This Ocean Life Podcast

In episode 72 we speak with Josh Smith, a marine biologist spending his time underwater in the kelp forests of California. Josh takes us through his research to understand the changes in kelp forests with a relatively recent explosion in sea urchin populations and the interactions of other animals like otters, abalone, and sea stars are involved. We hear about the day to day operations of doing re...

In Episode 71 we speak with Ginaia Kelly, a woman of the water who spends her days supporting ocean protection, volunteering to help those less fortunate, and pursuing her own passion in the water. Ginaia takes us through her work with the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation to raise awareness and support for ocean protection along the California coast. We hear of the dynamics behind supporting a...

In Episode 70 we speak with Ryan Croteau, a former professional surfer and world traveler turned surf guide and instructor. Ryan takes us through his early surfing days in Florida, competing in local contests, and making a move with his family out to Southern California in his teens. Ryan takes us through his time and stories from surfing in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries as well as an ep...

In this episode we tell the story of Team Santa Cruz paddling in the Monster and Sea 24 Hour Paddle for cancer from April 2019. A team of 6 with many others paddle around the clock, relay-style, from 8 AM Saturday to 8 AM Sunday to raise funds for a local family challenged with cancer. This is a new podcast format where we mix narration with live recorded audio from the event -- hope you like it!...

In Episode 69 we speak with Sachi Cunningham, a legendary woman of the water who has been photographing the waves of Mavericks and other heavy breaks for close to 20 years. Sachi shares her stories of developing her strength swimming in the water as a youth then finding her passion for photography, surfing, and waves. We hear of Sachi's first day swimming and shooting at big Ocean Beach, her progr...

In episode 68 we visit with Alo Slebir, a 17-year old man born and bred for the water who is up for a WSL Big Wave Paddle Award for the 2018/19 winter. Alo takes us through his progression surfing big Steamer Lane before finding his passion for the waves at Mavericks at age 14, the mentors who inspired and guided him, along with his perspective on that wave and the changes he's seen in the lineup...

In Episode 67 we speak with Dan Semrad, founder of Oregon Freediving Company and life-long man of the water. Dan takes us through his evolution from scuba diving into freediving sharing stories on the people and places along the way such as Honduras, Grand Cayman, Hawaii, and more. Dan shares his perspective on training others through his work with PFI and NAUI while pushing his own breath hold li...

In this multi-part series I've put together the first set of stories and perspectives on the world's gnarliest paddle board race, Molokai 2 Oahu (M2O). Six of my past guests and current legends in the water -- Lincoln Dews, Mick Di Betta, Morgan Hoesterey, Nick Franco, Leanne Horton, and Jeff Denholm -- all share their past experiences paddling in the Kaiwi Channel (The Channel of Bones) including...

In this episode of Stoked Grom Stories we speak with Riley Auble, a young man enjoying a life growing up in Santa Cruz, California. We hear of Riley's adventures traveling to Vietnam and his favorite surf spots on Maui. Riley talks about his love for fishing, helping disabled children enjoy the waves with Ride-A-Wave, and the epic finish of his Junior Lifeguard paddle team at the 2018 California R...

In Episode 66 we speak with Chris Aguilar, a man of the water who has built an amazing lifestyle of board paddling and documenting the people and events of the sport. Chris takes us through his years filming the Molokai 2 Oahu paddleboard race and shares some of his favorite moments that he's been a part of. We hear about the evolution of Chris's video work and his passion for using this medium to...

In podcast Episode 64 we speak with Chris Hearn, a man of the ocean from Newfoundland who is part of Discovery Channel's 'Disasters at Sea' television series that reexamine some of the most mysterious and harrowing sea disasters of the last 50 years. Chris takes us through his his work on the show helping to capture the human experience of maritime disasters that the show re-creates. We hear about...

In Episode 64 we speak with Mike Lenane, a man of Western Australia with strong passion for sharing the world of standup paddleboarding SUP with others. Mike takes us through his life growing up near Perth and the evolution of his ocean life with bodyboarding, surfing, and then SUP. We hear stories of Mike discovering SUP, building a lifestyle business around the sport, and his stoke for introduci...

In Episode 63 we speak with Stefan Simkovics, a man who found his passion for the ocean after spending time traveling the world with the US Navy. Stefan takes us through his enlistment process, choosing a ship to serve on, and the officer role he served on a 400 ft frigate ship. We hear of Stefan becoming a Navy rescue swimmer, his daily life on the ship, and operating along the east coast of Afri...

In Episode 62 we speak with Duke Brouwer, a man who has built an incredible life around the ocean and the surf industry. Duke takes us through his story of learning to surf in the 82/83 El Nino, managing the legendary Gordon & Smith surf shop in Southern California, and his years living, surfing, and diving on Maui. We hear of Duke's 14-year career with Surftech, the arrival of SUP, and great stor...

In Episode 61 we speak with George Peterson, a man of the water who has spent almost 2 decades years educating the world about our oceans through scuba diving. George takes us through his youth in Iowa, finding scuba diving in Colorado, and ultimately moving to the island of Utila, Honduras. We hear the story of George and friends building the first eco-friendly dive resort on Utila, stories of wh...

In Episode 60 we speak with Tom Wegener, a legend in the world of surfboard shaping who has spent the last 4 decades building and riding boards. Tom takes us through the story of his youth surfing and shaping in Southern California, the influence of Donald Takayama that helped guide Tom to pursue the art of shaping and find the spirit of "ohana", or family, that is a key part of longboard surfing...

In Episode 59 we speak with Maddi Leblanc, an amazing young woman from Ontario, Canada who continually shares her passion for standup paddling / SUP. We hear of Maddie's discovery of the sport of SUP as a young girl, the evolution of her paddling in local rivers and Great Lakes. Maddie shares her story of how the loss of 2 women close to her inspired her to create her non-profit event, On Board, t...

In the third episode of Stoked Grom Stories we speak with Levi and Judah Mulder, two young men who enjoy a life in the cold ocean around Santa Cruz, California. We hear of the brothers surfing together, competing on the middle school surf team, and growing up steps from Steamer Lane with a great group of friends. Levi and Judah take us through their move from Chicago to Santa Cruz as young kids, t...

In Episode 58 we speak with Alice Henley, a woman of South Florida who thrives on land and ocean endurance challenges. Alice shares her stories of finding her passion for prone paddling, her evolution as a competitive racer, and her mind-set to pull through the heavy mental challenges endurance sports present. Alice takes us through being seasick in the 2017 M2O race, and the incredible story of h...

In Episode 57 we speak with Max Montgomery, a surfer, diver, board paddler and man dedicated to helping others through ocean events. Max shares his stories of volunteering time for Ride A Wave and others that focus on getting persons with disabilities into the ocean. We hear of multiple events that Max has started himself including Paddle4Good and BestDay Foundation which continue to thrive around...

In Episode 56 we chat with Kailyn Winter, a 15-year old woman of the water who represented Team USA in the 2018 ISA World Paddleboard Championships. Kailyn shares her story of training and qualifying in rough water for the USA Team in Santa Cruz at the legendary Jay Race, the excitement of making the team, and her months of dedicated training and preparation for the ISA event. We hear of Kailyn's...

In Episode 55 we speak with Ted Harty, a man dedicated to helping freedivers around the world stay safe and and enjoy this great sport. Ted takes us through leaving his 9-5 corporate job for a life of scuba diving in the Florida Keys and ultimately finding his passion for freediving. We hear of Ted's pursuit to improve his freediving skills, training with some of the best in the world, and becomin...

In episode 54 we speak with Stefano Ulivi, a man of Italy who has devoted his life to raising awareness of ocean conservation through underwater filming. Stefano describes the underwater world of the Azores, an island group off the coast of Portugal, where he leads scuba diving tours and films the amazing animals of this special place. We hear of Pico Island, a relatively new volcanic island that...

In episode 53 we continue our conversation with Jenn Lee, a woman of Oahu who raced across the Kaiwi Channel on 4 different paddle craft in 2018. Jenn picks up toward the end of her race season as she joins a novice 6-man outrigger canoe team to battle the best teams in the world in the Na Wahine O Ke Kai race. We hear the story of Jenn's team challenging the field, working through the always gnar...

In Episode 52 we speak with Mike Wood, a lifelong surfer who grew up in the cold, kelpy waters of Santa Cruz in the 1950's. Mike takes us back to that time and describes the beach and surf scene in Santa Cruz and what the line-up was like at famous breaks like Cowells and Steamer Lane. We hear of Mike experimenting with various ways to stay warm in the cold water, like wearing wool sweaters, befor...