The Whalebone founder on his daily routine.

Mr Jesse Joeckel is the founder of Whalebone, which started off in 2010 as a surf-inspired T-shirt brand, but has now expanded to become a full clothing label, a bi-monthly print magazine with daily online content, and an events and creative agency that he runs with a few likeminded local friends.

The Whalebone aesthetic and tone of voice are distinctive, a humorous, laidback expression of the salty and arty culture and lifestyle of Montauk, on the easternmost tip of Long Island, New York, where he lives with his fiancée.

Mr Joeckel grew up here in the local fishing community. His father, stepfather, brother and many of his friends are all commercial fishermen. “It’s not that fishing wasn’t for me – I’ve been out a few times – I just had other passions to pursue,” he says. Chief among which is surfing, something he does most mornings.

For the latest in our interview series following the morning routines of inspiring men, we caught up with the 30-year-old designer and editor to find out how he starts each day.

I can’t remember the last time I set an alarm clock.

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There’s something about waking up naturally that really appeals to me. Our bedroom has floor-to-ceiling windows so the sun hits me pretty early in the summer, which is the best way to wake up. I’m a pretty early riser naturally. I tend to wake around 6.30am.

Room-temperature water with half a fresh lemon squeezed into it.

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That’s the first thing we have each morning. It’s good for your digestion and metabolism. Then I’ll make us a green smoothie. We have a little herb and vegetable garden on our roof deck, so I’ll usually pull some greens from there with some greens supplement and some hemp seeds or flax seeds that we get from this health nutritionist guy in Sag Harbor. My fiancée makes these date energy balls. I don’t know what she puts in them, but they basically taste like cookie dough and they’re extremely healthy.

I stay up to date with what’s going on in the world.

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Each day I read an email I signed up to called The Need 2 Know. It’s a summary of 12 things each day across news, politics, business, sport and entertainment with links if you want more detail. I’ll read that while drinking a Bulletproof Coffee, which is supposed to improve brain function and suppress hunger until lunchtime.

I try to get a surf in most mornings before work.

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We live a block back from Ditch Plains in Montauk, but the roof deck looks out to the ocean. In the summer I’m out the door and in the water within a couple of minutes.

Grooming-wise, I’m very low maintenance.

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In and out of the shower, I use a Kiehl’s facial scrub, Tom’s toothpaste. I buzz my stubble back about once a week. During the season from June to September I hardly ever wear shoes, just a pair of surf shorts, a Whalebone T-shirt and a Whalebone cap. Then I jump in my pick-up truck – a Toyota Tacoma – and drive to the store or to our offices, both of which are just a few miles away. It’s not a tough commute. The shop where I screen-print overlooks Fort Pond Bay and our media offices are also on the water at Gosman’s Dock.

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