Bleav in Surf Center

Matt Titone and Ron Thompson started Italic studio way the hell back in 2006, and they've been killing their own meat ever since. With an impressive client roster that includes Google, Reebok, and Patagonia, etc. and an exceptional philanthropic program, Matt and Ron somehow also find the time to publish the acclaimed book series; "Surf Shacks" through their Indoek brand. With the latest title, "On Surfing," Matt humbly explains a bit about his process and the importance of saying no to shit you don't want to do, even if it means walking away from money.

Our guest for episode 26 (we've skipped 25 for now) has been the quiet lifestyle marketing architect responsible for building some of the world's best brands. His track record includes the golden-growth era of Red Bull, the rebirth of Pabst Blue Ribbon. Now, as the VP, Lifestyle Marketing at Liquid Death–Steven "Stix" Nilson is on a mission to commit murder on thirst everywhere.

Seeing opportunity where others don't is one thing but to have the intellect and tenacity to truly take advantage of it is rare. Twenty-plus years ago, our guest; Steve Astephen began helping action sports athletes leverage their abilities to influence millions of young consumers and helped broker industry-defining deals on their behalf.

In today's corporate culture, the ability for brand leaders to step-up and make an executive decision is virtually non-existent. Consensus-culture means brands are more interested in protecting fragile egos than rewarding true innovation. We're all too timid to take accountability and put our jobs on the line to make a big bet on something we believe in, which is why brands are failing and careers are stalling. During his 20 year career at Red Bull, our guest Chris Mater–current CEO of Surfing Australia–is an example of someone who was willing to put his job on the line over and over again to achieve extraordinary outcomes–and along the way, he and his team changed the world of sport and sports marketing forever.

Episode 22 features Dr. Andy Walshe of Liminal Collective. Andy is best known to many as the architect of the Red Bull High Performance program, during his tenure there, Andy prepared athletes to perform at the highest possible level of sport. In his pursuit of the bleeding edge of future-leaning performance results, Andy and team began looking toward the distant past to hack into our primal human traditions.

In our second sit-down with Michael Oblowitz, we dig into all of the salacious details of one of the greatest surf documentary's ever made (yet never released); Sea of Darkness. In this episode, Oblowitz deftly describes surfing's glorious, yet nefarious past and brings to life the few feral pioneers who would risk it all to keep living their indo dream.

For Episode #20 of Surf Center we were fortunate enough to host Cynthia Rowley–who by the way, is our new hero. Not only is she a fashion icon and fearless design pioneer but her hopeless addiction to surfing has led to her to her latest design obsession; wetsuits. According to Cynthia, wetsuits are all she wants to design and it shows, The Cynthia Rowley wetsuit range is bold and inventive but most importantly, totally untethered to the traditional design limitations of the surf industry. For more about Cynthia's wetsuit range click here

This week we sit with Yoon Sul, The Berrics in-house photographer since its inception. We chat with Yoon about pivoting at the right time and the experiences that force us shift our focus. Chad and Dooma talk about everything from Italo being able to beat Freddy Morais going switch to Surfrider Foundation calling BS on wave pools. Lincoln Eather from Empire Ave breaks down how the WSL stacks up against other leagues when it comes to social media and we’ve got another product review, and of course some Doomas Rumors to round it out the episode.

In today's world, we're all fans of something, from Sports to Hollywood and even Politics, we all attach ourselves to the success of celebrities – so when they win, we win and when they lose, we lose– This tribal, vicarious relationship between hero and fan creates so much business opportunity because when the emotion of fanaticism takes root there’s no limit to how much we’ll sacrifice to show our devotion. We speak to Michael Gallucci, Co-founder of SportsMemorabilia.com, former VP of Fanatics to walk us through some of the finer points of leveraging fandom. We also visit with Lincoln Eather who breaks down the Surf media winners and losers and which tactics they are using to grow their audiences.

The box office has been cruel to surfing's ego. Not since Surf’s Up has surfing been depicted accurately by the Hollywood elite. That was until filmmaker Michael Oblowitz made ‘Sea Of Darkness’ In 2010. A film that was going to be the Phoenix rising from surfing's ashes needed and save the industry from its vanilla self. Unfortunately, a mysterious band of kooks had other plans, and thus, not since its acclaimed festival circuit debut has Sea of Darkness seen the light of day. Join us as we sit down with Michael and learn the full story.

"Living at the beach isn't the answer. Guys who live at the beach get waterlogged. I'm there for the waves, nothing else" - Dora.There are few surf spots that captivate the mainstream imagination of what surf culture is supposed to be more than First Point Malibu. Celebrities, super-models, billionaires, ex-pros, bums and hustlers have descended on Malibu since the days of Gidget, Dora, Tubesteak and Moondoggie–and now, the rightful heirs to the hedonistic first point orgy share their plan for mass mind control, manipulation and thousand year rule.

This week on Surf Center, we had the pleasure of interviewing the godfather of surf Travel; Sean Murphy. Sean gives us his insight into the current state of surf travel in a post-covid-19 reality and provides us a deeper understanding of the unwavering customer-first ethos that has made Waterways the undisputed leader in surf travel.

This week, after one Surf Center guest fell victim to a prolonged hallucinogenic trip down the Malibu rabbit hole and the other was lost to Trump’s authoritarian immigration policy, we were forced to fall back on some old familiar skills; conjecture, pontification and unqualified gossip, but other than the fake news, everything else is 100% objective fact...we think. Enjoy lucky episode #13.

We catch up with the visionary Michael February to discuss the continuing Covid-19 lockdown in South Africa, what he's been up to during quarantine (hint: Father, Son shape-off) and a bit about how to make surfing more relevant and accessible to more people of color in Africa and beyond

Covid Chronicles Update with Russ "Doc" Kino. We were fortunate enough to have another visit from Russ "Doc" Kino who gives us an update on the science, disease, treatments and whether or not we should surf, if we're likely to see WSL Contests resume this year and if he and his colleagues expect to see a protest-driven spike in cases.

As the world burns the surf industry sits by watching in the bubble of white privilege. From blanket statements from Oak Tree Capital to doing nothing at all from Hurley, RipCurl and brands alike. If there's ever been a time to get angry as a surfer and make some real change, it's now. In this episode Dooma Fahrenfort and Chad White focus on what's going on in America and what the surf community is (or isn't) doing. They sit down with Nick Stolz, the founder of Surf Care, a new insurance company for your surfboard and dissect how $7.99 a month will cover your most prized possession.

Social media is more than just a box to tick, over the course of the last decade, it's become the center of the marketing universe, so why are so many brands whose only hope lies in attracting young consumers getting it so wrong? In this episode, Damien and Chad theorize, pontificate, and take wild guesses to find the answers until we mercifully joined by Lincoln Eather who quickly make sense of the whole mess. Don't forget to tune-in for the uncut version of Lincolns interview dropping Tuesday, 5-26-20

We love Sal because he has an opinion and a unique point of view. He stands up for what he believes and isn’t afraid to speak truth to the chorus of the narrow-minded voices coming from the surf industry. He rubs shoulders with Hollywood elite and splits peaks with surf royalty, but at the end of the day, he’s just a frothing grom like the rest of us. In this episode, Sal unpacks the selfish nature of being a surfer, his experience growing up as one of a very few surfers of color in homogeneous white coastal America, and what’s next for a narrow-minded surf industry who see themselves as influencers. (Forgive the Audio quality of the interview, we’re new to this!)

If there’s one thing we’ve learned from Covid it’s that we all search for news that confirms our bias which has resulted in a thick political fog surrounding a deadly pandemic. To inject some objective truth (and not bleach) into the discussion, we were lucky enough to hear from Russ Kino, CEO Saint John’s Emergency Medicine Specialists. Dr. Kino and his brave team of doctors at Saint John's are on the frontlines of Covid-19 treatment innovation so who better to ask about diving back into the waves than a surfing doc–who knows way more than any of the talking heads clogging your news feed. (Forgive the Audio quality of the interview, we’re new to this!)

For our first interview in the Covid Chronicles, Matt Biolos discusses the dramatic effects that Covid-19 has had on business, makes the constitutional argument for surfing under quarantine and warns against the American fast food diet. We all know Matt's outspoken and unapologetic but if you think he’s just another shaper that’s huffed too many resin fumes, think again. If you challenge Matt to a game of wit, you better come prepared, he devours terabytes of information from every conceivable source which is probably the reason he’s one of the few shapers making a proper living designing, manufacturing and selling surfboards to everyone from broke surfers to Tesla fan-boys. (Forgive the Audio quality of the interview, we’re new to this!)

All you need to know as a sponsored surfer is this: you’re not special. Even special isn’t special anymore, the fact is that no matter how well you surf or how many heats you win, your pretty face and skill in the line-up isn’t enough anymore, its not even close to enough. How have you … Continued

Sure, perfection on-demand may seem appealing, but does it come at a cost? In this episode of Surf Center, Damien and Chad (With insights from Dane Reynolds) discuss which technology is winning as well as the merits and potential pitfalls–both financial and cultural–of surfing and competing in artificial waves.

Surf media was already marooned on dry reef without provisions, so how the hell are they gonna survive the current viral apocalypse? In this marathon episode Damien and Chad offer a few hair-brained schemes that just might work to help them navigate to safer waters (or sink ’em once and for all).

Slightly sensationalized title? Yes, but that’s just one of the questions we answer in this episode. Also in this episode we unpack the need for the WSL, the issues with their judging and weigh in on the debate of paying for the live broadcast vs going for big numbers. Is the current WSL model sustainable, … Continued

Episode one answers the diabolical question of wether the surf industry has a place in the world or not. We’re talking about the big brands like Quiksilver and Hurley that Joe Exotic and his lovers wear in Tiger King. We’re all feeling the effects of Covid 19 but few as much as the Surf Industry. … Continued