Richard Kotch is a surf photographer and 50% of the dynamic surf guiding duo on the Maldivian island of Hudhuranfushi, along side his wife (and last week's podcast guest) Amy Kotch. Richard explains his early surf experiences that primed him for surf guiding, the challenges of island life, and how to continually improve your surfing into your 50s. Enjoy!

"She Surf" cover surfer Amy Kotch joins us to share how, at 30, she left So Cal suburbia behind in pursuit of hollow, warm surf and a simplified life focus. Kotch explains life on a remote atoll as a surf guide, the challenges and joys of raising a kid there, and the quickest way to shift your perspective, values, and worldview. Enjoy!

Board builder Malcolm Campbell discusses the Bonzer design, the role it’s played in surfing and the quirky dynamics that sometimes push and often impede board design evolution. The Bonzer is the first truly functional, high-performance three finned surfboard design, and the Campbell Brothers introduced it a full decade prior to the invention of the Thruster. We bring today's episode straight from the Malcolm’s kitchen in his home in Oxnard. Enjoy!

Wyatt Daily shares his discovery of previously unseen surf footage of Greenough, Yater, and dozens more who would spark a design revolution and indelibly change the trajectory of surfing, as documented in his latest film, "Spoons: A Santa Barbara Story". Enjoy!

Selema "Sal" Masekela and Ryan Harris join us for a discussion about how the surf industry can respond to Black Lives Matter to foster a healthier, more robust industry, why they are both more optimistic about the future of America than ever, and they introduce 1Planet1People. Enjoy!

Waves 4 Water is aiming to solve the world water crisis and has already provided sustained solutions for 3.75 million people. Jon Rose discusses his transition from a self-focused life of professional surfing into a life of effective altruism and the challenges of running an international organization. Enjoy!

William Finnegan has been an important figure contributing to surfing for the past 30 years or so, mainly as a writer, but also as a discoverer and explorer. Author of the Pulitzer winning "Barbarian Days", he and David discuss his journey and navigating how surfing fits into relationships, work, and life. (This episode was original published on December 20, 2015).

San Diego board builder and Skip Frye apprentice Josh Hall joins us to pay homage to Kauai, discuss his recent elk hunt in New Mexico, survey the surfboard biz in the time of COVID, and reevaluate how to love and care for our parents as they age. Enjoy!

Billy Hamilton joins David to discuss the difficulties of raising Laird, discovering Nazare, the benefits of psychedelics, and how his relationship with John Milius ended with a punch and a transfer of one millions dollars. Enjoy!

Billy Hamilton joins David to discuss growing up in Laguna before the ocean was poisoned by detergents from civilization's expansion, his early travels to Kauai in the 60's, meeting Laird and his mother on the beach at Rocky Point, surfing Pipeline naked, and living (partying) with Bunker Spreckles when he inherited $100 million dollars. Part one of two. Enjoy!

Kauai waterman Terry Chung joins us to talk about his recent trip to foil Nazare with Laird, raising well-adjusted children on Kauai, his journey through board building, the evolution of the surf foil, and how to sustain big wave wipeouts at the age of 65. Enjoy!

Kauai Council Member and co-founder of Kamanu Composites Luke Evslin joins us to talk about the challenges of being a small composites manufacturer in Kauai, how he's addressing housing and climate change from City Hall, and how a near death experiences shifted his life's trajectory. Enjoy!

Professional MMA fighter, surfer, activist Dustin Barca discusses homelessness in Kauai, the environmental impact of genetically modified agriculture, political corruption, and how discipline has helped him find focus and purpose. Part two of two. Enjoy!

Professional MMA fighter, surfer, activist Dustin Barca discusses homelessness in Kauai, the environmental impact of genetically modified agriculture, political corruption, and how discipline has helped him find focus and purpose. Part one of two. Enjoy!

Mr. Sunset and co-founder of Quiksilver USA Jeff Hakman talks about dressing in drag to avoid Vietnam, earning and losing a small fortune, conquering a 30 year substance addiction, and positioning himself to surf into 100 years of age. Enjoy!

As part of our contribution to The Lockdown Surf Film Festival, David Scales interviews The Surfer's Journal Editor and film director Nathan Meyers about his film "Here & Now". The film is screening for 24 hours on LockdownSurfFilmFestival.com. Enjoy!

Californian Mark Sausen made his way with one board, a Terry Martin shape, to Kauai in 1970. Over the next 50 years he'd marry into a native family, develop a craft for building some of the most acclaimed boards for the local waves, and come to share ownership of the most prized land in all of Hawai'i. This is his story. Enjoy.

Kauai has long been it favorite destination for surfers. It's recently become a prized location for tech billionaires and agricultural corporations, the convergence of which has led to an erosion of culture. Today we hear from Max Medeiros, Bronson Lovell, and Lance Ebert about building boards and adapting to life on the Garden Isle. Enjoy.

Twenty year ‘CT veteran, meditation teacher and envy of every single surfer since 1993 for his power prowess, Taylor Knox opens up about boneheadedness, the fallacy of regret, and why his power is based in stillness. Enjoy!

John Dahl is the founder/owner of Sticky Bumps and a pioneer of surf wax. Today he explains how he's been the beneficiary of serendipity, how he's leveraged incremental lessons into sustained returns and when it's the appropriate to fire or promote family members. Enjoy!

Board builder Ryan Harris runs the world's only zero waste surfboard factory. Today he shares his origin story, how designing shoes translates to shaping, the importance of starting at the bottom, and how he'll make more money from his trash than he will from selling surfboards. Enjoy!

In this new 6 part series surfboard shaper Donald Brink spends a week in the mountains with board builders and artists. Today he chats with Jeff McCallum about the fallacy of "sustainable" surfboards, the virtues of the twin-fin Egg, and the unimportance of legacy. Enjoy!

Surfboard shaper and youth mentor Akila Aipa is expanding on his family legacy by building solutions for our modern needs on principles honed by his father. Today he discusses how he's embraced catharsis through missteps and how Kelly's success on Akila's boards will alter the next decade of his business and life. Enjoy!

Pro surfer turned Hurley Hawaii team manager turned organic farmer Joel Centeio chats about the equitability of sponsoring surfers, the challenge of fostering drive while living in paradise, and confronting the internal dilemma of killing animals to feed your family. Enjoy!