THE WAVE SLIDERS JOURNAL
ENTRY # 035
Written By: Chris Brown
Intro By: Jack Ventura
Credited Photos By: Steven Visneau | @stevenvisneauphotography
I don't really know Chris Brown, but I want to.
So, selfishly, I asked if he would participate in our Wave Sliders Journal! And I think it's obvious he agreed...
Chris's creative journey began at 8 years old when he self-published his first magazine, "TEJAS." This early venture set the stage for a creative life.
His more recent work, Refueled Magazine, is something intriguing that I hadn't seen before. I can't quite put my finger on why, and I like that uncertainty.
Maybe it's the age-old draw I have to people who surf but don't hail from "surf" locations? Or perhaps it's his years of design practice and print magazine experience? I'm not sure...but I was drawn to Chris’s style - and I think you will be too.
If you don’t already know Chris Brown, begin your journey here with this Wave Sliders Journal entry. Let it be just the starting point for exploring Chris and his work...
Photo Credit: Steven Visneau
Who are you?
Share a few sentences explaining who you see yourself as these days...
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On the day-to-day side, I'm the founder/creative director of Refueled Magazine and Principal/Creative Director of Refueled Creative Agency. And on weekends and any available free time, I'm a laid-back grom at heart - just staying stoked on close friends, sharing stories, and riding the nose on waves and life.
Photo Credit: Steven Visneau
What was your first job?
First jobs reveal a lot about who we are.
--
At eight years old, I created a magazine titled “Tejas”. My intent was to mix the counterculture shift I saw happening around me - similar to what I was seeing in LIFE magazine, with the humor and rebellion of MAD.
I hand-drew all of the covers and inside pages, wrote articles about folks (especially young hippies) in and around the neighborhood, and developed a comic strip; I then sold those 8.5 by 11 inch stapled sheets of typing paper to kids for ten cents.
After my best friend saw the money I was making, he started his own magazine and we became this little community of self-publishers. I was hooked, and have been (quite often told) a little ahead of my time.
What have you learned through surfing that translates to everyday life?
What you have learned from surfing and how those lessons help you through daily livin'...
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A creative starts at the bottom of a circle, gains experience and moves through an education of their craft.
It’s when you move beyond that and start going back down the circle, forgetting everything that you’ve learned, that you come back to a place where you’re trusting your instincts, and your unconscious voice.
What is something you'd like to accomplish in the next 10 years?
Share a goal for the next decade, and how surfing might have influenced these aspirations.
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God willing, I really do see the next decade of my life as a continuation of sharing the things I love with the people closest to me, and those who have embraced the Refueled ethos. We're all equal before a wave.
Photo Credit: Steven Visneau
What Chris Is Stoked On Lately...
Someone in the surf community you are stoked on:
Alex Knost & Karina Rozunko have been favs for a long while. Both have such beautiful styles.
Photos: Alex Knost (Surfingworld.com) | Karina Rozunko (Boardriding.com)
A quote you like?
"The world you see is just a movie in your mind. Rocks don't see it. Bless and sit down. Forgive and forget. Practice kindness all day to everybody and you will realize you’re already in heaven now. That’s the story. That’s the message. Nobody understands it, nobody listens, they’re all running around like chickens with heads cut off. I will try to teach it but it will be in vain, s’why I’ll end up in a shack praying and being cool and singing by my wood stove making pancakes."
- Jack Kerouac, 1957
A place you want to visit that you have not been to yet?
I'm hoping to get down to Baja California SOON!
Follow Chris on IG: @refueled.magazine or check out his website here.
Thanks for reading, ya'll! Look out for the next WAVE SLIDERS JOURNAL coming soon.
- Jack
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