About
above: Jake with wife Missy and their 3 children. 2011.
The Short Story...
With my wife Missy Samiee and our three children, I camp in Salem where we own and operate our skateboard and snowboard shop called, EXIT real world. In addition to running this small chain of retail stores, and raising children, we have a Malamute/ German Shepard mix rescue dog, 8 chickens, 3 gold fish and two cats. All beings at our house benefit from the support of our extended family on both sides of the family. We live on Missy's parents acreage and my mother (Queenie) provides much needed back-up parenting for our kids.
Art for art's sake does not play in the foreground for me at this point in my life. However, art does find its way into my current and past day jobs in many ways. Currently, at EXIT, I produce graphics for skateboards, apparel, online marketing, posters, postcards, newspapers, magazines, as well as photo and video content to broadcast EXIT's image on the whirled white web.
Skateboarding, object making, snowboarding, bicycling, photographing, parenting, eating and merrymaking are the activities that I fill my time slots with outside of work, but all of these things, work and non-work, intertwine.
Art for art's sake does not play in the foreground for me at this point in my life. However, art does find its way into my current and past day jobs in many ways. Currently, at EXIT, I produce graphics for skateboards, apparel, online marketing, posters, postcards, newspapers, magazines, as well as photo and video content to broadcast EXIT's image on the whirled white web.
Skateboarding, object making, snowboarding, bicycling, photographing, parenting, eating and merrymaking are the activities that I fill my time slots with outside of work, but all of these things, work and non-work, intertwine.
The Long Story...
Aside from being a part of EXIT for 18 years since 1993, my professional experiences have included fine jewelrymaking, journalism, musicianship, photography, graphic arts, commercial film & video production and stop motion animation, as well as a few workshop teaching gigs (jewelry, skateboarding, photography).
At the age of thirteen, I began working under my father as his apprentice in the craft of fine jewelrymaking. I worked with him in his design studio throughout high school and into my undergraduate studies at Western Oregon University (at the time, WOSC). The age of 13 (1987), also marked the beginning of my steadfast love for skateboarding. At this time, my amazing and liberal mother consented the building of my first skateboard halfpipe next to our house in West Salem, where I enjoyed many skate sessions with skateboarders from towns all around Salem.
It was at my ramp ("The Hate Ramp"--named by a spray paint tag by unknown skater) that I met several lifelong friends, including my best friend, Rob Morrow (pro Snowboarder and Morrow Snowboards entrepreneur) and my brother-in-law and long time skateboarder and pioneering snowboarder, Chris Samiee.
My friendship with Rob would include all of the normal adolescent ragings and life living, but all as a continuous quest to surf, skate and snowboard. At that time, Rob, being a pro snowboarder in high school, set me up with my first snowboards and rides to local ski areas such as Hoodoo, Timberline and Bachelor. Without Rob's help, I would have never been able to afford snowboarding. During my high school years, my quest for shredding surf, snow and skate shadowed everything else and provided a healthy outlet and medium for camaraderie.
Out of high school, Rob Morrow's snowboard manufacturing company (Morrow Snowboards) experienced quick, significant growth, bringing snowboarding culture and peripheral industry people to Salem. This time of growth brought in other contributors, photographers, journalists and other entrepreneurs of snowboarding. One of them, renowned photographer, Trevor Graves, granted me a position as a photo assistant. Traveling to shoot snowboarding with professional athletes and sports models from many different companies all around the US, Canada, Japan and Europe naturally eclipsed my interest in school, so college would be interrupted.
My work with Trevor Graves photography included normal photo assistant duties, writing for snowboarding publications, and videography. The two of us made a good "run and gun" documentary style team. Trevor already had all the connections and plugged me right in. In addition to that, he purchased my first laptop computer, video camera and film camera to use. We started with Hi-8 (prosumer quality of that era) and then moved up to a 16mm Bolex kit. Most shooters at that time were shooting with 16mm Arri S kits, but the Bolex featured a clockwork motor, which made it small and easy to carry as a tertiary bit of equipment traveling in an already full backpack worn while snowboarding. This Bolex would serve as textbook for my DIY film school at the benefit and expense of our clients.
After having developed business relationships of my own, and a heightened love of moving picture production, I developed a career in cinematography and video (Hi-8, DV, Super 8, 16mm, 35mm, HD) that branched out into other types of sports cinematography and fashion.
Also during the Morrow Snowboards years, Rob Morrow, Shon Peterson (skateboarder and snowboarder mutual friend) and I started a band called the Sideways People (1992-1997). We had a warehouse with a ramp in it, a skateboard press (we used Morrow snowboards material scraps to make experimental skateboards) and a place to jam. We got good enough to play gigs and do some recording. With Rob’s fame, Shon’s marketing connections (also at Morrow Snowboards), The Sideways People got to share the stage with NOFX, No Use For a Name, Agent Orange, Blink, Unwritten Law, Sicko, Porno for Pyros, Greg Ginn, Offspring and other bands. The Sideways People enjoyed success in playing songs about snowboarding and skateboarding to snowboarders around the US, Canada and Switzerland.
Around the same time Missy Samiee and I opened the third EXIT real world location (in Portland), I went back to school and got an internship at Will Vinton Studios, which turned into a 2 season studio lighting and camera gig for the stop motion animation series, The PJs. Again, my interest in doing the work caused me to drop out of college. The PJs crew was an amazing collection of highly technical and creative individuals and masters and that was a gig I look back on very fondly. My mentor there—John Ashlee Pratt, a master of sculpture, drawing, camera and animation, is one of the most gifted and driven creators I have ever met.
During my time at The PJs, I was also a staff cinematographer at Transworld Video magazine and was invited on a shoot with staff photographer, Mark Gallup, on a side job for American Eagle Outfitters apparel to shoot super 8 film for video. This venture turned into a 3 year video production gig including cinematography and video finishing for in-store display. During my time with American Eagle, I was able to buy a 35mm motion picture camera and use it for work on my jobs with them, which was something I had longed for for many years, having only shot 16mm and super 8.
Working in the fashion industry seemed to be opening some inviting doors in Hollywood that could have brought my cinematography work to the next level. However, with a family on the start and family business roots firmly attached, I did not pursue that path which would have meant spending a lot of time in the Hollywood area, if not moving there.
During this time, I was fortunate enough to marry my dream girl, Missy Samiee, and since then we have been focusing mostly on our three children and managing our multiple EXIT real world retail locations. Running the stores is something that is a passion and an occupation that has supported our lives and made it possible for me to include my filmmaking, constructions, and graphic arts at different times. EXIT and Missy have supported my addiction to creative careers and has served my need to remain in connection with the skateboarding and snowboarding cultures.
At the age of thirteen, I began working under my father as his apprentice in the craft of fine jewelrymaking. I worked with him in his design studio throughout high school and into my undergraduate studies at Western Oregon University (at the time, WOSC). The age of 13 (1987), also marked the beginning of my steadfast love for skateboarding. At this time, my amazing and liberal mother consented the building of my first skateboard halfpipe next to our house in West Salem, where I enjoyed many skate sessions with skateboarders from towns all around Salem.
It was at my ramp ("The Hate Ramp"--named by a spray paint tag by unknown skater) that I met several lifelong friends, including my best friend, Rob Morrow (pro Snowboarder and Morrow Snowboards entrepreneur) and my brother-in-law and long time skateboarder and pioneering snowboarder, Chris Samiee.
My friendship with Rob would include all of the normal adolescent ragings and life living, but all as a continuous quest to surf, skate and snowboard. At that time, Rob, being a pro snowboarder in high school, set me up with my first snowboards and rides to local ski areas such as Hoodoo, Timberline and Bachelor. Without Rob's help, I would have never been able to afford snowboarding. During my high school years, my quest for shredding surf, snow and skate shadowed everything else and provided a healthy outlet and medium for camaraderie.
Out of high school, Rob Morrow's snowboard manufacturing company (Morrow Snowboards) experienced quick, significant growth, bringing snowboarding culture and peripheral industry people to Salem. This time of growth brought in other contributors, photographers, journalists and other entrepreneurs of snowboarding. One of them, renowned photographer, Trevor Graves, granted me a position as a photo assistant. Traveling to shoot snowboarding with professional athletes and sports models from many different companies all around the US, Canada, Japan and Europe naturally eclipsed my interest in school, so college would be interrupted.
My work with Trevor Graves photography included normal photo assistant duties, writing for snowboarding publications, and videography. The two of us made a good "run and gun" documentary style team. Trevor already had all the connections and plugged me right in. In addition to that, he purchased my first laptop computer, video camera and film camera to use. We started with Hi-8 (prosumer quality of that era) and then moved up to a 16mm Bolex kit. Most shooters at that time were shooting with 16mm Arri S kits, but the Bolex featured a clockwork motor, which made it small and easy to carry as a tertiary bit of equipment traveling in an already full backpack worn while snowboarding. This Bolex would serve as textbook for my DIY film school at the benefit and expense of our clients.
After having developed business relationships of my own, and a heightened love of moving picture production, I developed a career in cinematography and video (Hi-8, DV, Super 8, 16mm, 35mm, HD) that branched out into other types of sports cinematography and fashion.
Also during the Morrow Snowboards years, Rob Morrow, Shon Peterson (skateboarder and snowboarder mutual friend) and I started a band called the Sideways People (1992-1997). We had a warehouse with a ramp in it, a skateboard press (we used Morrow snowboards material scraps to make experimental skateboards) and a place to jam. We got good enough to play gigs and do some recording. With Rob’s fame, Shon’s marketing connections (also at Morrow Snowboards), The Sideways People got to share the stage with NOFX, No Use For a Name, Agent Orange, Blink, Unwritten Law, Sicko, Porno for Pyros, Greg Ginn, Offspring and other bands. The Sideways People enjoyed success in playing songs about snowboarding and skateboarding to snowboarders around the US, Canada and Switzerland.
Around the same time Missy Samiee and I opened the third EXIT real world location (in Portland), I went back to school and got an internship at Will Vinton Studios, which turned into a 2 season studio lighting and camera gig for the stop motion animation series, The PJs. Again, my interest in doing the work caused me to drop out of college. The PJs crew was an amazing collection of highly technical and creative individuals and masters and that was a gig I look back on very fondly. My mentor there—John Ashlee Pratt, a master of sculpture, drawing, camera and animation, is one of the most gifted and driven creators I have ever met.
During my time at The PJs, I was also a staff cinematographer at Transworld Video magazine and was invited on a shoot with staff photographer, Mark Gallup, on a side job for American Eagle Outfitters apparel to shoot super 8 film for video. This venture turned into a 3 year video production gig including cinematography and video finishing for in-store display. During my time with American Eagle, I was able to buy a 35mm motion picture camera and use it for work on my jobs with them, which was something I had longed for for many years, having only shot 16mm and super 8.
Working in the fashion industry seemed to be opening some inviting doors in Hollywood that could have brought my cinematography work to the next level. However, with a family on the start and family business roots firmly attached, I did not pursue that path which would have meant spending a lot of time in the Hollywood area, if not moving there.
During this time, I was fortunate enough to marry my dream girl, Missy Samiee, and since then we have been focusing mostly on our three children and managing our multiple EXIT real world retail locations. Running the stores is something that is a passion and an occupation that has supported our lives and made it possible for me to include my filmmaking, constructions, and graphic arts at different times. EXIT and Missy have supported my addiction to creative careers and has served my need to remain in connection with the skateboarding and snowboarding cultures.
Jake Hauswirth skating at the former EXIT warehouse. Shot by Gabe Davis 2009
