After a life threatening airplane accident and finding God, Dave Jonsson is now serving the world through inspiration, community and skateboarding.
“Leadership is what you’re able to do without your presence being there.” -Dave Jonsson
I recently braved a snowy evening in Toronto to serve as a judge for the February edition of Speaker Slam, North America’s largest inspirational public speaking competition. Themed “Against All Odds”, the night saw a number of speakers, who traveled from as far as Baltimore and California compete for a spot in the Speaker Slam finals in November.
The winner for the night was Dan Jonsson, a man who wears many hats, including husband, father, professional skateboarder, skateboarding coach, mindset coach, public speaker, chaplain, pastor, and entrepreneur. But for Jonsson, it’s all about impact.
“I’m a bit of a wildcard”, he told SHIFTER in a recent interview while describing his busy lifestyle.
“Crisis comes to disturb tradition. We have to not just adapt but innovate.”
Life after tragedy
Jonsson grew up in Iceland before moving to British Columbia, Canada at 10 years old with his Canadian-born father and family. It was in Canada that he would find one of his life’s biggest passions—skateboarding. But it would be a place crash in Whistler that would ultimately change his life. After his best friend died instantly, he would have a spiritual experience that lead him to find faith in God. After he himself almost died and spent six hours alone waiting for help, he knew that if he survived, his life would have to change, especially since he would be confined to a wheelchair, unable to skate while he recovered from his injuries. Fortunately, Jonsson saw the silver lining in it all.
“I recognized that if I was going to get out of this alive, that life was going to look a lot different. I heard it this way, ‘Crisis comes to disturb tradition.’ We have to not just adapt but innovate,” he noted.
He would go on to spent much of his 20’s in church, honing his craft as a public speaker; that is until the pandemic led to churches being closed and public gatherings being canceled. Once again, these literal closed doors allowed him to pivot once again, this time as a professional skateboarder. When pandemic ended and he started speaking again, he learned to incorporate skateboarding into his presentations, especially as a tool to reach youth.
“If you had told me when I was younger that I would be coaching the top skateboarders in the world, the guys who I look up to, the guys who I watch the skateboarding videos of, I would’ve never believed you.”
Global impact
Soon he would find himself traveling the world, as a PSL (Professional Skateboard League) coach, public speaker, and chaplain, inspiring purpose and meaning into the top skateboarders in the world.
“If you had told me when I was younger that I would be coaching the top skateboarders in the world, the guys who I look up to, the guys who I watch the skateboarding videos of, I would’ve never believed you”, he noted.
He also serves the skateboarding community through his involvement in Pros Being Bros, a global online community for professional skateboarders. Through their weekly calls, they help their brothers in skateboarding navigate the battles of life, from marriage to mental health.
By inspiring the skateboarders who, in turn, influence the masses, including the youth, Jonsson is inspiring millions of people. He calls it, “Reaching the world by reaching a few.”
This same approach is seen in his work as a chaplain to the top professional skateboarders. Using the acronym C.A.R.E. (Care Hope Accountability and Purpose), his work sometimes includes praying for skateboarders and other times helping to give them context for the bigger picture.
“It’s true that behind every good man is an even greater woman.” -Dave Jonsson
Local Impact
Jonsson balances his global impact and time spent in California, the epicenter of the skateboarding world, with his life at home in Vancouver. Jonsson is the lead pastor of Belong Church which him and his team host every Sunday in Canada’s largest parkour gym.
“You gotta sign a waiver to come to our church,” he explains. He describes it as a community where “everyone belongs and many believe.”
Alongside this stands his for-profit company The Belong Centre, a gutted bar which he and his team renovated into an indoor skatepark, arcade, and skate shop, and outdoor ice bath in November 2024.
So how does he manage to wear so many hats. For him comes down to delegation.
“Leadership is what you’re able to do without your presence being there,” he explains.
But more than anything, his secret sauce is his wife of 16 years who supports him while being a mother to their four children, with their fifth on the way.
“It’s true that behind every good man is an even greater woman. My wife has been such a blessing to allow me to fan into flame many of the things that I’ve been passionate about. So I’m very thankful to her,” he shared.
“I think it’s true that the person who we serve is ourselves two years ago.”
Looking ahead
Looking ahead, Jonsson is looking at spending more time in the San Diego area as he continues to serve as a skateboarding coach and chaplain.
He’s also looking to scale his 12-step transformational program, with one seat currently available.
“I think it’s true that the person who we serve is ourselves two years ago,” he concluded.
But his biggest opportunity for global impact is with Pros Being Bros, which meets every Monday.
For more information, visit the link in the bio of the Pros Being Bros Instagram account.
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