Jaimal
Yogis
Shoe of choice:Tan Prahu/Boat Shoe
Profession:Author
Hometown:New York
Where are you from / Whats your story?
I was born in New York, but moved around a lot because my dad was in the Air Force. He loved to surf when he was younger and I was always hearing tales of big waves in Hawaii. We got landlocked in suburbia when he was stationed in Sacramento, CA. and I started to rebel a lot in the typical teenage way. Trying to get my life on track, I ran away to Hawaii. I had this idea that the ocean would guide me back to my true self or something like that — and you know, in a way I was right. My folks convinced me to come home after a few weeks in Hawaii, but my life has largely revolved around the sea since then. Now I feel ridiculously lucky to live with my wife and two sons on San Francisco’s Ocean Beach. Hopefully our boys won’t runaway because there’s nowhere better.
What do you do?
Since graduate school life has been trying to write about those ineffable experiences we have in the water and trying to figure this life stuff out. What are we doing here? How can we live beautifully and honestly? How can we be here on this planet with seven billion people and not screw things up too much? These are the questions that drive me. And whether I’m working on a book, an article, a song, a film, or a poem, I’m a writer. I craft words for a living. I love language.
Favorite place to travel to?
I just want to be a good dad, but professionally, I’m stoked to be working on a project about farming. I think if we’re going to survive together on this planet, we’re going to all need to learn to grow things again.