#176 | Finding Purpose and Balance: The Journey of World Traveler and Board Sport Enthusiast, JP

Becoming Human

In this episode of the Becoming Human podcast, I’m excited to introduce you to JP, a world traveler hailing from Switzerland and an avid skateboarder, surfer, and snowboarder. JP fell in love with surfing as a young adult and has been chasing waves ever since. After studying to become an Environmental Engineer, he found office life unsatisfying and began traveling the world in search of a state of mind.

Despite struggling with excess free time, JP eventually found a balance between work and play, ebbing and flowing between working and traveling. Along the way, he stumbled upon a DIY skateboarding community in France, where he met the people of wondersaroundtheworld.org. JP would later volunteer with Wonders Around The World as a project manager, culminating in his last project: building a skate park in Engabao, Ecuador. Tune in to hear JP's inspiring journey of finding purpose and balance in life.

In sports where tricks are a large part of the focus, I’m driven to learn why people are so motivated to learn challenging maneuvers. There are stages of learning in trick-based sports. There’s being able to efficiently navigate an obstacle, then there is being able to do more challenging maneuvers on an obstacle. This creates an endless cycle on the same obstacles, It makes obstacles infinitely challenging.

There are more people learning tricks for self-satisfaction than there are for competition. You can look at the numbers of competitors and skaters as an example. Why are some people so obsessed with learning tricks? Talking with JP was a look into a person who loves learning tricks on surfboards, skateboards, and snowboards. It’s deep in his marrow, he lives for it. I’ve come to realize that I love it too. This conversation was fun, informative, and made me long for travel.

Checkout @wondersaroundtheworldorg on social media and on their website: wondersaroundtheworld.org

Here’s a documentary about JP’s last project with Wonder’s Around The World in Engabao, Ecuador: WAW Ecuador Puerto Engabao

This episode features the song, “Seperation of Church and Skate” but NOFX