Before Jack Johnson became the 21st century kingpin of beachside pop/rock, he was a champion surfer on the professional route. The sport was second nature to the Hawaiian native, who began chasing waves as a toddler and, by the age of 17, had become an outstanding athlete on the Banzai Pipeline. However, Johnson was also testing other creative outlets -- specifically film and music -- and a serious surfing accident during his first professional competition convinced him to devote more time to those landlocked hobbies. After studying cinematography in college, he turned his full attention to music, writing breezy pop songs punctuated by an unassuming voice and mellow, beach-bum demeanor. The combination proved to be particularly commercial, as Johnson's first five major-label albums all climbed to platinum status.