No. 6 Jun Ikeda Smoothn Casual ~ With the 90's longboard revival

He turned professional with the launch of the JPSA Longboard Championships in 1991, and has since traveled the world competing in world championships and ASP contests. His entertaining skills are widely known overseas, and he remains world-famous as one of Japan's leading surfers, nicknamed JUNBUG. He also writes as a journalist for specialist magazines, and produced the hit Smooth Casual series of movies.

Seven years ago in the summer, he suddenly suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, but he never gave up and continued his rehabilitation, and on days when the waves are good in Shonan, Jun can always be seen with his bodyboard in hand on the inside surf. As the saying goes, persistence is power, and learning from the past is what makes new, so this important figure who led the Japanese scene along with the global longboard revival of the 90s makes his long-awaited appearance at Beached Days.

(Junbug is back. Katase, Fujisawa 2023.)

Jun is a surfer who grew up in Tokyo.

Yes. I was born on July 6th, 1965 in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo. However, I only found that out recently, when I happened to look up my registered domicile and found out I was born in Shibuya. Until then, I'd said I was born in Setagaya (laughs). The maternity hospital in Hiroo where I was born, which is now the Japanese Red Cross Hospital, no longer exists. I grew up in Akatsutsumi, Setagaya Ward. I've sold my house in Setagaya now, so I'm currently receiving care here (Shonan Fujisawa).

When did you move from Tokyo to Shonan?

After graduating from high school in Setagaya, I started working at Betty's Surf Shop in Kugenuma, so I lived in Kugenuma Kaigan 3-chome from the age of 18 to 21. After that, I went to Australia, Bali, and did a bit of travel-related stuff.

Did you start out riding BMX?

As a kid, I played baseball and was a totally normal kid. But for some reason, I picked up a skateboard, so that was my first skateboard. Then, when I was in the fifth or sixth grade, I started going to Yoyogi Park, and my parents were pretty lenient, so by the time I was in sixth grade, they bought me a decent skateboard. I also bought my first pair of Vans shoes when I was in sixth grade or first year of junior high. And my trunks were, of course, Katin. Even back then, I was like, "Who the hell else are these kids?" (laughs)

So I kept skateboarding, but then the skateboarding boom died down. At that time, all the skate parks were gone, so I wondered what to do, what to do. I actually wanted to surf, but I was in high school, so for some reason I ended up with BMX. A friend of mine was doing it, so I continued for two or three years. I was pretty fast in races, and ranked around fourth.

My sponsor at the time was PRO KEDS, and when I went to Niijima to shoot for the team, I met a guy named Kaoru Ohno (Pro surfer and CEO of Betty's) who was also on the PRO KEDS team. So, we went to a secret spot on Niijima for the shoot, but there was no one in the ocean. I used to swim in elementary school, so they asked me if I could float offshore. I think that was the first time I rode a real hard surfboard.

After that, around November of my second year of high school, I went to Betty's and became a club member, and luckily I got a wetsuit, but I had to buy my own surfboard. At that time, if I went to a photo shoot, I would get paid because I was an athlete even though I was in high school. So I was able to buy a surfboard. And from that point on, I started living a shitty life (laughs).

The reason why I got into surfing is because when you go to parties, there are more girls than guys, and it's not glamorous. There are no girls for skateboarding or BMX. So I thought, "Oh, I'll give that a try," and jumped off my bike (laughs).

(Northshore Hawaii 1984. Photo: Gordinho)

For several years, I worked at Kaoru Ohno's Betty' shop, which represents Shonan beach culture.

That's right. Normally, surf shop employees don't get tickets to go overseas. I worked hard in the summer tending the shop by myself, and somehow in the fall I got a ticket to Hawaii. They even set up my accommodation for me, and I stayed there for about two months starting in November. That's when I saw the difference between the real thing and the real thing. I realized that what I was doing in Kugenuma wasn't surfing.

Then I realized that I wouldn't get any better if I stayed here, and that I needed to go on a world tour or travel the world. That was something I had always thought about, and I needed money to do that, so I worked a regular job in Tokyo during that time. So I paid off all my debts in Hawaii, borrowed money from my parents, and went to Australia to train a bit, and when I got there, everyone there said I was really good. I wondered why I was so good, and honestly thought about quitting.
Then, a while after I came back, I broke my leg while skateboarding, and then for some reason I started riding a longboard that we had at home, when I was around 22 or 23 years old.

Then, there was a longboard revival going on in Japan, so I decided to enter a competition. I'd also been good at shortboarding, so naturally I was good at riding and had a fast paddle. So I entered pro trials and became a JPSA pro in 1990 at the age of 25. I even won Rookie of the Year in my first year as a pro. But I quit the Japanese tour after about five years, and then toured all the PSAA and HLSA world tournaments. You might be wondering how I was able to tour the world, right? At that time, my father passed away, and I inherited his money in cash. I spent it all on that (laughs).

After the competition, I trained in California and returned to the JPSA tour, but I started writing a column called L-Style for Surfing Life magazine, which is what led me to become a journalist. My dad was a car reviewer, so we had a word processor at home. I was able to put together a portfolio of magazine clippings, and I was able to get some good sponsors pretty early on, so I had a fun life (laughs). Looking back, it was a good time.

(World Longboard Championship, Hawaii 1993. Photo: Manabu Nomoto)

It was over 20 years ago when I ran a surf shop called 81 Production Warehouse in Setagaya and stocked boards by Tyler Hadjikian and others. I was on the Typhoon team with pro surfer Takuji Masuda, which also included Mitch Abshire and Trace Marshall.

What I've been doing since then is doing everything to create synergy. Not only competitions, but I've also been involved in the magazine ON THE BOARD since its launch as a supervisor, and I've also been making surf movies. I've been importing surfboards from California and doing all sorts of things and making a living, but I hear that young professional surfers today can't get any sponsors at all...

Jun's SMOOTHN'CASUAL series of longboarding movies was not only popular in Japan, but also among longboarders in California.

The reason I started shooting videos in the first place was because before that, there were only two companies in the industry: Harvey Fletcher's Fletcher Media, and a company run by a man called Ira Opper. Editing equipment was expensive, and it was almost impossible to produce videos without an editing studio. That's why even young people like Joe Scott (of J.Brother, who produced Adrift and Longer) had a very difficult time making videos.

Around 1998, after Windows 95, editing software like Premiere came out, and then the iMac was released, making it possible for anyone to do non-linear video editing at home. It was still full of bugs and completely unusable, but I think that was around the time of Smooth Casual 3. I also made the first and second games in a studio. It was a time when 1GB cost 10,000 yen, and a 100GB hard drive would cost 1 million yen. After that, VHS gave way to DVD, and distribution changed as well. I think that was the turning point.

Masuda set up a company in Malibu, and he also owned half of my company, 81 Productions, so I often stayed at his house in Malibu and began photographing California surfers. Stars like Matt Howard and Josh Farbrough were at the time of the single-fin longboard revival. The one I saw in person and was absolutely astounded was Kevin Connelly. Like Tyler Hazzikian, they ride heavy single fins and are surfer-shapers, a movement with very old roots, and I thought that was changing. It was also great that Nakamura Seitaro went to Kevin's place. Seitaro is probably the only person who has gone to the trouble of studying abroad to learn longboarding from high school.

Back then, Oceanside and Venice were also dangerous places, but when I went there recently, I was surprised to see that they had transformed into fashionable towns.

(Tavarua, Fiji. Photo: Bill Parr)

It may be due to the times, but in the past, Japanese professional longboarders were often seen on the world stage, right?

The first world championship was in Biarritz, France in 1992, and I traveled there on my own for 10 days. My teammates were Mikio Kawai, Seiichiro Nakamura, Toshiya Omi, and Ken Tanaka, a cousin of Norihiko Okano, who wanted to watch the event. There used to be a lot of magazines, so we all wanted to go to Tavarua or catch the waves in Malibu. When you actually go to Malibu or San Onofre, they're great places for longboarding.

I wanted to see a lot of different things, so I went to California, and I wondered why people from California in the past went to Makaha. When I went to Makaha, I really understood the roots of surfing. You can do all kinds of surfing, from body surfing. I wouldn't be convinced until I tried stand-up and saw it for myself.

I don't know many people from my generation before me, but moving to Shonan and embracing a beach lifestyle is a big thing. I'm also an immigrant. I wanted to surf every day. So that was probably my dream. I think Japan will change rapidly if two or three generations of people continue surfing.

(Super legends at Minami Cup in the 90's. Photo courtesy of Jun Ikeda)

What do you think about the scene right now?

It's heading in a direction that has nothing to do with surfing's roots, towards professional sports. Longboarding is its roots, so it's a lifestyle, and what's interesting about it is how cool it is. There's a surfer lifestyle that's hard to understand. I think that's where it all comes from. When I was a kid, there was no such thing as getting in the car and drinking a cup of coffee while going to see the ocean. That's something that comes from culture.

In America, there are club contests all over the country, and although I can't quite remember which ones I entered, I was able to enter them occasionally. It wasn't just surfing, there were barbecues and people staying in vans. I want people to get into it through things like that, rather than just reading magazines or looking on the internet.

I also think it's better to come to the beach and take it easy. Everyone surfs in the morning and doesn't go down to the beach afterwards. They say to bring a blanket and spread it out and just laze around on the beach. You'll understand what's good about it if you try it. Like, what happens when you go camping while surfing? You'll think, why is it fun? Why bother with all that inconvenience? Beached Days is tackling this difficult issue, but that's the culture.

Jun Ikeda: Born in 1965. Originally from Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, he currently resides in Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture. He turned professional at age 25 when the JPSA Longboard Tour was launched in 1991. He competed in the ASP Longboard Tour in 1992, achieving a world ranking of 19th. He has also competed in domestic and international competitions, including the PSAA and the Buffalo Contest in Hawaii. As a beach culture journalist, he writes for surfing magazines and oversees "Jun Ikeda's Longboard Clinic." He has also produced Japan's leading longboard movie series, Smooth Casual, for many years.

Interview: Kawazoe Mio: Born and currently living in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture. Graduated from the University of California, San Diego, surfing club. With a father who was a first-generation Japanese surfer, Kawazoe encountered overseas culture from an early age. From the early 1990s, she lived in San Diego and Malibu, California, for 10 years, experiencing the longboard revival. After returning to Japan, she became editor-in-chief of ON THE BOARD and worked on GLIDE and other magazines. Using her unique network, she has introduced real California logs and the alternative surf scene to Japan.