Jobzilla: A Job Board For Surfers

In a capitalist society, competition is a sign of a healthy economy. Lincoln Eather knows this. 

At the start of July, the Gold Coast resident and self-described “surf nerd” launched Jobzilla, a comprehensive job-board platform targeting the global boardsports industry. 

Lincoln, who worked in Surfline’s gear division and online store (among other surf industry jobs) calls himself Jobzilla’s first success story.

“There is a bit of irony in getting laid off by a company and then starting a job-search site,” he laughs. “But I saw a gap in the market where I could provide a valuable service to both people and brands, so I decided to go ahead and do it.”

As it turns out, Lincoln designed Jobzilla to help people who, like his younger self, wanted to be a part of the industry, but didn’t know.

“Boardsport brands often struggle to find crew that fit culturally and have skills — people who want to get into the industry and have skills are having trouble finding the jobs. So hopefully Jobzilla will help bridge the gap.” 

Rather than get stuck refreshing brands’ career pages or sifting through generic platforms like Seek and LinkedIn, Lincoln sought to create a seamless, easy-to-use job-seeking site specifically targeting the boardsports industry and those knocking on its door. After about six weeks of work, Jobzilla was up and running.

The website gives applicants access to a variety of large brands (Red Bull, GoPro, etc.) and smaller, more niche operations like Former and Stance, all under one roof. Depending on the company, applicants can either apply internally through Jobzilla or will be directed to a brand’s career page. You can even subscribe to a newsletter for updates and openings. Marketing, sales, and graphic design positions await.

For those questioning Lincoln’s core credentials (beyond the no-hand backside tub above), they run deep.

Nobody can (or wants to) track the surf website traffic like he does. He’s Mick Fanning’s go-to dog- and house-sitter, and he oversees the blog and job board on Empire Ave (named after a street in the heart of Jan Juc, where Bells resides).

Also worth noting: The timing of Jobzilla launch is extremely relevant for the greater boardsports industry. The sale of Boardriders in March could mean lots of job seekers from Billabong, Quik, and beyond may be on the market and headed straight to Lincoln’s new job board when the ABG deal finalizes on August 31.

But for Lincoln, Jobzilla is personal. It’s exactly what he and his mates could have used growing up to get a leg up in the industry as groms. 

“There are so many people that have started in the industry from retail or from running a ski lift that are now head-honcho bigwigs,” he said. “So if we can create a platform that services people from the bottom to the top, that’s great.”