SWELL DREAMS: El Porto is the take off point for inspirational, children’s surf book by El Porto surfers Jon Pickle and Hunter Jones 

 

Swell dreams

El Porto is the take off point for inspirational, children’s surf book by El Porto surfers John Pickle and Hunter Jones

by Nikki Yunker

During COVID, Jonathan Pickle looked without success for books about surfing to read to his 3-year-old son, Wolfe.

“It was really hard to find children’s books about surfing. And I’m thinking, ‘Okay, there’s a gap in the market here,” Pickle said.

The Torrance resident was confident of his ability to illustrate the book he would title “Chasing Dreams.” He is a movie trailer editor whose 2026 credits include “Project Hail Mary,” and “The Devil Wears Prada 2.” 

The cover illustration for “Chasing Dreams” shows a young boy with his surfboard and two dogs, inspired by Jones’ two childhood dogs, checking the surf at sunset. The day glow pink and yellow completes the homage to legendary Palos Verdes surf artist John Van Hamersveld, creator of the “Endless Summer” film poster.

But for help writing the story, Pickle enlisted his friend and pro surfer Hunter Jones. A Body Glove video of Jones attempting to shoot the Malibu pier during last month’s big, south swell went viral. Jones’ board hit the pilings and snapped. He was swept unharmed through the pilings and emerged on the other side, laughing.

 

“I wanted the hero to speak to the next generation of surfers … At that point, the most inspiring person in the lineup to me was Hunter,” Pickle said.

Pickle is 47, and Jones 31. They know each other from surfing El Porto, a challenging, big wave beach break in north Manhattan Beach.

“I watched Hunter come from being this kid who’s scrapping around in the lineup to all of a sudden being the best guy out there,” Pickle said.

In turn, the scrappy Westchester kid, who started surfing at 10, looked up to Pickle “for his style,” Jones said. 

Jones attended El Camino College and works behind of and in front of the camera. He was a stunt double for Netflix’s “Outerbanks” and HBO’s “Ballers,” and is a Body Glove team rider with a clothing line named after him.

Jones has surfed calving icebergs under the Northern Lights in Norway and Iceland. 

But the setting for “Chasing Dreams” is El Porto, where Jones and Pickle caught their first waves.

The young boy at the center of the story, dreams of being “the world’s best surfer.”

“My dad tells me I can achieve anything I put my mind to,” he says as he stands with his dad on top of the 40th Street lifeguard tower, watching the sunset.

“The book is meant to instill the idea of dreaming big and believing dreams can take you to incredible places, whether through surfing or anything else,” Jones said.

“Nowadays, our attention is so fragmented by social media, that the ocean’s the one thing that hones me in and gives me purpose,” Jones said. “The goal is to get people outside dreaming. I’m sure it’ll take them to really cool places.”

 

“Chasing Dreams” is self-published and was written and illustrated without assistance from artificial intelligence, Jones noted. 

“I hope the book will inspire readers, both kids and adults,” he said.

“Chasing Dreams” is written for readers 12 and under and can be purchased as a paperback or hardcover on line at chasingdreamsbook.org and on Amazon.

A portion of the proceeds will benefit Surfrider Foundation, a local nonprofit dedicated to ocean conservation and advocacy.

“We felt like it was natural to give back with the book, and protect the thing that has given us everything we have and is our biggest passion,” Jones said. ER