Split Peak Soup

Send us Fan Mail As a kid growing up in Santa Cruz with dreams of becoming a professional surfer, there were tons of local surf events to enter where I could sharpen my skills and get used to surfing against the best kids in the area with a contest singlet on. Out of all of them, however, there were none I looked forward to more than the Volcom Greatwhite Surf Series events, which were part of Vol...

Send us Fan Mail Fifteen year-old surf phenomenon Isla Hardy is one of Santa Cruz’s next great hopes. This regular foot ripper burst on the scene a few years ago as a pint-sized grommet and has experienced impressive growth as both a human and surfer ever since. She’s well known for her positive attitude and bright smile and respected in the surf world for her precise rail game and futuristic aeri...

Send us Fan Mail Growing up on Pleasure Point, I had no shortage of excellent surfers to look up to. There’s something special in the water off those fabled bluffs that molds such stylish, smooth, and powerful surfers—one’s who can measure up against worlds best on any given day. Chris Gallagher, Kieran Horn, Bud Freitas…the list goes on and on. In my eyes, however, there’s one local hero that sta...

Send us Fan Mail Sandro “Batata” Santiago has devoted his life to his two passions—surfing and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. As a sixth degree black belt in Jiu Jitsu, he’s put endless hours into perfecting his technique and has the world titles to prove it. It’s also provided himself a livelihood, with his Batata Jiu Jitsu Academy on Santa Cruz’s Westside gaining popularity as a place where individuals wi...

Send us Fan Mail Modern day competitive surfing is not for the faint of heart. For starters, you're dealing with the many moods and faces of an unpredictable ocean, where simply having a quality wave come your way requires a tremendous amount of luck.  Then, if you are fortunate enough to snag that diamond in the rough during your heat, you have to convince a panel of finicky judges that what...

Send us Fan Mail There are few places in the world of surf that have left an impact as powerful as Santa Cruz, California. From big-wave legends such as Richard Schmidt and Peter Mel, aerial pioneers Shawn “Barney” Barron and Jason “Ratboy” Collins, to competitive animals of the likes of Chris Gallagher and Nat Young, our areas standouts have left an indelible mark. One man who’s been there for it...

Send us Fan Mail Caffeine. For all its many blessings, there can be a cost. Anxiety, jitters, irritability and fatigue can occur in those who overindulge in their preferred form of caffeine, but due to it’s ubiquity and accessibility, people can find themselves in potentially harmful addictive relationships with this substance. Enter Shane Heath. Santa Cruz’s Shane Heath found himself second-guess...

Send us Fan Mail I’ve always admired surfboard shapers. The amount of tenacity, grit, and dedication required to consistently produce boards that work is staggering. Materials are costly, and it takes thousands of hours of work and hundreds of finished shapes before a shaper can claim any semblance of mastery over their craft. In order to be profitable, not only does a shaper have to believe in th...

Send us Fan Mail It’s no secret that professional surfers are a dying breed, especially here in Santa Cruz. Twenty-five years ago, in order to get a paycheck from a big surf brand, all you needed was a decent air game and a good relationship with at least one local photographer. Nowadays, if you wanna see any coin come your way, you better have that, a boatload of charisma, connections, and good l...

Send us Fan Mail It’s not rare for pioneers to be labeled as “crazy” or “lunatics”. After all, they’re treading ground where no one’s been before. From the outside looking in, this can appears reckless or misguided.  While this reaction may have its merit, it falls short of seeing the big picture—as an action that seems insane or impossible today, comes to be routine and mundane tomorrow. Just loo...

Send us Fan Mail What a gift it is to call Santa Cruz, California, home. For those of us lucky enough to have grown up in this idyllic beach town, familiarity with the ocean often starts at an early age. Whether the introduction comes in the form of surf lessons by a family member or participation in the Junior Lifeguard programs, we learn early on how to protect ourselves, and others, from the pe...

Send us Fan Mail From the late 1980’s, up until the late 2000’s, being a professional surfer in Santa Cruz was a legitimate career path. Sure, you had to have skill, a strong work ethic and enough charisma to secure corporate sponsorships, but there was enough money floating around during those years that a host of local surfers were able to forgo higher education and 9-5 jobs to live as handsomel...

Send us Fan Mail Think about all the conversations you have throughout the course of the day. Unless you were at silent meditation retreat or alone in some remote, off-grid location, it’s safe to say you made contact with, and interacted with, a number of other individuals. How many of these encounters yielded anything deeper than a customary greeting or surface level life, love, health, or happin...

Send us Fan Mail There is sometimes an unflattering, and often undeserved, stereotype of older surfboard shapers: that they are cantankerous and jaded old grumps limping through their shaping bays like lame prize horses, their brains frazzled from long-term exposure to hazardous resin, foam and fiberglass (that, or from all the acid they dropped in the ’60s and ’70s). Seventy-six year-old boardmak...

Send us Fan Mail Santa Cruz, California is well-known throughout the world as a surfing mecca. From iconic waves such as Steamer Lane and Pleasure Point, to surfing royalty such as Peter Mel and Nat Young, our town lives and breathes surfing. With such a reputation, surfers come from far and wide to live in and visit this gem of a surfing destination, bringing in valuable funds that greatly benefi...

Send us Fan Mail The life of a professional artist is far from glamorous. The amount of hustle and discipline required to make it big is mind boggling. Rarely can you rely on natural talent alone--successful artists really have to think outside the box to secure that bag. One lovely individual who's doing a fabulous job of paving her own path in the world of art is none other than Anastasiya...

Send us Fan Mail Coming back from a life-changing spinal cord injury has got to be one of the most difficult things a person could go through in their lives. These people are confronted with a choice....either rise to the occasion and make the best of their traumatic event, or submit to the enormity of it all.  One man who is not letting his spinal cord injury get in the way of accomplishing his d...

Send us Fan Mail Clifford Dinsmore is about as real as they come. As a young man coming of age in the early 80’s, he was attracted to the raw, rebellious, and raucous new phenomenon known as punk rock. In the beginning, he was just another rabid fan who cut his teeth on in-your-face acts such as the Circle Jerks and Black Flag.  It wasn’t long thereafter that he started lending his violent vocals...

Send us Fan Mail Shane Rafferty is a force to be reckoned with in the Santa Cruz music scene. From his early days in the punk rock scene as lead singer of Lost Cause, to his exploration of Outlaw Country with his latest band, Wagon Wreckers, Rafferty has left robust musical mark. In addition to his musical pursuits, here we chat about the frustrations of surfing, battling addiction, raising childr...

Send us Fan Mail Imagine leaving your friends, family, and home country to chase your dreams in a foreign land, especially when your destination is known for being extremely hostile to non-native surfers. Well, that's what Brazil's Andre Gioranelli did back in 2006, when he uprooted from Rio de Janeiro and moved to Santa Cruz, California. Andre has made a name for himself as a humble hum...

Send us Fan Mail Meet Ethan Estess, an environmental artist and activist who is truly making a difference with his unique and eye-catching art. He takes literal trash from sea, such as fishing rope and golf balls, and transforms them into thought-provoking creations that not only look amazing, but send a powerful message as well. His reclaimed material art offerings have garnered the attention of...

Send us Fan Mail Jimbo Phillips was born to be an artist. Son of legendary Santa Cruz artist Jim Phillips, who designed iconic Santa Cruz Skateboard graphics such as "The Screaming Hand" and "Classic Dot", Jimbo has forged his own path in the world of art, with similar success. Over the past 30+ years, he's been designing amazingly eye-catching skateboard graphics, logos,...

Send us Fan Mail Meet Lanny Headrick of Sawdust Imagery. Lanny has been making truly whimsical wooden creations for years, from guitars to skateboards, robots to ravens. In this episode, Lanny and I have a hoot of a time discussing the road that led him to where he is today. Issues that we touch upon include: his upbringing, migration to Santa Cruz, time spent as a touring skateboard photographer,...

Send us Fan Mail A candid conversation with Matt Myers, of Myers Surf Mentorship. Here we discuss his role as a surf coach, what it takes to be a successful professional surfing in today's competitive environment, the current crop of hot talent coming out of Santa Cruz, wave pools, fatherhood, and more!!