James nearly died in 1997 when he developed a staph infection after giving a surf lesson at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, California. That brush with death was a turning point in Pribram’s life. He had already begun to focus less on competitive professional surfing and more on global adventure travel, but this event caused him to consider the state of the world’s waters with a new urgency. Pribram initiated the Eco Warrior Project in 2006 with the goal of helping people, governments and developers work together in ways that compliment human needs and the environment, especially with regards to surf breaks that are in danger of being compromised or lost forever.
James is a Laguna Beach native, professional surfer and John Kelly Environmental Award winner. His written work has appeared in the LA Times, Surfer’s Path, Surfing, Surfer, Water and numerous additional publications worldwide. He is an active environmental leader in his community where he has served on the Laguna Beach Water Quality and Environmental Committees and is a board member for the Clean Water Now! Coalition. He co-founded Eco Warrior, a grass roots organization which is dedicated to protecting oceans, beaches and sea life worldwide, and They Will Surf Again, which raises money for people who have suffered from ocean-related spinal injuries. He is the owner and operator of Aloha School of Surfing, which teaches aspiring surfers of all ages the power of surf stoke. Pribram’s Surfing Soapbox column appears weekly in Laguna Beach’s Coastline Pilot Newspaper.
