Store

How best to describe Jack Johnson? Surfer? Filmmaker? Multi-platinum rock star? How about the luckiest friggin' guy on the planet?

Raised on Oahu's fabled North Shore, Johnson, 29, began competing in pro surfing events in 1992, at age 17. He quit to study filmmaking at UC Santa Barbara, and his first film, 1999's Thicker Than Water, became an instant surf classic. He scored the movie himself, and bootleg tapes of his folksy grooves became the de rigueur soundtrack for beach parties everywhere. His first studio album, Brushfire Fairytales, came out two years later on an indie label and sold 75,000 copies on word of mouth, then went platinum after Universal Records rereleased it. His 2003 follow-up, On and On, has so far sold 1.6 million copies. With In Between Dreams, out March 1, Johnson delivers more of his signature good-times acoustic strumming—and a hefty chunk of change for the environment.

Already the founder of the Kokua Hawaii Foundation, an environmental education program for schoolkids, Johnson has joined the One Percent for the Planet program, dedicating at least that much of his income to green groups. From his North Shore home, Johnson spoke with Outside about the aloha spirit, eco-awareness, and his unapologetically upbeat tunes.