Conversations with Jeff Daise

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeff Daise

Hi Jeff, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Well, I grew up in southeast side of Washington D.C. more of the rougher part of the nations capital other then what people are most familiar with. I started Skateboarding when I was 12 years old. My mom bought my first board after I saw a friend doing it at a DIY skatepark we called (bridge spot). He made it look easy and super fun, so I wanted to try it. I went down the ramp for the first time and I fell a couple times but something about it i kept trying then- i just fell in love with skateboarding. When I first started out in my teens, I was just having fun learning new tricks and discovering more about skateboarding in a whole and what it could bring. I started watching skateboarding videos and reading magazines only to discover the dream to move to Los Angeles where the Meca of skateboarding resides. Skating with friends in the city I learned how to explore the city through a different lens and venture on my own a lot at a very young age. I always had a creative drive so I wanted to surround myself with people alike. When I hit 18, I got my first sponsor (Monster Energy) and I don’t know something about that just launched me off into the next level. I met so many influential and significant figures along the way, many I call family to this day learning different POV of life and the game. I started doing contest and demos repping the brand I got a chance to optimize how to market myself. Being in Washington D.C, it is a relatively small city and I had a bunch of people that wanted to work with me on so many different projects, from music videos to Radio/TV interviews I even got a chance to beta test new company products and gear and watch people all around grow businesses from the ground up and down. I started traveling and seeing new places to skate, repping companies in the contests or videos i was in and people took notice as I got better. It opened up and whole new world to influencer media for me. when i was 21 i was fortunate enough to hang around Travis Pastrana and nitro circus crew alot. Became good friends and got to really see how to become a great athlete. I got hit up by an action sports network while filming one day about doing some content creating work for them. I came up with a few ideas, but they eventually came to me with “why don’t you just do your own show”. They were going to Film it, Fund it, fly the crew out wherever I needed. At the time I didn’t know anything about how to write or produce any kind of real deal television stuff. I quickly learned how to write a treatment, shot lists, budgeting, etc. I had most creative control but I was just to young at the time and I felt I wasn’t ready to launch myself into television like that even with all the excitement I had to go crazy. I thought about it, No one even knew who I was. I was going to have them get a house to shoot out off that I wasn’t going to live in, get all this cool stuff to destroy, and go all these places. After it’s done then what? I asked myself. I just didn’t want to blow the budget and tank the show so I just stopped and moved on. I kept skating, picking up new sponsors and friends in the industry. By the time I was 26 I was flowed for some of my dream brands like (Plan B Skateboards, Reflex Bearings, MonsterEnergy, Dcshoes). Getting mentored by legends like (Bam Margera, Colin McKay, Kris Markovich, Chris Carter, Moy Rivas, Stevie Williams, Darren Harper), the list goes on haha. Now I do demo shows with monster energy and skate in commercials for company campaigns.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It was certainly the bumpiest road of my life. sometimes I think back at all the stuff i did and how it landed me in the next spot. growing up in Washington D.C. as a skateboarder was a struggle especially when none of the other kids were doing it. I was different and skateboarding brought a sense of independence compared to what everyone else was doing. During my last year of high school, I was skating my first year with monster. I had a business class that helped me start my first business in a program called NFTE. It was then I knew I had a calling for business. When I graduated i shot straight off into more contest and social media just became a thing. A challenge to make a name for myself on top of me just being myself you know what I mean? I went off to learn more business experience throughout my teenage years with friends that had or started different businesses. I surrounded myself around powerful people and put myself in rooms I couldn’t imagined, getting all aspects of evolving myself. When 2020 hit the world shut down and skating and everything was at a holt. At the time I ended up staying with Bam Margera and we would always get into crazy fun stuff. Even talked about doing a show with all our friends but it wasn’t that controlling. The next year i remember being on the phone with Colin McKay, and he told if I wanted to do anything in skateboarding for real I had to move to Los Angeles. I had to take the leap of faith. I had to figure out what I wanted to do. Jumping from the east to the west was scary. I saved up a bunch of money and boom. When I first went out there It wasn’t as bad as I thought. I linked up with my good homie Stevie Williams, James foster, bunch of other homies I knew from the game and outside the game. skated the Berrics skatepark before it closed, all kinds of stuff. It was a struggle going back and forth to D.C, but I eventually made it work in Woodlawn hills CA.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As an Amateur Skateboarder part of what I do I get to travel around the country doing demo shows for MonsterEnergy. Like when D.C hosts the Giant foods BBQ battles, monster sponsors the events and we skate the shows and hype the crowd. I get to skate with some incredible teammates and make videos, being in LA really put me closer to the brands I ride for like Plan B skateboards and Reflex bearings. On the business end, I also specialize in influencer marketing. I love when new brands and products are coming to the market. I work with companies on building more consumer acquisition and engagement with the core market, product quality and design, media/content strategies, etc. iv been in several commercial campaigns as well for major retail brands. A lot of companies needs a skateboarder to act in commercial or film roles. Thanks to my Agent, I get hit up with roles I could try out for and showcase my key talent in skateboarding.

What matters most to you? Why?
Happiness, hands down point-blank period. nothing beats just being happy in life. no matter what you do or where you are, find the things that benefit and support your lifestyle then surround yourself with that and don’t let anything get in the way, drain out all the things that hold you back. for me keeping a private lifestyle helps with that a bit. Also, family. nothing is greater than family. To have a beautiful wife and kid one day with a big ass house is a dream I’m looking forward to retiring in.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: jeffdazos
• Other: jeff@daise-enterprise.com

Image Credits
Brandon Payne
Lydia Embrey