Shows
Waterpeople PodcastGary McNeill: Make It LastHow do we make magic boards last longer? Gary McNeill and Dave have been experimenting with alternative, non-petrochemical materials for the last decade. The front runner in their experiments? Flax cloth, for board strength and durability. Stab recently ran The Electric Acid Surfboard Test, to explore the validity of their flax tinkerings. This episode features the flax master himself, shaper Gary McNeill. Gazza absolutely fizzes about all things board design. He's an accomplished competitive surfer and has worked as production manager and/or ghost shaper for some of surfing’s most we...2025-02-0359 min
Waterpeople PodcastDanny Johnson: Don't Overthink ItWe’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 wombat, renowned question repeater, one David Rastovich, is this year’s test pilot.It's no secret: the stuff we use to go surfing is pretty toxic. Neoprene, wax, swimwear, surfboards. Most are petroleum products in one form or another...2024-11-191h 12
Waterpeople PodcastNidala Barker: Where We Belong“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.” – Nidala BarkerNidala is a surfer, musician and custodianship educator. She traces part of her ancestral roots to the Djugun and Jabirr-Jabirr people of the Kimberley in Australia’s North West, where she was i...2024-07-061h 36
Waterpeople PodcastDr. Kevin Stone: How to Play ForeverWhy 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 to Recover From Injury and Thrive. Dr. Kevin Stone is a waterman and a world-renowned expert in biologic joint replacement. He founded The Stone Clinic and is Chairman of the Stone Research Foundation. Dr. Stone has...2024-06-2349 min
Waterpeople PodcastPauline Menczer: The Uncensored UnderdogHow 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. Pauline was a dirt-poor, chronically ill teen from Bondi, who defied insults and intimidation to make a name for herself in the surfing world. When Pauline's determination propelled her onto the pro tour, h...2024-06-091h 25
Waterpeople PodcastSung Min Cho: African AlohaWhen 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 O...2024-06-081h 11
Waterpeople PodcastTorren Martyn & Aiyana Powell: Solo, TogetherEver 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 Aiya...2024-06-081h 36
Waterpeople PodcastAnnie Ford: Adventurous ActivismThe 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 i...2024-01-171h 42
Waterpeople PodcastSally Parkin: Sell the HouseAre 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...2024-01-021h 05
Waterpeople PodcastStu Nettle: Voice & VertigoInjuries 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 live...2023-12-281h 13
Waterpeople PodcastPacha Lina Luque Light: Learning the LanguageRaised 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 t...2023-12-181h 41
Waterpeople PodcastTyler C. Wilde: The Missing PieceHave 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...2023-11-261h 09
Waterpeople PodcastTom Carroll: Under the LipA 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 an...2023-11-181h 24
Waterpeople PodcastChristian and Ka'ale Sea: Many BeginningsMany 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 c...2023-10-212h 00
Waterpeople PodcastFlora Christin Butarbutar: Kampung LifeAround 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...2023-09-241h 07
Waterpeople PodcastMoana Jones Wong: AwakeningCan 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 ...2023-08-231h 09
Waterpeople PodcastLewis Arnold and Chris Nelson: Neoprene is ToxicWhat 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...2023-08-091h 17
Waterpeople PodcastFelicity Palmateer: Nature’s CourseIf 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...2023-07-2458 min
Waterpeople PodcastElizabeth Nguyen: Ancestral Stream“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 wa...2023-07-061h 16
Waterpeople PodcastChris Del Moro: Lead with DeedsWith 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 b...2023-06-211h 40
Waterpeople PodcastBelen Alvarez Kimble: Watch MeWhen 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 s...2023-06-081h 33
Waterpeople PodcastRusty Miller: Surfing Through LifeWhat'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 Alb...2023-06-081h 36
Waterpeople PodcastSeason 5 TrailerWelcome 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 Send us a text...Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander Theme song: S...2023-06-0813 min
Waterpeople PodcastJames Nestor: Shut Your MouthIs 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 trav...2023-03-061h 10
Waterpeople PodcastLaola Lake Aea: Maka'alaLore 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...2023-02-2055 min
Waterpeople PodcastRick Ridgeway: Wild LifeHow 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 tra...2023-02-071h 08
Waterpeople PodcastPeggy Oki: Artful ActivismAs 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 wellb...2022-12-211h 29
Waterpeople PodcastJock Sutherland: Muscle MemoryIn 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 o...2022-12-141h 08
Waterpeople PodcastBonus: Guided Meditation with Nathan OldfieldFollowing 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.comPhoto Credit: Nathan OldfieldSend us a text2022-11-2315 min
Waterpeople PodcastNathan Oldfield: Breathing RoomNathan 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...2022-11-231h 11
Waterpeople PodcastAndy Ridley: Crowd PowerMost 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 cr...2022-11-0950 min
Waterpeople PodcastKarina Petroni: GumptionWhat 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. Kar...2022-11-031h 28
Waterpeople PodcastGwyn Haslock: First LadyGwyn 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 Brit...2022-11-0337 min
Waterpeople PodcastChelsea Woody: Cultivating KinshipFor 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 an...2022-08-261h 21
Waterpeople PodcastJack Johnson: Time, Dreams & The HeartIn 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 Johnso...2022-08-1056 min
Waterpeople PodcastKshisya Tachanskaya: Gifting Good DaysWhat 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 Portuga...2022-07-2940 min
Waterpeople PodcastTom Wegener: The Artisan's WayUnlike 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...2022-07-071h 23
Waterpeople PodcastTom Wegener: Part 2Part 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...2022-07-0733 minWaterpeople PodcastWelcome to Season FourWaterpeople 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 th...2022-06-2155 min
Waterpeople PodcastSam Bloom: Gravity & BuoyancyWhat 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 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. Sa...2022-06-211h 08Waterpeople PodcastCommitted to QuestionsTo 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...2022-02-281h 27
Waterpeople PodcastFergal Smith: GroundedWhat 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...2022-01-191h 23
Waterpeople PodcastAcknowledging Pain & A Living Legacy with Gumbayngirr / Yaegl artist Mick LaurieWhat 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 oblig...2021-12-081h 08
Waterpeople PodcastJohn Florence: Navigating EdgesOlympian 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 em...2021-11-251h 17
Waterpeople PodcastRegenerating Reefs with Gator Halpern of CORAL VITAWe’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 are 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 2021-11-1747 min
Waterpeople PodcastSachi Cunningham: Thriving On ChaosIn 2011, Sachi Cunningham quit her dream job and her psychiatric medication ( for Bipolar 1 ) 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...2021-11-081h 25
Waterpeople PodcastHow to Change A Mind with Louie PsihoyosLouie 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. ...2021-10-251h 14
Waterpeople PodcastDaize & Aamion Goodwin: A Holy PauseThe 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 mai...2021-10-111h 05
Waterpeople PodcastSurfers for Climate Action Now with Belinda BaggsCo-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 fo...2021-10-0148 min
Waterpeople PodcastTaki Gold: Scar GazingHe 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...2021-09-211h 11
Waterpeople PodcastNature as the Third Parent with psychologist Robin GrilleWhat 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...2021-09-031h 32
Waterpeople PodcastJack McCoy: Life & BreathSeven 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 fi...2021-08-2656 min
Waterpeople PodcastChanging the Visuals with RHONDA HARPERRhonda 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 su...2021-08-121h 13
Waterpeople PodcastTaylor Steele: The Observer EffectIf 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 th...2021-08-021h 20
Waterpeople PodcastValerie Taylor: Sixty Years with SharksDo 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 he...2021-07-271h 05
Waterpeople PodcastLynne Boyer: All These SecretsOur 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, b...2021-07-141h 26
Waterpeople PodcastIsaiah Helekunihi Walker: Claiming KuleanaHow far are you willing to go to protect the place where you live, love and belong? Native Hawaiians have had to face this question regularly over the last century or so, as colonialism threatened, and continues to threaten, indigenous ways of being, playing and thriving in their islands. Professor/Surfer Isaiah Helekunihi Walker contextualises Hawaiian localism within the historical framework of waves of colonialism -- from the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom to the annual onslaught of the surfing industry on the fabled North Shore. Isaiah is the author of "Waves of Resistance: Surfing a...2021-07-051h 30
Waterpeople PodcastSusan Casey: FathomingWhat do you do with sparks of curiosity? Susan Casey follows many of them into full immersion: jet skiing down the face of a Pe'ahi set wave with Laird Hamilton, into the lightless innerspace of the deep marine biosphere via submersible, and straight to the ruins of forgotten ancient cultures to ascertain truth and significance for herself --- while taking readers along for the ride. Susan Casey, a self-proclaimed 'stealth activist,' is the author of three New York Times bestselling books including The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean, The...2021-06-281h 30Waterpeople PodcastWelcome to Season ThreeListen with Lauren L. Hill, Dave Rastovich and Waterpeople's sound engineer/ in-house musician Shannon Sol Carroll as they sit down to recalibrate for another 21 episodes of conversation with some of the world's most adept waterpeople -- and those stretching the culture in imperative ways. .....Hosts: Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer & Music By: Shannon Sol Carroll Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast Waterpeoplepodcast.comSend us a text...Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander 2021-06-2146 min
Waterpeople PodcastCyrus Sutton: Perceiving PatternHow do we apply pattern literacy learned from ocean life to the land? What have we learned from our historically colonial approach to surf culture? How do we move ourselves and our culture forward in regenerative ways that favour meaningful relationship within our own community and the living world? Homesteading surfer, filmmaker and entrepreneur Cyrus Sutton invites us to engage with these questions, and more, in our omnivorous conversation about leaving pro surfing and Southern California, cultivating mentorships, permaculture, intergenerational relationship, questioning the assumptions of the environmental movement and the value of B Corps. Cyrus S...2021-06-211h 44
Waterpeople PodcastMary Setterholm: So Then I PrayedOne year after founding the Women's International Surfing Association in 1975, Mary Setterholm bought a bus ticket and left surfing behind -- her community and the culture she was helping to shape. Mary is a graduate of Harvard Divinity School has gone on teach hundreds of women and at risk youth the art of riding waves. She shares the painful story of why she left and how she found her way back to the ocean. .....Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichMore about MarySound Engineer & Music By: Shannon S...2020-12-082h 06
Waterpeople PodcastThomas Campbell: Chasing SensationArtists take us to other worlds; they reflect or refract the beauty in ours, or not. They transport us and stretch us and dream for those of us who have forgotten. We are the artful animal -- and perhaps we need art more now than ever. For more than two decades, Thomas Campbell has shown us a quirkier and more open minded culture of surfing via sculpture, painting, photography and film. In watery circles, he's best known for his trio of analog surf films, including the seedling sprout, and the present, all of which instructively inspired surf c...2020-11-241h 23
Waterpeople PodcastJaimal Yogis: Inner OceanHow do we navigate our own inner ocean -- the fear and anxiety and unhelpful fixations ? Student of Zen Buddhism, and surfer, Jaimal Yogis shares some of his learnings from a life committed to riding waves and cultivating peace through varying practices of meditation and mindfulness. Jaimal has become one of the leading literary voices in fleshing out the metaphorical depth, richness and spirituality of a surfing life. His books include Saltwater Buddha, All Our Waves are Water, The Fear Project, and most recently, a children’s book Mop Rides the Waves of Life: A Story of Min...2020-11-101h 12
Waterpeople PodcastCetacean Culture with Dr. Liz HawkinsDr. Liz Hawkins is a marine ecologist who has spent more than 20 years researching cetaceans. Liz is the founder and CEO of Dolphin Research Australia, where she heads up research and education about the social systems, communication, population dynamics, and health of dolphins in Northern New South Wales and South East Queensland. ...Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer & Music by: Shannon Sol Carroll Artist in Residence: Chris Miyashiro Join the conversation: Waterpeoplepodcast.com@Waterpeoplepodcast Photo Credit: Unknown (If you to...2020-11-031h 14
Waterpeople PodcastTory Strange: A Place to StayAt least once a day for 36 years, Tory Strange has provided a surf report for waterfolk in his hometown of St. Augustine, Fl. Waking most days to see the sunrise for the dawn patrol report, Tory has developed an especially intimate understanding of his local beach. Tory is also an entrepreneur and owner of one of the world's most community-centric surf shops, The Surf Station. He has shaped US East Coast surf culture by nurturing the careers of talented surfers, filmmakers and writers, and more broadly, by creating a place where many learn what it means to b...2020-10-2659 min
Waterpeople PodcastSeaweedy Solutions with marine ecologist Dr. Pia WinbergDr. Pia Winberg is marine ecologist and entrepreneur. A fascination with the scientific properties of seaweed led her to a decades long career in both researching and implementing sustainable marine food production systems – specifically the human and eco-systemic health impacts of growing, consuming and nurturing our relationship with seaweed. Seaweed is recognized as a potentially major ally in drawing down the carbon that fuels climate change – and for its ability to create rich marine habitat and provide substantive nutrition for humankind Pia started and runs Australia’s first commercial seaweed farm and is working to share th...2020-10-2048 min
Waterpeople PodcastPaige Alms: Unfurling FateTwo Time Big Wave World Champion Paige Alms was born in Canada. At age 7, a life-altering trip completely changed the course for her family and set Paige on the path toward shaping modern big wave surfing. Paige is a co-founder of the Committee for Equity in Women’s Surfing (CEWS), established in 2016, with her peers in professional big wave surfing: Keala Kennelly, Andrea Moller, and Bianca Valenti. Their vision and persistence in challenging the World Surf League’s history of pay inequity played a key role in demanding the WSL to implement pay parity and bolster women’s repr...2020-10-1354 min
Waterpeople PodcastDoing Death Well with Zenith ViragoZenith Virago is founder of the Natural Death Care Centre, where she guides folks through the process of dying, death and bereavement. As Waterpeople, most of us dance the line with risk regularly, and we know how alive we feel in spaces that we can’t control – like the ocean. Choosing to be a part of a wild space can offer us a healthy respect for death – and an active appreciation for life. As a deathwalker, Zen challenges us all to consider death as an inherent part of the process of living well. Her work raises i...2020-10-051h 09
Waterpeople PodcastDane Gudauskas: Universal LanguagesFreesurfer Dane Gudauskas is known equally for his sunny demeanour and powerful approach to the world's heaviest lefhanders. Dane is co-founder of Positive Vibe Warriors, a foundation that assists communities with youth water safety programs and ocean education.In our meandering mid-lockdown conversation, Dane muses on the depression that opened him up to deep compassion, the value of listening, the parenting philosophies that shaped the Gudauskas brothers, saying I Love You for the first time, the joy of surrender in riding his 13'11 glider, what it takes to be a freesurfer, and more. ........2020-09-291h 21
Waterpeople PodcastThe KariOi Project with Kristel Van HouteKristel Van Houte is a surfer and marine ecologist based in the coastal town of Raglan, on the north island of New Zealand. She started the KariOi Project just over 10 years ago with a vision to restore biodiversity from local mountain to sea. The KariOi Project does some of the dirtier work of protecting biodiversity: trapping and removing invasive predators that threaten endemic migrating sea birds. Their extensive invasive predator control programme enlists the local community to remove animals not native to New Zealand, who prey on vulnerable sea bird eggs and chicks. In the process, they are...2020-09-1837 min
Waterpeople PodcastAshley Lloyd: Shaping Our FutureSurfer/Shaper Ashley Lloyd is ambidextrous when it comes to both planer and technical hang tens. Featured in films like Tiffany Campbell's Dear & Yonder, her surfing is both precise and powerful. Ashley talks us through the technical aspects of experimenting with innovative, plant-based materials in her ECOboard verified shapes, embodying the changes of pregnancy and motherhood, switch-stance as a practice of self expansion, and the way new boards can open us up to new sensations. .....Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichMore about AshleySound Engineer: Shannon Sol...2020-09-151h 07
Waterpeople PodcastReframing Relationship: Respect and Reciprocity with Bundjalung Brothers Josh & Kyle SlabbJosh and Kyle Slabb are Bundjalung men who live, fish, surf and raise their families near the fabled sand bottom point break of Fingal Head on the east coast of Australia – where their ancestors have thrived for tens of thousands of years. The Slabbs are a renowned and respected family among coastal communities all over Australia, for their water prowess, cultural integrity and willingness to share indigenous ways of thinking and relating through their cultural education organization Banaam, which works to empower all Australians through cultural intelligence. Banaam teaches businesses, organizations and communities how to appl...2020-09-0841 min
Waterpeople PodcastCliff Kapono: Tomorrow's AncestorsNative Hawaiian biochemist Dr. Cliff Kapono talks us through the embodied fusion of modern scientific inquiry and reverent indigeneity. Cliff is amongst the most versatile surfers on the planet.He shares some of his most vulnerable moments, brimming with frustration and self-doubt, and humbly reflects on the ways a surfing life has kept him here. In our meandering conversation, Cliff also covers the conflict of biotech, environmental activism, traditional Hawaiian lore & surf crafts, and reveals the micro-interconnections between surfers and other marine mammals. .....Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichMore...2020-09-011h 25
Waterpeople PodcastLearning to Listen to the Land with Permaculturist Geoff LawtonGeoff Lawton is a permaculture systems designer who has spent more than thirty years implementing and teaching the holistic mindset and ethical design science of permaculture. He has educated more than 15,000 students and consulted on projects in 52 countries around the world. If you’re curious to learn more about permaculture design or philosophy, Geoff has generously provided Waterpeople listeners with free access to his Permaculture Greenroom, where you’ll find inspiring, free video content from Geoff himself, one of the leading permaculture designers in the world. .....Welcome to our new series, Watershed Chats, conv...2020-08-2548 min
Waterpeople PodcastDr. Easkey Britton: The Playful EdgeIn 2010, Easkey Britton was drawn to Iran and the possibility of surf in the Arabian Sea. She became the first woman in known history to surf Iran’s Baluchistan Coast and found not only surf, but a hospitable culture eager to grow a surfing community of its own.At home in Ireland, Easkey was the first woman to charge the premier big wave peaks of Aileens and Mullaghmore. She was crowned Irish National Champion five times over. Now a marine social scientist, Easkey holds a PhD in Environment and Society. She is co-founder of the NGO...2020-08-181h 31
Waterpeople PodcastEveryday Earth Repair with freesurfer HEATH JOSKEHeath Joske is a waterman committed to regenerating his homelands. In one of the driest parts of one of the driest continents on Earth, Heath has committed to rehabilitating his large coastal acreage that was stripped bare by industrial agriculture. Between riding some of Australia’s most revered and underground waves and raising a young family, Heath is employing the principles of permaculture to bring balance back to his local, coastal ecology. .....Welcome to our new series, Watershed Chats, conversational deep dives with experts and those in service of solutions for a healthier and habitable fut...2020-08-1138 min
Waterpeople PodcastNik Zanella: Decoding DynastiesDelve into one of surfing's new, ancient histories with surf explorer and author Nik Zanella's first-hand account of unravelling the ancient story of wave riding in dynastic China.Nik is the author of Children of the Tide and a former coach to the Chinese National Surf Team. .....Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichMore about NikSound Engineer: Shannon Sol Carroll Music by: Shannon Sol Carroll & Band of Frequencies Join the conversation: Waterpeoplepodcast.com@Waterpeoplepodcast Photo Credit: Unknown (If...2020-08-041h 05
Waterpeople PodcastThe Blue Economy & A Rights Based Approach with Beyond the Surface International's EMI KOCHEmi Koch is a surfer and the 2018 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year. More recently, she was awarded a prestigious Fulbright Fellowship for her work that explores social-ecological wellbeing in artisanal, Tropical-Majority fishing villages amidst a changing climate.Emi’s non-profit, Beyond the Surface International, hosts a suite of projects that use surfing as tool for social justice, youth empowerment, and sustainable community development around the world. In this exploratory chat, Emi talks about the white saviour complex, the power of imagery, expanding dated ideas of "charity" work for a more systems-based approach, and the subsequent responsibility of...2020-07-2846 minWaterpeople PodcastStarting Over & The Sea: LIVE featuring '93 World Champ Pauline Menczer, Raf Browne, Jonny Dustow & Rosalie BryantLive from the Waterpeople stage at The 2020 Byron Byron Surf Festival, 1993 World Champion Pauline Menczer, switch-foot wizard Raf Browne, Vanlife Diaries founder and musician Jonny Dustow, and writer Rosalie Bryant share personal tales of new beginnings. They explore how the ocean buoyed them through health crises, bizarre ego smashing, fleeting moments of superhuman strength, and unexpected loss. .....Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichSound Engineer: Shannon Sol Carroll Music by: Shannon Sol Carroll & Band of Frequencies Join the conversation: Waterpeoplepodcast.com@Waterpeoplepodcast Send us a...2020-07-211h 35
Waterpeople PodcastHow Water Shapes Us with Blue Mind author Dr. WALLACE 'J' NICHOLSDr. Wallace 'J' Nichols is a marine biologist and author of Blue Mind, an interdisciplinary reimagining of the story of water and the vast cognitive, social, physical and spiritual benefits of being in, around, and under healthy water systems. His integrative approach to research and activism, informed by decades scientific inquiry, begs the question: how can we create a healthier world if we aren't well in our own minds and bodies?.....Welcome to our new series, Watershed Chats, conversational deep dives with experts and those in service of solutions for a healthier and habitable future...2020-07-1443 min
Waterpeople PodcastGerry Lopez: A Sense of StillnessLegend of style, ease and ingenuity, Gerry Lopez, shares stories about growing up in Hawaii, the balance he found in the mountains, tube-riding mysticism, and one of the unsung sheros of surfing. Gerry pioneered deep tube riding at the Pipeline, acted in Hollywood films, and helped to build the early surf industry with his entrepreneurial curiosity. He is an icon of the art of surfing, a masterful boardbuilder, dedicated yogi, and teacher of the great metaphors of ocean life. .....Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichMore about Gerry...2020-07-071h 09
Waterpeople PodcastMitigating Micro-plastics with Marine Biologist ALICE FORRESTFreshly back from an expedition to Antarctica, Alice shares her experience of the frozen ocean and talks us through the complex conversation, but simple solutions, found in her new publication, Micro Plastics, Massive Problem.Alice’s field work has taken her to remote islands throughout the Pacific & Indian Oceans to study marine debris on beaches, and that consumed by birds, fish and humans. Alice Forrest is dive master, wildlife guide and marine biologist specializing in marine plastic pollution. .....Welcome to our new series, Watershed Chats, conversational deep dives with experts and those in...2020-06-3040 min
Waterpeople PodcastProtecting People & The Planet with Intersectional Environmentalist LEAH THOMASWhat are the links between social justice and environmentalism? Leah Thomas is at the leading edge of Intersectional Environmentalism, a term she coined as a way to advocate for the protection of people and the planet simultaneously. Leah, a writer and activist, is blooming the efforts of Environmental Justice advocates. After posting a simple, but powerful graphic and pledge on Instagram, Leah’s unifying ideas went viral amidst the rising tide of the Black Lives Matter movement. By focusing on the lived experiences of marginalised people and communities, who also bear disproportionate impacts from environmental cr...2020-06-1634 min
Waterpeople PodcastMobilizing the Coastal Constituency with SEAN DOHERTYDeconstruct strategies from the successful Fight for the Bight campaign with one of the movement's central voices, Sean Doherty, one of surfing's most celebrated storytellers. The campaign was a win not only for Australian marine life, livelihoods and coastlines, but also for the power of community to peacefully resist corporate insanity. Sean is a journalist and author who has spent more than three decades shaping the way we perceive the happenings of surf culture, identity, and industry, with a humorous, self-deprecating, Aussie larrikin tone. Sean has helped to empower, educate, and activate a coastal constituency...2020-05-2429 min
Waterpeople PodcastGetting Solution-Centric with Filmmaker DAMON GAMEAUExplore the cultivation of critical thinking, harnessing hope by localising climate change actionables, and the transformative power of the experiential with filmmaker Damon Gameau. Damon is an actor and filmmaker. He directed That Sugar Film, an exposé on the personal and political impacts of consuming refined sugars, which became the highest grossing Australian documentary of all time. More recently, Damon wrote and directed 2040 a feature documentary that explores what the future would look like if we embraced the best solutions already available to us to counter climate change. Welcome to our ne...2020-05-1941 min
Waterpeople PodcastWatershed Chats: IntroductionWelcome to our new series, Watershed Chats, conversational deep dives with experts and those having a go at building and dreaming new ways into fruition for a healthy and habitable future on Planet Ocean. We’ll pick up with our usual Waterpeople storytelling on July 7th, and until then, we’ll be releasing bi-monthly episodes of Watershed Chats, presented by The Waterpeople Podcast in collaboration with Patagonia. Watershed moments are traditionally understood as a division or distinction between two phases. They can be turning points that define our shared history. We want to know...2020-05-1901 min
Waterpeople PodcastHelena Norberg-Hodge: Our Local FuturesHelena Norberg-Hodge has experienced radical economic and cultural change before. In 1975, as a student of linguistics amongst the glacial melt of the Himalayas, Helena witnessed the rapid erosion of traditional culture that followed the introduction of Western ideas and ideals to the isolated territory of Ladakh, or "Little Tibet." As an economist, linguist and filmmaker, she has been promoting an economics of personal, social and ecological well-being for more than 30 years. Helena is a pioneer in the field of localisation and offers practical solutions for changing the systems that aren't serving us best; for coping and deepening...2020-04-141h 27
Waterpeople PodcastAlbe Falzon: Everything Is SurfingSometimes loss never really leaves us. We can't stop those waves of emotion, longing or pain, but we can learn to ride them compassionately. Albe Falzon is one of surfing's great storytellers. His study of eastern spiritual traditions, and the wholistic commitment to a surfing life, have guided him through the inevitable tumult of human existence; through seasons of unthinkable loss, love, adventure, and solitude. Albe's celebratory films, including Morning of the Earth and Festivals of the World, convey the deep reverence and wonderment that he walks every single day. .....Listen with Lauren...2019-12-281h 09
Waterpeople PodcastLiz Clark: Re-inventing Rites of PassageLiz Clark has sailed and surfed 25,000 nautical miles across and around the Pacific. Mostly solo. She is a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year.But before all of that, Liz started with a simple dream to explore by sea. That seemingly simple dream turned into more than a decade of rich and complex ocean life, and became a transformative rite of passage of her own making. Liz shares a story from being pushed to her limits during a 1300 mile solo crossing and the salty, rough conditions that opened her eyes to the 'caustic' nature of...2019-12-0854 min
Waterpeople PodcastMadison Stewart: Shark Girl"I work to take back what I believe is mine, and that is a future in an ocean that has sharks.” At 14, Madison Stewart had a transformative experience with sharks on the Great Barrier Reef that set her on a path to marine science and conservation work. She is a dive master, filmmaker, 2017’s Australian Geographic Society Young Conservationist of the Year and author of The Australian Guide to Surfing with Sharks. Madison is a young filmmaker and entrepreneur who knows sharks as both gnarly and magical. She's spent the last decade dedicating her time and energy to re...2019-11-201h 21
Waterpeople PodcastJake Mackenzie: More, more, more"One is too many and a thousand isn’t enough," says Jake Mackenzie, of his adventurous, but addictive tendencies. Jake is an all-around waterman, and an entrepreneur. Jake shares a story of the spiritual awakening that led him back to the sea, after descending into "a vampire lifestyle" of addiction, hallucination and off-the-rails experimentation. A single moment sent him packing for a slow-moving journey of detox and healing though Europe and, eventually, to the Mediterranean. He knew the medicine he needed was sunlight and saltwater. Jake's is a story of surrender, regaining connection, service and alw...2019-11-0345 min
Waterpeople PodcastHayley Talbot: Paddling in the DarkHayley Talbot is the first person to solo kayak the great Clarence River (Boorimbah) from source to sea, a 400 kilometre voyage. She's a former competitive surfer and lawyer who found her home in fresh water. In 2017, Hayley Talbot found herself mired in the monotony of raising two young children. She’d yearned to know more about the source of the Clarence River, where she’d grown up and surfed around the river mouth. She wanted to know where it came from. Hayley spent two years preparing, having never kayaked before, but kissed her two young childr...2019-10-191h 05
Waterpeople PodcastDerek Hynd: Conducting ChaosCulture shaper and former world Tour Surfer Derek Hynd has always felt like an outsider looking in. In Episode 8, he talks far field theory, seeing magic in the mundane, how style has been made irrelevant in modern competitive surfing and the impact of vanishing hipsters. He also boils down the gender performance gap to one singular element. It's a meandering conversation with many delightful twists and turns that'll make you want to revisit your surf history. Several months after recording this episode, Derek's house tragically caught fire and he lost almost all of his earthly possessions. Some...2019-10-021h 12
Waterpeople PodcastZara Noruzi: Surfing in ExileZara was kidnapped and imprisoned by the Iranian government for her activism. The ocean helped her find a path toward belonging after fleeing her homeland. Zara Noruzi was born an upper middle class girl with political subversion in her blood. She lived through the devastating war between Iraq and Iran. At university she wrote feminist articles and participated in student protests, begging for answers about why women were being denied basic human rights after the regime change.Zara detailed her experiences in her memoir My Life As a Traitor.In Episode 7 of The...2019-09-151h 01
Waterpeople PodcastPeter Whish-Wilson: Senator SurferPeter Whish-Wilson walked away from a big shot banking career in NYC to honor a deep responsibility to protect wild spaces and species. He's now a surfing senator for the great, wild Australian state of Tasmania. What do we do when we've made life choices that make us miserable? Listen as Peter Whish-Wilson shares about the moments that changed his life and livelihood, inspired by the freedom and connection surfing revealed for him. Peter speaks candidly about internalising the stress of negotiating high stakes political situations, the power of the surfer’s circle as a symb...2019-09-011h 02
Waterpeople PodcastLeah Dawson: Discovering FemininityFreesurfer Leah Dawson peels back the layers and dares to ask: "What makes me feel most like myself?" and "How is my surfing an extension of that self?"There are many ways to be male, and many ways to be female. Though our culture is full of prescriptions for how to do it the “right” way. Leah Dawson thanks surfing for leading her along the path to honouring her femininity. Exploring retro-to-modern single fins, twin fins, finless boards, and shaping herself, Leah is among a small handful of surfers who seek to explore the spectrum of wave size...2019-08-1537 min
Waterpeople PodcastMark Healey: Confronting DiscomfortLegendary waterman Mark Healey lost three friends to heavy water situations through the course of the early 2000s. He speaks candidly about the ways these experiences rewired his process of risk assessment, while maintaining his relationship with the water and his career as a professional risk taker: chasing big waves, free diving, spearfishing, shark tagging, bow hunting, and working as a Hollywood stuntman. Mark also shares about relying on instincts in heavy situations, the importance of being able to override the fear response through preparation, and asking the tough questions of yourself about the 'whys' of decision-making. M...2019-07-3147 min
Waterpeople PodcastKimi Werner: Flipping Your InstinctsAt the height of her competitive spearfishing career, Kimi Werner began battling with inner demons that turned the once-solace of the ocean into a cacophony of self-criticism. Kimi’s is a story about attaining dreams, losing love, wrestling with dissatisfaction and, ultimately, finding love again in the deep. Our conversation dives into reckoning with fear, flipping your instincts in heavy water situations, and the beauty of knowing where your food comes from. Kimi Werner is a former U.S. National Champion spearfisher, a freediver, and chef. … The Waterpeople Podcast is a gathering...2019-07-191h 01Waterpeople PodcastIntroduction to The Waterpeople Podcast with Lauren L. Hill & Dave RastovichOn The Waterpeople Podcast, we're delving deep into the intricacies of how the world's most adept waterpeople make lives of great meaning through meaningful play. In this episode Lauren L. Hill and Dave Rastovich elucidate the the 'whys' of making the podcast, reveal about their highlights from Season One, and welcome you to their watery world. ... The Waterpeople Podcast is a gathering for our global ocean community to dive into the critical conversations of our culture through storytelling. We sit with some of the most adept waterpeople on the planet to explore common themes of aq...2019-07-1828 minWaterpeople Podcast'Overcoming:' Live at Byron Bay Surf Festival 2019Stories of triumph, challenge and the sea, brought to you live from Byron Bay Surf Festival. Listen as five brave waterfolk share their real and raw stories of overcoming or being overcome: finding surfing later in life, realising purpose after a life changing injury, living with cancer, searching for an unknown family member, wrestling with the death of a parent – and finding the dark humour. The ocean buoyed them amidst some of the most tumultuous experiences of their lives. With live musical performances by Dusty Boots Music & Felipe Baldomir. ... The Waterpeople Podcast is a gathering for our globa...2019-07-181h 06