Surf Stories

The birth of Wave Tools became an instant curiosity when Robert Helphand and Tony Gentile interviewed Lance Collins for a different project back in 2018. That interview ignited a documentary project seven years in the making called Shaping the Future. Robert and Tony detailed the engineering and design of new shapes and techniques, and brought to cinematic life the loud, aggressive logos and surfi...

For those of you who didn't get to listen to Ben Whyte and Ali Mancuso on Episode 68 - Breaking Waves Sailing, don't fret, you can always go back and listen first, but it's not necessary. They have a wonderful story to tell here about crossing the pacific as rookies on a 41' sailboat named Kiana. Through an unexpected dry dock on a reef and a month long sabbatical near Tavarua, as well as some emp...

A writer first, Dan developed a love for surfing in the cold San Francisco water and turned heavily towards his move to Florida in his latest work On a Rising Swell , a memoir slash collection of his best work with surfing as a central character. Take the time to read this fantastic rendering from the mind of one of surfing's best new contributors. Our chat covers his stories and inspiration as we...

Sam George, surfer, writer, and filmmaker, has entertained readers and audiences with his gift of storytelling for years. The stories take many forms and many new threads come alive in his new work Child of Storms - A Surfing Memoir (In Progress) , available at diangelopublications.com . In addition to this writer's life, he's also made one of the best documentary films about surfing that no one h...

Greg Geiselman, an immigrant from the Bahamas, dropped out of a full-ride swimming scholarship as a result of a full-blown case of the surfing disease. Nothing would get in his way. He possesses the gift of absolute discipline and focus. From swimming at a world-class level to months-long Mexico runs, to shaping blanks and running the first East Coast shaping machine, he created Orion Surfboards,...

Kohl Christensen figured out a way to chase waves and make a living, much like many of us do, only the waves he chases are about 6 times larger than the biggest wave we've ever encountered. Immediately, we think of his 2019 skull-shattering wipeout at Pipeline, and next, about the organization he co-founded with friends to help people in exactly that kind of situation. BWRAG (Big Wave Risk Assessm...

Longtime New Smyrna Beach surfer, Jim Morris, joins us for a conversation about growing up brined and seasoned in Florida waters.  He evolved into an aficionado of surfboard shaping and shapers and put his surf-to-live attitude in first position.  Everything afterward fell right into place, leaving us with a few quality stories to meander through on this podcast.  Enjoy. Learn more about your ad c...

For Floridians, stepping up in critical, big waves is expected given the groundwork laid by Cory Lopez, among others. The hard yard gains came from Pete Lopez white-knuckling to Sebastian every weekend from the west coast of Florida, punching through orange grove shore pound and six-hour round-trip runs. Big or small, kegging or not, Cory defined grit and guts along side Andy Irons, battling Kelly...

Mitch Varnes fused his passion for surfing and work ethic to make a career in public affairs with NASA and a career in surf journalism and athlete management.  Aside from managing CJ and Damien Hobgood and Lisa Anderson's career for a time, he's been creating and managing distance running and triathlons.  Check in here with Mitch for a couple Puerto Rico surf stories…. Enjoy. Learn more about your...

Rob Machado's career momentum strayed from some of his peers and led him off tour and toward brand ambassadorships with some incredible people and companies who make sure we will find him in the surf regularly and hopefully on screen. We've been lucky enough to share quite a few great movies with Rob's effortless style, good humor, and memorable waves. We're so lucky to have the opportunity to hea...

For over 30 years, Emmy award winning photojournalist Bob Campi has been documenting news and entertainment from places like Afghanistan Iraq, The Middle East and The Oscars. During the COVID, crisis he set out to Hawaii to create a meaningful, lasting documentary about iconic shaper Dick Brewer, a larger than life personality who for 5 decades put his craft and engineering skills to use by changi...

Alex Mecl, CEO and Executive Producer at Bruce Brown Films, discusses his early motivation to work with Bruce and his family to ensure Bruce's work is disseminated to the world in perpetuity at little to no cost. Alex shares the details behind what it takes to run and connect all the right people and ideas to keep the enduring the stories rolling on camera and off, including working with Surfing's...

Thoreau said something like, "My friends have come unsought." Sometimes, when luck is on your side, a nice person will come into your life, and it just fits, and you want that energy around you like sunshine and good waves. Each time you have a conversation, surf, or round of golf with Bruce Reynolds @surfinista, you'll feel some of this good fortune. His story and visual art share a sense of what...

From the skinny brine of Mosquito Lagoon to north beach's relief at Ponce Inlet, Evan Geiselman has almost completed his back-to-the-sea, full-reptilian transformation. Fish-hunter, professional surfer, and... golfer? Yes, a damn fine golfer. The miracle at Pipeline rebirth-ed our very own stoked slayer of dragons back to life -- revitalized, refocused, and performing surface attacks and aerial ar...

Long-time shaper and Floridian, Randy Richenberg, joins us for a chat finally. A true technician in the practical nuances of fins, channel bottom, and other designs, Randy has put to use years of experience in the water, New Smyrna Beach's side of Ponce Inlet especially. He rides shortboards to this day to refine the biomimicry used on his proprietary fin designs, taken from marine life's evolutio...

In 2012 during a Spring Break in Costa Rica, the Lundequam family checked a surf spot and opted for a zip line tour while the tide changed. Halfway across the canyon, the guide appeared to drop a hoodie, and then back on platform two, Brett and Anne Marie heard the echo of gut-wrenching screams. Thirteen year-old, Matt, had become detached and disappeared deep into the rainforest. Listen in on thi...

In 1995, John Ashley set up camp at a left point in Baja, where he met Kevin, and the bromance began. Based out of Imperial Beach, John camped, surfed, kited, sup'd, rode motorcycles, learned to fly fish, and now, shares those adventures with friends and clients. We reminisced a lot, so please excuse our nostalgia, but many of you may find some joy in these bits of Baja. Make your adventure happen...

The Australian influence on American surfing, personified by the soul-arching Peter "PT" Townend, continues... PT talks early Florida competitions, Teahupo'o's Olympics, Big Wednesday , and his strategy for Timmy Turner's Second Thoughts . He's releasing a book soon to feature his ten favorite surf photos, full of stories and essays. The impact PT has had on the general stoke level of our culture,...

Luke Manning has been a resident of the Queensland/New South Wales borderlands since his early 20s. His daily labors involve all types of home remodeling projects, mostly high-end residences. His water displacement power surfing dates him to the 80s of Gary "Kong" Elkerton, and when you meet him, you feel like you're meeting an action movie star. The humility, charisma, and humor can't possibly co...

Rusty Miller's early, regular foot surfing had competitive roots with Duke finals in '67 and '68, but quickly went brand ambassador with a national Hamm's Beer billboard ad, bombing down a sunset monster. Earning a history degree and traveling the world landed him in Australia and Indonesia, firmly indoctrinated into surf cinema canon with a featured presence in Morning of the Earth at Uluwatu, by...

Alabaman and Floridian, Bill Conner, started his career making leather sandals on the gold coast of Australia in the early 70s. At some point, he pivoted to hats. "Why make hats instead of sandals? Because you only have to make one." Paul Hogan supercharged demand for his craftsmanship unintentionally, or at least the costume designer on Crocodile Dundee did, when the movie came out. European dema...

We're happy to have factory kid, Simon Jones, join us for a conversation about his Sydney high school drop-out roots, to Bryon Bay, to finding the shaping room. Working next to Paul Hutchinson, Simon cold-called Albe Falzon to make Morning of the Earth surfboards a reality, which he rakes to this day on a handshake deal. It's now a specialty brand with limited releases, all the while keeping Simon...

Scott Hulet, editor, author, and spring keeper, dives into some early, middle, and remaining days with a new book out. Flow Violento can be found for purchase at The Surfer's Journal website . He has worked with the journal as well as other publications for over 25 years. We complete the circle here, finally, with a sit down at Atlantic Center for the Arts. Enjoy this casual reminder that Scott ha...

Shaun Tomson won a world title in 1977 and began developing his skills as a speaker on topics of personal adversity, growth, and writing your code, your best intentions, for day to day living. Needless to say, he eloquently shares thoughts on relaunching his brand from the 80's, Instinct, and how he used a $100 budget from Surfrider Foundation founder, Glenn Hening, to inspire surfers to prioritiz...

We find Derek Hynd, former professional surfer, writer, and shaper, at The Pass in Byron Bay after an email back and forth, the only way he communicates these days. It's been a few years since we've seen him at the festival in 2018, and he graciously entertains our offer for some stories. Kevin was nervous still, and John is similarly entranced by Derek ability to tell stories. We're so thankful f...