TBBSFriend Jelle Mul interview

TBBSFriend Jelle Mul interview

September 01, 2016

Who are you?

I am Jelle born in the Metropolitan Avenhorn/Holland, some people say I look like a peanut others like a Panda bear.

What is the best spot you have brushed your teeth?

A friend of my dad, who basically is an uncle to me, lives in a small town in Norway and has build an outside bathroom overlooking the Oslo fjord. That little “bathroom” is basically an outside shower with wooden walls, brushing your teeth up there is the best thing. I am not that tallest man on earth, but that spot really makes you feel tiny. While showering you can pee into a funnel which runs down a pipe and ends up at a gnome that pees like manneke pis haha. That is for sure one of the best spots to brush your teeth unless it is winter and he still makes us use that bathroom….

You always have the biggest smile! what’s your secret?

I am not that tall, so my smile just looks bigger I guess. 

What do you do to reduce plastic?

Only just 2 years ago I started to recycle and collect most of the plastic I use. Not until then I started to realize how much plastic we use and where it all ends up. It all comes down to education and showing people why it is such a problem. I have worked on a campaign for O’Neill together with singer Pat Smith to make people more aware of the plastic problem, but all in a positive way. It is nice to see what impact this had and how enthusiast people joined. Great to see that more people started to be aware, which actually is a big start to solve the problem, awareness. On the long run it really comes down to people demanding the supermarkets, companies and brands to start using less plastic. 

 
Nailed it

Why do you support The Bamboo Brush Society?

I got kidnapped by a Ninja and he told me I would get easter eggs as balls when I would not support the bamboo brush society. Who wants that right…. I just really like the initiative and am a big fan of positive campaigns and ways of looking at problems. To me that is the best way to change peoples minds; Showing and giving alternatives with a bit of humor here and there. Sometimes it does not have to be hard and you do not have to change your habits drastically to make a big impact. The Bamboo brush society does this with toothbrushes, so for sure proud to help out and support where I can.

You seem to like boards, what’s your most treasured board? 

Through a friend I had the chance to get my hands on a Damien Hirst Supra deck from his personal collection, signed and stamped by him. It is now worth quite some so this should probably be my answer but when I think about it, I have not seen it for a while. Haha shit. Ah well I do not really treasure them to or at least learned to not treasure them to much. I am terrible with stuff, I use boards and ding them so learned a bit to not get attached.  I actually love the wear ‘n tear of boards and things a lot. I am far from Kelly Slater, so I am happy to paddle out on anything that floats and does not look or sink like a toothpick. A few years ago I started to build my own boards with a friend. We are so proud of every single board we build, although they are never perfect and they never turn out the way we wanted haha. We are building fat, thick and wide boards and color them with epoxy, so it is one big adventure how it will turn out and look. I love getting out on those. My favorite snowboard for sure is my splitboard. Nothing beats a hike, some snapps on the top and a few nice turns that make you feel like Craig Kelly. 

 

 Surfing in Iran, yes Iran.

Martini’s or scotch on the rocks?

I am more a tea and fruitjuice kind of guy, although my stomach almost never agrees with that. When it comes down to alcohol, I really like the home made Cachaca from my brothers Neighbour.  He lives in Brasil and has a second home outside of Sao Paulo next to a Japanese couple. I personally never met them, but I do bring a bottle of the Cachaca he makes home everytime I visit my brother in Brasil…. But to be honest, a fresh fruitjuice in the morning make me happiest. Fruitjuice on the rocks, shaken not stirred. 

Favourite artist at the moment?

I love a lot of artist, there is so much unbelievable nice stuff around. I can get lost in books, documentaries, magazine stores, on Instagram or internet checking all kinds of artist, shapers, photographers, designers and brands. I am not the best with names but Thomas Campbell, Sebastiao Salgado, and Wes Anderson for sure do it for me.  It is also great to bump into super talented people that make nice things. I have a few real talented friends like Natasa Lops, Chris McClean, Danny Larsen, Crista Leonard, Wouter Struyf, Sergio Villalba and Eric Antoine. All those guys for sure make me feel like a wannabe when I see what they make. Somebody like Banksy is what I like a lot as well. It is just genius how he comes up with new ways of showing how ridiculous we as humans beings can be. The funniest thing to me is that people who he is critical about feel the need to buy his “art’.

The best thing about art is that I can think something is genius and you can think it is the stupidest thing in the world and the other way around. I guess It all comes down to what Andy Warhole has said. “Art is anything you get away with”. Beauty is all in the eye of the beholder haha.

What kind of music are you into?

I love folk bands and singer songwriters. Angus & Julia stone, Elephant revival, Edward Sharpe and the magnetic zero’s, Old man canyon, Jon and Roy, Old crow medicine show, but also for sure the Beatles, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, CCR

What is the last film you watched?

The new film from Almodovar. If you like action movies, don’t go.

Share your best photo on your phone ! Make us laugh

Can I do 2?

Sure


I am pretty sure it does not make everybody laugh, but it for sure puts a smile on my face again. I went to Norway last year with 5 guys. It was -20 outside and we had been diggin a snowcave all day to spend the night in. 5 guys for a few days in the middle of nowhere brings out the worse in you. A friend of mine started a little clothing brand named "The Driftwood Tales" he came up with a shirt with "let's streak" on a button. Don't ask me why but we decided to make this picture for him. Probably one of those you should have been there moments, but Wouter running naked through the snow screaming that is was so cold was funny to me.



My second one is coincidently also from Wouter. I help a little organisation names Waves of Freedom that uses surfing as a tool to create social change and have joined them twice now to Baluchistan Iran; to surf with women there. I am slowly working on a photo project for Waves of Freedom called “Not now” where I take pictures from girls and women, with their hair in front of their face. Wouter wanted to be part of this project and this is what happens when you do not have long hair.... Stoke is gender blind for sure.

 How do you get inspired ?

Not sure how to answer this question. I mostly just do whatever, sometimes it works, most of the times it does not at all. Or should I say, I really get most inspired while brushing my teeth and especially when I use my Bamboo brush from The Bamboo Brush Society.

When did you realise surfing and snowboarding would dominate your life ?

It does not perse dominate my life, or at least I think it does not. When I think about it, that would probably be something most addicts would say when you ask them about their addiction haha. If I could only keep one thing, it would for sure be my bicycle and not a board, but never the less do really like to surf or snowboard. I hope I can keep doing that, but I was also hoping I would become a transformer when I was 12, so you never know.

 

If you can go on a trip tomorrow to any place in the world, where would you go?

Probably just go sleep outside in the dunes close to my parents house with a few good friends. Ride my mountainbike through the woods, make a campfire on the beach and go for a swim or surf in shitty Dutch waves in the morning. It is not paradise, but to me it can be.

 

Make sure you follow Jelle on Instagram @jellemul

 



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