by Jack Johnson
G: One time I realized I was having a dream about driving a car—and I just made myself hop out because the traffic was bad.
J: Now that’s convenient. I gotta remember that.
FAST-FORWARD
G: WE LIVE IN THE DAY-TO-DAY, THAT’S FOR SURE, BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN WE AREN’T ALWAYS THINKING ABOUT THE FUTURE. FIVE YEARS FROM NOW, TEN YEARS . . . WE TALK ABOUT IT ALL THE TIME. A GOAL OF MINE IS TO BECOME A MAINSTREAM, A-LIST ARTIST, A HOUSEHOLD NAME. AND I WANNA INSPIRE PEOPLE. I’D LOVE TO HAVE SOMEONE TELL ME, AN UP-AND-COMING ARTIST, THAT I GAVE HIM OR HER THE COURAGE TO GO OUT THERE AND DO IT, TOO.
J: Five years from now, we want to still be making our music. Maybe dabbling in the acting game, too. Five years sounds like it’s far away, but it’s really, really close. I’ll be twenty-four. Hopefully we’re at stadium status.
G: Ten years from now—more business ventures. As a thirty-year-old? Investing in food franchises, apps. And farther down the road from that . . .
J: Like when we’re eighty-year-old dudes.
G: I hope I make it there!
J: We will. We’ll be on an island in the Caribbean, Bora-Bora, chillin’.
G: Givin’ off good vibes, strumming a banjo all day long.
J: Sounds good to me.
THE KEY TO SUCCESS
G: People are always asking us, “So how did you do it? What’s your secret? How can I be the next Jack & Jack?”
J: It’s being authentic. I know we say that a lot, but it’s the truth. People see through BS easily. If you’re just yourself, then it’s all good. You can’t be the next Jack & Jack, ’cause you’re you. Own it.
G: Exactly. Everything you do has to come from your passion, from your heart.
J: You gotta work at it, too. You can’t sit back and think it will happen. What you put into it, you get out. That said, you gotta be in the right place at the right time. So add in luck to that equation, too.
G: Sounds like a Nerd Vandals equation.
J: Authenticity + Hard Work + A Little Bit of Luck = Success.
G: Ya got a Sharpie? I wanna write that down.
IF THERE WAS ONE MOMENT YOU COULD PRESS REPLAY ON YOUR LIVES AND PLAY OVER AGAIN AND AGAIN, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
J: Probably our sold-out international tours. I’d love to live that again.
G: Yeah, that stuff’s been crazy. The last six months touring live blew us away.
J: We’ve seen so many people, from so many different cultures, showing us the love. And we’ve seen the world, places we’d never been in our lives.
G: I do feel that if you asked us this question six months from now, though, the answer would probably be releasing our first album and seeing the wild response we get from the fans.
J: I think the goal is to keep creating moments you want to replay, you know?
G: Absolutely. Keep the highs coming.
WHAT’S ON YOUR BUCKET LIST?
G: In no specific order: I want to skydive, smoke a blunt with Snoop Dogg . . .
J: When you’re of age—and it’s legal in the US.
G: Goes without saying, Mom.
J: Go scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Be in a movie with Leo DiCaprio. Even if I’m just an extra in the background, that would be cool. I’ll shine his shoes, you know?
G: Grow a beard. It’s so important in my life.
J: Have a platinum album. A diamond album! Sickest thing ever.
G: I’d say that’s a good list. Doable, right?
J: Totally.
IF YOU COULD TRADE PLACES WITH ONE PERSON FOR ONE DAY, WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE?
J: Leo DiCaprio on the day he won his Oscar. Sick.
G: Maybe Jay-Z. That would be kinda cool, too.
J: Yeah, a) Beyoncé’s your wife, and b) I think it would be interesting to be a different race for a day. It would broaden your wisdom and understanding.
G: Leo D. and Jay-Z. Two good ones.
WHAT DO YOU HATE MOST IN THIS WORLD?
J: Terrorists. I don’t hate many things, but ISIS is up there.
G: I just hate fish. I hate the smell and I can’t eat it—unless it’s sushi.
J: Sushi is fish. Raw fish.
G: I know, but it doesn’t really look like fish—it’s wrapped up in rice and all.
J: That makes no sense.
G: Okay, I hate regret. I hate the feeling of wishing I could go back and do it differently. I wish there was no guilt and regret in this world.
WHAT’S THE GREATEST GIFT SOMEONE COULD GIVE YOU?
J: Their time. It means more than anything material. Don’t get me wrong: I’ll take the Rolls-Royce if you’re gifting it. . . .
G: Something tangible is okay, but you can throw it away.
J: True. Your time is the most precious thing you can give us. Giving us your attention, your focus, your wisdom . . . can’t top that.
IF THE WORLD WAS ENDING AND YOU COULD MAKE ONE LAST SIX-SECOND VINE, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
J: Peace out, y’all. Thanks to our families, our friends, our fans for being there, always.
G: We love you. Peace. Then fade to black.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
PHOTO COURTESY OF JACK & JACK
JACK GILINSKY & JACK JOHNSON, known to their combined 23+ million social media followers as Jack & Jack, have been best friends since kindergarten. Their classroom antics are now lore, but they were the springboard for a career only they could have imagined. The summer before their senior year, they began making Vines and within months propelled themselves into the hearts of millions of loyal fans.
Since that crazy summer, Jack & Jack have independently released eleven original singles, all of which charted on iTunes. Their debut EP, Calibraska, even rose to number one. They now have almost 100 million views on their YouTube channel and were nominated for the 2015 Streamys Entertainer of the Year award. With a career that’s taking them all around the world and a new album in the works, this is just the beginning for Jack & Jack.
www.jackandjackofficial.com
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CREDITS
Front cover photograph by Howard Huang
Cover design by Joe Merkel
COPYRIGHT
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF JACK & JACK. PHOTOS here, here, here, here, AND here BY JSQUAREDPHOTOGRAPHY.COM. PHOTO here (TOP) BY NOEL POWELL/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM. PHOTO here (BOTTOM) BY 1989STUDIO/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM. PHOTO here BY SONYA ILLUSTRATION/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM. PHOTO here, here, here, here, AND here BY ISTOCK.COM/NATURALEDGE. PHOTO here AND here BY ISTOCK.COM/FILIPBJORKMAN AND ISTOCK.COM/ENTERPHOTO. SPECIAL THANKS TO ANDRE LADON TURNER, CHELSEA BLACKMAN, CALEB PHILLIPS, KABIR AFFONSO, EMMA ROYKO, SHERYL BERK, YSBNOW, FLORENT DECHARD, THE YOUNG ASTRONAUTS, LAUREN CARROLL PHOTOGRAPHY, AND HOWARD HUANG.
JACK & JACK: YOU DON’T KNOW JACKS. COPYRIGHT © 2016 BY JACK & JACK LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED UNDER INTERNATIONAL AND PAN-AMERICAN COPYRIGHT CONVENTIONS. BY PAYMENT OF THE REQUIRED FEES, YOU HAVE BEEN GRANTED THE NONEXCLUSIVE, NONTRANSFERABLE RIGHT TO ACCESS AND READ THE TEXT OF THIS E-BOOK ON-SCREEN. NO PART OF THIS TEXT MAY BE REPRODUCED, TRANSMITTED, DOWNLOADED, DECOMPILED, REVERSE-ENGINEERED, OR STORED IN OR INTRODUCED INTO ANY INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL SYSTEM, IN ANY FORM OR BY ANY MEANS, WHETHER ELECTRONIC OR MECHANICAL, NOW KNOWN OR HEREAFTER INVENTED, WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION OF HARPERCOLLINS E-BOOKS.
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CONTROL NUMBER: 2016939342
ISBN 978-0-06-248444-4 (TRADE BDG.)
ISBN 978-0-06-257039-0 (SPECIAL EDITION)
ISBN 978-0-06-265608-7 (SPECIAL EDITION)
EPub Edition © August 2016 ISBN 9780062484468
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FIRST EDITION
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