VICE’s Jake Burghart Discusses North Korea, Stoned Teenagers With AK47s And Surfing

Jake Burghart started with VICE 13 years ago. He was 23. “When I first started I was like, yeah these guys are cool,” he tells Stab. “I didn’t have a job and was just happy to have one. Since then, it’s all been one big wild ride.” Jake’s travelled to 69 different countries and is the gentleman behind the camera for VICE’s most notable pieces. He also happens to be handy on a surfboard, which made him the ideal candidate for our Culture Shifters series with House Beer. Jake gave us a rare glimpse into life behind the scenes of North Korea, The Democratic Republic of Congo, The White House with Obama, who after the interview, asked them, “If they want to go get some craft beers, because that’s what bearded hipsters do, right?” 

We had a party on Thursday night, premiered the episode, followed it with a Q&A and drank ourselves into a dusty Friday morning. After the film ended, North Korea was the hot topic, as everytime VICE has visited the Hermit Kingdom, they’ve rolled out the red carpet. “They seem truly unaware that they’re putting on a show,” he said. “It’s the age of information, so you have to assume some things have leaked and some of them must know. But when we were there, they goose-stepped for miles in unison. And when you got that many people prepared to goose-step that far, you might be a scary power.” 

Watch episode one of Culture Shifter with the Creative Director of Facebook, Scott Tratner here. 

Watch episode two with Dion Agius, here.