On a day of yoga teacher training that involves the start of a vegan cooking experiment of indeterminate length, I feel compelled to call out the work of SF surfer and spiritualist Jaimal Yogis (whose mother–I assume–frequently tells him, as mine does, that “I don’t really understand what you’re doing but I guess you’re busy”). The author of the acclaimed book Saltwater Buddha: A Surfer’s Quest to Find Zen on the Sea that is currently being shot as a film, Yogis was recently named the “New Face of San Francisco Media” in a Commonwealth Club competition that solicited votes for broke-ass author Stuart Schuffman and former Ignite Bay Area speaker and SF Weekly writer Alexia Tsotsis, among others. The former’s social justice reporting for San Francisco Magazine and reflections on Zen Buddhism as it relates to water sports helped win him the honor, and he provided the following reflections.

SF: Do you consider yourself a writer, spiritualist or surfer first? And at what point did you recognize the overlap between the three?
JL: They’re all sort of part of the same program for me so I wouldn’t say one is at the top. I define the spiritual path as any that leads to real freedom and contentment, and writing and surfing have both been tools for me in that search, just like meditation has, just like art, travel, relationships, etc. I see everyone as on that path – whether they use the term “spiritual” or not – and everyone has their own tools and rituals they use along the way.

Writing and surfing have been great tools for me probably because of the family I grew up in – mom, big reader; dad, a surfer – but I try to keep myself from identifying too much with any one of them as a hard label that defines me. I’m just a human with interests, and those interests have formed some quirky personality I call Jaimal Yogis, a story, but that story isn’t all that I am.

What were your thoughts upon winning the New Face of SF Media award, and what does it mean for the future of your work?
I still can’t believe I won. I looked at the list of nominees and really thought I didn’t stand a chance. I also thought some of them were probably more deserving of the title “New Face of SF Media” than I was. I looked at nominees like Markos of the Dailykos or Brock Keeling of SFist and thought, well, they’re more involved in the online world and probably will be more formative in guiding what the people of San Francisco look at on a daily basis in the future. I’ve focused much less on blogging than I have on long form journalism and books. But after winning, I realized that the diversity of the formats I work in was probably my greatest strength. My fans could be book readers, blog readers, YouTube watchers, magazine readers – or all three. And I do think that seems to be where journalism is headed–you have to be able to wear different hats.

Knowing that you work with SF Magazine and now The Bold Italic, how do you select which local publishers to partner with in your freelance work? Are there particular types of SF voices you think you deserve more attention?
I have to like the design and style of the publication to want to write for it, but what it has really come down to is human connections. I’ve ended up doing most of my work for San Francisco Magazine because my editors, Bruce Kelley and Nan Weiner, are just so damn talented and such great people. I see that they want to make the city a better place and that inspires me. Plus they let me write. When they do edit me, they make my story better and that’s tough to find.  With the locally-based online pubs I write for, Gizmodo and TBI, it’s the same. I love Brian Lam at Gizmodo and Nicole Grant at The Bold Italic. They also let me write and don’t try to micromanage, and if they do have suggestions, they’re suggestions that help me form my voice rather than trying to impose their own.

How did you find your team of “professional storytellers” for the Saltwater Buddha film?
My friend Roberto Vezzone, a really talented local filmmaker, made a seven minute documentary about my book and put it on YoutTube. A few weeks later, Lara Popyack and Mike Madden, the founders of Nohoch Productions – this awesome company that has been making ocean-based documentary films for decades – saw it and said, that’s the next film we want to make. We all sat down and it felt instantly like family. We knew we were going to make a movie together. From there, new talent like Jim Klar (music), Sam DeWitt (animation), and others kept wanting to join the project even before we have full financial backing. It just keeps snowballing and we’re having a lot of fun.

What impact do you think digital media can have on urging people to preserve their local environment?
From my experience, what digital media really excels at is bringing like-minded individuals together quickly, people who would’ve had a hard time meeting without ending up on a common website or whatever. Historically, that’s how things get done. Out here at Ocean Beach, for example, we have a fundraiser at our local bar, The Riptide, every month where all the surfers get together and watch surf videos.  We all buy $5 raffle tickets and try to win prizes like free surfboards donated by Las Olas Surfboards. In the beginning, it was just a night for local surfers in the neighborhood to raise a few hundred bucks for non-profits like Save the Waves, but now the night is publicized by all sorts of blogs social networks and we’re raising thousands of dollars every month for different non-profits – sometimes educational, sometimes environmental — all by just hanging out, drinking beer, watching surf videos and buying a couple raffle tickets each. The same thing could’ve happened without digital media, but the speed at which these fundraisers ramped up and brought in ocean lovers from all over the Bay Area was really impressive.

What advice do you have for local student writers about getting their work in front of San Franciscans?
Write about what excites you and write in the format that excites you. If you write about something you don’t care about in a voice that isn’t yours, you’ll burn out after a while. Sometimes you have to do that for work in the beginning, but ultimately, if you want to write for magazines, pitch, pitch, pitch and don’t get discouraged by rejection. If you want to write a book, start writing it now, today! If you want to write a blog, get a WordPress site–or whatever–now, today! A lot of writers think they need to jump through a million hoops before they begin, but that’s just another excuse.

Writing is all about having faith in yourself and just sitting down to do it, again and again. The magic happens in the process. Internships and networking are helpful, but when it comes down to it, getting published isn’t about who you know. That’s just a cynical that people use as an excuse to not follow their dreams. It’s about telling a good story and then persevering in getting it out there. Good stories are essential for society. We need them like we need air. And if you’ve lived through your teenage years, you doubtlessly have a bunch of them. So carpe diem. Just do it. There are a million catch phrases, but I can’t stress the “start now” thing enough. Write everyday and do it how you want to. If you’re excited about it, the writing will fuel you.