Why Filming Her Breakup Was Actually A Good Thing For “Endless Summer” Star Summer Mckeen

Photo Credit: Hudson Taylor

Influencers Summer Mckeen and Dylan Jordan shocked their millions of fans when they announced their split on social media—all of which has been captured on the second season of Snapchat’s Snap Original series, “Endless Summer.”  Dylan, devastated by the sudden breakup, reverts back to his bad boy ways to cope, while Summer struggles to navigate life and figure out who she is as a single teen. The docuseries—which has been likened to MTV‘s “Laguna Beach”—is produced by Bunim/Murray (“Keeping Up with The Kardashians,” “Real World,” etc.). We spoke with Summer about the hardships (or maybe not) of seeing your ex on the daily and what’s in store next that her series has gone global (in its first season, “Endless Summer” raked in over 28 million UVMs). Photo Credit: Hudson Taylor

What are you excited about for Season 2 of “Endless Summer?”

It’s a really crazy season that has a lot of truth built into it. It gets very real. I hope it will answer some questions my fans had at the end of season 1.

Tell us about filming the upcoming season… Was it challenging? What was your takeaway? What was the most enjoyable part of filming?

It was an emotionally tolling season for me. A lot of ups and downs, but I still enjoyed it. I had to be strategic with my time during the filming of this season, because I had other projects going on…this was the most challenging.

Was it hard filming with Dylan post-breakup? Why or why not?

I think it actually gave us a good opportunity to air things out. It was a little strange doing this in front of cameras, but I wouldn’t say it has been or will ever be hard to talk to Dylan – even post-breakup.

Photo Credit: Hudson Taylor

What’s it like living in Laguna Niguel now versus growing up in Oregon? What are your favorite spots in Laguna and why?

Although they are different, I really love both places so much. I visit Oregon a lot because my family is there but I love how chill Laguna is. The beach is probably my favorite part (go figure) and I also like how close it is to LA and San Diego so I can visit my friends.

What’s next for you?

I seriously have so many projects going on right now and it feels really good! I just launched a Nudestix collection of my favorites and have exciting collabs with some other major beauty brands soon. I’ll be posting about all of it so more to come soon!

We saw you recently went on a surfing trip to Australia with Billabong, how was that? How hard was it to learn how to surf? Or were you a natural and got it straight away?

Honestly, surfing came pretty naturally to me. With a little help, I caught a bunch of waves, so that was awesome. It was a ton of fun learning something new and got to make some new friends on the trip.

Photo Credit: Hudson Taylor

How does surfing make you feel, and why would you urge any woman to try it?

It made me feel really free, actually. It reminded me of skate boarding (which I also love and learning to do) but something about being on the water is so much fun. I would say that anyone who loves the water to try it at least once.

You work with a lot of brands. What’s been your most memorable experience collaborating with one this year?

Oh there’s been so many memorable ones! I think the Billabong trip was definitely something that was like nothing else I’ve done, though, so I would probably say the trip to Australia with them.

At this stage in your life and career, what does the term “Endless Summer” mean to you?

It’s a way for me to embrace who I am and know that my own life and choices are filled with endless opportunity. I also hope that anyone who watches the show get’s a better perspective on how people who post their lives online could have other things going on but only share the “highlights” of it. I think it becomes really easy to compare yourself to others when you’re scrolling through an endless feed of other people’s accomplishments. But it’s never really as it seems and we all have our own journeys, struggles, and triumphs going on behind the scenes. Hopefully we can all learn to be a little more forgiving and a whole lot nicer to everyone.