Best Waterpeople Podcasts (2024)

1
Otto Flores: Stepping Up 1:04:06

1d ago1:04:06

1:04:06

Many professional athletes struggle to transition from their sport-as-career. The highs are often out of reach for pedestrian life - especially for pro surfers who spend their years in whirlwinds of hedonistic wave chasing. For Puerto Rican tube connoisseur Otto Flores, the key to transition was community. After many national titles and a spell on …

1
Danny Johnson: Don't Overthink It 1:12:53

2h ago1:12:53

1:12:53

We’re getting tangential. This episode is part of a three episode slip slide behind the scenes of a project that Dave’s been working on for the better part of 2024: The Electric Acid Surfboard test. It's a series that explores “alternative” surfboard design. Basically, iconic surfers on left-field, experimental surf craft. Our very own aquatic womb…

1
Kiana Weltzien: More with Less 1:02:40

3d ago1:02:40

1:02:40

When was the last time you followed a spark of curiosity all the way to some distant shoreline? Kiana Weltzien's ocean adventures began in 2016 when she left her real estate career in Miami for a year of travel. Along the way, she met a mentor and moved onto his boat; a replica Polynesian double-canoe. She sensed that this was her new way of life. …

1
Jamie Brisick: Breaking the Surface 1:15:02

6d ago1:15:02

1:15:02

Who modelled kindness for you? Who showed you how to be kind and curious in the face of difference? Before he was a Fulbright Scholar, Jamie Brisick surfed on the ASP world tour from 1986 to 1991, and has since documented surf culture extensively. His writings and photographs have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, and The Guardian. Ja…

1
Josie Prendergast: Tidal Transitions 1:08:08

1M ago1:08:08

1:08:08

Longevity in any career begs for reinvention. With more than a decade at the pro surfing game, Josie Prendergast has been navigating new waters in her career - by taking the reins on her own storytelling. Born in Siargao and raised in both Australia and the Philippines, Josie is a standout surfer on any craft – from 10+ gliders to fishes – and she’…

1
Hanneke Boon: At the Helm 1:07:55

2M ago1:07:55

1:07:55

Did sailing have more to do with early human locomotion than the wheel? Hanneke Boon, head of James Wharram Designs, suggests that may be so. Born in the Netherlands, Hanneke grew up in a sailing family. She was building and sailing Polynesian Catamarans at the age of fourteen and joined the James Wharram team at the age of 20. A gifted artist / gr…

1
Bob McTavish: Trim & Wonder 57:56

3M ago57:56

57:56

Over the last half century, Bob McTavish has shaped thousands of custom surfboards. Always an innovator in surfboard design and technology, Bob pioneered cutting edge changes to the basic concept of a surfboard. In 1965, he started tinkering with rail and bottom design to maximise performance. This was part of the movement that would become known a…

1
Ruby Southwell: Natural Action 1:18:38

3M ago1:18:38

1:18:38

Did you feel safe in your childhood home? If not, were you able to leave, or did you have to stay? Ruby Southwell hit the road, travelling solo for years, searching for guidance. What she found was a deep and clear inner well - and a renewed love for riding waves. At age 22, Ruby moved to Indonesia’s remote Mentawai Islands, where she surf guided, …

1
Brett Burcher: Deep Breaths 1:08:32

4M ago1:08:32

1:08:32

What's the most challenging experience you've faced? Did it ultimately hinder or heighten your self-clarity? Brett Burcher is a heavy water specialist - a slab hunter who chases the thickest waves to some of the most far flung locations. He was given an irrevocable invitation to learn to lay down, be still and breathe when he hit the reef and suffe…

1
Levelling Breath Practice with Brett Burcher 7:25

4M ago7:25

7:25

As a follow up to our episode with heavy water specialist Brett Burcher we wanted to share a couple of breathwork practices that Brett found most practical in his own life - whether he’s dealing with insomnia, or about to drop into a bomb set wave. This is a levelling breath practice— not an upper or downer -- just a way to reconnect with a gentle …

1
Energising Breath Practice with Brett Burcher 2:39

4M ago2:39

2:39

In this bonus episode slab hunter Brett Burcher takes us through an energising breath practice that he’s found useful when you need a little extra pep in your step. This is your reminder: breathe like you mean it. Send us a text ... Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll A…

1
Nidala Barker: Where We Belong 1:36:57

5M ago1:36:57

1:36:57

“Whether or not you think you belong to the Earth is irrelevant, for you simply do. By virtue of breathing in you receive a gift of oxygen given by the tree and soil, by virtue of breathing out you gift carbon dioxide to the kelp so the fish may have their home. To accept our shared responsibility to the Earth, IS to remember our belonging.” – Nida…

1
Dr. Kevin Stone: How to Play Forever 49:59

5M ago49:59

49:59

Why are some octogenarians still surfing, while others struggle to walk up the stairs? It isn’t luck. Harvard and Stanford trained Orthopaedic surgeon Kevin R. Stone, MD, believes that injuries present as opportunities to better our athletic potential - they can make us fitter, faster, and stronger than before. He is the author of Play Forever: How…

1
Pauline Menczer: The Uncensored Underdog 1:25:06

6M ago1:25:06

1:25:06

How to fund a pro surfing career in the 1980s? Sell stickers, Levi’s jeans, bicycles, whatever. Sleep in your board bag. Live on a diet of mushrooms and bread. World Champion Pauline Menczer got resourceful and hustled however it took to get her to the next stop of the tour. “In the 80s and 90s, surf culture was toxic, especially towards women. Pau…

1
Sung Min Cho: African Aloha 1:11:51

6M ago1:11:51

1:11:51

When is surfing about more than just selfish wave hoggery? Mozambique’s first professional surfer, Sung Min Cho, or ‘Mini’ for short, is writing a new story for surfing – he’s part of a burgeoning surf culture rising from the wake of three decades of armed conflict in the region. In 2018, Mini co-counded Tofo surf club, Mozambique’s outpost of Surf…

1
Torren Martyn & Aiyana Powell: Solo, Together 1:36:15

6M ago1:36:15

1:36:15

Ever want to pack up normalcy and set sail over the horizon? What’s it really like to live at sea for a year and rarely be further than 35 feet from your new significant other? Torren Martyn and Aiyana Powell talk us through the peaks and troughs of life aboard Calypte, a borrowed 35-foot sailing boat that they spent 12 months sailing 9,000-kilomet…

1
Annie Ford: Adventurous Activism 1:42:44

10M ago1:42:44

1:42:44

The loudest human-made sounds: Nuclear Bomb (224 dB), Rocket launch (204 dB). And clocking in at 260 underwater decibels is the seismic blast, part of a process for exploring for oil and gas in the ocean. Unlike bombs and rockets, however, seismic blasts "fire approximately every 10 seconds around the clock for months at a time." For eight years, M…

1
Sally Parkin: Sell the House 1:05:11

11M ago1:05:11

1:05:11

Are you investing in yourself and your curiosities? At 63, Sally Parkin sold her home to spend the better part of 2023 surfing in Australia with her family. Sally is known for "single handedly" reviving the 100 year old tradition of English surfing on wooden bodyboards. She first surfed one at age 5, and decades later, when her family's quiver star…

1
Stu Nettle: Voice & Vertigo 1:13:30

11M ago1:13:30

1:13:30

Injuries are mostly out of our control. But recovery offers many choices. Will we allow the scar tissue to stiffen or soften us? Stu Nettle is the editor of Swellnet, one of Australia's leading independent surf media and forecasting sites, where he has written about board design, surf industry happenings, surf science, and coastal geology since 200…

1
Pacha Lina Luque Light: Learning the Language 1:41:32

11M ago1:41:32

1:41:32

Raised on a diet of deep ecology and the DIY spirit of her single mom, Pacha Light earned her first surfboard busking as a tween. She then forged her way into professional surfing as a teenager on Australia’s Gold Coast: signing a big endemic sponsor, training every day, and making a name for herself as a competitor and surf model. Until she couldn…

1
Tyler C. Wilde: The Missing Piece 1:09:07

12M ago1:09:07

1:09:07

Have you ever felt like something was wrong, but you weren't quite sure how to name it? Tyler Wilde is a teacher and bodysurfer from southern California. In 2017, Tyler won the prestigious International Surf Festival bodysurfing contest and was later voted into the Gillis Beach Bodysurfing Association as one of their youngest members. As a physical…

1
Tom Carroll: Under the Lip 1:24:54

1y ago1:24:54

1:24:54

A little fire can keep you warm; a big fire can burn your house down. Two time ASP World Surfing Champion Tom Carroll speaks candidly about his struggles to harness the power that made him famous. From the highs of professional surfing to addiction and meditation, his large life is a study in harnessing and honing one's power in mind and body. Few …

1
Christian and Ka'ale Sea: Many Beginnings 2:00:25

1y ago2:00:25

2:00:25

Many of us dream of laying roots in some balmy, wave-rich location far from where we sprouted - to grow food and let the ocean dictate the day. Few of us do it. Christian and Ka'ale Sea have spent the last 21 years together - surfing, diving, planting, growing a family. They have three daughters, all homeschooled on the remote West Coast of Sumba I…

1
Flora Christin Butarbutar: Kampung Life 1:07:08

1y ago1:07:08

1:07:08

Around 500,000 people were displaced by the 2018 earthquake that rocked the island of Lombok in Indonesia. It was estimated that 80% of all structures were levelled on the North of the island. At the time, Flora Christin Butarbutar, then in her early 20s, had taken up surfing on the Island of Bali. Originally from Sumatra, Flora was shaken by the n…

1
Moana Jones Wong: Awakening 1:09:12

1y ago1:09:12

1:09:12

Can a single wave really change your life? For Hawaiian waterwoman Moana Jones Wong, one wave changed everything. She shares about the fated, sparkling bomb at Pipeline that altered both her sense of self, and her surfing career. Moana made history by winning the first ever Women’s Championship Tour event at Pipeline. As a North Shore local, she cu…

1
Lewis Arnold and Chris Nelson: Neoprene is Toxic 1:17:49

1+ y ago1:17:49

1:17:49

What do neoprene wetsuits have to do with Cancer Alley ? The global wetsuit industry is valued at around $2.8 Billion USD. "The vast majority of wetsuits on sale today are made of a synthetic rubber called Neoprene. Neoprene – the commercial name for chloroprene rubber – is the product of a toxic, carcinogenic chemical process. There is only one ch…

1
Felicity Palmateer: Nature’s Course 58:13

1+ y ago58:13

58:13

If you only had 10 healthy years left of life, would you choose to know it ? Big wave surfer Felicity Palmateer is known for her paddle-ins at Peahi, commentating WSL events, starring in Australian Survivor (twice) and holding the record for largest wave ever ridden by an Aussie woman. Parallel to her successful surfing career, Felicity has navigat…

1
Elizabeth Nguyen: Ancestral Stream 1:16:26

1+ y ago1:16:26

1:16:26

“Each of us occupies a singular ecological niche in the web of life that is uniquely ours, and when we restore ourselves to health and vitality, we contribute to the health and vitality of our entire planet.” Such is the philosophy of psychiatrist and surfer Dr. Elizabeth Nguyen. Dr. Nguyen specialises in cross cultural psychiatry, the intersection…

1
Chris Del Moro: Lead with Deeds 1:40:01

1+ y ago1:40:01

1:40:01

With gender norms up in the air, what does it mean to be a dad today? For Chris Del Moro, it means showing up for it all - good, bad, and messy - and maintaining stability for his family. Chris is an artist, surfer and devoted father to his two boys. He shares about the pivotal experiences with his own fathers and mentors that shaped him into the s…

1
Belen Alvarez Kimble: Watch Me 1:33:18

1+ y ago1:33:18

1:33:18

When was the last time you refused to take 'no' for an answer ? Belen Alvarez Kimble shares about the life-changing instance when she pushed against cultural norms and expectations to lay down her life's path. Belen occupied one of the very few positions as a professional freesurfer through the early 2000s and worked with surf brands as an ambassad…

1
Rusty Miller: Surfing Through Life 1:36:03

1+ y ago1:36:03

1:36:03

What's possible in the eighth decade of life? Rusty Miller will be 80 this year - and he's still rocking off at Lennox Point and taking off on the best set waves. Born in Southern Californian, Rusty was the 1965 United States Surfing Champion. He moved to Byron Bay Australia in 1970, where he has since lived, surfed, taught, and written about surfi…

1
Season 5 Trailer 13:07

1+ y ago13:07

13:07

Welcome back for the 5th Season of The Waterpeople Podcast. Listen in as Dave and Lauren turn the mic on one another and get set for 16 fresh episodes of ocean-centric storytelling. .... Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich Sound Engineer: Ben Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Dave & Ben Join the conversation: @Wa…

1
James Nestor: Shut Your Mouth 1:10:49

1+ y ago1:10:49

1:10:49

Is your mouth open or closed right now ? There is nothing more essential to our health and well-being than breathing: we take air in, let it out, and repeat 25,000 times a day. But most of us have forgotten how to do it properly. Journalist, aquanaut, surfer and author James Nestor's latest book BREATH: the New Science of a Lost Art explores the mi…

1
Laola Lake Aea: Maka'ala 55:01

2y ago55:01

55:01

Lore of the Waikiki Beach Boys is well known – those legendary Hawaiian watermen like Duke Kahanamoku and Rabbit Kekai who regulated the turf of one surfing’s most fabled beaches. But where were the wahine ? Today we’re in conversation with original Waikiki Wahine Beach Boy Laola Lake, champion outrigger paddler, surfer and ocean safety advocate. L…

1
Rick Ridgeway: Wild Life 1:08:39

2y ago1:08:39

1:08:39

How will we choose to spend this one wild and precious life? Rick Ridgeway has devoted his seven decades to adventuring Earth's widest seas and tallest peaks -- and working to protect the wildness that remains. Rick's earliest adventures were oceanic – sailing and surfing – but he’s recognized amongst the world’s foremost mountineers. In 1976 he jo…

1
Peggy Oki: Artful Activism 1:29:51

2y ago1:29:51

1:29:51

As a member of the Zephyr skateboard team in the 1970’s -- made famous by the documentary Dogtown and Z Boys -- Peggy Oki was at the top of the women’s skateboarding world while pioneering the vertical skating movement alongside the DogTown crew of Jay Adams, Tony Alva and Stacey Peralta, as the lone Z-Girl. Peggy is a surfer, skater, rock climber,…

1
Jock Sutherland: Muscle Memory 1:08:31

2y ago1:08:31

1:08:31

In early 1970, Jock Sutherland enlisted in the U.S. Army to fight in Vietnam. At that time, he was considered amongst the most visible and versatile surfers on the planet. The surfing world was shocked; and so was his mother. Jock never made it to active duty, but spent two years in the service, after which he was rarely included in surf media. In …

1
Bonus: Guided Meditation with Nathan Oldfield 15:00

2y ago15:00

15:00

Following on from our full length episode, Nathan Oldfield shares about his decade-long relationship with practicing and teaching meditation, and talks us through a short guided meditation that he offers to school children. … Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich Sound Engineer: Ben Alexander Soundtrack By: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional musi…

1
Nathan Oldfield: Breathing Room 1:11:53

2y ago1:11:53

1:11:53

Nathan Oldfield has journeyed into the depths of grief, and back, to make surf films brimming with reverence for the extraordinary beauty of life. He has crafted six award winning films, most recently The Heart & The Sea, and The Church of the Open Sky, which earned the Special Honor for Most Heart at the Xpedition Film Festival in Colorado. Nathan…

1
Andy Ridley: Crowd Power 50:00

2y ago50:00

50:00

Most conservation organisations mirror corporations in structure, operation, and strategy. But has that been effective? Andy Ridley, founder of Earth Hour and Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef, doesn't think so. He's asking how we build the 21st century conservation operation with the citizen at its heart. "The traditional way of doing conservatio…

1
Karina Petroni: Gumption 1:28:52

2y ago1:28:52

1:28:52

What happens when you lose it all? After a successful, 14 year professional surfing career, Karina Petroni discovered that all of her earnings and assets had suspiciously vaporised. Karina was born and raised in the Panama Canal Zone, but is known as one of The East Coast's surf prodigies. In 2006, the New York Times called her one of the “scions o…

1
Gwyn Haslock: First Lady 37:22

2y ago37:22

37:22

Gwyn Haslock has nearly 6 decades of surfing under her belt. She was born in Cornwall in 1945, and is renowned as one of the UK’s original surfers. Gwyn holds many competitive surfing accolades, including multiple British National Champion titles. We first heard about – and wrote about -- Gwyn’s story in 2015 after connecting with English bellyboar…

1
Chelsea Woody: Cultivating Kinship 1:21:27

2y ago1:21:27

1:21:27

For many, 2020 was the worst. Chelsea Woody, a neuroscience nurse who moonlights as a Vans surf ambassador, is clear that it was “the worst year of her life.” After getting COVID from work, and subsequently experiencing a painful loss, — while witnessing the suffering of so many through the pandemic - Chelsea wished (for the first time) that she’d …

1
Jack Johnson: Time, Dreams & The Heart 56:45

2+ y ago56:45

56:45

In Greek myth, staring at the monster Medusa would turn mortals to stone; one needed a mirror to take the edge off. Surfer, filmmaker and musician Jack Johnson reckons music and art can play a similar role in reflecting more digestible, less paralysing iterations of the ills and obstacles facing us all. Jack studied film at UCSB, and went on to mak…

1
Kshisya Tachanskaya: Gifting Good Days 40:40

2+ y ago40:40

40:40

What if your homeland was suddenly the target of foreign attacks ? What would you do? Ukrainian Kshisya Tachanskaya fled with her two children, a few belongings, reluctantly kissed her husband farewell, and drove for a familiar coast -- some 4000km away (2500 miles). Kshisya is part of Ukraine’s tight knit surfing community who enjoy the couple of …

1
Tom Wegener: The Artisan's Way 1:23:06

2+ y ago1:23:06

1:23:06

Unlike golf clubs and tennis racquets, surfboards are still largely made by local artisans. But, what sets the surfboard making industry apart from parallel industries? Why do local shapers still make boards? Master shaper Tom Wegener examines this question -- and much more -- in his PhD thesis and book Surfboard Artisans: For the Love. "How can an…

1
Tom Wegener: Part 2 33:30

2+ y ago33:30

33:30

Part Two of our meandering conversation with master shaper Tom Wegener talking the nitty gritty of board construction, how he almost got the call to be in The Endless Summer II, experimenting with ancient techniques in the shaping bay and which mode of wave riding is stoking him out the most right now. ... Tom started shaping and glassing in 1978 i…

1
Welcome to Season Four 55:40

2+ y ago55:40

55:40

Waterpeople is back with a fourth season of stories about the aquatic experiences that shape us, change us, and call us into this quirky community of water folk across the globe. This season we'll hear from 16 waterpeople - some globally renowned, others under appreciated - and learn about the moments that changed everything. In this episode we sit…

1
Sam Bloom: Gravity & Buoyancy 1:08:00

2+ y ago1:08:00

1:08:00

What happens when life calls you to face your fears? Surfer, adventurer and mother of three Sam Bloom had to face that call after a 2013 family holiday went tragically wrong. Sam is a two-time world para surfing champion. She is the bestselling author of two books, and the subject of the 2020 film Penguin Bloom, starring Naomi Watts. Those three wo…

1
Committed to Questions 1:27:22

2+ y ago1:27:22

1:27:22

To wrap up the third season, Lauren and Dave turn the mic on one another for a meandering chat through surf adventure stories, common questions from listeners, and their own answers to the central Waterpeople question about a time or experience after which you were never the same. We'll be back with a stacked fourth season in May or June, full of f…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Waterpeople Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Quick Reference Guide

zproxy.org