Discovering Jess and Taylah was like finding the definition of a DontTellSummer gal. They’re young, they’re free and making moves to do what completely excites them. Combining their passions for creativity and ocean conservation, Tidal Magazine was created. Through Tidal, their goals are to ensure that the talent of their generation is noticed, as well as raise funds and awareness for ocean conservation. There is a wide range of content in each mag and while non-exclusive (which we love!) it particularly focuses on surf, skate, art, fashion, music and culture.
As Jess and Taylah like to say, “Tidal is a huge assembly of young people making things happen” (we just got chills).
Meet Jess and Taylah…
Where are you in the world?
J- I’ve just moved back to the Sunshine Coast and am insanely happy about it. It’s a pretty amazing corner of the world, I’m falling in love with it all over again after living somewhere that was pretty much the polar opposite the last year. There is a stirring cultural and creative movement sweeping the Coast at the moment and it’s really exciting to see and be a part of.
T- Sunshine Coast also, a place that’s just about 300 times better since it got Jess Abraham back.
How do you follow your bliss?
J – As much as possible I try and get in the ocean every day. It’s the most healing place in the world for me and helps me deal with whatever triumphs or struggles I may have had that day. There was an inconvenient cyclone here a while back that meant I couldn’t get in the water for 5 days and it drove me crazy! Other than that good music, good coffee, good conversation.. I’m pretty easy to keep happy.
T- Being around people that inspire me and make me laugh really keeps my spirits high and motivates me to do and be more. I find I’m always happier when I know I am working hard and can be proud of myself for that, so surrounding myself with people who inspire me to do that, and then are awesome to hang out with when it’s time to turn off keeps me smiling.
When did the inspiration for Tidal Magazine first come about?
J – Taylah and I went to school together, and we’d been looking for some kind of project we could work on that would support ocean conservation. Taylah first came up with the idea for Tidal over an after school coffee, and from that first brainstorming session we pretty much haven’t stopped, more than two years later.
T- What Jess said; the very first idea to work on something came from a conversation in the ocean, during a mid-festival swim break one summer. The concept of Tidal came about soon after whilst brainstorming what the actual project could be, and progressed over many, many more food and beverage dates.
What would your biggest dream for the Mag be?
J – We have so many things going on with Tidal at the moment that it makes me so, so excited for the future! We have some pretty exciting plans for a Tidal HQ/combined creative space happening towards the end of the year..
T – My favourite part of Tidal is meeting all the ridiculously talented people along the way, so I just hope that I get to meet more and more people, make more friends, and create stuff together, becoming a massive productive, creative army in the process.
If fear ever shows up in your life, how do you move passed it?
J – I think fear is good, doing something that scares you usually means it’s worthwhile. I’ll be speaking at a TEDx conference in a couple of weeks and I’m absolutely petrified, like already I’m losing my appetite and sleep over it haha. But I know that it’s an amazing opportunity and I know that the fear will only drive me to do well. How you choose to deal with and move past fear shapes everything about you. I think a lot of people stay within circumstances that are easy, rather than go after what they really want, because they’ve become accustomed to the routine of being comfortable. I don’t think there’s anything more detrimental to the human spirit.
T – I think I tend to naturally just not do something if I am scared of failing, or of how it may turn out. But almost all the time I know I just have to get over it and take the risk, which generally means psyching myself up, writing millions of lists and and notes of how I’m going to do what ever it is that’s scaring me, then just go for it before doing the life-equivalent of pressing send and slamming my laptop shut for a while, until I am ready to see how it went, haha. I think you just have to act. Waiting for the perfect moment of complete prepared-ness only gives you more time to worry.
Why do you love what you do?
J – I feel so, so blessed to have Tidal. We get to work with some amazing people, and knowing that we’re supporting their creative ventures is really rewarding. The response we’ve had from the community is so motivating, it gives us so much drive to want to keep making things happen for them. It’s just an insane amount of fun as well. I might fall into bed at the end of the day absolutely exhausted, but you can pretty much guarantee there’ll be a smile on my face.
T- Jess nailed it. Exactly the same.
What’s one of the biggest risks you’ve taken, and how did it feel to go for it?
J – Twice now in my life I’ve moved away to different parts of the East Coast, not knowing anyone and not really knowing how it was going to work out. Whilst both times I’ve ended up back on the Coast a year later, the experiences I had and the people I met have played a huge role in shaping the person I am.
T – Through school I’d always been quite academic, I’d achieved good grades and university had been my goal since primary school. When it came to the end of my time at school though, I really began thinking that going straight into uni was actually not really the right option for me, and it was tough to deviate from the recommendations of teachers and family, and the socially-accepted indicator of intelligence and success. I chose instead to learn through other means, to still be completely committed to growing and learning and creating work I could be proud of, just via a different path, and I’m so happy I did. I am so so thankful to live the life I currently do, I love it and I feel like I’m heading in a direction I’m happy with.
Tell us a time when something totally synchronistic happened?
J – I remember sitting up at Ballina lookout a couple of years ago, it was dusk and I’d spent all day working at a Sea Shepherd stall. I said to my friend that I couldn’t wait to see whales migrating up the coast this season and as soon as the words were out of my mouth a humpback breached right in front of us. For the next half hour we watched the mum and her calf playing. How’s the timing, we spent the day making sure these beautiful creatures are protected and they came out and put on a show!
T- There’s so many little instances of this, I think. Every time Jess and I have a meeting there’s always at least one thought (but usually a whole lot more) that we bring to the table that exactly mirrors what the other is thinking, down to even just buying the same note book for all our plans and notes by coincidence, the funny little things. Just yesterday Jess said to me “You have to hear this song, it’s so so amazing”, and it turned out to be one that I listen to at least once a day and can’t talk to people during, one of those super sacred, awesome songs. As soon as it started I was like “YES YES YES YES YES LET’S JUST APPRECIATE THIS FOR THE NEXT 9 MINUTES”. We’re on the same level.
What advice could you give to someone who knows what they love to do, but haven’t gone for it?
J – One thing that’s always really frustrated me is people staying in a situation that makes them unhappy. It might be scary, but if there is something that you want you just have to make it happen. There’s a reason that you want it and it is achievable. Anything is achievable. It might not happen the way you expected and it’s probably going to take a long time and a hell of a lot of work to get there, but when you do, I can’t even describe how amazing it feels. There’s a sticky note on my computer that says “sometimes when you’re done working hard, you have to work a little harder,” and that’s definitely been my motivator the last couple of years. Just yesterday Taylah and I were out at a lunch meeting and were saying how amazing it is that it’s 1 o clock on a Wednesday and we’re drinking coffee and eating nachos and meeting with local creatives, and I knew I was going home to go straight down to the beach afterwards. How crazy is it that we have jobs and lives that allow that? We’re insanely lucky, but it’s not luck that got us here, we created this life for ourself by taking risks, working hard and following our hearts and anyone can do the same.
