JS Oh, stop playing, Cudi! I’ll have to get a few more albums under my belt. I’m going to have to grow—but that would be the biggest dream of mine.

KC It’s possible. I would love to do more music with you. I remember trying to encourage you to sing. I remember you were experimenting with it and I was like, “Man, just sing. Just do it.” Now, tell me a bit about your quest for sustainability. When did you realize you wanted to advocate for the environment?

JS I started surfing when I was really young. I learned how the ocean is alive, and has tides. Then, I learned about the environment and the ecosystem, and discovered we’re putting out so many CO2 emissions, creating plastic for agriculture and even for processed meats. We start to overheat the planet, melt ice caps, and water levels start to rise. It’s only getting worse. That’s why I started Just Water; I wanted to create a bottle of water that was more sustainable, had less plastic, and emitted less CO2. Right now, I’m trying to launch this water filtration system in places where the water quality is very, very poor, which is sadly a lot of places in the world right now. I got on my whole quest at age 11.

KC Man, you started so young! You know what I was doing then? [Laughs] I was just chilling, being a kid. It’s inspiring. My daughter is going to read this interview and see that you can do things no matter what age you are, as long as you’re passionate about it. We need more of that in the world. Why do you think people should care about sustainability?

JS We get very comfortable in our lifestyles, and ultimately [non-sustainable practices] threaten comfort in the everyday human experience—the ability to come home and turn on your lights, to go outside and breathe fresh air, or go to the beach. It can mess up the whole ecosystem of our lives. It’s not just the ecosystem of plants and animals that are in danger; we use those plants and animals to survive. That ultimately puts us in danger, too.

KC What’s this process been like?

JS It’s been really long and very difficult, working with manufacturing companies, laws, getting certifications, and [handling the logistics of] moving a lot of water. It’s a lot of fine details. But people are getting behind the brand and message, and owning it. We’re working with companies like the Rainforest Alliance, sustaining trees in a responsible manner—for every tree used, we plant two more—and in our water agreement with Glens Falls, New York, we pay them six times the amount we need to, so we can help with their water infrastructure.

KC You’ve talked about wanting to turn recycled plastic into “even doper things.” Such as what?

JS Right now, I’m in a room where the walls are made out of probably 2,000 Just Water bottles, pressed—it can be used as a drywall, so I really want to help people create schools using these materials. If you combine a lot of plastic together and melt it down, it almost becomes cinder block. You can use trash to create an entirely new structure. People will probably give you their trash for free if you’ll take it away from them. That’s why I feel like it can spark a new industry: I’m trying to make and create so many things out of recycled plastic. If you raise the price of plastic on the ground and in the oceans, more people will begin to pick up trash.

KC You on fire, man!

JS Bro, you are just the inspiration. Literally, you’ve inspired me so much from day one, so thank you.

KC Man, but look at what you’re doing. You’re inspiring more kids. Tupac said he’s not trying to change the world, but he’s trying to inspire the mind that will. I live by that shit. I make a lot of mistakes, and I’m here just trying to figure it out—hopefully, somebody can learn from my mistakes. Because that’s what my big brothers were for me: They let me know what not to do. It’s beautiful to see you doing your thing; you’re inspiring people all around the world. I see these kids at your shows, bro. They love you. You hit them with the moonwalk, they fucking love it. It makes me so happy. Since we met, I’ve always been sure to just be in your life for whatever advice or guidance you needed. I wanted to help you because I knew you had the glow, man. So here we are.

JS You’re the one, big bro. Thank you so much. You just have no idea, I’m over the moon.

KC You’re the chosen one. I’m with you.