SUPfm The International Stand Up Paddle Board Podcast

John McFadzean is a master at embracing opportunities and going for it and it was a random glance out of his third floor apartment window which started him on his challenge to stand-up paddleboard every country in the world. He has now paddled 45 out out of the 193 countries in his sights, and in this episode John tells Simon about his favourite spots, his bizarre experiences and the most enjoyabl...

The Stand Up Paddle Industry Association is the trade organization of all stand up paddle businesses and has played a pivotal role in the development of the sport. Kristin, as a founding member of the association, has been there from the beginning. She talks to Nick from her home in Southern California and tells us all about her connection with SUP Connect where she has done a series of Instagram...

As we reach the mid point (ish) of Season Two we take a departure from our usual interview format with a episode we've wanted to do for a while...our favourite SUP and water books. Whether it's getting some holiday reading or something to keep you satisfied if you're not able to get out onto the water, in this episode we discuss our favourites : if you want to be inspired by adventu...

Originally from New York, Christian Shaw paddles out of Santa Cruz, California and is a water-man with a huge focus on stand up paddling. He's a SUP Surfer, whitewater paddler and a competitor at races including the 11 cities...he certainly rolls up his sleeves and gets involved. After a conference in 2014, Christian and fellow environmentalists were inspired to set up Plastic Tides , an organisat...

This episode features the creator of PADDLE LOGGER which is consistently the most regularly recommended tracker app amongst stand-up paddlers worldwide. We recently put together a list of the most useful apps that we use, on and off the water, and David Walker's PADDLE LOGGER was the simplest and most useful tracker in the collection. He tells the story of how it all started down at Exeter Univers...

As we start plastic-free July, we've got the perfect episode to get you fired up!⁠ ⁠Joe is an ex-surfer who got the stand-up paddle bug in a big way. His refusal to accept the volumes of trash which found their way into his stretch of the Potomac, turned into a daily ritual. Every day he gets onto the water using an over sized paddle-board to clear as much garbage as he can from the water. Alongsi...

Stand up paddle legend from Sydney Australia, James Casey, has won the Australian title 5 times and clinched an impressive win in the world's most challenging paddle race . Nick chats to James all about his early surf days, finding sup with a garden rake (?) and perfecting his paddle technique to win and win and win. You can feel the love he has for the sport when he starts describing the boards h...

Robert Stehlik started Blue Planet Surf back in the early 90's and it became Blue Planet SUP as he realized the implications of the booming stand up paddle industry. Based in Hawaii a stone's throw away from Waikiki Beach and Ala Moana Beach Park in Honululu, his brand has become one of the foundations of the industry. Renowned for their thriving Youtube channel, Blue Planet SUP has put out hundre...

Canadian national paddler Maddi Leblanc's incredible enthusiasm for the sport shines through in every word of this interview. A talented paddler, she was asked in 2018 to join the Canada team at the ISA Championships in China following her domination of events across her native Ontario. In this episode she shares her infectious enthusiasm for stand-up paddleboarding, her unfinished business on the...

This week we are celebrating Paul Hyman's ten year old mission to get Londoners on the water. There are almost 9 million of you and so many are enjoying the waterways that surround the capital of the United Kingdom. Many have engaged in the cleanups, races, relays and adventure trips that Paul has been behind. We discuss all the events that he has initiated and supported over the years both in Lon...

If you looked at the map of Europe and began to ponder a stand up paddle board adventure, a blue streak would leap out at you. The Danube River commences it's 3,000 km journey in south western Germany and plunges down a racy course towards Munich but manages to weave in between Stuttgart and Munich before flowing through Austria, taking in Vienna before assuming the mantle of a border between Slov...

**Correction : Please be aware that the Yukon 1000 is in miles and not KM as stated in the episode ** Tony Bain is a Kiwi based in North Wales and the owner of Green Dragon Activities, a multi-discipline centre encompassing SUP and other water-sports. Tony has taken part in a number of adventures in his native New Zealand and the UK, however his grittiest experiences was taking on his childhood dr...

In 2018 Sian Sykes' completed an epic trip circumnavigating Wales by paddle-board. This entertaining episode tells of her journey, her sticky moments and her work to spread the word about single-use plastics. A regional representative for Surfers Against Sewage, Sian is passionate about the state of our water and paddled the inland waterways and the perilous coastline of Wales encountering wildlif...

April Zilg has an amazing story, morphing from a couch potato to serious contender. Coming second in the Stand Up Paddle world in 2019 cements that thinking. We have huge admiration for anyone who rips their life around in such a wonderfully positive way. Listen to her first forays into paddling in the Carolinas, USA, her subsequent success at the Carolina Cup and many other races. We dig deep int...

Recorded during lockdown and (seemingly) from inside a tin box, Simon chats to Lizzie Carr about how a major life event combined with SUP, fundamentally changed the direction of her life. Lizzie’s SUP adventures started with a paddle through England’s waterways covering 643 KM of canals and recording the pollution and litter on the way. She followed this with the first female solo crossing of the...

Fiona Wylde grew up in Hood River with a large portion of her childhood spent down in Mexico. The only child of what seems like super cool parents, she kicked off her water sports career with windsurfing and jumped on a SUP at the age of 12. When she was 18 and really kicking off her career she was suddenly diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. She pursued professional paddle boarding in the face of a r...

From his early days in Portugal, to the UK to Hawaii, Tristan Boxford has led a vibrant life embracing all aspects of the ocean. After experiencing the joys of being a professional windsurfer way back when, he jumped on to stand up paddle boarding as early as 2008, being a part of what could be the very first ever stand up paddle race at the "Ocean Games". All the Hawaiian pros showed up and thing...

Cal Major is the legend that set out to become the first ever human being to paddle the well trodden path between Lands End down south in Cornwall (right on the south western tip of England) and John O'Groats up at the North Western tip of Scotland. We talk about her trials, tribulations and the pure joy she endured along the way. Let's not mention pure exhaustion too. She also created a wonderful...

Tez is the editor of SUPMAGUK and a leading light in the stand-up-paddle world with a wealth of knowledge and product testing across all water sport disciplines.  In this episode we cover a range of subjects including a review of the world of SUP and how things have changed since his last recording on the show. Foiling is one of those eye catching innovations which has really popped in the la...

When Bertrand van der Berg called Nick from SUPfm back in 2016 to join him and his team to be the first people to SUP the Zambezi, he shuddered. Nick had been introduced to white water rafting on the Zambezi back in 1991 and subsequently became a river guide, so he knew what they were in for. He declined :) However, the team of 8 charged on and adopted a mission to save the Rhinos along the way. T...

NOTE: We mention the 11 Cities SUP Tour which is actually 220km - more info here: https://www.sup11citytour.com/ Our podcast was with Ike Franz https://www.supfm.show/episode/11-cities-sup-tour-in-the-netherlands-ike-franz It's fantastic to see the growth of the sport since we last recorded back in 2015. Simon has moved on and lets us know about what's going on in his life regarding stand up paddl...

Tez Plavenieks Tez is founding editor of  Stand Up Paddle Mag UK ,  Windsurfing UK Mag , editor of  Sitons.com  and contributes to numerous magazines. His expertise and knowledge across all action sports is extensive. He is one of the original stand up paddlers from the UK and continues to paddle, windsurf, surf to a high level and is one of the early adopters of windsurf hydro...

There are two ways you can complete this 220km Stand Up Paddle Marathon: over five days or in one great big continuous paddle. Our man Ike, decided to do it in one big gulp. Here is his story. Originally recorded back in 2015 we are now releasing this for the first time as part of the resurgence of our SUPfm Podcast. We hope you enjoy it and if you do, we'd like to invite you to become a part of o...

In a new and unreleased episode that was recorded way back in 2015, Nick chats to Dave Cornthwaite about his Guinness World Record breaking stand up paddle trip down the Mississippi River in the United States of America. It's a fascinating journey down the river that Dave relates. He chats about how it feels to do something that no one else has ever done. Great Books We also talked about some book...

This week Nick and Simon review season one in advance of the September return of SUPfm series two. This episode is sponsored by the National Watersports Festival 2015. Every year the UK resort of Hayling Island is given over to a weekend of SUP, windsurf and kite surfing. It’s a time for racing, fun events and partying by the sea. This year SUP takes it’s place squarely and firmly alongside it’s o...