The cool thing about meeting João is that he lives down the road, a 5 minute walk away from us. We arrive at the beautiful remodeled old house with red shutters, surrounded by trees (not to say jungle), and we are greeted by his lovely dogs barking on top of the wall. From the inside, it appears an always smiling João welcoming us in. Designer, artist, avid collector, carpenter, event organizer, father, builder, and many more things. João is the kind of guy that needed a few more hours every day, to express all his creativity and nonstop project thinking.
Who are you?
I am an old man who still dreams like a kid, a husband in love and father of 3 amazing creatures.
How’s life on the Island?
I moved here in 2017 and it has been a constant adventure! Great moments and hard ones too! Nature is amazing!
Favorite place?
At the beach, on early mornings or at sunsets, or deep inside the cryptomeria tree jungle in single tracks, by bike or foot.
Hobbies?
Surf, mountain bike and skate (with close friends or with my kids). Also, carpentry, since I moved to the island.
Favorite object?
My Leatherman’s multitool, that I carry with me all the time.
One song / one band
City & Colour, a project from Dallas Green (Alexisonfire vocalist), which I was introduced to back in 2005 by my good friend Lars Jansen ( lars-jansen.squarespace.com ) and still listen all the time until today www.cityandcolour.com.
What’s been keeping busy?
My work as a designer, my personal projects, when there’s time for them, and the most important role in my life – being a father.
If you could pick two people (alive or dead) one to surf with and one to have dinner or conversation, who would they be? Why?
All my heroes are actually personal friends! My longtime friends became my heroes, and my heroes became, sooner or later, also my personal friends, mostly because I met most of them during an event that I organized with Manuel Castro manuelcastro.work, in Sagres, www.sagressurfculture.com, during 5 years in a row. I would like to surf with the friends that I started surfing with, when I was around 12 years old, in an uncrowded spot, only us.
What haven’t we asked you?
I am driven by love and hope. I’m inspired by creative people, when they do stuff with the heart, but keep themselves humble, no matter how far they achieve. With everything I do, I hope to inspire my kids to be dreamers and achievers of all they propose doing. Most of all, I hope they manage to live a happy life and be in peace with themselves all their lives... Nature is my God.
To get a hold of what João Rei is doing at the moment or to get some help with a design project follow him at @marealma