Writing

I got into this game to be a sportswriter, but obviously, I’ve taken quite a few detours along the way. Currently, I make outdoor, bike, and surf media. I am especially passionate about women’s sports. I have written for numerous outlets, such as Men’s Journal, Outside, The Red Bulletin, Bicycling, and The Surfer’s Journal. I have created video scripts, and contributed to book projects. I have written columns for Moutain Flyer Magazine and Freehub. I created Surfline Man for BeachGrit.

I like the intimacy of interviewing, the way you learn so much about a person, who they are, what makes them unique, and how they live. I like learning how things are made and how things work. A good story is one where I learn something new and unexpected.

You can find me on Instagram @iamjensee and check we-eat-words.com for current links. If you’d like to get in touch, I’d love to hear from you. jen.w.see@gmail.com.

Here’s a selection of my work.

Over the past 15 years, Anna Gadauskas has traveled to some of the world’s most remote corners to ride waves that few people have ever seen, much less surfed, and immersed herself in the cultures of places as diverse as Iceland, the Galápogos, and India. “I like the exploration factor, and going places that haven’t been completely charted and figured out. I think it’s cool that there are still places like that.” The Surfer’s Journal. Issue 34.3.

I loved interviewing Caity Simmers, a true surfing original. She is creative, funny and thoughtful by turns. For her, surfing is art and self- expression, and Caity’s determined to carve out her own path, one wave at a time. Calm in the Chaos. Red Bulletin.

In 2024, I wrote a column for Freehub Magazine, and the theme for the first issue was Community. “My first riding buddy was a woman named Tina. We had shit bikes and boundless enthusiasm. In fact, that was pretty much all we had. We didn’t know how to ride mountain bikes, not really. Since then, I’ve met so many crazy, beautiful women who love bikes as much as I do. It’s hard to believe that it worked out this way.” Finding My People.

A seafood and farm-to-table restaurant in Los Olivos, Bar le Côte evokes both old California country ease and European flair. “If you’re paying attention, nature tells you what to do,” says Brad Mathews, chef and co-owner. The Special. Wildsam Magazine.

Professional cyclist Matteo Jorgenson never expected to make it this far. As a junior, he never scored a big result and professional cycling felt way beyond his reach. And yet, he never stopped chasing it. Along the way, he’s learned that he can do this bike racing thing – and it just might turn out that he can do it even better than he ever imagined. The Patient American. Escape Collective.

Wildsam: Southern California Coast. Part of Wildsam’s Pursuits series, the book provides a guide to traveling and surfing in Southern California. Stoked to work as a contributing writer. Head to Wildsam to see the book.

“Pipeline for the fucking girls!” It was a quote for the ages on a day that made legends. In 2024, on one of the best-ever days of women’s surfing, women like Caity Simmers set a new mark at Pipeline one of the world’s most fearsome waves. We’ve never seen anything like it in women’s surfing. BeachGrit.

Urban Playgrounds, contributing writer. Published by Gestalten, this large-format, photo-heavy book travels the world’s coolest cities and highlights the skateboarding, BMX, parkour, and other athletes who play there. See the book at Gestalten.

When Matt Warshaw was six years old, there were three things he wanted to be: the driver of a drag racing car, a drummer in a band, and a surfer. One day his Uncle Daniel came to visit and brought his Hansen longboard. Uncle Daniel put his board in the pool and told Warshaw to sit on it. Then he pushed it across the pool. On the third trip across the pool, Uncle Daniel told Warshaw to stand up. “In my mind, I was a surfer.” Emocean Magazine. Reprinted here.

“We are all the idiots,” my friend writes in a text. “We just don’t know it until our luck runs out.” A story about big waves and bad choices. Big Thursday. BeachGrit.

I have driven to Surf Ranch in Lemoore, California far too many times. “As I drove east, the rolling green hills turned gold. There’s a lot of places in between in California. It’s not much more than 40 miles from Paso Robles to Kettleman City, but it feels like forever. I pass through the terrain twisted and torqued by San Andreas fault. Jumbled hills surround wide flatlands. I feel like I’ve driven off the edge of the map.” Welcome to Hell, Now Go to Hell. BeachGrit.

In 2021 Carissa Moore had the season of her life. She began the year by winning the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing. To cap the season, Moore won her fifth World Title. All that and she won surfing’s first Olympic gold medal. “After I won and I got to stand up on the podium and put the gold medal around my neck, it was a very fulfilling and satisfying moment,” says Moore about her Olympic victory. “It felt like an accumulation of my whole life into one moment.” Carissa Moore’s Magical Year.

The plain-spoken owner of a tire store in Lihue, Kaua’i, Sharron Weber was one of the most brilliant surfers of her era. But you would never know it. Unless, that is, you were there.“She was a big part of this very special period in surfing where surfing was finding a new identity,” said Gerry Lopez. “She was one of the avante-garde.” Weber won two world titles in 1970 and 1972. She is one of the pioneers of women’s surfing. “I’m a secret surfer,” Weber said with her characteristic dry humor. “I’m known in your magazines as not being known.” She shined briefly and brightly. Then she disappeared back into her life, leaving only ripples behind. The Surfer’s Journal. Issue 29.4. Excerpt at TSJ.

Rebecca Rusch is among the most decorated athletes in endurance mountain biking. In her career, the so-called Queen of Pain has won seven world titles and four Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike races. She’s also a force on a gravel bike, with multiple wins at Unbound Gravel in Kansas. Recently, she changed her job title—from pro athlete to explorer—to reflect who she is on the bike. Deep curiosity inspires Rusch, 53, to keep pedaling. “I want to see what’s over the next mountain,” she says. “I’ve been this way since I was a kid.” Train Like A Pro with Rebecca Rusch.

Izzi Gomez is a five-time world champion in stand-up paddleboard surfing. She’s also a big-wave surfing badass and a shortboard world champion in the making. Though she could have continued to compete in SUP surfing and win more world titles, Gomez didn’t want to do the same thing she had always done. It felt too easy. Instead, she wanted to push her talent as far as she could. And if there’s a limit to how far Gomez can go in surfing, she hasn’t found it yet. Izzi Gomez: The Natural for The Red Bulletin

One morning not long ago, I woke up in Santa Barbara to bright sun and blue skies. Somewhere, birds sang their mad songs. I drank a coffee on the couch. Suddenly, I realized. Today was the perfect day. It was the perfect day for a stupid ride. The best ideas always come from coffee. A stupid ride is too long, too far, too high, too much. There’s a good thing. Then there’s too much of a good thing. That’s a stupid ride. The Joy of the Stupid Ride, for Orucase.

Hapless yet determined, annoying yet impossible to hate, Surfline Man loves surfing more than anything else in life. The problem is, he just can’t get out of his own way. Yes, of course he drives a Sprinter van. And yes, he bought the red fins, because the looked cool. He can’t help but buy every latest and greatest piece of gear in the hope that somehow this one thing will make his life complete. You see how it is. Surfline Man: The Complete Archive

Carissa Moore is a five-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist. We talked about how she trains and how she maintains her mental balance. Train Like A Pro: Carissa Moore for The Red Bulletin

Taking the Leap. How the women of Red Bull Formation transformed freeride mountain biking forever. No longer could anyone say that women lacked the skills to ride the intense and unforgiving terrain of the Utah desert made famous by Red Bull Rampage. They had united to create the foundations for women’s freeride to fly. Together, they had created a new beginning. Red Bull Formation for The Red Bulletin

In Nazaré harbor, Justine Dupont stands in the parking lot. She is the first one there, just as she is every morning. Dupont meticulously checks her board and prepares her jetski. Brazilian Lucas “Chumbo” Chianca, who surfs often with Dupont, says he has yet to beat her to the lineup. Even when he makes it to the harbor ahead of her, Dupont is always ready first. How Justine Dupont became one of the world’s best big-wave surfers

Johanne Defay has made a habit of following her own path throughout her career, and her individualism has worked for her. In her six years on the Championship Tour, Defay has never finished below the top ten, and in 2016 and 2018, she finished the year ranked fifth in the world. And if sponsors have not rained cash on Defay, she has found a deep satisfaction in achieving success her own way. Johanne Defay and the Power of Perseverance

Pillars of Strength. The Red Bulletin. Johnny and Angel Collinson are badass freeskiing siblings. They are also two of the most hilarious athletes I’ve ever interviewed. I did not expect a story about blown ACL’s to be fun, but this one turned out to be. The two of them took very different pathways back to skiing after blowing up their knees — and they’ve spent a lot of time in recent years figuring out where team collinson ends and their individual identities begin. Angel and Johnny Collinson.

Chloé Dygert is the fastest woman in the world on a bicycle. For three kilometers, that is. Intensely competitive, Dygert has big ambitions for her career. In fact, she’s hoping to ride in the next six Olympic Games. Even more surprising, Dygert did not set out to become a cyclist. My interview for Bicycling magazine. Chloé Dygert has ambitious goals. No biggie.

A long time coming, a women’s version of the fiendishly difficult and high-risk Red Bull Rampage is slowing emerging. In fall 2019, Red Bull sponsored a camp, called Formation, for a crew of top-level women in freeride mountain biking. It was not intended to mimic Rampage, though it shared some of the same features. Instead, the women set out to create an event that reflected their ambitions for their sport. Outside Magazine.

Lea Davison has one more chance to ride the Olympics. After several seasons of disappointment and searching, Davison believes she has returned to her best as a rider. She talked candidly about what she views as her lost seasons — and how she made her way back. Cyclingtips.com

14 Ways to see Leticia Bufoni. The Red Bulletin. Bufoni is one of the best female street skaters in the world and at the time of this interview, she was living the dream in Los Angeles. As a bonus, it includes one of the best jokes I’ve ever been allowed to write into a story. Get to Know Brazilian Skaterboarder Leticia Bufoni.

Carissa Moore’s Balancing Act. The Red Bulletin. “Surfing is self-expression, art and sport combined. Moore seeks to chart an authentic course through her life and her ever-shifting sport. ‘I’ll always take the time to be vulnerable, and I want to be myself,’ she says, unafraid to wear her heart on her sleeve. ‘If I’m struggling I want to share that, because that’s me.'” The Red Bulletin.

Water in the Desert. Dirt Rag, Issue 199. A story about camping and riding in Southern Utah. “I think to understand a place you have to ride it. Once you have, you’ll know it for all time. Wherever you go, you’ll carry its story with you. Maybe that’s also true of the people we meet. We carry them with us as we hurtle through our lives, restless and searching.” Reprinted here.

Founder’s Cup, the surf contest in the middle of nowhere. I interviewed Kelly for Men’s Journal. And then I wrote three stories about what I saw: Part 1: This ain’t a boat Trip. Part 2: Imperfection is Important. Part 3: We don’t have language for this yet.

Stealth Crush: Lael Wilcox came from seemingly nowhere to shatter race records and become the bright shining future of endurance cycling. Adventure Journal Quarterly, Issue 05.

Swimming Holes: Hot sun, cool water, best friends — these are the elements of perfect days. Adventure Journal Quarterly, Issue 02. “This wild, free summer life of naked swims and blue skies and best friends and golden afternoons, this is what is real.” Reprinted here.

Essay: On the Bike. The sweet process of knowing yourself, one revolution at a time. Adventure Journal Quarterly, Issue 01. “I sit on the couch in my sweat-drenched kit, my feet propped on the battered coffee table, a cold drink in my hand. And for the moment, the outside world with its demands about what I should do and who I should be doesn’t seem to matter much at all.” Reprinted here.

I interviewed Olympic mountain bike racer Lea Davison about her love for surfing. “There’s something about riding a wave that’s magical. It’s such a cool feeling—you’re literally rushing down the face of this water swell.” Bicycling Magazine.

Salvatore makes the world’s coolest espresso machines. I wrote and photographed this feature for Bicycling Magazine.

I am Marianne Vos. Bicycling Magazine. July 2014. I went to Holland and interviewed Olympic and World champion Marianne Vos at her house in Meeuwen. (Also available online.)

Rare Breed. Mountain Flyer. Issue 42. It’s takes a unique character to race world cup downhill. I talked to some of the world’s top gravity female racers about the best and worst of their sport.

Step Aside, Boys. Mountain Flyer. Issue 41. Women’s world cup cross-country racing is better than ever. I caught up with some of the top riders to find out why. (Also available online.)

Adam Sandler is bad at surfing. Men’s Journal. Or, how not to surf Malibu.

Mara Abbott is looking up. Profile story for Bicycling Magazine. We talk bike racing, eating disorders, and poetry — and the optimism it requires to sit at the bottom of a mountain and point the bike toward the sky.