About Jason
I am a surfer, global citizen, and a historian of twentieth- and twenty-first-century US and Latin American history. I hold a Ph.D. in History from the University of South Florida. My research centers around the cultural and economic impacts of surfing and surf tourism in the Tola Municipality of southwestern Nicaragua. My research has three principal aims: First, to show how external conditions created an economic framework conducive to buying property and developing this part of Nicaragua. Second, to explain the inextricable link between surfing and Tola’s evolution from a rural coastal periphery to an international tourism hotspot. Third, to track the proliferation of a robust surfing subculture among the rural residents along the coast and its evolution into a Nicaraguan national sport as a result of these cultural and economic changes.
Over the years, I have had the good fortune of traveling around the globe surfing, attending conferences, and even wandering aimlessly looking to learn something new from people I come into contact with. That said, starting this podcast has been an extremely humbling experience for me, and I would like to thank everyone who has appeared on the show or who has supported it in their own unique way. If you’d like see how my life trajectory took me from surfer and historian to “surfing historian,” click here.
Three of my most recent scholarly publications:
- Empire at Play: The United States’ Cultural Influence on Nicaragua’s National Sports’ Identity
- The Politics of Waves: A Transnational and Cultural Surfing History of Popoyo, Nicaragua (Ph.D. dissertation)
- Transnational Surfistas and the Development of Nicaragua’s Emerald Coast
Click the link below to check out some of my other projects on Linktree, or click the icons to follow me on social media.
About Podcast
As a surfer and academic, I hope to contribute more to our beautiful planet than just being another surfer in the lineup. Thus, I wanted to create a website and podcast that would bring together colleagues from all around the world who are also engaged in meaningful research, nonprofit initiatives, and who strive to make the world a better place. In short, this website is as much about them as it is about me and my research. Click the icons below to listen and subscribe to our podcast.
The goal of The Surfing Historian Podcast, and surfinghistorian.com more broadly, is simple: to provide an avenue for scholars to share their research with the world; to be a resource for those wishing to learn more about surfing history and culture; and to connect people to the surf-related organizations doing positive things for people and the planet.
The idea originated during the COVID-19 quarantine and has evolved ever since. The impetus behind launching this podcast was to formalize my online interviews with my history colleagues to allow them to share their research with the world. It also served as an incredible resource for my college history students. As a result, the idea for the “surfing historian” was born. The concept then evolved into a resource/database for surfers (and non-surfers) searching for relevant information regarding our nascent academic field—critical surf studies.
