The story of G-Land - a surfing and cultural history

The 8-Time XXL Big Wave Award Winner and 2010 Eddie Aikau Invitational Winner, Greg Long, joins us for some deep cuts and a fantastic story of surfers helping surfers in harrowing situations. After a terrifying near-death wipe out, losing friends, and witnessing several other close calls, he and a core group of water-people gave birth to the Big Wave Risk Assessment Group (BWRAG). Greg and his team explain that a "big" wave can be as small as 2 feet to some, and water safety should be an integral part of every surfers skill set. Plus, learn how to make long drives without stopping, and more! Enjoy.

For forty years, Matt George profiled surfers like Kelly Slater and Bethany Hamilton and has published these in his new book In Deep: The Collected Surf Writings, with a forward by the 11X world champ. Your life will be richer for the read. Listen in here and meet the author as he shares some incredible moments outside the lines of the book. Visit DAP Books - Diangelo Publications to purchase his latest. Enjoy.

Nate Tyler earns his living as a kinetic sculptor and a professional surfer in the central California hills about twenty minutes from the coast. His career of surf movie aerialist and brand ambassador for the likes of 805 Beer, Globe, and Octopus keeps his passport full with some incredible travel and inspiration for his work. We caught up with him on the release of a new film called Convergence. Enjoy.

Harrison Roach shares quite a few good stories with us. We’d expect nothing less from this ride-anything journeyman. His charm and demeanor translates well to his role as brand ambassador for our longtime sponsor Roark and his work with Thomas Bexon Surfboards. Feel free to kickback and fall into the zone with Harrison. It’s a nice addendum to David Lee’s interview on Surf Splendor.

Darieus Legg is a filmmaker and surfer who has rediscovered his passion for filmmaking and animation through his latest short film called Stoker Machine. His energy and banter is infectious. This is our best podcast yet in our humble opinion. It ties the whole film festival, podcast, our love for surf movies, stoke, and good people together. Enjoy.

In Neverland, author Tricia Shantz chronicles American and Australian surfers’ influence on the north coast of New South Wales in the 60’s and 70’s. Tricia witnessed the change and significant events and characters of Byron Bay and Lennox Head, watching them transform into the cultural centers they are today. If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about this nexus of quality surf and the rich history behind its lure, you’re in for a great podcast. Enjoy.

For as many years as we’ve been dreaming about empty line-ups around the world, Sean Murphy has run Waterways Travel, a surf travel company, to accommodate our disposable income and our lust for adventure and perfection. He’s had a few adventures of his own, and on this episode, we get to hear a couple stories that will serve your commute well. Enjoy our chat with veteran traveler/dream-maker, Sean Murphy.

From the northwest of Ireland, Richie Fitzgerald’s debut memoir, Cold Water Eden, has received incredible reviews and covers his history in big waves; Surfworld, the first surf shop in town; and endless anecdotes of visiting surfers dawning his door. From Tom Curren to Kelly Slater, Malloy brothers to Brad Gerlach, the characters and set-ups in Bundoran are world class, and so is the narrative, expertly woven with a pub-like feel, full of Richie's epic charm and wit. This is the story behind his phenomenal book, the likes of which we haven’t seen since Barbarian Days, A Surfing Life from William Finnegan. Enjoy.

When John Milius’s masterpiece, Big Wednesday, toured through Italy in the late 70’s, the local watermen responded by removing the mast and sails from their windsurf boards and birthing Italian surf culture. Fast forward to the early 80’s, and a nine year-old Emi Cataldi has a similar experience when a family windsurfing vacation is nearly ruined by a glassy windless day of one to two foot waves. At his fathers urging, Emi yanks the mast and sail off his board and never looked back. Emi discusses his surfing origins, extensive travel adventures with SurfExplore, and a harrowing kidnapping in Gabon that includes a threat to call Barack Obama! Enjoy!

Kevin grabs an old central Florida friend for this episode, Erik Gunderson. They met in high school and began surfing together around 1986, mostly willed by Kevin’s successful attempt to befriend this Dean Moriarty-type character. Erik lived, surfed, partied, and worked harder than the rest, which set the stage for some good times, friendship, and plenty of Floridian surf stories. Enjoy.

Shoulder season generally implies smaller, playful waves and a generally mellow vibe… In this episode, we chat with Eden Saul of Dead Kooks Surfboards about a different, more horrific meaning. Listen in as Eden recounts the unthinkable disaster in paradise…twice! We delve into his early days of shaping influences, his direct to consumer business model, and his global shaping/travel schedule. Enjoy.

A self-taught filmmaker, Nathan Oldfield has always embraced surfing’s DIY culture—fixing dings at age 10 and shaping his own boards at 14. Photography and then video became his focus; he and friends would take turns, resisting the urge to leave the lens and paddle back out. Coupled with his teaching degree to pay the bills, making his evocative, beautiful films gave him an outlet to share his friends’ stories and surfing. In this episode, we chat with Nathan about his beginnings of falling in love with the ocean, and it’s surrounding imagery, the joys of passing on the stoke to his son, and the beauty of the everyday things in life. Enjoy.

If you’re one of the growing number of surfers enjoying your mid-length lately, you can and should thank Devon Howard for his contribution in creating one of the worlds best riding boards. We discuss his role in developing the Channel Islands Mid, his East Coast roots, and how some backyard farming funded his first ever barrel at Pipeline. Enjoy!

Sterling Spencer is the undisputed No. 1 surfer in the world, but he took time off his schedule to visit with us sincerely about his migration from early blogger to the very funny Instagram producer and personality that he is today. We discuss brain injuries, Jeremy Flores, Kelly Slater, being chosen as a subject for parody, and more. Enjoy.

Shannon “Hopper” Eichstaedt has an addiction; it’s a healthy one. Big barrels provide the spike in adrenaline necessary to flood endorphins and face-numbing tingles…. We truly enjoyed capturing this super-stoked human to share some stories about his wild times with Andy Irons and many more memories throughout his career as a fully-accredited charger. Enjoy.

Fernando Aguerre’s quest to bring surfing to the Olympic Games is a 27-year story. Jessica and Jay Johnson, co-directors and co-producers., took on this project to share this story of persistence, passion, and character. Please enjoy our discussion with the team behind the ISA’s successes and challenges to produce live broadcasting for all of these wonderful events. Next up, the Teahupo’o’s 2024 Olympic surfing competition...

Ashton Goggans has figured out a way to report on a pastime and culture he loves, make documentary films, and create entertaining content for surf fans far and wide.  His No Contest and No Contest:  Off Tour series are inside looks at professional surfing that capture the sidelong views of tour life.  His documentary, Andy Irons and the Radicals, captured the vibrant, chaotic early days of the three-time world champion in a way we want to remember AI.  Enjoy.

“Sending it” on a wave could be a good analogy for the outstanding feature film director Mikey Corker just finished. It’s called Savage Waters, and his DIY career leading up to this exemplary work of documenting adventure and exploration is personified by the tone and grit we hear in this interview. The patience required to time an unknown wave in the Savage Islands, sold to the boat captain in an 1891 treasure hunting book, is the stuff of well, movies…. Take a listen to Mikey's journey from grunt gigs to director to Savage Waters.

Michael Dunphy, a professional surfer based in New Smyrna Beach, has been putting in the time. We have WSL alerts set for his heats. He’s committed, hard-working, and a hell of a nice person. We were lucky enough to sit down with him and cover the ins and outs of sponsorship, the nuance of life trying to qualify for the show, and the occasional unlucky parts of travel. Enjoy.

Tune in for a history lesson from East Coast Surfing Hall of Famer, Kem McNair, and New Smyrna Beach long-time local, David Coffee. They discuss Hobie sponsorship, trailing smoke from freshly resined fin, their first surf shop and board-building venture, near stardom in the music business, and the discovery of the best wave on the east coast of Florida. Enjoy.

Ben Weiland holds three awards from the nine years we’ve run festivals. Island X won Best Surf Movie - Feature for 2022. Here’s a chat with one of our favorite people on earth, and a man who knows how to shoot a story and tell one. Being a good guest in a foreign country has its limits, but Ben muscled through some Faroe Island aged beef for your listening pleasure.

Your instagram feed will be better nourished by following Raglan Surf Report, run by Kiwi surfer Luke Cederman. Comedy is hard to come by in surf movies and TV shows these days, which is why you’ll find the clever parodies and satirical takes on our stupid past-time so necessary. Dry insertion of potent one-liners come sudden and painful, especially if you’ve engaged in similar thoughtless comments or acts addressed by his hilarious, pointed wit. If you have any interest in looking into the mirror Luke holds up, give this a listen.