Jason Schilder of Xtreme H2O has built his life around his love for being on the water. An avid surfer and Fort Walton Beach native, Jason was born and raised at the beach. When he became working age, his first inclination was to find something that would keep him right where he loved to be.
“I just wanted to do something I enjoyed so it didn't feel like work,” Jason said. “My first job on the water was back in the ‘90s, I worked renting jet skis on Okaloosa Island. We used to pull barges out to the sea wall full of Jet Skis and people would pull off the side of the road and rent a Jet Ski right there. It was a good time while it lasted.”
From there, Jason started his own company in 2004 on Scenic Hwy. 98 renting wave runners to beachgoers behind Sea Oats Motel.
“We were on the beach for four years, out there having a good time renting Jet Skis out, no worries in the world,” Jason said. “We weren’t really making much money, just having fun.”
In 2008, Jason got the chance to open a location on the Destin Harbor off of Calhoun Drive thanks to his friend Chris White. Chris offered Jason a spot to rent out of and Jason had access to the calmer waters of the harbor and the popularity of Crab Island.
Two years later Jason’s life changed forever when his brother passed away, then, like a one-two-punch, he found out he was going to have a daughter.
“That was a hard period in my life, but my daughter helped me focus on what was really important,” Jason said. “The year she was born, I created a website and overnight we went from minimal traffic and bookings to ‘Oh wow our lives are changed!’”
Jason said that before that time he had no idea how to market his business, but getting online at the beginning of internet marketing really was the winning ticket. He said there was not a huge presence for water sport businesses online at the time so Xtreme H2O stood out.
Today, Jason has three locations in Destin offering pontoon and waverunner rentals, parasailing excursions and daily tours on the party boat, Island Runner. Looking towards the future, Jason already has two new locations underway the first at Gilligan’s in Destin and the second at his very own stomping grounds in Fort Walton Beach.
“I have been three years in planning the marina in Fort Walton Beach,” Jason said. “It will be on the Santa Rosa Sound Behind Ali’s Bistro. I used to live in the house that is now Magnolia Grill. They moved the house over and I bought the waterfront piece. It’s kind of weird how the world works. I’m building a marina in the land I grew up on.”