Waterpeople Podcast

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 Surfers Not Street Children, which empowers street kids through surf coaching and mentorship. The effort has been funded in part by Pope Francis.  Mini is on a mission to earn representation for his country in the Olympics — and spoke to us passionately about his love of surfing – not just for himself, but as a tool to lift up others, especially kids -- and as a lens for Mozambiqucans to write and tell their own stories in their own words. Stories about a nation brimming with natural beauty, resilient people and very good surf. photo credit: Alan Van Gysen...Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich Sound Engineer: Ben Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Kai Mcgilvray Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast ... Get monthly musings and behind the scenes content from the podcast by subscribing to our newsletter. You'll get water-centric reading and listening recommendations, questions worth asking, and ways to take action for the wellbeing of Planet Ocean delivered straight to your inbox. You can stream every Waterpeople episode from your desk via Youtube

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-kilometres - from Pattaya in the Gulf of Thailand to Lombok, an Indonesian island east of Bali -  a journey chronicled in their new independent film Calypte. With little practical sailing experience, Torren and Aiyana learned as they went – how to be fisherfolk, navigators, meteorologists, and mechanics to take care of running repairs — and still found plenty of surf along the way. Torren and Aiyana talk us through the happenstance of meeting, their time aboard Calypte – the trials of trust and communication at sea— and their newest adventure – starting a family together. Photo credit: Ishka Folkwell...Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich Sound Engineer: Ben Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Kai Mcgilvray Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast ... Get monthly musings and behind the scenes content from the podcast by subscribing to our newsletter. You'll get water-centric reading and listening recommendations, questions worth asking, and ways to take action for the wellbeing of Planet Ocean delivered straight to your inbox. You can stream every Waterpeople episode from your desk via Youtube

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, Marine Biologist Annie Ford worked onboard seismic blasting vessels, and felt the relentless explosions and reverberations from her bed at night. She has since peddled away from the fossil fuel industry and  become one of its most creative whistleblowers. Annie is a mountain biking  world record holder and has spent time surfing and sailing around the world, including multiple expeditions to Antarctica.Today, Annie is the National Campaign Manager for the Surfrider Foundation Australia, where she is currently working to halt the largest marine seismic blasting project ever proposed. It is slated to take place off the coast of her home island of Lutruwita (Tasmania) – and will emit some of the loudest human made noises ever created – to the detriment of an entire ecosystem.We caught up with Annie as she completed a 4,000 km bike ride (that about 2,500 miles) to talk about endurance, optimism, changing careers, and her entwined commitment to kindness, climate action and adventure.....To get a download of the seismic blasting audio file to share at your community event, school, or tense family gathering, please send us an email: waterpeoplepodcast@gmail.com ...Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer: Ben Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Dave & BenJoin the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast ... Get monthly musings and behind the scenes content from the podcast by subscribing to our newsletter. You'll get water-centric reading and listening recommendations, questions worth asking, and ways to take action for the wellbeing of Planet Ocean delivered straight to your inbox.

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 started to break, she realised there was only one local maker of traditional boards remaining. She founded The Original Surfboard Company to both produce timber boards and to recover the lost art of English prone surfing.  Joined by surf historian and shaper extraordinaire Tom Wegener, we met up with Sally on her tour of Australia, and she talked us through the logistics of reviving a nearly-lost art, researching the great novelist Agatha Christie's surfing adventures, and the joys of adaptive bottom contours. ...Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer: Ben Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Dave & BenJoin the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast ...Get monthly musings and behind the scenes content from the podcast by subscribing to our newsletter. You'll get water-centric reading and listening recommendations, questions worth asking, and ways to take action for the wellbeing of Planet Ocean delivered straight to your inbox.

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 2008. Stu is a lifelong surfer but late-comer to surf media. He “had many unrelated life chapters, business failures, social experiments, and surf adventures before he ever got a word published.” We first encountered Stu's work amongst the lively pages of Kurangabaa, an academic – leaning surf journal he helped to found and run in the early 2000s. It was a trove of thoughtful essays, along with poetry, fiction and interviews – and part of a larger, exciting, indepedent DIY surf culture of that time. We wanted to know: what kind of life has shaped the voice and perspective of one of Australia's most prolific surf journalists?  Stu talks us through the Sunset Beach hold down that changed him, the value of knowing our history,  gender politics at Swellnet and the the future(s) of surf media.…Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer: Ben Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Dave & BenJoin the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Get monthly musings and behind the scenes content from the podcast by subscribing to our newsletter. You'll get water-centric reading and listening recommendations, questions worth asking, and ways to take action for the wellbeing of Planet Ocean delivered straight to your inbox.

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't do it any longer. She felt she was not fully in alignment with her values. Still, along the way, Pacha found her storytelling voice, bringing depth and meaning to her surf travel by  weaving in local social and environmental projects wherever she went. Her three part Women of the Sea  series dove into the rich aquatic cultures adjacent to surfing in Japan and South Korea. Now in her early 20s, Pacha talks us through what led her to say “thanks, but no thanks” to her long-time surfing sponsor. She shares about  the search for belonging after her father's passing, vying for a spot in the Olympics, and “understanding that we are called to be a part of the Earth protecting itself.”...Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer: Ben Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Dave & BenJoin the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast ....Get monthly musings and behind the scenes content from the podcast by subscribing to our newsletter. You'll get water-centric reading and listening recommendations, questions worth asking, and ways to take action for the wellbeing of Planet Ocean delivered straight to your inbox.

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 education teacher, his goal is to help his students "feel more embodied."Tyler went through a lengthy bout with depression and anxiety, and like many of us, he struggled to pinpoint the underlying causes. Getting back to the ocean helped - he says that "bodysurfing saved his life." But it was supporting one of his  students through their own reckoning with embodiment, and their gender transition, that helped Tyler to understand that he, too, was a trans person. He learned a new language that helped to unlock some of what he was feeling and helped him to finally envisage a healthy future for himself, as his true self. Tyler's story is documented in the film Gender Outlaw (watch it here), which chronicles the role bodysurfing played in his gender transition. He talked us through bodysurfing binaries, finding his community in an unexpected place, the joy of love, and bringing kindness and compassion to complex conversations. ...Tyler's recommended resources for gender inclusionary insights, support and education: @translifeline is a peer support and crisis hotline for the trans community@trevorproject is a suicide prevention hotline for the LGBTQ+ community@pinkmantaray Schuyler is a wonderful resource for people who are trying to learn more about trans people and specifically trans athletes@alokvmenon - love their educational work@athleteally...Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer: Ben Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Dave & BenJoin the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Get monthly musings and behind the scenes content from the podcast by subscribing to our newsletter. You'll get water-centric reading and listening recommendations, questions worth asking, and ways to take action for the wellbeing of Planet Ocean delivered straight to your inbox.

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 surfers ever perform a wholly memorable maneuver . Tom broke down that norm in 1991 when he threw down a turn under the heaving lip of Pipeline - "a move that was so beautiful and so grotesque" that it is still recalled as "one of the boldest moves ever pulled in pro surfing.Tom excelled competitively on the World Championship Tour for 14 years, finishing in the top 5 nine times, winning 26 events and earning surfing's first million-dollar sponsorship contract. As a three-time Pipe Masters Champion, Tom is often considered the performance bridge between Gerry Lopez and Kelly Slater. Today, Tom is recognized as a teacher of meditation and wellness. He spoke with us about his sobriety, the "sharing wave" competition format, fathering while on meth, learning to listen and the absurd list of injuries he has endured as an elite athlete.  …Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer: Ben Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Dave & BenJoin the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Get monthly musings and behind the scenes content from the podcast by subscribing to our newsletter. You'll get water-centric reading and listening recommendations, questions worth asking, and ways to take action for the wellbeing of Planet Ocean delivered straight to your inbox.

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 Island, Indonesia, where they own and operate Ngalung Kalla retreat. Christian started life in the Atlantic, on the 48-foot wooden sailboat his father rebuilt. Launching from their homestead on St. Thomas, Christian chased waves in Fiji, Tahiti, New Zealand, Hawaii and Australia before settling on the Big Island of Hawai'i, where he earned a degree in Marine Science and eventually worked up the nerve to ask out Ka'ale. Bree Ka'alemalu Sea - Ka'ale  for short - is a surfer and dive instructor who was homeschooled on the wild Puna Coast of the Big Island. In her late teens, she took off to explore the wider world spending time elsewhere in Polynesia, Thailand, India, Nepal and Indonesia. She eventually settled back on the Big Island where she studied Hawaiian culture and, together with Christian, nurtured a rustic homestead and put permaculture principles to practice in the jungle.They spent ten years as the in-house waterman and woman at one of the best hotels in the world before packing up their truck to camp on the land that is now Ngalung Kalla Retreat. Over the past decade they've established flourishing food gardens to help feed visiting adventurers, and have built a collection of cliff-top Sumbanese guest houses to share. Together, they've had many beginnings, most initiated by their commitment to the water. Listen in to hear about their experiments in systems thinking, remote parenting, and building spaces that keep us present. Get monthly musings and behind the scenes content from the podcast by subscribing to our newsletter. You'll get water-centric reading and listening recommendations, questions worth asking, and ways to take action for the wellbeing of Planet Ocean delivered straight to your inbox.

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 need for help on the neighbouring island of Lombok. She put her budding surfing life aside, and harnessed her social media notoriety as Indonesia's first competitive female longboarder to garner aid for those in need on Lombok. She helped to build around 200 family homes there. Perhaps because of her late start to watery life, Flora has become a leading light of surfing in Indonesia - and beyond. She hosts Flora Retreats in Bali. We sat down with Flora in Bali and she talked us through the challenges of growing up in Sumatra, quitting her stable job to travel, finding surfing in her 20s, and her kampung life on Java, where she loves to give her homegrown vegetables to the neighbours. …Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer: Ben Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Dave & BenJoin the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Get monthly musings and behind the scenes content from the podcast by subscribing to our newsletter. You'll get water-centric reading and listening recommendations, questions worth asking, and ways to take action for the wellbeing of Planet Ocean delivered straight to your inbox.

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 cut her teeth in heavy water, earning her the title  “Queen of Pipe.”Moana was also the first to earn a bachelor's degree in  Hawaiian and Indigenous Health and Healing. She co-stars in the Prime Video series  Surf Girls Hawai'i, which follows the next generation of Native Hawaiian female surfers as they navigate competitive surfing. Moana also talks us through traditional Hawaiian concepts of health and well-being, wave riding as a healing modality, and outgrowing her dreams of surfing Pipe like a guy.  …Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer: Ben Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Dave & BenJoin the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Get monthly musings and behind the scenes content from the podcast by subscribing to our newsletter. You'll get water-centric reading and listening recommendations, questions worth asking, and ways to take action for the wellbeing of Planet Ocean delivered straight to your inbox.

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 chloroprene plant in the US. It is owned by Japanese chemical company Denka and lies in the predominantly black, low income town of Reserve, Louisiana – in the heart of an area known as Cancer Alley. Rising from the site of a former plantation, the Denka chloroprene plant casts a long shadow over St John's Parish.No home in the community around the plant has been untouched by cancer. It has the highest cancer risk in the USA – 50 TIMES the national average. The EPA acknowledges the high cancer risk is due to chloroprene emissions from the plant."In their forthcoming film The Big Sea, Lewis Arnold and Chris Nelson take us to Cancer Alley in Louisiana to hear from local activists who have spent decades fighting for the health and safety of their community. The Big Sea is an exploration of the toxic nature of wetsuits, the true human cost of Neoprene production and surfing's links to Cancer Alley. Learn more: TheBigSea.org…Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer: Ben Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Dave & BenJoin the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Get monthly musings and behind the scenes content from the podcast by subscribing to our newsletter. You'll get water-centric reading and listening recommendations, questions worth asking, and ways to take action for the wellbeing of Planet Ocean delivered straight to your inbox.

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 navigated tumultuous familial seas.  She talks us through losing her mum to early onset dementia in 2021  — her 50/50 chance of inheriting the gene mutation that causes it - and how grief and loss have inspired her over the ledge at some of the worlds tallest and heaviest waves. Tune in to hear about Flick's time playing Survivor, the state of inclusivity in surfing, why she transitioned from pursuing the Tour to chasing heavy water, and her recent marriage to a childhood friend. …Felicity is an ambassador for Dementia Australia, whose work your can learn about here. …Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer: Ben Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Dave & BenJoin the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast …Get monthly musings and behind the scenes content from the podcast by subscribing to our newsletter. You'll get water-centric reading and listening recommendations, questions worth asking, and ways to take action for the wellbeing of Planet Ocean delivered straight to your inbox.

“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 of spirituality and mental health, and the healing power of water. She coined the term ‘human ecological restoration' to describe the work she does to help her patients “clear out” psychological debris from trauma, both personal and ancestral. Elizabeth was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her parents were refugees from Vietnam, who arrived in Honolulu in 1975, at the end of the Vietnam WarDr. Nguyen recently released her first novel Aloha Vietnam.We caught up with Elizabeth remotely to talk about her insightful book and her medical practice, specifically the practice of prescribing water as medicine.…Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer: Ben Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Dave & BenJoin the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast …Get monthly musings and behind the scenes content from the podcast by subscribing to our newsletter. You'll get water-centric reading and listening recommendations, questions worth asking, and ways to take action for the wellbeing of Planet Ocean delivered straight to your inbox.

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 steadfast man he is today. Chris spent more than a decade as a professional freesurfer, featured in movies including "Sliding Liberia, "The Present”  and the biographical Bella Vita by Jason Baffa, which explores his Italian heritage and the blossoming culture of Italian surfing. Chris has also worked closely with environmental organisations, like Surfers for Cetaceans, combining art and activism to help protect wild species and spaces. Chris is now the co-owner of Baghsu Jewels, with his wife Madgi, and is the Creative Director for Drifter Surf in Bali.   At the time of recording, they've been traveling the Southern Hemisphere for nearly a year with their two boys Marley and Bodhi, aged 7 and 4. We caught up with Chris during the 3-month leg of their Australian adventure.  Chris talks us through why he said ‘no' to professional surfing, growing up amongst LA's South Bay legacy of watermen, the rite of passage of life guarding,  the deeper purpose that activism brought to his surfing and art, and cultivating the under appreciated virtues of service, responsibility  and staying centered - so that we can bring our best selves to our families. ....Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer: Ben Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Dave & BenJoin the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast ...Get monthly musings and behind the scenes content from the podcast by subscribing to our newsletter. You'll get water-centric reading and listening recommendations, questions worth asking, and ways to take action for the wellbeing of Planet Ocean delivered straight to your inbox.

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 ambassador for unifying women's surfing around the globe. She stands amongst the longboarding icons of the Blue Crush era that saw the resurgence of women to the line-up.  Belen grew up in a traditional Mexican household in southern California, her mother a first-generation immigrant from Mexico.Belen now resides in Northern NSW, where she is the owner and operator of Salty Girls Surf School. ....Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer: Ben Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Dave & BenJoin the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast ...Get monthly musings and behind the scenes content from the podcast by subscribing to our newsletter. You'll get water-centric reading and listening recommendations, questions worth asking, and ways to take action for the wellbeing of Planet Ocean delivered straight to your inbox.

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 surfing -- and been an integral member of the community. Rusty was amongst the first surf travellers to venture to Sri Lanka, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt and Portugal in the mid-1960s. In 1971, he was featured in Albe Falzon's iconic film Morning of the Earth. In 1973 Rusty started the North Coast region's first alternative newspaper, The Byron Express, and has been printing an annual magazine - Rusty's Byron Guide–  since 1984. It offers a practical and philosophical introduction to the Byron area. In 2012, Rusty co-wrote his first book Turning Point: Surf Portraits and Stories From Bells to Byron 1970-1971. Then came Turning Point II: Surf Portraits and Stories Hawaii: Oahu-Kauai-Maui 1968-1972. Both of which were collaborations with his partner, social  geographer Trisha Shantz. They have two daughters, Taylor and Courtney.Rusty continues to share his ample surfing wisdom through his school – Rusty Miller Surf. ....Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer: Ben Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Dave & BenJoin the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Waterpeoplepodcast.comGet monthly musings and behind the scenes content from the podcast by subscribing to our newsletter. You'll get water-centric reading and listening recommendations, questions worth asking, and ways to take action for the wellbeing of Planet Ocean delivered straight to your inbox.

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 RastovichSound Engineer: Ben Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Dave & BenJoin the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Get monthly musings and behind the scenes content from the podcast by subscribing to our newsletter. You'll get water-centric reading and listening recommendations, questions worth asking, and ways to take action for the wellbeing of Planet Ocean delivered straight to your inbox.

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 million-year-long history of how the human species has lost the ability to breathe properly and why we're suffering from a laundry list of maladies—snoring, sleep apnea, asthma, autoimmune disease, allergies—because of it. He travelled  the world in an attempt to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it. James has written for Scientific American, Outside Magazine, the BBC, The New York Times, The Atlantic, and more. His first book, DEEP: Freediving, Renegade Science, and What The Ocean Tells Us about Ourselves , made waves in the freediving world as James adventured  with extreme athletes, adventurers, and scientists as they plumbed the limits of the ocean's depths and uncovered weird and wondrous new discoveries. ....Access Buteyko breathing exercises for kids here. …Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer: Ben Alexander Soundtrack: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Wave Brain  - Dave, Neal Purchase Jr. and Christian Barker Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Waterpeoplepodcast.comGet monthly musings and behind the scenes morsels from the podcast by subscribing to our newsletter. You'll get water-centric reading and listening recommendations, questions worth asking, and ways to take action for the wellbeing of Planet Ocean delivered straight to your inbox. Get monthly musings and behind the scenes content from the podcast by subscribing to our newsletter. You'll get water-centric reading and listening recommendations, questions worth asking, and ways to take action for the wellbeing of Planet Ocean delivered straight to your inbox.

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. Laola grew up in the ocean front cottages of the Royal Hawaiian hotel, where her mother worked, and received her Waikiki Beach Boy license in 1970. She helped found the Hawaii women's Surfing Hui, which was part of opening the door to the formation of women's professional surfing.Laola lives and plays on the island of Kauai with her family. In 2020, on the eve of turning 70, she became the first female president of the Kauai Lifeguard Association. She shares about riding redwood boards, the origins of her passion for water safety, parenting regrets (her daughter is Sanoe Lake, of Blue Crush notoriety), and finding  a way to stay in the water, no matter your age or ability. ....Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer: Ben Alexander Soundtrack: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Wave Brain  - Dave, Neal Purchase Jr. and Christian Barker Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Waterpeoplepodcast.comGet monthly musings and behind the scenes content from the podcast by subscribing to our newsletter. You'll get water-centric reading and listening recommendations, questions worth asking, and ways to take action for the wellbeing of Planet Ocean delivered straight to your inbox.

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 joined the American Bicentennial Everest Expedition, and in 1978 he and three others made the first American ascent of K2 – the second highest peak on Earth—they were the first team to do it without oxygen; Rick made the first documented traverse of Borneo; the first crossing on foot of a corner of Tibet so remote no outsider had ever seen it – these amongst many other adventures far off the beaten path. For 15 years, Rick was the Vice president of Environmental Affairs and then VP of Public Engagement at Patagonia. He is an accomplished filmmaker and the author of seven books, most recently the memoir Life Lived Wild. Listen with us as Rick talks us through surviving an avalanche, the most important baseline to understand when it comes to tracking climate change, what he hopes to impart to his grandchildren, cultivating a forty year marriage, embracing the pain of loss directly, and recognising the summit as a false goal.  The  arc of Rick's life's work --  from stretching the possibilities of human physical capacity toward using adventure sports and expeditions for Earth care and repair -- is a constant inspiration for creatively harnessing our particular passions for greater good.   ....Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer: Ben Alexander Soundtrack: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music:  Ben AlexanderJoin the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Waterpeoplepodcast.com

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, and visual artist who has adventured between these creative expressions for more than fifty years.  Parallel to living an adventurous life by way of stone and water, Peggy has become a tireless activist for the wellbeing of all beings. Her Origami Whales Project, an installation of 38,000 cascading paper whales, was recently showcased at The Smithsonian Institution. Peggy began the project in 2004 to raise awareness about the potential re-emergence of sanctioned commercial whaling. That number – 38,000 --- represents the approximate number of whales killed since the International Whaling commission's moratorium on whaling in 1986. We caught up with Peggy as she made her way down the Australian coast to chat about adapting surfing for concrete,  the inspiration of Sadako Sasaki's paper cranes, the importance of mindset in injury, and the projects currently capturing her imagination. …Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer: Ben Alexander Soundtrack By: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Ben AlexanderJoin the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Waterpeoplepodcast.com

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 1989, Jock was busted for running cocaine and spent two years in prison.  In his complexity and cleverness, Jock Sutherland has held an iconic position in the surfing community – a kind of hero's hero – for his pioneering approach to tuberiding and switchoot surfing in waves of consequence. Jock grew up on Oahu's North Shore and is the son of adventurer Audrey Sutherland, author of several books including Paddling My Own Canoe, who lived by the motto "Go Simple, Go Solo, Go Now."Continuing in the slipstream of his mother's daring, Jock went on to become a defining surfer of the 1960s. He claimed the cover of SURFER MAG in 1966, won the 1967 Duke Kahanamoku Invitational, and was featured in nearly a dozen surf movies, including Pacific Vibrations. "We used to call him 'the Extraterrestrial,'" fellow surfer Jeff Hakman later said, "because he was so good at everything. He could beat anyone at chess or Scrabble; he could smoke more hash than anyone, take more acid, and still go out there and surf better than anyone."Jock talks us through the highs, lows and the middle ground where he is currently anchored in service and surfing. …Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer: Ben Alexander Soundtrack By: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Ben AlexanderJoin the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Waterpeoplepodcast.com   

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 is also a poet and meditation teacher, and parallel to his creative life,  has spent 25 years as a school teacher. He spoke with us about losing his daughter, Willow, how to 'stand' in love, his favourite method for keeping water off the lens port, and being on the precipice of making his next film. …Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer: Ben Alexander Soundtrack By: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Wave Brain  - Dave, Neal Purchase Jr. and Christian Barker Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Waterpeoplepodcast.com 

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 RastovichSound Engineer: Ben Alexander Soundtrack By: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Wave Brain  - Dave, Neal Purchase Jr. and Christian Barker + Nathan OldfieldJoin the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Waterpeoplepodcast.com

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 conservation is 'pass us your money and we'll go and do it.' But we know that hasn't worked at the scale required." Andy is betting on harnessing the power of citizenship -- the rights AND responsibilities of belonging -- to create mass engagement in environmental initiatives. And he's been successful. Andy's Earth Hour concept — which asks everyone with electricity to simultaneously turn off their lights for sixty minutes  to acknowledge the impact of climate change and our ability to influence that change --  is recognised as one of the largest mass participation movements in history, with hundreds of millions of participants around the world.Andy's newest platform is Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef, which serves as a way to engage people all around the world in the future of the reef through citizen science. …Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer: Ben Alexander Soundtrack By: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Wave Brain  - Dave, Neal Purchase Jr. and Christian Barker Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Waterpeoplepodcast.com

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 of Florida's recent surfing tradition."Karina's promise for professional surfing, combined with her family's investment in managing her career, was so great that she was earning a living from surfing as a ten year old. Karina went on to compete on the World Championship Tour for more than a decade, holding the top spot on the leaderboard for a spell in 2008, and in 2009 Karina featured in the Academy Award winning documentary The Cove.  Karina now happily resides in the Caribbean with her husband Dave, where she sails, surfs, freedives, and assists with marine salvage operations. …Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer: Ben Alexander Soundtrack By: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Wave Brain  - Dave, Neal Purchase Jr. and Christian Barker Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Waterpeoplepodcast.com

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 bellyboarding enthusiast Sally Parkin, who said: “I am not sure who you would say started Men's competitive surfing – but there is no doubt in my mind that Gwyn Haslock started women's stand up surfing in England – she entered the first ever British National Championships in 1966 – she was the only female competitor and it was because of her that the surfing organisers started a Ladies National Championship in 1969 – there were six competitors and Gwyn won. She went on to win the first ever GB Ladies surfing championships in 1970, 1971, 1972 1973 and 1974 – came 2nd in 1975 and won again in 1976 – she also won the English Surfing Championships in 1990.”Gwyn joins us for a lighthearted chat about surfing beyond retirement, being happily unmarried, and staying fit for surfing. …Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer: Ben Alexander Soundtrack By: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Wave Brain  - Dave, Neal Purchase Jr. and Christian Barker Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Waterpeoplepodcast.com

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 chosen a different profession.Parallel to the suffering both personal and all around her, Chelsea's surfing career blossomed: she made the film Sea Us Now, and expanded the organisation she helped found, Textured Waves, interjecting the presence and prowess of black and brown female surfers into surf circles, and far beyond. The Textured Waves crew has since partnered with big brands like Adobe, Adidas, and were featured on a billboard in Times Square for a big bank. Through her own surfing as an African American woman, and via her filmmaking and writings, Chelsea is creating fresh narratives that are rippling around the globe. Listen in as Chelsea shares about learning to surf later in life, the colonial roots of hair straightening, and finding her limits during her first season on the North Shore.  Chelsea's latest film Night Crawler, handles the topic of surfing as otherworldly escape from shift work. ….We reference sociologist Jean Kilbourne's pioneering media/advertising study Killing Us Softly in this episode. Click through to learn more about her work. …Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer: Tiffany RichmondSoundtrack By: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Wave Brain  - Dave, Neal Purchase Jr. and Christian Barker Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Waterpeoplepodcast.com

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 make culture shaping movies like Thicker Than Water and A Broke down Melody. More recently, he's a Grammy nominated artist, and founder of two charitable foundations  with his wife and business partner Kim, including the  Johnson Ohana Charitable Foundation, which supports and funds environmental, art, and music education, and the Kokua Hawaii Foundation, which provides experiential environmental education in the schools and communities of Hawaiʻi. We caught up with Jack as he prepped to release his eighth studio album Meet the Moonlight in June 2022 about Greek mythology, watching dragonflies,  balancing family and work, the function of the artist today and where style comes from — in both music and surfing. ...Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer: Ben AlexanderSoundtrack By: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Wave Brain  - Dave, Neal Purchase Jr. and Christian Barker Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Waterpeoplepodcast.com

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 windswells that the Black Sea delivers each year. Before she found surfing, Kshisya was a water skier, and later opened Kyiv's CitySwell Club, and worked as a wake surf instructor.Shortly after her arrival in Portugal, Kshisya got to work doing what she could to contribute: hosting GOOD DAYS Surf Camps for refugee families, now without community, homes or support.  More than 12 million people have been displaced from their Ukrainian homes, forced out by Russian attacks. Kshisya has received hundreds of applications for her Good Days Surf Camp sessions, and is seeking financial support to help cover the costs of providing free access to the week-long camps that include surf and skate lessons, but also ocean safety and literacy, food, psychological counselling, as well as yoga and meditation classes.Her mission: to share the ocean's healing with as many as possible. Head here to learn more or to gift access to ocean play to Ukranian families seeking refuge....Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer: Tiffany RichmondSoundtrack By: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Wave Brain  - Dave, Neal Purchase Jr. and Christian Barker Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Waterpeoplepodcast.com

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 industry which values passion over money be resilient and sustainable in a capitalistic society which has money as the primary value?," he asks, and goes on the elucidate how commitment to culture has made for an exceptionally resilient, even logic defying industry. Tom started shaping and glassing in 1978 in his parents garage and is best known for helping to re-popularize old and ancient Hawaiian surfcraft, as celebrated in films like Thomas Campbell's The Present, Nathan Oldfield's Seaworthy,  Jack McCoy's A Deeper Shade of Blue, and Cyrus Sutton's Tom's Creation Plantation.What sets Tom apart as a shaper is his surfing prowess. Tom played an integral role in keeping the traditional logging approach alive when it fell out of fad, embarking in self-funded films like Ten Toes Over and Siestas & Olas, which Steve Pezman, of the Surfers Journal, reviewed as the “best surf travel movie since Endless Summer.”With more than four decades of building boards under his belt, including homegrown timber crafts which exemplify a more  sustainable approach, Tom shares with us about the responsibility he feels charged with -- to pass along the knowledge he has acquired and share his journey as a relentless artisan. ....Learn more:www.tomwegenersurfboards.com...Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer: Ben AlexanderSoundtrack By: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Wave Brain  - Dave, Neal Purchase Jr. and Christian Barker Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Waterpeoplepodcast.com

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 in his parents garage and is best known for helping to re-popularize old and ancient Hawaiian surfcraft, as celebrated in films like Thomas Campbell's The Present, Nathan Oldfield's Seaworthy,  Jack McCoy's A Deeper Shade of Blue, and Cyrus Sutton's Tom's Creation Plantation.What sets Tom apart as a shaper is his surfing prowess. Tom played an integral role in keeping the traditional logging approach alive when it fell out of fad, embarking in self-funded films like Ten Toes Over and Siestas & Olas, which Steve Pezman, of the Surfers Journal, reviewed as the “best surf travel movie since Endless Summer.”With more than four decades of building boards under his belt, including homegrown timber crafts which exemplify a more  sustainable approach, Tom shares with us about the responsibility he feels charged with -- to pass along the knowledge he has acquired and share his journey as a relentless artisan. ....Learn more:www.tomwegenersurfboards.com...Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer: Ben AlexanderSoundtrack By: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Wave Brain  - Dave, Neal Purchase Jr. and Christian Barker Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Waterpeoplepodcast.com

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 down for a catch up with our new sponsor this season Sunbutter Skincare. Founders Tom and Sacha talk us through why they, as a marine biologist and conservation ecologist, started a business, and how protecting people and the planet is embedded in every decision they make. We also dive into the sunscreen nitty gritty: physical vs. chemical barrier, nanoparticles, plastic packaging, and understanding what “reef safe” actually means. ...Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer: Tiffany RichmondSoundtrack By: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Wave Brain  - Dave, Neal Purchase Jr. and Christian Barker Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Waterpeoplepodcast.com

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 Penguim Bloom, starring Naomi Watts. Those three works detail the tragic accident that left Sam paralysed from the chest down, and the unexpected guest – an injured magpie in need of care --  who helped Sam rehabilitate and regain a deeper sense of herself again. Sam shares about her experience of moving away from brink of despair, navigating grief,  and how getting back in the water first angered, then buoyed her. ....Learn more:Penguin BloomSpinal Cure Australia...Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer: Tiffany RichmondSoundtrack By: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Wave Brain  - Dave, Neal Purchase Jr. and Christian Barker Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Waterpeoplepodcast.com

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 fresh stories,  inspiring ideas, and plenty of laughs. If you have a spare moment, please consider leaving a review of the podcast or sharing an episode with a friend – both help us to find the best stories from our global community of waterpeople.  ...Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer & Music By: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music: ‘Evergreen' by Band of Frequencies:  Men of Wood & Foam album   Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Waterpeoplepodcast.com

What is enough to move you to action? For heavy water specialist Fergal Smith, nuclear meltdown became the impetus for a radical shift in life and livelihood. As the founder of Moy Hill farm, Fergal and his team aim to “grow worthy food, build soil, regenerate systems, plant flowers and trees, and work to leave what is in their care healthier than they found it," while also nurturing community. Fergal talks us beyond the romanticisation of farming, and into the muddy complexity of what it means to grow food for one's community,  --- and why it's still so difficult to make a living as a farmer. Also, why surfers are (mostly)  airheads, and probably more farmers should ride waves. ...Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer & Music By: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music: ‘Evergreen' by Band of Frequencies:  Men of Wood & Foam album   Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Waterpeoplepodcast.com

What is lost when a language perishes? What becomes of a language on the edge of  extinction ? Artist Mick Laurie is a man of story and culture, who is revitalising the language of his forefathers by making the first ever modern music in Gumbayngirr, using words spoken by his ancestors for tens of thousands of years. Mick, a  Gumbayngirr / Yaegl musician and storyteller, is based near the mouth of the Clarence River in Northern NSW, Australia,  where his forefathers  have lived and cared for country since time immemorial. Mick carries on this ancient and living tradition of obligations and responsibility for land, sea and culture as a beacon of hope and creative inspiration.You may have heard Mick's music if you've seen Torren Martyn and Ishka Folkwell's 'Lost Track' adventure/ surf series.  This episode closes with Mick's collaborative piece with Headland, NGUURA, named by Australia's Triple J as “a moving, significant work in language by an extremely talented emerging indigenous artist… shares the importance of us all taking on the responsibility to care for country and each other. Nguura will stay with you and inspire welcome reflection as you travel through these times.”Learn more about Mick @Maanyung_Music….Presented by Patagonia Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer & Music by: Shannon Sol Carroll Join the conversation: Waterpeoplepodcast.com@Waterpeoplepodcast 

Olympian and two-time surfing World Champion John John Florence masterfully navigates the edges of flying and falling. Riding big waves  and sailing at high speed around the Hawaiian Islands are amongst his most instructive and inspiring moments. Seen as the most technically gifted surfer on the planet right now, John has the eyes of the surfing world focused on everything he does. His broad ranging interests -- from beekeeping to photography to science fiction -- are  cracking the mold of what it looks like to be a competitive surfer. In the tradition of Hawaiian watermen, John has embraced all kinds of ocean activity, and also the wisdom of surfers from the timeline of surfing. In our meandering chat, John talks us through high speed  sailing with eighty-year-old surfing legend Joey Cabell,  the value of taking breaks from the singular focus of competitive surfing, the ambiguity of the impacts of social media, his favourite surf film, and how he navigates being an introvert in a culture of extroverts. John also speaks to his absolute love of surfing that leaves him speechless, even after decades of marathon  surf sessions.  ...Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer & Music By: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music: ‘Evergreen' by Band of Frequencies:  Men of Wood & Foam album   Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Waterpeoplepodcast.com

We've already lost 50% of Earth's coral reefs. It's estimated that 90% will be gone by 2050 at the current pace of destruction. Coral Vita  just built the world's first commercial land-based coral farm for reef restoration in The Bahamas.  They regenerating reef systems with innovative methods that expedite the growth rate of corals, and allow for self-selection of the most resilient species to warming and acidifying conditions. Gator Halpern co-founded Coral Vita as a way to take practical steps toward protecting the otherworldly underwater-scapes he experienced as a young diver.  His team recently won the  Earthshot Prize,  a new global prize for the environment  funded by The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.   Five recipients are awarded the £1 Million prize each year, over the course of the next ten years,providing at least 50 solutions to the world's greatest environmental problems by 2030. .....Presented by Patagonia Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer & Music by: Shannon Sol Carroll Join the conversation: Waterpeoplepodcast.com@Waterpeoplepodcast 

In 2011, Sachi Cunningham quit her dream job and her psychiatric medication in search of a deeper sense of wellbeing in daily relationship with the ocean. She and her partner hit the road for what became a 14-month-long road trip across the Americas along the Pacific from LA to Chile. Today, Sachi  is an award winning documentary filmmaker, photographer, journalist, and Professor at San Francisco State University. She recently released the film CRUTCH, which chronicles the gravity defying life of Bill Shannon, an internationally renowned artist, breakdancer and skate punk—on crutches.Parallel to her films and teaching obligations, Sachi  maintains a career as one of the very few photographers who brave the heavy water of Northern California, where she is known for documenting big waves and the women who ride them. Sachi's forthcoming film is She Change...Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer & Music By: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music: ‘Evergreen' by Band of Frequencies:  Men of Wood & Foam album   Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Waterpeoplepodcast.com

Louie Psyhoiyos is an Academy- Award winning filmmaker and Executive Director of the Oceanic Preservation Society. He makes movies that ignite and galvanise movements to protect the planet , including The Cove,  Racing Extinction, and Game Changers. The Oceanic Preservation Society  uses film, photography, and social media – one “exposure” at a time – to inspire, empower, and connect a global community of activists fighting to protect our fragile planet.Louie's  most recent film is Mission: Joy  -- finding happiness in troubled times, which explores the remarkable friendship between Archbishop Desmond Tutu and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. .....Presented by Patagonia Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer & Music by: Shannon Sol Carroll Join the conversation: Waterpeoplepodcast.com@Waterpeoplepodcast 

The living world moves in pulses, defined equally by motion and pause. As waterpeople, we know this.  Daize & Aamion Goodwin are a couple of exceptional surfers who have  taken to applying the philosophy of the pause to daily life as a family.Daize is a two time world longboard champion and Aamion made a successful career as a multi-faceted waterman renowned for his casual approach to Pipeline and other waves of consequence.  Now in their 17th year of marriage, with three wildlings, Daize and Aamion have become known for their freerange approach to parenting while maintaining surfing lives of their own. In 2016, they delivered the film Given into the world, named after their first born, --   a documentary that follows their family from their island home of Kauai through 15 countries in the quest for surf and to fulfill a calling handed down through generations.Theirs is a surfing love story, defined by the crests and troughs many  know well: finding work/life balance, learning how to communicate, adapting to the seasons of parenting, falling in and out of love. "That's what marriage is," Daize says. As perpetual students of surfing, life and love, The Goodwins talk us through a little of what they've learned along the way. ...Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer & Music By: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music: ‘Evergreen' by Band of Frequencies:  Men of Wood & Foam album  www.bandoffreqs.bandcamp.comTaki Gold'Liberian Boy'Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Waterpeoplepodcast.com

Co-founder of Surfers for Climate and iconic waterwoman Belinda Baggs shares her story of taking action on what she sees as the greatest threat to her son's health and wellbeing: climate change. Belinda shares a cornucopia of solutions for getting involved today; from everyday changes we can all make, to applying systemic pressure for legislative change. We talk through the critical importance of the dual and intertwined challenges of ecological and social justice, while  acknowledging the "surf addiction" that shapes and guides daily life.  .....Presented by Patagonia Learn more about Surfers for Climate Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer & Music by: Shannon Sol Carroll Join the conversation: Waterpeoplepodcast.com@Waterpeoplepodcast 

He fled from civil war on foot as a six year old, physically unscathed, but forever changed  by the unthinkable violence, rhythms, and energy of Liberia's internal conflict. After making his home in California, Taki Gold set out to transform the dark relationship he'd once had with the ocean by taking up surfing. Along the way, he's grown into a multi-faceted artist and musician. Taki's  latest album Girl God is a testament to the women who carried him through the horrors of war. Content warning: please make sure that you're in the right headspace to listen to this episode and that there aren't any young ears around.  ...Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer & Music By: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music: ‘Evergreen' by Band of Frequencies:  Men of Wood & Foam album  www.bandoffreqs.bandcamp.comTaki Gold'Liberian Boy'Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Waterpeoplepodcast.com

What does the way we treat children say about who we are as individuals, and as a culture? Our guest, psychologist and father Robin Grille,  believes that parents and teachers are amongst the most powerful agents for social change. We meander through stories about finding flow in parenting, moving away from the power-over paradigm,  how colonialism has historically guided parenting norms, and the inherited trauma that most of us are called to unravel as adults or parents.  Robin Grille has been in private practice as a psychotherapist, relationship counsellor and parent coach for 30 years. He is the author two books,  Parenting for a Peaceful World and Heart to Heart Parenting.  Robin was born in Uruguay to migrant parents, and then migrated to Australia at age 10.  Spanish is his first language, French his second and Romanian his third.  .....Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer & Music by: Shannon Sol Carroll Join the conversation: Waterpeoplepodcast.com@Waterpeoplepodcast  

Seven years ago, an episode of breathlessness after bodysurfing -- and  subsequent health challenges (including a 15% chance of survival) --  shook up Jack McCoy's single-minded focus on filmmaking. Jack has crafted 25 feature films. From his 1976 debut Tubular Swells, to the contrasting narratives of Blue Horizon, and the historical themes of A Deeper Shade of Blue, Jack's films have documented shifting surf cultures and bolstered many young men's surfing careers. In his attempt to make art rather than simply document performance, Jack collaborated with musicians like Paul Mccartney, innovated cinematic approaches, and elevated the surf film genre over the last 45 years.Jack talks us through meeting Duke Kahanamoku, being the poster boy for Bruce Brown, Rell Sunn's radiating aloha, learning to follow his instincts, the value of colonics, and the encompassing importance of breath. ...Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer & Music By: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music: ‘Evergreen' by Band of Frequencies:  Men of Wood & Foam album  www.bandoffreqs.bandcamp.comJoin the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Waterpeoplepodcast.com

Rhonda Harper is a U.S. Coast Guard veteran, and founder of the NGO Black Girls Surf, which creates access opportunities for black and brown women and girls to experience surfing. Black Girls Surf is fostering a new generation of recreational and professional surfers through international training camps, while  pushing back on exclusive surf media. Parallel to  Black Girls Surf, Rhonda is working to further develop professional surfing in Africa , by dreaming up an African Triple Crown: a series of professional surfing events to highlight indigenous surfers. Her mission is to continue diversifying the visuals of surfing and surf culture......Welcome to our mini series, Watershed Chats, conversational deep dives with experts and those in service of solutions for a healthy and habitable future on Planet Ocean. Watershed Chats are presented by The Waterpeople Podcast in collaboration with Patagonia.  .....Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer & Music by: Shannon Sol Carroll Artist in Residence: Chris Miyashiro Join the conversation: Waterpeoplepodcast.com@Waterpeoplepodcast 

If the act of looking at something changes it – an effect that holds true for people, animals, even atoms -- then what further impact does documenting have? Over the course of the last 30 years, Taylor Steele's observations and interpretations have helped to define and redefine surf filmmaking -- and to shape the modern, California-centric culture of surfing. In the 1990s Taylor documented a new era of approaches to wave riding through films like Momentum and Loose Change. Later, his cinematic surf travelscapes like Sipping Jetsteams, Castles in the Sky, and Proximity paid poetic justice to the beauty of an adventurous surfing life --  a creative shift inspired by the birth of his daughters. Taylor shares stories about finding a way to do what we love,  the impact of fatherhood on his creative process, his formative family surfing experiences, being the 3rd best surf filmmaker in his high school, and realising a formula for making good memories. ..."Taylor, you're the kinda guy who's a real observer. That's probably why film became your thing because you like to watch. And maybe you don't make a strong opinion in words, but you do in the things you put out.” – Kelly Slater, on Taylor Steele. ...Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer & Music By: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music: ‘Evergreen' by Band of Frequencies:  Men of Wood & Foam album  www.bandoffreqs.bandcamp.comJoin the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Waterpeoplepodcast.com

Do you have a memory about the movie JAWS? Australian icon Valerie Taylor was commissioned by Steven Spielberg, along with her partner Ron Taylor, to shoot the live action scenes for his unforgettable classic -- a film that ultimately drummed up irrational fears about sharks. Valerie spent much of the rest of her career trying to dispel those myths. Valerie's life's work has become the basis for much of what we know about sharks today. She is best known for featuring on the cover of National Geographic Magazine being bitten by a blue shark, and for her work in establishing marine protected areas. Her  life is chronicled in the new documentary "Playing with Sharks," which traces Valerie's career trajectory from champion spearfisher to passionate shark protector. Here, she talks us through a few of the many adventures in her long and very adventurous watery life, and what it has meant to document the Anthropocene. .....Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer & Music By: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music: ‘Evergreen' by Band of Frequencies:  Men of Wood & Foam album  www.bandoffreqs.bandcamp.comJoin the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Waterpeoplepodcast.com

Our cultural heros, and especially our sheros, seem to always glimmer with a steely façade of smiling heteronormative perfection. The soft underbelly of this manufactured reality is often left unspoken. Parallel to her time at the top, two time World Champion Lynne Boyer ( '78 and '79 ), struggled with addiction and stifling her sexual orientation. Still, she managed to define radical surfing amongst her cohort, and kept four time World Champ Margo Oberg on her toes with ongoing competitive rivalry. Now a professional artist, Lynne shares about the fledgling years of professional surfing, coming out, breaking down, the comparison of sex and tuberiding and  the redeeming power of love......Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer & Music By: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music: ‘Evergreen' by Band of Frequencies:  Men of Wood & Foam album  www.bandoffreqs.bandcamp.comJoin the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Waterpeoplepodcast.com