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Jimmy Wilson is an enigma. Just when you think you’ve
got the 24-year-old St. Augustine, FL, native figured out, glaring
inconsistencies rear their head. A beer-swilling NASCAR fan, Jimmy also idolizes
gangsta rappers like Gucci Mane. Currently living in San Clemente, CA, where he serves as Associate Photo Editor for Surfing Magazine, he regularly takes the redeye home to
fulfill his duty as a dedicated Jacksonville Jaguars season ticketholder. Quick to call out anyone
on his Facebook, Twitter, or “That’s Bullshit!” blog on SurfingMagazine.com, Jimmy
remains humble and self-deprecating about his own photography. Hell, even after
barking the loudest on toxic Internet shit-talking message boards, Jimmy will
gladly offer up his e-mail, phone number, and home address to any and all haters.
What drives a character of such seemingly cartoonish
proportions? Is it all about having fun and crushing egos, or are there bigger
forces at work keeping the Category Five Jimmicane spinning?
Wilson grew up surfing with Oldest City rippers
Zander Morton, Matt Wetmore, and Jonny Barclay, and by the age of 14 began
lugging his dad’s manual-focus Pentax and 400mm lens to the beach. Two years
later, a waterhousing and slide film led to Jimmy’s first published work. “Tory
[Strange, owner of The Surf Station] wanted to use one of my photos for an ad
in Eastern Surf Magazine, so I sent
in the slides and included a few extras,” he says. ”Mez thought they were pretty good, and
told me about an upcoming St. Augustine article ESM had planned, so I went at it pretty hard and got a few spreads
and insets. That’s when I was like, ‘Holy shit, I haven’t been doing this for
very long and I’ve already gotten photos published!’”
Jimmy’s initial excitement stemmed from the fact that
he was a diehard surf media connoisseur and, unknowingly, a photo editor in
training. “I’ve always been a magazine person — I wanted to know everything
I could about surfing,” he says. “I’d watch surf videos by myself, pausing every
section and saying, ‘That’d be a sick shot in the mag.’” Upon seeing his own work
in print, all of Jimmy’s other adolescent interests got put on hold. “Once I
got a couple photos published, I was set on my course, and I didn’t care what
other photographers told me — ‘You’ll never make a career out of this.’ I
listened, but I never really believed them, because there was never any doubt
in my mind that I could make a career
out of it. I’ve always known that if you put enough effort into something, and
you go the extra mile, you can fucking do it, no matter what. That’s how I’ve been
with everything in my life — 100% commitment.”
His mind set in motion, Wilson organized a trip to
Puerto Rico in 2004 with Morton, Ross Howatt, David Awbrey, and Wesley DeSouza.
“We went down and stayed at Dylan Graves’ house, and I came back with some
pretty killer stuff,” Jimmy remembers. “Mez was super stoked and ran an
article, and in the process I connected myself with the up-and-coming Puerto
Rican crew — Dylan and Josie Graves, Alejandro Moreda, Brian and Wesley
Toth, and Aron Gieger.” In addition to forming lifelong friendships, Jimmy also
cultivated contacts at Transworld Surf, Surfer, and Surfing. “Traveling to that hotbed of talent and becoming friends
with surfers of that caliber, all of whom were on the map with the national
media, got me pretty well connected.”
That success came while Jimmy was still attending high
school, leading him to rethink his first collegiate choice of Florida State
University and instead enter the photography program at Daytona Beach Community
College. But with opportunities steadily knocking — including a
monumental 2005 trip to Barbados with Kelly Slater and Benji Weatherly —
Jimmy decided to follow his own path. “The Barbados trip was the turning point
for me, and honestly, it was the turning point for my teachers, too. They saw
all the work I was getting published and said, ‘You really don’t need to be
here.’”
So Wilson packed up and headed west to intern at Transworld Surf under then-Photo Editor Pete
Taras, who taught Jimmy the basics of magazine publishing. “Pete’s insane at
what he does, and has probably influenced me more than anyone besides Mez,”
Jimmy says. “He always stays ahead of the curve and pushes photographers to
create the best images possible.” After that internship, Jimmy moved to Puerto
Rico and learned the hand-to-mouth hustle of a freelance photographer, but eight
months into his Caribbean staycation, Mez called with an offer Jimmy couldn’t
resist. “Mez didn’t think I’d seriously be interested in the ESM Photo Editor position because I was
only 20 years old — but it was too good of an opportunity to pass
up.”
Although Jimmy admits he was a little green behind
the ears upon arriving at ESM in 2006,
Mez’s in-depth tutelage and intense training from then-Editor Matt Pruett
quickly brought him up to speed. Wilson manned ESM’s photographic helm for two-and-a-half years, raising the mag’s
already-high standards, soaking up knowledge from Central Florida legends like
Larry Pope, and cultivating a wide range of fresh Right Coast talent. When
pressed to rattle off the highlights of his own career, Jimmy offers up only
four, all of which have roots in his time at ESM: inheriting the Photo Editor position from Mez at the ripe age
of 20; winning the “New Creativity” category at the 2007 Red Bull Illume Image
Quest; bagging the November 2006 cover of Surfing
Magazine’s Photo Issue; and “spending countless hours mentoring other
photographers who I consider to be my friends.”
Jimmy’s close relationship with Taras paid off once Pete
left Transworld Surf to fill iconic photojournalist
Steve Sherman’s shoes as Photo Editor of Surfing
Magazine, bringing Wilson on board as his Associate Photo Editor. Most
photographers have a love/hate relationship with the requirements of an office
position, which usually means less travel and more time in front of the
computer, but Jimmy is the rare talent who can fulfill his creative side while
also embracing magazine publishing’s inherent work ethic. “I don’t want to be a
traveling photographer — it’s too much of a grind,” he says. “And
freelance surf photography is a short-lived career. [Transworld Surf Senior Photographer] Brian Bielmann is someone
who’s continually changed with the times, but a lot of guys don’t hustle like
they used to. I enjoy being in the office; I’m not deprived of shooting, and I
could probably go on more trips. But it’s football season now, so I don’t
really want to leave [laughs].”
Even though a quick perusal of Jimmy’s personal photo
album reveals a fun-loving NASCAR and NFL superfan, he hasn’t neglected his
passion for surfing. “I love everything about surfing, from taking photos to
watching guys like Dane Reynolds, Dusty Payne, and Mitch Coleborn surf. But I’d
be lying if I said I have the exact same passion for my own photography —
I see so many good photos from so many great angles that it becomes sensory overload. The market’s
flooded, but if you look at the level of surf photography today, and then look back
five years, you’ll say, ‘Wow, how the hell did that photo get run?’”
That opinionated nature served as Jimmy’s
introduction to the ESM readership in
2006, with “So heinous!” becoming his default ego-crushing catchphrase. “That’s Bullshit!” generated millions of hits for Surfing
Magazine, bluntly offering Jimmy’s take on wave pools, double grabs, and
women’s surfing, while Australian rabble-rousers Derek Rielly and Chas Smith
regularly feature Jimmicane’s no-holds-barred assessments on their vulgar LikeBitchin.com
blog. “I’ve always been pretty damn outspoken — that’s just my
personality,” Jimmy says. “People hate me for it, but I’m passionate about
surfing and I want to see it progress. The whole double grabs thing stemmed
from how close-minded surfers are. They think double grabs are easy and
therefore cool, but I’m like, ‘Fuck that — if it’s so easy, how does that
make it cool?’ I had to give ‘That’s Bullshit!’ a more positive spin though,
because people on the Internet hate so hard and the negative energy really wore
me down.”
So after achieving such rapid success and infamy,
what keeps Jimmicane ticking? Is it possible for someone so jaded to still
enjoy the carefree pursuit of surfing? And does Jimmy appreciate the good
fortune that’s followed him since his teenage years in St. Augustine? “I look back on the places I’ve
traveled and the friends I’ve met since high school, and I think I’ve had a hell of a first part
of my life,” he reflects. “I still love shooting photos and trying to get a new
look; I’ve just learned to maximize my time. I don’t shoot aimlessly, and I’ve
gotten a lot pickier about quality. And honestly, I don’t find myself shooting
photos of California guys out here. The talent I have comes down to Damien
Hobgood and Cory Lopez, or the rare case of somebody like Aaron Cormican coming
out. When those guys are surfing, nobody is better than them.”
For all the photographic perfectionism and volatile
opinions, Jimmy admits that the best part of photo editing is the time afforded
to enjoy surfing. “When I lived in Puerto Rico, I was under pressure to shoot
all the time, and I don’t miss that hustle,” he says. “To me it all comes down
to surfing — that’s the first thing I loved in my life, so I don’t see
how you can be a surf photographer if you don’t surf.” But before launching
into another vitriolic tirade, Jimmy unexpectedly shifts gears and gets…
almost… sentimental, something you’d never expect when you see him chugging
beers at NASCAR races or shaving “JAGS” into his chest hair or rocking “Free Gucci
Mane” T-shirts. “My friends really hype me up and get me excited, because they
truly think what I’m doing is awesome. Getting a solid photo is great, but one
of the best feelings I’ve ever had was surfing flawless, double-overhead
Macaronis, thinking back to when I was a kid watching videos — and there
I was, surfing those waves with my friends. That’s the biggest payoff of my
career. I feel like I’ve actually gotten worse at surfing over the last 10
years, but man, I’ve had a shitload of fun doing it.”
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