Jack Johnson is a man that seems to have natural talent for anything he puts his hand to. Growing up in Hawaii, he turned to surfing at a young age, a sport for which he had great skill and love. Throughout his childhood and teen years, music played a vital role in his life, but surfing was his focus. He became an international surfing champion, sponsored by Quicksilver, and went on to ride in the Master Tournament, the world cup of surfing. At the peak of his surfing career he suffered a near fatal wipe-out which put his athletic career on the sidelines. Even at this critical turning point in his life, Johnson did not turn to music. He decided to pursue a filmmaking career. He graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara with a film degree and soon started touring the world and filming surfers. During his college years, while filmmaking had become his goal, he wrote songs on the side.

A friend and recording artist, Garret Dutton III of G Love & Special Sauce, heard Johnson's songs and helped him record his original song 'Rodeo Clowns'. Nothing became of the single right away, as Johnson was still focused on film.