Meet Noah, a musician making waves on the Gulf Coast.
Scratching the itch to surf
As a kid growing up on Alabama’s marshy coastline, where the Gulf of Mexico meets the shallow inlets of Mobile Bay, Noah Thompson always dreamt of finding a way to surf the glassy, waveless waters.
“I love this area because we have so many kinds of wetlands,” he says, referring to the rivers, lagoons, swamps, bayous and miles of seashore that spread throughout the southeastern corner of the United States. “I’ve always had this itch to surf them, but the water is so flat so much of the day, I just never figured out a solution.”
That’s why, when Noah discovered the Radinn jetboard, he didn’t think twice. “I decided right then and there I had to have it,” he recalls, after seeing someone riding online. “And it’s been sweeter than I could have ever imagined.”
Noah riding the Freeride through Soldier Creek off Perdido Bay.
Riding the waves of creativity
When asked to describe what riding the Radinn is like, Noah explains that it’s an entirely unique experience: “You feel like you’re flying,” he says. “When I’m riding, it’s just me, the water, and whatever the sky looks like that day. The land gets smaller and smaller, and I can really be in the moment.”
Being in the moment, it turns out, is not only personally fulfilling, but it’s also an integral part of Noah’s career success. As a professional guitar player and composer for the jazz fusion band Roman Street he started with his brother 15 years ago, the natural world deeply affects his creative process.
Getting ready to explore the open waters of the Gulf Coast.
“One of the funny things about writing instrumental music is that we don’t have the lyrics to direct listeners’ attention to,” Noah explains. “Instead, we do that through rhythms and note selection.
“When I’m on my Radinn, looking out at an ocean that is so vast and so permanent, it just has this way of putting my life in perspective, and reminding me that I am part of this greater, moving universe. And that’s what gets my creative juices flowing, and where most of my music comes from.”
“For me, being alone on the water is where I get so many of my compositions. It just turns something on in my brain and lets me get creative.”
Noah finds inspiration for his music in the world around him.
Noah's top five.
I make waves in music.
My favorite Radinn rides are at Perdido Key Lagoons during sunset.
When I’m not making music you can find me PC gaming with friends.
My go-to local spot is El Kamino Bay, the best taco cantina around.
My dream place to jetboard is the Leeward Islands, French Polynesia.
To make waves means blooming where you are planted, and making wherever you are better because of it.
