyteller, and in recent years has been doing high altitude mountaineering in the Himalayas. Yep, he’s a first rate Nature Junkie.

Jon joined me from his home in Lake Tahoe and we talked about him completing a ten year project in Nepal to build a house for a widow, his Mount Shasta upbringing that led to an early father and son dirtbag surf mission deep into Baja and mainland Mexico, his globetrotting pro surfing career, the founding of Waves for Water, the wisdom he’s learned from indigenous communities around the world, prioritizing nature over tech, and nature’s role in psychedelic integration work.

If you find anything in this episode helpful or inspiring, please share it with a friend so we can bend the algorithms toward nature. Thanks!

Episode Links

Jon Rose on Instagram

Jon Rose’s Website

Waves for Water

Waves for Water on on Instagram

IG Reel from Jon/W4W of Anjali’s House Unveiling (have some tissues handy, it’s emotional)

Connect with Nature Junkie

Substack: https://naturejunkie.substack.com/

Instagram: @naturejunkieradio

Website: www.naturejunkielife.com

Production Credits

Hosted by Jeff Johnson

Podcast cover art by Ahab Nimry

Outro music by Tyler Johnson

Editing by Aashish M.