The Jupiter Club with Gina Jurlando
Jupiter Club_ Surf Community & Film Festival
[00:00:00]
Tyler: Hello, and welcome to the Swell Season Surf Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Brewer. Our guest today is no stranger to the [00:01:00] show. Gina Gerlando first joined us to talk about the Yeasty Boys, the community surf group she founded to help make surfing more welcoming, inclusive, and supportive for everyone looking to paddle out.
Since then, Gina has continued doing what she does best, bringing people together, whether it's through surfing, community events, environmental initiatives, art, film, or simply creating spaces where people can connect. She's become one of the driving forces behind the ever-evolving culture of Rockaway Beach.
Today, she's back to talk about two new exciting projects. First, the inaugural Rockaway Surf Film Festival, a new celebration of surf culture, storytelling, creativity, and the unique community that has grown around the ocean here in New York. And second, we are sitting here in this lovely spot, uh, which you can't see 'cause we don't have a camera for this episode, but it's called the Jupiter Club, a new community-focused surf club, co-working space, [00:02:00] event venue, and gathering place that is already becoming a hub for surfers, artists, entrepreneurs, and locals alike.
Jupiter Club was created to carry forward the spirit of community that has always made Rockaway special while creating new opportunities for people to connect, collaborate, and share ideas. From building one of the most welcoming surf communities on the East Coast to helping launch new cultural institutions right here in Rockaway, Gina continues to prove that surfing is about much more than waves.
It's about the people you meet along the way, and she is our guest today on this episode of the Swell Season Surf Podcast. Gina, welcome to the show.
Gina: Thank you so much. I'm happy to be back.
Tyler: So stoked. Um, before we begin, I am doing a shameless plug right now, and I brought you a gift- Ooh ... uh, from my new company, Everyday Objects, which I've launched, and it's all fun novelty gift items.
So I have brought you, here, this is our [00:03:00] Esgar soap dispenser. Oh my God, I love this. It is shaped like a little, uh, snail, but it has soap. You press on the shell, and the soap comes out the back, which is out the nose, and it's really cute. And then for cleaning up and making it easy, we have the swipe and wipe credit card squeegee.
Wow. And it's really nice. Clean off countertops, sinks. Cool. Cut up cocaine, all sorts of fun stuff. I know I've said this before. I should stop saying that. I don't condone that, but whatever. But it is really fun and, uh, yeah, just wanted to, uh- Yeah ... present it to you, and, uh, it's kind of a housewarming gift for- Oh
the new club here. And, uh, you know, if you need anything else, I got some really fun stuff like- Amazing ... pizza axes and, uh, cactus scrub brushes and whatnot. And, uh, listeners, if you wanna get yourself one, you can go to www.eogift.com, or you can find us on Instagram at, uh, @everydayobjectsgift, or on TikTok or Etsy or wherever.
We're all over the place, so go check it out. Buy [00:04:00] stuff so I don't have to keep mooching off my wife. Those are
Gina: great. Thank you. I always say, in addition to being the owner, I'm also the janitor of Jupiter Club. So definitely gonna use these.
Tyler: Well, Gina, I mean, I'm so stoked on the initiatives that you are doing and carrying forward.
And first, I, I think we should start with the place we're surrounded in right now is the Jupiter Club, and I was hoping maybe you can tell our listeners a little, like- First, how this came to be, and then what, uh, what it actually is, or what it's, what you're hoping it will be, and, uh, what you're looking forward to with it.
Gina: Yeah, definitely. So I was very lucky. Um, eight years ago, I bought a boat from the previous owner of the space, Graham Hill- ... who used to run Almeida Club. Um, and I was a big fan of Almeida for many years. I loved what they were doing with the surf community, with their different events, um, bringing sort of art into the space, and also just having a space on the bay side.
Um, we are located a little bit closer to the bay than the ocean, but since the Rockaway Brewery [00:05:00] Company closed, there hasn't really been a space to gather-
Tyler: Yeah ...
Gina: in this area, in Arverne. So Graham had sold us our boat many years ago. We remained friends. Um, so in, I believe the end of December, he reached out to me and said, "Hey, you know, I'm starting a new venture."
He's started Hill Construction, which is beautiful. Plugging them, definitely- Nice ... if you need anything to be done.
Tyler: Excellent.
Gina: But he was saying, "You know, I just really don't have the capacity to run two businesses at once," which now that I'm running one business, I totally understand it. And he said, "You know, I've seen all the stuff you've been doing with Yeastie Boys over the years, and just the way that you've sort of ingratiated yourself into the community, and would you be interested in taking this space over?"
Um, a lot of the times that when we did Yeastie Boys events, we'd be kind of begging people for space- ... and, you know, paying out of pocket. So the idea that we could have sort of a clubhouse almost, that we could host events, we could do different things, um, was really appealing to me. And actually, years ago, when the Rockaway Brewing Company closed, I had put in a business plan to do basically- Wow
what we're doing at Jupiter Club, at the Rockaway Brewing [00:06:00] Company space that's just up the block from here. So I had done all of this work, all of this research. I had all my spreadsheets and my numbers and everything, and it just didn't work out, so it was sitting in a Google Drive folder for a few years.
So he came to me with this idea, and I was like, "Wait a minute. I've actually done half of the work here." Like, "Let me see if this is feasible." Um, so it all just ended up working out really well. The timing worked out really well, um, and I was excited to be able, even just to be considered for it, but also to be given the opportunity to kind of continue this space being a community space.
Um, you know, historically it was a bodega for many years, and then Almeida Club really made it a spot for people to gather, whether they were surfers or getting their hair cut at the barber. So it was really exciting to kind of take what Almeida Club had started and just sort of expand it a little bit more to the wider community, um, knowing that it had been kind of changing hands and changing styles for a while.
So excited to have this new space to gather in.
Tyler: It's, it's beautiful, and it feels really welcoming and very warm, and really, uh, [00:07:00] perfect surf vibes, perfect hang vibes. Like, like right now, there's people hanging out in the back by the lockers too, which I mean, there's lockers back there. Yeah. There's a sauna.
Gina: There is a secret sauna.
Tyler: There's a secret sauna. There's also a cold plunge still. Mm-hmm. Is that still there? Still
Gina: got a cold plunge. We got outdoor showers.
Tyler: Dude, are you kidding me? The only thing I'm gonna say what you need is, like, some e-bike rentals- Yeah ... or a golf cart that you can- Ooh, golf cart would be cool
have someone, like, drive people to the back and forth to the
Gina: beach. We are working on getting regular bikes and surf racks for our members. We gotta start small. Don't have a ton of money,
Tyler: but- You know what you need to do? You need to talk to Glenn Zabo, uh- Oh, yeah. He's
Gina: got a bunch of bikes ... '
Tyler: cause he's got a ton of bikes, you know?
Like, you could probably, like, get a bunch of beach cruisers that are, that are from him- Yeah ... that are all rusted out, and just, like, have his, uh, surfboard rack on it and you're all set.
Gina: Yeah, Moved By Bikes, which does a lot of surfboard racks, had offered early on. I had reached out to a lot of bike companies and rack companies, and they immediately were like, "Yeah, what do you need?"
And I was like- No way ... "Oh, my God. I don't know. I'm not even open yet." So gotta get back in touch with [00:08:00] them, but-
Tyler: Awesome ...
Gina: uh, my plan was just to get some shitty bikes, throw some racks on them, and spray paint it, and maybe put a logo on it, and we'll see. But-
Tyler: I think that'd be so cool. Like, I mean, it's really- It's super needed and super necessary, and I'm like, I'm really excited to see what you guys have planned for the summer.
Gina: Thanks. Yeah.
Tyler: Looking forward to it. And, uh, also, I kinda wanted to dive into a little bit, 'cause the name of The Jupiter Club was named after a friend of yours, Jesse Jupiter Lyons. Mm-hmm. And I was hoping you can kinda talk a little bit to that, and who he was, and how his mana kind of, you know, fills the space here.
Gina: Yeah, definitely. So Jesse was our friend and our roommate. Um, he was a community organizer, an activist, a surfer, a dancer. Uh, many people in Rockaway will probably remember seeing him, you know, dancing, rollerblading down the boardwalk. Coming out of the water. He used to... He had beach tents. That was his big thing in the summer, so he was always on the beach.
So when we were taking over the space, one of the things that we had to do was come up with a new name, and we're like, "Man, Almeida [00:09:00] Club is such a good name." Yeah. "How are we gonna top that?" I
Tyler: know.
Gina: It's the name of the block.
Tyler: Yeah.
Gina: So my husband was like, "Well, how are we gonna open a community space and a surf club and not name it after Jesse?"
Tyler: Yeah.
Gina: So immediately we were like, "Jupiter Club." Like, that just has such a nice ring to it. It's honoring our friend that would've loved this space. He used to come to Almeida Club all the time, get his hair cut here. So we were really excited about the name, and we wanted to make sure that it was okay with his family, so we were like, you know, got the whole thing together.
I was making logos, and then I was like, "Oh, man, I gotta reach out and ask the question." Like- Yeah ... can we use his name? So we reached out to his mom, Jeannie, who's a lovely woman. She lives in Puerto Rico now, and she was so excited about it and really loved sort of the idea of it being a community space and being a surf club.
So we really wanted to just honor him and sort of the good vibes that he brought to Rockaway, the... whether it was through surfing or through community events and organizing. So we're really, really lucky that she said yes.
Tyler: Mm.
Gina: Um, and we're actually... We have his captain's hat up on the-
Tyler: Oh ...
Gina: shelf over there.
But it's been really great also getting to meet people that maybe didn't know that we [00:10:00] knew Jesse, and then making those connections. So even, you know, from beyond, he is still connecting people, which is really cool.
Tyler: I, I, I love that. You know, that really makes me so happy to hear and just- Yeah. Uh, you know, it's kinda setting it off on a good direction and good foot- Mm
I imagine, you know? Uh, how's it been so far with the space?
Gina: It's been great. So I took it over in, on February 1st- ... which if you're listening recently, there was a crazy winter.
Tyler: Yeah, yeah. Little difficult.
Gina: So I was like, "I'm the one idiot that bought a surf club with six feet of snow on the ground." Can't even open the lockers.
Tyler: How's the flooding been? Has been
Gina: okay? It's been, knock wood, hasn't happened yet. Honestly, at this point I kinda want it to flood just to know that- Test it out ... I can get through it. But yeah, everything that we built is movable, and we can put stuff- The
Tyler: floors are secure ...
Gina: floors are secure. We got, like, reinforced walls.
So when I was doing research to see if this space would work, that was one thing that I was like, "It's not flood proof, but it is the most flood-resistant building in this area."
Tyler: I seem to remember, I thought they were putting in heated floors in here. There are heated
Gina: floors. Oh, what? Which is also just nice when we do yoga [00:11:00] classes and stuff like
Tyler: that.
Seriously. Oh my gosh. Yeah, this is great space for that.
Gina: It's been really, really cool getting to kind of use the space in different ways. Um, so because we are able to move everything around, we've been doing yoga classes, dance classes, we've done art classes. We did a sound bath last week. What? Uh, we've done gallery shows.
So it's really cool getting to kind of, like, move the space around. It's not a huge space indoors, but it is really, really versatile, which is cool to also see kind of what other people envision the space can be.
Tyler: When are you doing WSL comp watches here?
Gina: Oh, whenever.
Tyler: Come on. Let me know. We gotta do some of that, man.
Yeah. We gotta get that, and we gotta find, like, a beer sponsor or someone- Oh, I know ... to just, like, flow some product. Any
Gina: beer sponsors listening-
Tyler: Hello ... hit me up. Anyone see a good, uh, ret- You know, kind of marketing opportunity here. You're blowing it if you don't. I mean, it, it really is, like, perfect for that.
Gina: Yeah. And,
Tyler: and I mean, like, and how's the membership been going then? Because it imag- I imagine you would've, you, like you said it before we started even, you, you inherited some club members. Mm-hmm. But I [00:12:00] imagine with the Yeasty Boys as well- Yeah ... your other club, that has kind of folded into this.
Gina: Yeah, definitely, and that was one of the reasons I felt comfortable taking over the space.
I was like, "All right, I do have a built-in sort of group of people that might be interested." Yeah. Even if not all 350 members get a locker. Um, so I inherited about 20 members, and then we've gotten about 10 more. We still have, I think, 20 lockers left. There's 52 lockers in total. Wow. They're 12 feet tall.
They fit four boards. People can split lockers.
Tyler: Damn.
Gina: So one of the nice things too is that people have 24/7 access to the space, so even if we're not technically open, they can still come in and use the space, make coffee, tea, you know, do work, take a shower, whatever they want. Um, so it's been nice having sort of that built-in network, and then also getting to meet new people, um, as we've kind of expanded and done a little bit more marketing.
But it's definitely growing. It was certainly harder in the winter. Um, my initial plan was to just kind of focus on selling lockers-
Tyler: Yeah ...
Gina: to start, but then with all the snow on the ground, I was like, "All right, let me maybe do some programming." And people really, really latched onto-
Tyler: Yeah ...
Gina: this [00:13:00] space being an event space, being a community gathering space, which is great.
Um, so we've been trying to, like, kind of balance that with also still selling lockers and-
Tyler: Yeah ...
Gina: making it accessible for surfers as well.
Tyler: When are you getting the board rentals and stuff here? Oh, man,
Gina: that is an insurance nightmare. I don't wanna deal with that. Well, with Yeasty Boys we ha- I ha- I personally own, I think, 10 or 15 surfboards.
And the way that I justify that to my husband is I say, "Oh, well, uh, it's for all the Yeasty Boys. Anyone can borrow a board." So, fine to lend out boards. I don't know if I'll rent them ever.
Tyler: I mean, it, there's just- I imagine the toughest thing about having a space like this is because you could do so much, it's like, you know, like overwhelming.
Yeah. I imagine it can almost be like kind of freezing at times. Right. In, in a sense where you're just like, sh- it's like, there's just- Too many
Gina: options.
Tyler: Exactly. You know? It's just like, "Oh, I wanna do this, I wanna do that, I wanna do all this," and it's like, oh my God, where, how do you prioritize that?
Gina: I don't.
I [00:14:00] probably should. I think for me, coming from an events background, um, the way that I always approach anything that I do in Rockaway is, like, asking the community what they want and what they need. Yeah. So for example, when we started, you know, my idea was like, "Oh, I'll do a couple surf movie nights, maybe I'll do some yoga classes."
But then from people just coming into the space, we had people say, "Oh, you know, I'd love to host an art class here," or-
Tyler: Hmm ... "
Gina: Can I rent this space out for a birthday party?" Or, "You guys should put up a screen on the lockers and do a film festival in the back of the room." Which we'll get into. Which we'll get to.
But I've really been letting sort of the community lead with what they wanna see here, so it's been nice for me because I have a million ideas, obviously, but- Yeah ... it's also nice when people come with sort of fully formed ideas that I can just help out with, as opposed to planning the entire thing. I-
Tyler: yeah, 'cause planning is rather complicated- It is
and time-consuming- Yeah. ... when you have a full-time gig as well. Mm-hmm. You know? And, and, you know, and, and- Many
Gina: full-time gigs.
Tyler: Many full-time gigs, and also having a place in, in, uh, Asbury Park as well.
Gina: Yes, so-
Tyler: You wanna plug your Airbnb
Gina: down there- Sure ... by [00:15:00] the way? I have a house in Asbury Park that's about a 10-minute walk from the beach, but also we had bought that a few years ago.
And, um, you know, because I'm here all the time now- Yeah ... we're Airbnb-ing it this summer. So if anyone has any plans for Asbury Park, if you're going to the Stone Pony or going to the beach or surfing. How many
Tyler: bedrooms is it? It's
Gina: three bedrooms.
Tyler: Really?
Gina: It's got a fenced-in yard. You can bring your dogs.
Tyler: My dad, uh-
has been... Well, he always goes to Ocean Grove. Yeah. He's done. We're right, like
Gina: next to it.
Tyler: And so, well, now I'm gonna have to let him know. I know. You know, and- I'll
Gina: send you the link.
Tyler: Yeah. That's awesome. I mean, ch- jeez. How do you have time? Do you ever relax?
Gina: No, never. Absolutely not.
Tyler: I mean, how do you balance all that?
Gina: I'm working on it. I think for me, I feel like, you know, when I was starting Jupiter Club, it was kind of balls to the wall, like we just gotta get everything done, and now that everything's kind of running smoothly, I'm like, I can close at 3:00 when I say I'm gonna close, and like-
Tyler: Yeah ...
Gina: go to the beach, or at least take my laptop [00:16:00] home and work.
I don't have to be here for 14 hours a day.
Tyler: Yeah.
Gina: But I also enjoy being here. I think, like, for me, it's as much of a community space for me as well. Like, a lot of the members are my friends, so it's nice to be able to hang out and work together or, like, have a beer together or, you know, drink coffee.
Tyler: Do, do you find, like, that atmosphere, uh, births new ideas and new projects out of it for
Gina: you?
Yeah, definitely. It's actually interesting. So one of the events that we did this spring, um, we did a zodiac sort of art show, and that was coupled with a zodiac reading and presentation. Wow. So the person that was doing it did a birth chart for Jupiter Club, which I didn't know you could do for-
businesses. Transparently, my friend did my birth chart once, and I fell asleep, and it's like one of the biggest fights we ever got in. So I'm not into that stuff too much, but seems like a cool idea. But she did a birth chart reading for the club based on, like, when our opening party was and said, "You know, this is gonna be, be a space of collaboration and community," and it's been really cool getting to see that kind of come to fruition already.[00:17:00]
Um, you know, anything from people, you know, doing something on, like, Illustrator, and they don't know how to use a certain tool, and someone else being like, "Oh, I got you. No problem." Or I- last week there was people that were having a conversation about, like, web design, and the person hired the person on the spot.
So it's been really cool also getting to see the group and the members- Yeah ... you know, get to know each other and work together and ideate together.
Tyler: I'm gonna say, you guys need to create, like, a forum board on your, on your page so that people can post, like, listings and stuff- Yeah ... and, uh, like, other creative things 'cause I'm always l- I'm...
As a, as a business owner, I'm like, I'm always looking for help, and- It's true ... you know, I'd like to invest it in the community and people locally as opposed to try to find random people, so.
Gina: Yeah. It's been very cool, too. I mean, like, I- I'm the only employee currently, but I also have- Which- ... people. I've had a lot of, like, younger people- Yeah
or people's parents say, "Hey, my kid is interested in learning how to do events," or- Intern. I don't believe in unpaid internships- ... so I haven't hired anyone yet, but, but it's also been cool seeing, like, younger kids- Brome-
Tyler: bromids who [00:18:00] sweep.
Gina: Yeah, right?
Tyler: You know? Just- No, I like sweeping ...
Gina: it's
Tyler: a
Gina: surfing tradition.
That's very meditative for me.
Tyler: Yeah.
Gina: I'm not giving up the broom. Come on. But yeah, it's, it's funny the space, you know, the way that it's set up, you can't see obviously, but I was like, "Oh, I wanna have a community events board so bad," but we don't actually have a wall big enough for one, so I like the idea of a forum.
Tyler: It'll, it'll c- yeah. I mean, it, it's... Listeners, like, this place is absolutely stunning, and I really, I highly recommend you all go check it out and come down here, um, and keep on the lookout for events and stuff because- Fuck, it's really cool, and it's so necessary and so needed. Um, I wanna now move on then.
Like, how did the film festival come about, and can you give, like, your, your elevator pitch of what this is exactly? Yeah. As a former surf film festival- I know, it's a lot of pressure ... organizer, right? So- I'm gonna be judging here.
Gina: Oh, man, okay. So again, just, you know, random connections happening. Um, Pete Luigi, who you also interviewed for the show-
Tyler: Yeah
Gina: a while [00:19:00] back. I don't know when it was exactly. Last year. I was just listening to the episode on my drive back from Jersey. Um, but he came in. The Rockaway Dippers, who are a cold plunge group, had, this winter, you know, once a month they would do, like, a sauna. Dude,
Tyler: they are the gnarliest people.
Gina: They're wild.
I, like-
Tyler: They
Gina: dip, like, every day ... they keep inviting me, and I'm like, "I'm not going."
Tyler: Every day, all winter. It's- It's nuts ...
Gina: they're badass. But so they would come, you know, do their dip in the dead of winter, and then come to a sauna day. Nice. So he had just happened to, like, be with them one day and came into the space, and he's also working on a documentary.
Yeah. So initially, the ask was, "Can I just use your space to record?- Yeah ... and can I interview you, you know, for the documentary?" And I was like, "Yeah, sure, no problem." I come from a film background, too. Yes. So any time I can-
Tyler: Yeah. ...
Gina: assist with any of that stuff, I know how expensive and annoying it is. So he came in, did a couple of interviews, and then we were just talking about, you know, his documentary and just film festivals in general.
Um, I used to work for the Women's Surf Film Festival. Yes. I volunteered for many years. So I had loved that, and I saw what a great, you know, event that was in Rockaway, and unfortunately, Davina, who used to [00:20:00] run it, moved to Puerto Rico, so it's been on kind of a hiatus.
Tyler: Yeah.
Gina: And we were just talking, and we were like, "It's kind of crazy.
There's not a surf film festival in Rockaway. Like, there's so many surfers. There's so many creatives. Like, should we just put one together and kind of see if there's any interest?" So we, he literally, like, threw together a quick logo. Um, I, you know, made a website page or whatever, but the whole idea really is just kind of celebrating the Northeast surf scene.
So initially, we were just gonna do Rockaway, and then we had a lot of people that were interested that were like, "Hey, I'm from Rhode Island." Mm-hmm. Or, "I'm from New Jersey. Can I still submit?" So we expanded it, so now it can be any films either featuring Northeast surfers, made by Northeast surfers or filmmakers, or ideally featuring people, um, in Rockaway.
But we're really trying to keep it as, you know, expansive and open as possible. But the goal really is just to get people together to have a good time. I think one of my favorite things about, like, the Women's Surf Film Festival, for example, was, you know, just watching people watch a clip and everybody, like, cheering or, you know-
Tyler: Yeah
Gina: elbowing the person next to them, being like, "I've surfed with them at, you know, Beach 67th," [00:21:00] whatever.
Tyler: Yeah.
Gina: So just really creating a space to just kind of celebrate Northeast surfing and celebrate these filmmakers. Um, I s- I feel like surf filmmaking is such a niche thing, and it's so hard to do, so also celebrating the filmmakers' just efforts and work- Yeah
Tyler: and
Gina: getting to showcase their work.
Tyler: What I love is, like, the format. It's 25 minutes and under. Mm-hmm. Which is, I think, a really good length. Yeah. You know? Um- Coming from someone who did, you know, listeners, if you weren't aware, I used to do the New York Surf Film Festival, and we had, like, feature length films and It was wild 'cause, like, sometimes some films were, were worthy of that time, and some films we would get, like, hour-and-a-half long films where it's just surfing.
Gina: Yeah.
Tyler: And no- Which is, I
Gina: like that, but not everyone does. I
Tyler: like... Well, sitting in a theater- Yeah ... for an hour, hour and a half when there's no narration or no- Mm ... story is, it's a lot to ask people-
Gina: It
Tyler: is ... to do, you know? And it's like- You have to [00:22:00] be
Gina: really committed.
Tyler: Yeah, you know, it's, and it, it, it, it, it- I think, like, I think that's a good timeframe, and I also think, like, if you could, if you wanted to, you could get, like, a bigger, longer feature length that you could show, uh, as an anchor too, you know?
Yeah,
Gina: definitely, and this is, you know, there's the inaugural one, so we were like- Yeah ... "This year let's just kinda open it up to whatever, and then ideally maybe in a few years we'll do a feature night, or we'll do it for a few nights, um, depending on how many submissions we get."
Tyler: I also think, like, keeping it roots and keeping it kinda gr- like, not over the top gives you an a, a strength.
Yeah. And gives you a lot more flexibility, and allows you to kinda play with the format more and kind of do different things and experiment, uh, you know, 'cause we would do it, we rented out a theater which, you know, for like a whole weekend. It was Tribeca Cinemas and it was like- Oh, yeah. I love there ... it was like 50 grand for the whole weekend.
50... We
Gina: definitely don't have 50 grand.
Tyler: It's like- If
Gina: anyone wants to give us 50 grand, we will.
Tyler: It was insane, you know? And [00:23:00] then you're like, then you have all, like, we ended up having to do all these other things- Yeah ... because of the sponsorship dollars. Like, we had to make a fe- we had to make films for them- Yeah
and all these, and banners and other shit, and it's like, and that ends up putting so much more pressure.
Gina: Mm-hmm.
Tyler: And it makes it really intense and, and not as enjoyable-
Gina: Yeah ...
Tyler: to run, and I think that was one of the things that, that sometimes could be really frustrating, is like you're just so wound up and so stressed out.
Gina: You don't even get to enjoy the films.
Tyler: You don't. You don't, you know? And, and I mean, proj- and like, also one of the most stressful things is, like, having run the projector.
Gina: Oh, yeah.
Tyler: That shit, like, freaks me out.
Gina: I've unfortunately- I have PTSD ... gotten good at it. So my day job, I work for Oceanic Global. Is a ocean conservation nonprofit, but one of our sort of anchor moments throughout the year is the Oceanic Global Short Film Festival, which started as just, like, a little, you know, volunteer-run thing, but because I had a background in film- Yeah
I really pushed for it to become a little bit larger of a thing, and now we do global [00:24:00] screenings all over the world. I'm planning 20 screenings right now. And that's just to start. Um- But so for me, like, I had to learn how to, like, convert films to DCP format. Yeah. I don't even know what DCP means still.
Tyler: Thank God you got AI to help explain that
Gina: to you now. Oh, God. I really try not to use it, but-
Tyler: But
Gina: yeah, like that, like I, you know, I, I had to put together a whole tech spec sheet about, like, the best projectors, which was great for me 'cause I had to learn stuff too. Yeah. So I think a lot of it has been, like, trial by fire, and I think though that's sort of the way that I approach all events, is like let's just, like- Do learn as we go.
You know, we'll just figure it out, and I think that's the nice thing about being able to have a space that I own to do it in. Like-
Tyler: Yeah ...
Gina: no one's gonna yell at me for- Yeah ... messing up a projector. No one's gonna yell at me for, you know, not announcing the sponsor, 'cause I am the sponsor. Yeah. So it's been a l- l- less pressure, I would say, on this one.
Tyler: I, I remember doing, uh, when I did my Smash Film Festival out in, I did one out in Montauk, and everyone's waiting for me. Yeah. And, and it's like- And
Gina: you're waiting for someone else to hit play or-
Tyler: No, I was the [00:25:00] one running the whole thing. Oh, God. So I had to set up the projector, which connected to the sound, which connected my computer, and I remember, like Need a water there.
Um, and I remember, because it's bringing back so much trauma. It's stressing you out. It is. Like, I remember, like, hundreds of people were just looking at me, and I'm sweating. Yeah. Like, trying to get the projector to work, and finally, after, like, a half hour, got it working, and it was just like, "Oh, thank God."
But it's just so- Yeah ... so intense.
Gina: I mean, we're also always looking for volunteers if I don't have- Volunteers? ... to do all of that. It's funny, with Jupiter Club, too, like, all of, like, the community has been so supportive, but especially my friends. I literally was telling my therapist when I opened, you know, if you wanna know how cool- Good thing you have one of
Tyler: those,
Gina: too.
Which is very important. Um, but I was telling my therapist, "You know, if you wanna know how cool and nice your community and your friends are, like, open a small business." Like- Yeah ... there were people coming out of the woodwork that I thought didn't even like me, offering, you know, whatever help I [00:26:00] needed. So now I have a CTO, and I have a music curator, and-
a interior designer. So it's been nice, also, just g- getting to play on the strengths of my friends and community that I don't have.
Tyler: One of the, my favorite parts, though, of running the festival was, um, picking the films. Yeah. And watching all the submissions. I'm very excited about that. Like, that, to me, is, like, one of the most enjoyable aspects, because you really can just see a wide breadth of perspectives on surfing, and you could really, like, be challenged- Yeah
on your, your, what your vision of surfing is, and to see someone else's. Yeah. You know? And I'm curious, like, have you started that process yet?
Gina: So submissions are still open, which is exciting.
Tyler: Listeners.
Gina: Yes. Submissions. We were gonna close them on June 1st, but we decided to wait until after this podcast so people know about it.
Tyler: You know what? I'm gonna, I'm gonna throw some ideas out there, too. All right, hit me. Let's do it. I know it's, like, still, you're, like, in the middle of- Do you wanna be a
Gina: judge? We need another judge.
Tyler: I would, I would gladly be a judge. All right, good. Are you kidding me? You're in. I'm a, I'm a- You're
Gina: [00:27:00] hired ...
Tyler: I'm a jury member on the London Surf Film Fest.
Yeah. So why not, you know? It's not a big deal, you know? But I think, you know, what'd be really interesting is, like, to try to get, like, even, like, um, a- Like a collage of Instagram clips-
Gina: Yeah ...
Tyler: that people make, and then you can kind of piece it all together actually-
Gina: Yeah ...
Tyler: and make like a kind of, just like almost like a yearbook video.
Gina: Oh, that'd be cute. I love that.
Tyler: You know? I
Gina: think- I was saying before too, I think like for us, we've had a lot of people that were like, "Oh, you know, I am working on something- Mm-hmm ... but it's not ready yet." And we were like, "We don't care." Like- Give us a rough cut ... send us a trailer. Yeah. Yeah. Like, it doesn't have to be Oscar worthy, uh, editing or anything.
We just wanna showcase the films.
Tyler: Well, that, I mean, that's the thing, like I, I feel like sometimes, like especially on with smaller film fests, it's a great place to screen a movie, get feedback- Yeah, exactly ... and then go back and edit. Mm-hmm. And then you can kind of present it to larger festivals eventually too.
Yeah. Like, this is like a great way to test the audience.
Gina: Yeah, and this, I think, you know, after doing the Women's Surf Film Festival here and [00:28:00] being at many other film festivals, the Rockaway Film Festival- Mm-hmm ... I think the audience is quite receptive and will give feedback. I definitely -
Tyler: Have you, have you been- No, worried about that
talking to them at the Rockaway Film Fest as well?
Gina: Yeah, so we, they're right down the block from us. Yeah. So they were saying, we're like, "You know, if this thing blows up and we, we don't have enough space at Jupiter Club, maybe we'll do like a little opening party here, and then all walk down the block together to Arverne Cinema."
Tyler: That could be cool. Um,
Gina: but hopefully that happens 'cause a lot of people are interested and wanna come, so we're kind of waiting to see, you know, how many people RSVP, but that's definitely an option. And even if not, we would love to do stuff with them in the future. Um, I think the work that they're doing is so important and amazing, and I know they've done like surf film- Yeah
nights before. So I think for me it's all about like community over competition, like taking the people that we've have done stuff like this before- Yeah ... and bringing them in and being like, "Hey, what, do you wanna do this with us? Did this work? How can we- Ooh, there's synergy there ... support you?" Yeah.
Tyler: Yeah, there's synergy.
When, when are, are you planning to, to have the festival? What are the dates
Gina: exactly? So the screening is gonna be, we're just doing one screening to start. Yeah. So it's gonna be June 26th here at Jupiter Club for now, unless- Yeah ... a lot [00:29:00] of people wanna come. Um, but yeah, the idea basically is to just kind of have like cocktail hour, come meet some of the filmmakers.
Uh, we'll have some music, and then once it starts getting dark out, we'll send everyone out back. Um, we have a nice big screen, nice big projector, and just watch the films together outside. Yeah. We might do a panel discussion. I love a panel. I was
Tyler: gonna see if there are gonna, are you gonna do any other discussions and stuff?
Yeah. I think that'll be really cool. We did,
Gina: um, recently, so we just had our Yeasty Boys, like we do a spring party every year. Mm-hmm. So we did a panel for that with La Rubia and the people from Lav Crush and Kwame. So I, I honestly- Kwame the best ... when I go see a film, I wanna just like hear the filmmakers talk or hear people in the community talk, and I'm a yapper obviously, so.
Tyler: Can we, can we just like crush on Kwame for a second?
Gina: Ugh, he's the best. I- Is he? I don't know how he does everything that he does with International Surf Therapy Organization, with just everything, like... So I also, in addition to all of the other jobs I've mentioned, I'm also a surf therapy facilitator, um, and I run Ride the Tide Surf Therapy.
So when I was starting that, [00:30:00] he was such a, like, wealth of knowledge and inspiration- Do- ... and has been really supportive as well.
Tyler: Can you talk about that at all? Yeah. Like, what, what, again, can you go into a little bit of, like, what that is and what, what people can expect with,
Gina: like, surf therapy? Yeah, definitely.
So I actually did not know surf therapy was a thing until the Women's Surf Film Festival. At a panel- Mm-hmm ... they had Natalie Small from the Groundswell Community Project, um, speaking about surf therapy. Mm-hmm. And I remember sitting in the crowd and being like, "Oh my God, this is a thing?" Like- ... "This is incred- I, I guess I've been doing this just on my own, and I didn't know it was a thing."
So I immediately reached out to Natalie, went and got certified. I've been doing, you know, continuing ed. I went to Jamaica to get my certification a few years ago. Um, so
Tyler: basically- What,
Gina: what goes
Tyler: into that?
Gina: It's, honestly, it's really interesting. Like, I wasn't sure I could do it, because I'm not a therapist.
I'm not a psychologist. Yeah. But really, it's all about sort of learning how to deal with people and their trauma, and using sort of the ocean and surfing as a metaphor for getting through that type of stuff. So, you know, riding the waves of your emotions or kind of, you know, when you're surfing, you're looking ahead.
You're [00:31:00] not looking in the past, and that's one thing that I really like about surf therapy specifically is I ha- you know, I've been in therapy my entire life, and I definitely sometimes have felt like, "I don't wanna talk about this. I just wanna, like, kinda be in nature, you know, be with myself and my thoughts and have some tools that I can use and pull," but, like, not actually lay on the couch and, like, you know- Yeah
psychoanalyze and everything. So I think surf therapy's a great way for people that either are already in therapy and want a more, like, holistic approach, or people that maybe are not ready to kind of do the traditional therapy route and wanna kind of dip their toes in the water, no pun intended. But using sort of these tools, whether it's breathwork, whether it's sort of movements.
Um, we do a lot of, like, beach cleanups with that, so there's the- Mm-hmm ... aspect of eco therapy as well. But the whole idea really is just, like, how do we connect ourselves back to nature and, through that, reconnect with ourselves? And it's been really a great tool for me as well as I learned how to facilitate for others.
But we're planning on some surf therapy events, uh, at the club and- Nice ... on the beach also this summer, so [00:32:00] it's all, all related.
Tyler: It's, it's interesting. Like, I, I, you know what I found to be really therapeutic about, like, doing surfing was, like, a walk on water. Like, the- Yeah ... volunteering, actually giving. I love that.
Like, that to me was, like, almost surf therapy also in a sense- It is. I think it is ... because it was Instead of focusing on your own aspect- Mm-hmm ... you're, like, projecting outwards- Yep ... and kind of seeing other people kinda get excited, and that's like, I mean, that always gets me so freaking emotional. Like- Yeah
I'm in tears at the end of it. I think
Gina: it's, it's also a good reminder, too. I think people beat themselves up when they're surfing a lot.
Tyler: Yes.
Gina: And it's a good reminder that, like, some people have different abilities, and being able to see someone get, like, so stoked for their first wave ever is, like, such a good reminder of, like, I remember when I got my first wave, and, like, this is why I do this.
This is... I do this to connect to other people. I do this to connect to the ocean, to connect to myself. It doesn't matter if I fell off the board or if I, you know, didn't hit the lip the exact way that I wanted to, and I think it's such an incredible way to not only, like, [00:33:00] remind ourselves of what surfing is and what community is, but also just to, like, be out in nature.
Like, what a great way to spend your afternoon, is helping other people learn how to surf.
Tyler: Uh, it's awesome. My only problem is if I did it, I would probably try to use the therapy to get more waves. I'd, like, get people to start opening up.
Gina: I'm sure there's people that do that. You're not the first to do that.
Tyler: I'd be like, "Get on the couch," have them start opening up, and, and then just be like, "Oh, here's a set. I gotta go." Yeah, "See
Gina: you
Tyler: later."
Gina: No, it's funny, too. I mean, like, I, I was joking with someone the other day. I was like, "I didn't realize opening a surf club meant I can never surf again." Yeah. Like, I'm just... I, I really fucked up.
Tyler: The... Well, the, the, the funniest thing is, like, so many people, like, try to, um, go into the surf industry- Yeah. ... or surfing, and what i- and you're thinking, "Right, I'm gonna be surfing so much more"- Yeah. 100% ... and you actually surf way less. Like, I've
Gina: surfed twice since I opened.
Tyler: And sometimes you almost, like, start to despise surfing.
Gina: Well- And hard times ... here it's funny 'cause people, you know, I'll be sitting here doing my usual work or whatever- Yeah ... and surfers, members will come in and grab their boards, and I'm like, "Catch one for me, [00:34:00] please." "Don't tell me it was good." But I'm learning how to let go of it and also actually make time for myself to surf.
Tyler: Well, well, that's the, the, the most important thing. Yeah. You know, because otherwise it's like, "Why do this?" Yeah. You know? And I think that's really... You know, and, and as you grow and as you get more people that you can rely on, you'll be able to kind of-
Gina: Mm-hmm ...
Tyler: you know, you'll be able to go enjoy more.
Gina: Oh, at this point, I mean, my members all be like, "Hey, I'm leaving.
Here's the keys. Lock up when you're done." So it's- Sweet ... maybe I should not do, but- Well- ... sometimes it's nice to be able to just walk away.
Tyler: Yeah. Yeah. But I mean, it's- It's, it's understandable.
Gina: Yes. It's funny, when I first opened, I, I hadn't put my hours anywhere on purpose- Yeah ... because members have 24/7 access.
I'm usually here, you know, on the weekdays 8:00 to 3:00, but I was like, "But what if I don't wanna be here?"
Tyler: You just gotta get the, like, what? Ring cameras and automatic- Yes ... locking systems. We have like a keypad
Gina: that, um- Yeah ... members can come in and out, so basically, like, I always tell people, 'cause also we are technically [00:35:00] open to the public.
You don't have to be a surfer. You know, our neighbors will come in and have coffee and hang out. Nice. People do homework, whatever. But it's, uh... I always tell people, you know, "If the gate's open and I'm here, we're open, and if it's closed, we're not." So- ... I don't know, but I finally had to put up, like, "Okay, I guess our hours are 8:00 to 3:00, but also I'm a surfer, so maybe DM us to see if we're here before you come all the way down here."
Tyler: Yeah. It's, and I see it's pet friendly too.
Gina: Oh, dog encouraged. I
Tyler: see the dog. I, I, you know, one of the great thing, uh, great memories of this space with my friend Glenn is, uh, you know, well, it was with his ex, but they, they picked up a cat when they had the foster- Mm-hmm ... event here. Oh, nice. Yeah. You know? So I would encourage that again.
Gina: Yes. I honestly, well, I'm also, selfishly, I just wanted to bring my dogs, and I was like- Yeah ... "I guess if I bring my dogs, I have to allow other dogs." It's so nice, though. There's one dog here named Lover Boy that's, like, the mayor of Jupiter Club. His mom, Maddie, is great also, but everybody loves Lover Boy.
Tyler: Aw.
Gina: He has a very stylish, like, wardrobe of [00:36:00] collars and handkerchiefs and stuff, but it's also nice, you know, when you're working sometimes just to, like, pet a dog for five minutes and regulate your nervous system.
Tyler: My cat is, like, my dopamine machine- ... you know? Do you, now with the film fest, is Pete gonna be premiering his film as well?
Yeah. Is he-
Gina: Yeah, so his film Stoke Monsters, that's how this kind of started, is he... So in the episode that you did with him last year, he was talking about how he has all of this content- Yeah ... from years and years and years of big wave surfing. So he's finally put it together. So I don't know if it'll be the final cut or a rough cut like we were talking about.
Yeah. But I also just think it's so interesting, like, you know, it's so funny. He's a big wave surfer, and I have a bumper sticker on my car that says, "I brake for knee-high waves." But that's what I love about surfing and about surf films specifically, is like, it can bring those two things together, and I'm really excited to see his film.
I, so I did, I got interviewed for it, and he did a couple of interviews for it in the club. Nice. So also it's gonna be cool to see the club on film, but
Tyler: It's gonna be really cool. Yeah. It's gonna be super exciting. I'm excited. [00:37:00] What other events are you looking forward to this summer that you have- Oh, man
planned so far?
Gina: We have, it's funny, like, so June is World Oceans Month, so I'm always very busy with- Yeah ... my day job. That's, like, our Super Bowl. But we're doing a lot of sort of wellness and art events. So we have another sound bath coming up. Um, we have art classes. We're doing a, uh, wetsuit repair class, which was something that- Ooh
was requested by one of our members. Who's
Tyler: doing that? Who's
Gina: running that? So it's really interesting, actually. In Rockaway, there's not just a wetsuit repair person. Well, we
Tyler: used to.
Gina: We used to have- Buddy ... a, Buddy. I know, and then he's in, where is he? California now.
Tyler: Yeah. I was like- He, he, he got the call from Patagonia- I know, he's busy.
and they're just like, he's kind of a big deal now, you know? I know.
Gina: He also is doing, like, a bunch of research in, into the science of wetsuits and everything too- That's awesome ... which is really cool. But unfortunately, there's not really a set wetsuit repair person. So, uh, Lauren Giambo- Giambovolo, I think is how you say her last name.
Um, she's, like, worked in the fashion industry for a long time. So I was talking to her about it, and she's like, "You know, I can't- Teach people how to like fully, fully repair a wetsuit, but uh, like I can teach them [00:38:00] how to use this specific type of glue or like- Mm-hmm ... basic stitches for neoprene. But it's interesting, I've talked to a couple of different people that are either tailors or upholsterers even, and you need a certain type of machine-
Tyler: To do
Gina: it
for neoprene, which-
Tyler: Because you need to be able to do the blind stitch, basically
Gina: Yeah, so it's like it's a very specific art, and it's something that if anyone listening is like, has a fashion
Tyler: background- We gotta reach out to Still Blue.
Gina: Yeah, it's, that's true
Tyler: Those guys- I
Gina: wonder if they have any
Tyler: They, I mean, they make the wetsuits here.
Gina: Yeah.
Tyler: You know? Like, they do a lot of that stitching and everything, too. But yeah. I'm
Gina: very excited about that also just 'cause I have a bunch of wetsuits I need to repair, and we're very into sustainability, environmentalism here, so anything we can do to keep wetsuits out of landfills is great. All
Tyler: I can say is dental floss is one of the best- Yeah, I've done that
ways to stitch a suit. You know? 'Cause it- Mm-hmm ... kind of absorbs the wax and everything- Yeah ... that's on it, like, kinda helps, and then you kinda paint over it and everything.
Gina: Yeah.
Tyler: You should also reach out to Jamie Meiselman with Sol, uh, Solite Wetsuits.
Gina: Oh, yeah. That's
Tyler: a good one. Because he's in New Jersey.
Gina: Okay. Oh, do you think they'd come out?
Tyler: And... What's that? So you think they'd come out to Rockaway? Hell yeah, he would. If he can [00:39:00] promote some of his products too- Yeah ... he would totally do it, 'cause he's, I mean, like, he made the, the adaptable booties and like- Yeah, love those ... you know, which is amazing. The gloves are the lightest, warmest gloves I've ever worn.
Mm-hmm. Uh, he's got this really cool now, like, rash guard kinda thing- Oh, interesting ... that it has, like, a foam padding on the chest so you don't get nabby ribs.
Gina: Ooh.
Tyler: And it's perforated so you don't overheat either. Yeah.
Gina: Interesting. Yeah, gotta check that out.
Tyler: You know? So, like-
Gina: I think- ...
Tyler: might be-
Gina: In my mind, I was just like, "We need a local person," but I didn't even think of all these other
Tyler: options.
You know, there's, there's a couple options out there. I'm just thinking, you know, uh, like-
Gina: There's, like, a lot of interest just in this one event, so I'm sure we're gonna have to do more just-
Tyler: Dude ... 'cause of
Gina: capacities.
Tyler: Well, it's, it's, it's, you know- Unfortunately, a lot of wetsuits, while they're more flexible- Mm
they're less durable. Oh, definitely. You know? And because of that stretch and flex, like they don't last as long. Yeah. Um, it's really hard. And, and also like they do like the liquid [00:40:00] seam glue, which, which comes off and like- Yeah,
Gina: it helps in a pinch, but
Tyler: It, it, well, it's like, it's, you know, the, the suits come on, come with it, and then it starts to peel off- Yeah
over time because of that stretching and usage. Mm-hmm. And also, we're all in the city.
Gina: Yeah.
Tyler: Where the fuck are you gonna clean and hang and dry your wetsuit? You know? And like, if you've got a partner who doesn't surf, like- Yeah ... my wife is like-
Gina: Taking over the bathroom.
Tyler: Dude, I'm, I, I mean she, my wife got really upset when I started hanging my wetsuit in the bathroom.
She's like, "Nah, nah, that's not happening here." Really? "Nah, nah."
Gina: I have friends that have a two bedroom, two bath, and one bathroom is just the surf bathroom. And there's like, they have like the boot dryer, they got all the fancy hangers. It's like, that's the bathroom I like to use when I go to their house.
Tyler: I, I'm really excited.
I kind of, I want to be here for that.
Gina: Yeah. For the, the repair. That's gonna be June 25th, so it'll be the day before- Man ... the Surf Film Festival, but we're definitely gonna do more of those.
Tyler: I'm
Gina: gonna be at a
Tyler: trade
Gina: show. Um, and then yeah, just in addition to that, I think like it's been cool getting to do like a mix of surf events and then just community events.
So we've had a ton of like really great [00:41:00] art classes, so definitely wanna keep doing that, and drawing classes. We have people that wanna do like a- Who's
Tyler: doing the drawing classes with
Gina: you? The drawing classes right now, so we were working with Rockaway Art Room, um, which is- Mm ... a newer sort of organization that's doing, basically the whole idea is that it's free art classes for the community.
That's great. So that was super nice because we had literally 40 people in here. We had to pop up extra tables. Wow. But there was people as young as three up to 90 years old doing like a watercolor class, and then we did a mandala class, and they're doing drawing stuff. Um, but yes, basically my plan is like, you know, I have my kind of key moments throughout the summer, but also if anyone else has ideas, like I- Yeah
kind of have left the summer calendar open a little bit- That's awesome ... on purpose, so we can do what the community wants.
Tyler: I love that. I think that's so cool, and I think like there's so much here that- I mean, the opportunities are, are kinda wild.
Gina: Yeah. It's very funny. My roommate always says, "Oh, have, have you gotten the shoulds yet?"
And I was like, "What does that mean?" He said, you know, people telling you, "You should do this. You should do that." And I know it's something- Well, I'm doing that right now, aren't I? No, [00:42:00] it's, I...
Tyler: Honestly,
Gina: that's what I was gonna say, is I appreciate it. Like, I'm sure in a... If it were someone who was not like me that's, wants all of these ideas- Yeah
it could be very annoying. But nine times out of 10, people say, "You should do an event like this," and I'm like, "Yep, throw it on the calendar. Let's do it." Or, you know, "You should do something with the tables outside," and I'm like, "Yep, great idea. No problem." But there's been very few times that I'm like, "Thanks so much for your feedback.
Like, really appreciate it." Yeah. But usually the shoulds are all really good ideas.
Tyler: What surprised you most about opening the space so far?
Gina: Uh, I think honestly just the way that it has grown so organically. Um, you know, like I said, there was people that... Like, I've been in Rockaway for over eight years now.
I definitely hope I have ingratiated myself into the community. But it's been so nice getting to, like, either see people from Yeastie Boys that I haven't seen in a while. I've had, like, regulars from the brewery come in- Nice ... that don't recognize me 'cause I don't have white blonde hair anymore. Yeah. And then they make the connection and they're like, "Oh, my
Tyler: [00:43:00] God."
Gina: I think one of the first people actually that I sold a locker to this winter, I just got like a notification, oh, somebody bought a Surf Club, you know, locker membership. And I was like, "What, why do I know that name? Why do I know that name?" And I Googled it and I was like, "Oh my God, that's my favorite regular from the brewery."
Nice. So- Nice ... I think just people, like, supporting it that I didn't think would even remember who I was or what I was doing. But it's been really cool just having it become sort of this wider community that's both surfers and just the general neighborhood, which is really nice.
Tyler: I love that. I'm, I'm so excited for you, and I'm so excited for this space, and I'm excited for the community here, uh, and what you're gonna be able to do and- Like, I, I see so much potential.
Yeah. And I see, like, again, like your eyes are gonna be bigger than your stomach- ... with this. But I, I really think, like, people are gonna really gravitate to this. And the more that- Hope so ... people become aware of it too-
Gina: Yeah ...
Tyler: I think it's gonna become more and more of a focal point.
Gina: I know. It's funny, I, like, haven't [00:44:00] actually done much marketing because just word of mouth- Yeah
has been great so far. And it's also something that, you know, like, for me, like, people are like, "Well, how crowded does it get, you know, on a nice summer day where there's waves?" And I'm like, "I don't know. I opened in February." "I have no idea."
Tyler: We'll find out,
Gina: you know? So I asked Graham that, you know, when I was taking over the space, and he said, "You know, if there's..."
You know, this was when there was just the surf lockers- Yeah ... and there wasn't, like, you know, more stuff going on. But he was like, "You know, there's usually, like, six or seven guys answering emails or whatever." But we also added sort of our co-working memberships, but I capped that 'cause I don't know how many surfers are gonna- Right
wanna use the space, and it's just, y- we're kind of flying by the seat of our pants and we're gonna see how crowded it gets. Love it. But I also keep having to remind myself, like, I've only been open a few months.
Tyler: Yes.
Gina: I have a five-year lease. I'm here for quite a while, so- Sh- ... don't have to do everything all at once.
Yeah. But it's been so cool getting to see it grow as much as it has in just a few months, so I can't imagine, you know, in a year, in two years what it's gonna look like.
Tyler: It must be so satisfying when you open and come in every morning or every day. Yeah. You're just like, "Yeah." I'm just
Gina: [00:45:00] like, "
Tyler: Ooh." "I did this.
This is, this is my shit." I'm doing
Gina: it. I
Tyler: don't know if I did it yet, but- You're doing it. I'm doing... Well, you're doing it, you know? Sure. Like, i- it's, it's, it's something, it's a, something to be very proud of and excited. Thank you.
Gina: Yeah, and it's, I really could not do it without, you know, the support of my friends and my family.
Like, everyone has been so, so helpful and so understanding that I'm like, "I'm so sorry, I'm a small business owner now." "I'll see you in six to nine months. Please send me a calendar invite, and I might be able to come." But- Have
Tyler: you got your TikTok set up yet?
Gina: God, no. I hate it so much. Also, if anyone wants to do my social media, I'll give you a free membership.
I hate social media more than anything in
Tyler: the world. Tell me about it. That's, like, the one thing that I, like, with my business, like, I just really dislike. I, I know
Gina: people are good at it, and I'm like, "I'm not."
Tyler: I feel like such a boomer,
Gina: you
Tyler: know?
Gina: I, I used to do social media management, you know, when I was a youth.
Yeah. And as soon as TikTok became a thing, I was like, "Oh, no, I've aged out." Yeah. "I couldn't possibly learn a new platform."
Tyler: Ugh.
Gina: Stopped doing it, but I literally, I was here, I finally had a day off, like, a month ago. This was actually the last time I surfed. Yeah. [00:46:00] And I was like, "I'm not going to the club. I'm not even thinking about Jupiter Club.
I'm gonna take a day off." Then I wanted to surf, and all my boards and gear and everything were here. So I was like, "All right. I'm just going to Jupiter Club- Just- ... just to get my board, my wetsuit." Surfed, had a great time. I was like- Nice ... "This is why I do this." And then I was like, "Well, I have a shower, and I can store my boards now."
"And I can answer some emails. But, like, I'm not working, I'm not working. I'm just gonna come in." And in my mind, I was like, "Well, if I'm taking my board off the roof of my car and putting it in a locker, I should just make a quick reel on Instagram." It took me- Four hours-
Tyler: Yeah ...
Gina: to do a 30-second video, or 20 seconds I think, of me walking into the backyard, putting my stuff in a locker, walking into the shower and shutting it, and then, like, sitting at the table with my laptop.
And I was like, "Never again." Like-
Tyler: The thing I just discovered- I can't ... is CapCut.
Gina: I know, but it's-
Tyler: A, because I just fed the film in and it auto edits it.
Gina: Yeah.
Tyler: And it's free.
Gina: I should do that.
Tyler: And it just, like- I love
Gina: CapCut, but I also just, I, like, I don't care about social media enough, which I know is horrible to say as a small business owner.
But, like-
Tyler: [00:47:00] It's- ...
Gina: why can't my friends just tell their friends-
Tyler: I know,
Gina: right? To come. Why
Tyler: can't word of mouth?
Gina: Damn it. Yeah. Like, do I need an Instagram? But I know I have to do it, and especially with the, you know, surf film festival has been great, 'cause I've been... I follow a lot of surf filmmakers- Yeah ... so I'm able to send them, like, "Hey, I don't know if you saw this."
Exactly. "Or I don't know if you follow us." Exactly. But yeah, if anyone listening wants to do
Tyler: our
Gina: social media- Listeners ... hit me up. Get on
Tyler: it. But I think, the other thing I think you need to do is just have the Surfline cam on all day- Yeah. Well- ... on the TV ...
Gina: I did that. I have a nice big TV. Yeah. That was the first thing I bought.
And in my mind, I was like, "I'm always just gonna have surf films playing in the background." And then you got your electric bill. "That's gonna be so cool and vibey." Not the electric bill so much. It's, I just have terrible ADD- Yeah ... so I work from here, too. This is my office also. Yeah. This is my co-working space, and I literally, like, did it for the first week and I got no work done.
'Cause I was just watching surf films all day. And then same thing with the Surfline cam, like, people will come in, and then they'll be like, "Oh, like, do you mind just looking it up quick?" But then they leave to go surf, and then I'm, like, watching to see if I can see them on the cam. I know, right? 'Cause I'm not there and [00:48:00] I have FOMO, so it's a double-edged sword, for sure.
Tyler: Actually, that, that should be another category. It should be, like, everyone submit your Surfline clips. Ooh, yeah. You know? 'Cause that's real easy to do.
Gina: It is. You can just... It's crazy, you can just, like, download it.
Tyler: You, you could. I mean, it's so easy, right?
Gina: I, like, never wanna see myself surf ever in my life, so.
Tyler: Oh, I, I, um- I know
Gina: other people do ...
Tyler: I'm happy to go take a look after a while. It, I mean, depends on how the session went.
Gina: Well, I feel like I also, like, I've caught waves before that I was like, "That was the best wave of my life." And then my husband's on the beach recording it, and I look like such a jerk.
But it's, uh, but it's all in good fun.
Tyler: Well, Gina, I want to, uh, I've been ending a lot of my, uh, episodes now with this surfer's questionnaire. Yeah. And so I wanted to ask you these questions. These are based on the Bernard Prost questionnaire and, uh, and of course Inside the Actor's Studio- Ooh ... but it's more surfy.
Uh, so we're gonna begin. What is your favorite surf term?
Gina: Ooh, [00:49:00] definitely stoked. Oh, yeah. I say it so much. Like, my job, I was, like, on a, like, corporate partner pitch call, and I was like, "I'm stoked." And I was like, "I gotta stop saying this."
Tyler: What is your least favorite surf term?
Gina: Ooh. Hidden. I don't know why. It
Tyler: like,
Gina: just irks me.
Tyler: Could have a, it could have many different meanings, too.
Gina: It's a bit... It's hidden. Ah.
Tyler: If you could go back in time and grab any surfboard from your history, what board would it be and why?
Gina: Oh, man. I... So I've gotten a lot of boards in very random ways growing up. So my dad was a surfer. We had, like, an old Waterlog board from the '70s.
That's what I learned on when I was, you know, six, seven years old. Mm-hmm. But we ended up getting this, we thought it was a Zephyr board from a abandoned- Whoa ... barn upstate. Um, it turns out it was a Kahn, and the N looked like- Ooh ... a Z. But we were like, "Oh my God, we just hit the payload." Like, "This is great."
And then when we found out it wasn't a Zephyr board, we were like, "Okay, we can surf this now." Yeah. But it was just, like, a shitty, beat up old board that we got out of the rafters of a barn- That's so sick ... that was [00:50:00] abandoned upstate. And, and that same trip, we also got a Design 1. Wow. A super, super old one that I currently have in storage that was painted.
And I surfed it all the time when I was a kid, and now I'm like, I, I'm trying to figure out a way to, like, restore it, 'cause I know that it's, like, so historical. Give it to Paul. And I also loved it. Like-
Tyler: Give it to Paul.
Gina: I know. It's, ah, gonna see. Or, or
Tyler: Petro.
Gina: I'm just, like, so scared to use it now, but that was my favorite, like, shorter board.
Yeah. I'm a long boarder. I'm super lazy, but that was, like, the one shorter board I ever had in my life- ... that I felt like I could do.
Tyler: Um, if heaven exists, what sort of wave would you like to surf for eternity?
Gina: Ooh, that's a good one. I think warm water.
Tyler: Mm-hmm.
Gina: Knee high.
Tyler: All
Gina: right. Maybe waist high if I'm feeling fancy.
Tyler: Okay.
Gina: But yeah, basically just, like, clean, warm waves, uncrowded.
Tyler: Left or right?
Gina: Left.
Tyler: Left? Yeah. Okay. Size?
Gina: Mm, one to two feet. Maybe two.
Tyler: Point break, reef?
Gina: I, I wanna like reef breaks, and I just can't figure 'em out, so point break. [00:51:00]
Tyler: Yeah, me too. I'm all about points. One day
Gina: I'll get it, but that requires leaving the club and traveling and surfing.
Tyler: Well, Gina, I really appreciate you coming on. Um, let's give the full formal plug of everything, where everyone can find- Yeah ... Jupiter Club, where they can find the film festival. Here's your chance right now. All right. Go.
Gina: So Jupiter Club's located at 6962 Almeida Avenue in Arverne. Mm-hmm. So we're on the Bayside, right off of 72nd Street.
Um, our website is www.jupiterclubnyc.com, and that's where you can find our events. We have a page about the short film festival that you can submit to. Um, and then our Instagram, we always post our different events there. So that's jupiterclubnyc on Instagram. Eventually, maybe I'll make a TikTok if someone wants to do it for me.
But that's all we got right now, but-
Tyler: And then Threads. Don't forget Threads.
Gina: What is... I don't understand what Threads is. What? This is why I need a social
Tyler: media person. Blue Square, Blue Sky, Blue Sky. Oh,
Gina: yeah. What happened to Blue Sky? I don't have any of those. We just have, [00:52:00] Instagram and our
Tyler: website.
Gina: Just got Foursquare or something.
Is that still a thing?
Tyler: Oh. Does that
Gina: exist
Tyler: anymore? Something like that. Yeah, kind of, but in a different thing.
Gina: Yelp. I don't know if I have any Yelp reviews. Yelp, Yelp. Do you wanna leave me a nice Yelp
Tyler: review? There you go.
Gina: Um, but yeah, that's basically where we list all of our different events. Um, people can get in touch with us right through the form there.
They can purchase a surf locker sight unseen if they want. Nice. But if not, I'm literally always at the club. I basically live here. So if anyone's interested and wants to come check it out, I'm usually here 8:00 to 3:00 on the weekdays- Nice ... and then when we have events, but always, I live, you know, down the block, so happy to pop in and give the grand tour, even though it's just one room and a backyard.
Tyler: All right. Well, Gina, I'm really excited. I'm really excited for the film festival. Listeners, be on the lookout for the announcements. Yes. June 26, gonna be here at the Jupiter Club, so mark your calendars. Make sure you get out, get stoked. And if you have any footage or films or short clips, whatever it is, just go send it their way.
Gina: Yeah, it doesn't have to be a fully formed [00:53:00] feature film. We wanna see- Yeah ... all of your stuff.
Tyler: Just, just do it to be part of the community, contribute, and get together with people. That's, like, the best part. Um, you know, so, and it's always fun, like, when everyone gets together, when you're able- Yeah ... to get the community together.
It's, it's really one of the best things you can do, and it feels good, so come on down. It's gonna be awesome. There are some
Gina: fun prizes, too.
Tyler: Oh, and fun prizes. Oh, a- and if you want, I'll donate an Everyday Objects product too for it. Hell yeah, let's go. I got the pizza hatchet, which would do very well. That would be great.
You got it. Can I have
Gina: one of those for the wood chopping outside for the sauna? Heck yeah.
Tyler: Heck yeah. You got it. Well, thank you so much, Gina. Mm-hmm. Really appreciate it. Listeners, go check it out. And of course, don't forget to check out Swell Season at swellseasonsurfradio.com and on Instagram @swellseasonsurfradio.
And of course, uh, our sponsor, Everyday Objects. Don't forget to check that out, eogift.com. And we'll check you all down the line soon. Yow. [00:54:00]