Who is J.O.B: Behind the Flames

August 7th, was no joke at Chopes. From the wipeout that shocked the surf world (and taught us it’s harder to die at Teahupoo then we all think it is), to Keala Kennelly whipping into an absolute monster and outdoing the boys. To the man on fire, featured here; Mr Jamie O’Brien. As you might imagine, some hiccups in the plan arose.

For a year, this plan laid under a cloak of secrecy. After multiple attempts in  California and Hawaii, through trial and error the team eventually landed on the proper recipe for potential disaster. “It’s one thing being lit on fire in a controlled environment, but it’s quite another being lit on fire in the ocean, where you have to deal with things like wind, finding the perfect wave, and knowing how the fuel will react to the humidity,” O’Brien says. “Plus, I’m not sure what I was more scared of: the fire or the reef combined with such a large swell. Both could cause me permanent damage.”

Mr Riley Harper, a Hollywood stunt coordinator and a crew of 25 got to the island a few days early to find the right combination of fuel of the stunt. “There were certain types of fuel we needed, but we quickly realized the fuel in Tahiti was just not the same as what we have in L.A.,” explains Harper. “For me and my fire team, we had to start from scratch to create a new type of fuel mixture and do a lot of our own tests out here.”