Writing

I write to tell stories, stories that feel true to me. I like humor and engaging characters, because really, who doesn’t.

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 write a humor column for Moutain Flyer Magazine. I created Surfline Man.

I like the intimacy of interviewing, the way you learn so much about a person, who they are, what makes them unique, 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 I post most of my current work on Linktree. 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.

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.

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.

I wrote the voiceover narration for Know the Feeling — Brazil with Laura Enever.

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, Kauai, 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 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. For Outside Magazine, The First Step Toward a Women’s Rampage.

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. One riders shot at redemption.

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.'” Online version.

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, 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.

Twenty-Four Important Women. An incomplete list of people who are making outdoor adventure better. Co-authored with Krista Langlois and Chris Noble. Aventure Journal, Issue 02.

Essay: On the Bike. The sweet process of knowing yourself, one revolution at a time. Adventure Journal, 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. Also published online.

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

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.)

A short interview with Steph Gilmore. I still want to smash everyone!

Adam Sandler is bad at surfing. Or, how not to surf Malibu.

Kelly Slater’s Bad Day Surfing. Kelly Slater, saving babies. Men’s Journal.

The Long Trail to the River Camp. A story for Adventure Journal about a long day on the trail, a river, and a sunset that came too soon.

A Van, a forest, a road trip: What could go wrong? A story about a mischievous van and a dark night in the forest for Adventure Journal.

Photo Essay: Bike packing in Oregon. I spent three days in Oregon with Specialized making photos for Bicycling Magazine. Rain, whiskey, bikes, giggles, adventure.

Are women’s sports too boring to watch? No way. Bicycling Magazine.

Mara Abbott is looking up. Profile for Bicycling of pro cyclist Mara Abbott. Poetry, bike racing, eating disorders — all the things.