Beneath the Surface

Welcome to the 24th installment of the Beneath The Surface Podcast. 

Sometimes things just don’t come to fruition. Even with the best intentions, some projects just don’t see the light of day. In this episode, Corey and Sean discuss one such project: the creation of the Rover (OG) / Wake SUP board and the video shoot surrounding it. Shot with Billy Rossini and friends in North Carolina, this was one for the books. 

About five years ago, Billy came to Corey with an idea for a wake surf paddle board hybrid. Something that was small and maneuverable enough to catch waves, but once downtime rolled around, could also be used as more than a mere flotation device (like a normal surfboard). Corey and co. responded by taking this idea and running with it in the BOTE DarkRoom, and a few months later the Rover was born. 

A few more months after that, and it was time to head to Billy’s lake house in North Carolina to launch the product with a video and photo shoot. What ensues is a surreal and strange shoot with strobe lights and superhero suits. 

The product itself, for one reason or another, was never actually released. But who knows—maybe after you listen to this episode—it can be. The decision is in your hands. So, get listenin’.

Links from the Episode 

Deck out your board with strobe lights from NOCQUA. 

Refamiliarize yourself with the DarkRoom. 

Follow Sean on Instagram (he wants more followers).

Give us a comment on Facebook about whether you’d like to see the Rover in action.

Who’s in the Episode

Lead Designer, Co-Founder, and CEO at BOTE, Corey Cooper is a licensed engineer hailing from Auburn University. Corey is the pioneer of the DarkRoom, assisting with the design of the machinery, concepting the layout and ultimately developing the workflow used in DarkRoom production. Corey’s passion for this project is so strong that on any given day, regardless of how busy things are at BOTE, you will often find Corey working in the DarkRoom.

Sean Murphy is the Director of Photography at BOTE and a world-renowned photographer based in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. After spending most of his career based in Los Angeles, shooting for brands like Adidas, Red Bull, and Toyota, just to name a few, Sean moved back to the Redneck Riviera. You can find Sean capturing gritty America and spontaneous moments that translate into visually stunning photography. 

Sound Bites

“If you stood there and stared at those flashes just as a normal person, you’d be so screwed. Meanwhile, Billy is having to navigate a black wave at night, in the dark, staring into a strobe light, in a morph suit, with one eyehole.”  — Corey Cooper / BOTE CEO and Co-Founder

“We’re about to talk about a product we’ve never launched that we didn’t think was going to be commercially viable and put it back out there for public commentary.” — BOTE Corey Cooper / CEO and Co-Founder 

Aaaand they’re back for another wild and crazy episode of the Beneath the Surface Podcast. In the 23rd installment,  Beneath the Surface Podcast: The Compound, Corey and Sean take us on a journey from Los Angeles, CA, to Fort Walton Beach, FL. 

The stories take us through the course of Sean’s career spanning 26 years, from a punk rock photographer in the 1990’s to his work with BOTE in the present day. Sure, on the surface that sounds like a good time, but there’s more. In this episode they go beneath the surface, diving into inspiration, community, and creative expression. There are some layers to this onion; get ready to start peeling. Enjoy. 

Links from the Episode 

Take an intimate look at Sean’s life and work in BOTE Presents // Murphy – Simmer Down. 

Read the full Murphy -- Simmer Down story by Rob McAbee. 

Get to know Sean Murphy on Instagram.

Who’s in the Episode

Lead Designer, Co-Founder, and CEO at BOTE, Corey Cooper is a licensed engineer hailing from Auburn University. Corey is the pioneer of the DarkRoom, assisting with the design of the machinery, concepting the layout and ultimately developing the workflow used in DarkRoom production. Corey’s passion for this project is so strong that on any given day, regardless of how busy things are at BOTE, you will often find Corey working in the DarkRoom.

Sean Murphy is the Director of Photography at BOTE and a world-renowned photographer based in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. After spending most of his career based in Los Angeles, shooting for brands like Adidas, Red Bull, and Toyota, just to name a few, Sean moved back to the Redneck Riviera. You can find Sean capturing gritty America and spontaneous moments that translate into visually stunning photography.  

Welcome to the 22nd installment of the Beneath the Surface podcast, brought to you by lots of caffeine. In this week’s episode, Sean and Corey go behind the scenes of a National ADDY award-winning film Red & Brown, with one of the stars of the film, Mike Frenette, a.k.a. Red.

In Beneath the Surface: Red & Brown, the guys get real about the impacts of the pandemic on the outdoor industry; what makes Venice, LA, a unique place to visit and live; and the common thread that connects each of their businesses, authenticity. This week’s episode is a little longer than usual and worth every minute. Sit back and enjoy. 

Links from the Episode

Check out the full story: BOTE Presents // Red & Brown.

Stay comfortably outside of gator infested water with a 10’ inflatable dock.

Visit Red, Brown, and the fam, at Redfish Lodge in Venice, LA.

Get to know the coolest port town you’ve never heard of, Venice, Louisiana.

Who’s in the Episode

Lead Designer, Co-Founder, and CEO at BOTE, Corey Cooper is a licensed engineer hailing from Auburn University. Corey is the pioneer of the DarkRoom, assisting with the design of the machinery, concepting the layout and ultimately developing the workflow used in DarkRoom production. Corey’s passion for this project is so strong that on any given day, regardless of how busy things are at BOTE, you will often find Corey working in the DarkRoom.

Sean Murphy is the Director of Photography at BOTE and a world-renowned photographer based in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. After spending most of his career based in Los Angeles, shooting for brands like Adidas, Red Bull, and Toyota, just to name a few, Sean moved back to the Redneck Riviera. You can find Sean capturing gritty America and spontaneous moments that translate into visually stunning photography.  

Mike Frenette, a.k.a. Red, is a fishing guide based in Venice, LA, and star of the BOTE Presents film, Red & Brown. 

Welcome to episode 21 of the Beneath the Surface Podcast. In this episode, join Corey and Sean as they revisit trips to the Florida Keys which happens to be one of their all-time favorite places. 

In Beneath the Surface Podcast: Keys Reloaded, the guys reflect on the site where BOTE first launched and found out how badass one of their favorite products truly was, the Rover Micro Skiff. Making your mark on the world, voyaging into far off places, and embarking on journeys designed to discover our true selves and grow our knowledge of the world around us--the Rover is the perfect platform to help you take that journey. Whether stalking your catch, opening it up on a flat day, navigating shallow waters, dodging a storm, or hanging with a band of pirates, it’s all in a day’s work in the Florida Keys with the BOTE Rover micro skiff. Kick back and enjoy. 

Links from the Episode

Check out the Rover Micro Skiff.

Collaborations are in the pipeline with Ronnie Renner, a MotoX Freestyle RedBull Athlete.

Check out Mellow Ventures Key West next time you’re there.

Go fly fishing and everything in-between with Bear Holeman.

A signature Key West Annual Paddle Event, learn more about the Key West Classic.

Who’s in the Episode

Lead Designer, Co-Founder, and CEO at BOTE, Corey Cooper is a licensed engineer hailing from Auburn University. Corey is the pioneer of the DarkRoom, assisting with the design of the machinery, concepting the layout and ultimately developing the workflow used in DarkRoom production. Corey’s passion for this project is so strong that on any given day, regardless of how busy things are at BOTE, you will often find Corey working in the DarkRoom.

Sean Murphy is the Director of Photography at BOTE and a world-renowned photographer based in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. After spending most of his career based in Los Angeles, shooting for brands like Adidas, Red Bull, and Toyota, just to name a few, Sean moved back to the Redneck Riviera. You can find Sean capturing gritty America and spontaneous moments that translate into visually stunning photography. 

In the 20th installment of the Beneath the Surface Podcast, Corey and Sean have a conversation with Rob McAbee, BOTE Creative Director and Founder of Bug Slinger™️ fly fishing gear. Rob started Bug Slinger in 2007, right around the time Corey and Magda founded BOTE. As the BOTE and Bug Slinger™️ brands grew within the outdoor industry, it was inevitable that the paddle board fishing-focused company would collide with the fly fishing apparel brand and produce epic collaborations for years to come. 

The two companies have a lot of common threads, which include creating new categories within their industries and producing innovative designs that stand apart. In this episode of the Beneath the Surface Podcast, the guys dive into the creation of the Bug Slinger brand, the design process behind the BOTE brand, and a glimpse behind the scenes of the Bug Slinger and BOTE relationship.

Links from the Episode

Check out Bug SlingerTM and Buff® collaborations.

Introducing the new LONO Aero Inflatable Kayak 12'6" / Bug Slinger™ Tarpon.

Check out the BOTE x Bug SlingerTM line up.

Who’s in the Episode

Lead Designer, Co-Founder, and CEO at BOTE, Corey Cooper is a licensed engineer hailing from Auburn University. Corey is the pioneer of the DarkRoom, assisting with the design of the machinery, concepting the layout and ultimately developing the workflow used in DarkRoom production. Corey’s passion for this project is so strong that on any given day, regardless of how busy things are at BOTE, you will often find Corey working in the DarkRoom.

Sean Murphy is the Director of Photography at BOTE and a world-renowned photographer based in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. After spending most of his career based in Los Angeles, shooting for brands like Adidas, Red Bull, and Toyota, just to name a few, Sean moved back to the Redneck Riviera. You can find Sean capturing gritty America and spontaneous moments that translate into visually stunning photography.  

BOTE Creative Director, Rob McAbee, brings the style when it comes to designing eye-catching stand up paddle boards and developing color palettes, patterns, fonts, and illustrations that unite and define the BOTE brand. With over 25 years of professional brand building and marketing experience, Rob combined his love for fishing with his love for creative design when he joined the BOTE family in 2013. An avid fly fisher, Rob is the founder of Bug Slinger™ Fly Gear and, in collaboration with Corey, the creative brain behind the BOTE brand.

Sound Bites

“In 2007, I set out to create a hip clothing brand built around artistic designs to reflect a fresher insight into the fly fishing market. The designs and clothing reflected an outward expression of the way I viewed fly fishing. The designs were typically influenced by current trends from the action sports, fashion, and music industries. This trajectory has been applied to the BOTE brand over the last 8 years and has influenced the paddle sports space.” - Rob McAbee / BOTE Creative Director and Founder of Bug Slinger™

“When Corey asked me to design a few limited edition Bug Slinger™ boards, I thought to myself, ‘Sweet, I’ll get a couple of free boards!’ Eight years later, it’s been a hell of a ride being a part of building this brand.” - Rob McAbee / BOTE Creative Director 

In episode 19 of the Beneath the Surface Podcast, BOTE Creative Director, Rob McAbee, is in the studio with Corey and Sean to give us the dirt on the creation of their 2016 video, A Western Flow.  

When Rob gets the idea to float down Utah’s Green River for three days with a motley crew consisting of Sean, two off-the-grid extreme adventurers, and a few other characters,--all in the pursuit of showcasing the versatility and durability of BOTE’s inflatable paddle boards--things don’t quite go as planned.  Running into trouble the moment they launch off Flaming Gorge dam, this fly fishing paddling excursion has weird twists and turns from start to finish. Sit back and enjoy the latest installment of the Beneath the Surface Podcast.

Links for the Episode

There’s endless and ever changing scenery on Utah’s Green River.

Check out the board used on the trip, the Rackham Aero Inflatable Paddle Board.

A Western Flow, the BOTE video that’ll make you want to fly fish.

Read up on why Green River trout are so abundant.

Sean Murphy is a mad genius, just check out his photo portfolio.

Who’s in the Episode

Lead Designer, Co-Founder, and CEO at BOTE, Corey Cooper is a licensed engineer hailing from Auburn University. Corey is the pioneer of the DarkRoom, assisting with the design of the machinery, concepting the layout and ultimately developing the workflow used in DarkRoom production. Corey’s passion for this project is so strong that on any given day, regardless of how busy things are at BOTE, you will often find Corey working in the DarkRoom.

Sean Murphy is the Director of Photography at BOTE and a world-renowned photographer based in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. After spending most of his career based in Los Angeles, shooting for brands like Adidas, Red Bull, and Toyota, just to name a few, Sean moved back to the Redneck Riviera. You can find Sean capturing gritty America and spontaneous moments that translate into visually stunning photography.

BOTE Creative Director, Rob McAbee, brings the style when it comes to designing eye-catching stand up paddle boards and developing color palettes, patterns, fonts, and illustrations that unite and define the BOTE brand. With over 25 years of professional brand building and marketing experience, Rob combined his love for fishing with his love for creative design when he joined the BOTE family in 2013. An avid fly fisher, Rob is the founder of Bug Slinger Fly Gear and, in collaboration with Corey, the creative brain behind the BOTE brand. 

Sound Bites

“On top of the shit I already knew about Utah (Mormons and Moab), I also now know there’s a small group of kick ass people who inspired me to live in the moment along one of the most beautiful landscapes in the country.” - Sean Murphy / Director of Photography

In this episode, Corey and Sean team up with BOTE Creative Director Rob McAbee to talk about the first ever “BOTE Presents” trip. It was a product launch for The Grambler—a board that Rob envisioned as being a surf style board that wasn’t necessarily performance-based, but that would surf more like a longboard. 

Sure enough, that’s what the Grambler became. A board forged in Florida, yet with a chilled out vibe similar to Northern California. In other words, “East Coast Style Meets West Coast Soul”, the operational tagline for the Grambler. And it’s from this tagline that the “Grambler Out for Delivery” trip & film were born. 

Rob was good friends at the time with Tim and Nicki Bluhm—of the band Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers. They were planning on performing at the Hipnic Music Festival in Big Sur that year, and Rob loved the idea of pairing music with surf to fit the laidback ethos of the Grambler board. What better way than to set off on a surf-fueled, music-filled road trip up Highway 1 to deliver the boards to their musical ambassadors. 

Tune in to hear how the trip went, including stories about Sean’s tramp stamp tattoo, his dart gun, and a tense run-in with some super protective locals. 

Links from the Episode 

Get to know the Grambler. 

Listen to Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers. 

Visit Zuma Beach.

Watch Shane Reynolds’ Top 10 Locals List, PCH Edition.

Who’s in the Episode

Lead Designer, Co-Founder, and CEO at BOTE, Corey Cooper is a licensed engineer hailing from Auburn University. Corey is the pioneer of the DarkRoom, assisting with the design of the machinery, concepting the layout and ultimately developing the workflow used in DarkRoom production. Corey’s passion for this project is so strong that on any given day, regardless of how busy things are at BOTE, you will often find Corey working in the DarkRoom.

Sean Murphy is the Director of Photography at BOTE and a world-renowned photographer based in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. After spending most of his career based in Los Angeles, shooting for brands like Adidas, Red Bull, and Toyota, just to name a few, Sean moved back to the Redneck Riviera. You can find Sean capturing gritty America and spontaneous moments that translate into visually stunning photography.  

BOTE Creative Director, Rob McAbee, brings the style when it comes to designing eye-catching stand up paddle boards and developing color palettes, patterns, fonts, and illustrations that unite and define the BOTE brand. With over 25 years of professional brand building and marketing experience, Rob combined his love for fishing with his love for creative design when he joined the BOTE family in 2013. An avid fly fisher, Rob is the founder of Bugslinger Fly Gear and, in collaboration with Corey, the creative brain behind the BOTE brand. 

Sound Bites

“What could have turned out to be a complete nightmare turned out to be a killer week with unlimited cool shit happening non-stop... It was rad, but it was no Kana Beach.” — Sean Murphy, Director of Photography at BOTE

“The planning of a surf trip is one of those things in life that ranks up there with a kid’s anticipation of Christmas morning. This trip was no exception and the gear lists, the online recon for camping and surf spots, and all the traveling arrangements were made with the same excitement of ripping into those special gifts from Santa.” — Rob McAbee / Creative Brand Director

A lot of people think making pretty pictures is easy. In this episode, the 17th installment of the Beneath the Surface podcast, Corey and Sean set out to prove this theory wildly incorrect. To do so, they unveil the story behind the product launch of the LONO—BOTE’s revolutionary inflatable fishing kayak. 

The backstory all has to do with a fish. The tarpon, to be exact. A long silver prehistoric-looking beast that Sean has a long complicated love affair with. The tarpon is Sean’s Moby Dick. For 10 years, he tried to catch one of these “8-pound minnows” and never did. He’d sometimes hook one. But hooking one, and reeling one in proved to be not so similar things. 

The tarpon also happened to be the inspiration behind the design for the LONO, with tarpon scales decorating the hull in a bold blue, orange, and black color scheme. So it made sense that the tarpon (fish) would be a central fixation for the Tarpon (product). 

In Beneath the Surface Podcast: LONO Tarpon, Sean walks us through his journey to finally catch a tarpon, both on a rod and on camera. Tune in to hear how it went.

Links from the Episode 

See the LONO Aero Bug Slinger™ Tarpon Inflatable Kayak in action.

Learn even more about the LONO Aero Inflatable Kayak.

Live the fly fishing lifestyle? Check out the Bug Slinger line. 

Meet Sean’s friend Brian Wargo—a legend who once beat up a 12-foot tiger shark to save his friend.

Who’s in the Episode

Lead Designer, Co-Founder, and CEO at BOTE, Corey Cooper is a licensed engineer hailing from Auburn University. Corey is the pioneer of the DarkRoom, assisting with the design of the machinery, concepting the layout and ultimately developing the workflow used in DarkRoom production. Corey’s passion for this project is so strong that on any given day, regardless of how busy things are at BOTE, you will often find Corey working in the DarkRoom.

Sean Murphy is the Director of Photography at BOTE and a world-renowned photographer based in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. After spending most of his career based in Los Angeles, shooting for brands like Adidas, Red Bull, and Toyota, just to name a few, Sean moved back to the Redneck Riviera. You can find Sean capturing gritty America and spontaneous moments that translate into visually stunning photography.  

“Being older now, I understand: shit doesn’t always go your way. But it’s so rewarding when you put in all the extra effort and pre-work, and then if it happens… It’s epic.” — Sean Murphy, Director of Photography at BOTE

“You have an idea of what you want to happen. And from experience, I know that if you’re open-minded things will always work out and generally they always work out better. Even if you don’t catch a fish, it goes into something else that we didn’t expect.” -- Sean Murphy, Director of Photography at BOTE

“I just worked really hard at it. And eventually, this one took 10 years to catch the tarpon on the product that we needed to catch it on, in the right way. But it happened. The lighting was amazing. The water was clear. The fish was pretty.” -- Sean Murphy, Director of Photography at BOTE

Welcome back to the Beneath the Surface Podcast. Hot off the mic is episode 16, going behind the scenes of BOTE Presents // Devils of the Deep: The Red Assassin. The film is centered around Cash McGuinnes, a ridiculous fictional character played by BOTE’s very own Sean Murphy. The short film is a spoof of all spoofs, inspired by River Monsters and taking place in the Florida Panhandle.

Ever since his dad saved him from being eaten by a 300 lb. catfish when he was three, Cash McGuiness has been obsessed with what lurks beneath the surface. His life's mission is to hunt down the mysterious creatures that lie behind the rumors and myths.

In Beneath the Surface Podcast: Devils of the Deep, Sean and Corey sit down with the crew that helped to conceptualize and produce the film. As one might come to expect, there are a lot of twists and turns throughout the podcast with plenty of laugh out loud moments. Sit back, relax, and enjoy. 

Links from the Episode

If you haven’t already, please enjoy the chaos that is River Monsters.

Check out BOTE Presents // Devils of the Deep: The Red Assassin. 

Dark web 1.0 was a scary place. RIP rotten.com.

What exactly is a lizardfish? We didn’t know either.

Shout out to Brian Wargo, Carnegie Medal winner.

Who’s in the Episode

Lead Designer, Co-Founder, and CEO at BOTE, Corey Cooper is a licensed engineer hailing from Auburn University. Corey is the pioneer of the DarkRoom, assisting with the design of the machinery, concepting the layout and ultimately developing the workflow used in DarkRoom production. Corey’s passion for this project is so strong that on any given day, regardless of how busy things are at BOTE, you will often find Corey working in the DarkRoom.

Sean Murphy is the Director of Photography at BOTE and a world-renowned photographer based in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. After spending most of his career based in Los Angeles, shooting for brands like Adidas, Red Bull, and Toyota, just to name a few, Sean moved back to the Redneck Riviera. You can find Sean capturing gritty America and spontaneous moments that translate into visually stunning photography.  

BOTE Creative Director, Rob McAbee, brings the style when it comes to designing eye-catching stand up paddle boards and developing color palettes, patterns, fonts, and illustrations that unite and define the BOTE brand. With over 25 years of professional brand building and marketing experience, Rob combined his love for fishing with his love for creative design when he joined the BOTE family in 2013. An avid fly fisher, Rob is the founder of BugslingerTM Fly Gear and, in collaboration with Corey, the creative brain behind the BOTE brand. 

Wil Beaucher is an accomplished writer, director, and owner of 3 Hole Punch Productions (3HPP). 3HPP creates original scripts for film and television, as well as rewrites existing project scripts to give them an added punch. Outside of film and TV, 3HPP creates digital content for brands, from conceptualization to final product. Wil Beaucher is a long time friend and collaborator of Sean Murphy and has worked on several BOTE projects over the years, including the brand’s first KULA video.

Shane Reynolds is an award-winning videographer and producer based in Destin, Florida. 

In general, the Beneath the Surface podcast is often about boards, boats, and boatloads of memories. But what good is a paddle board without a place to paddle it? In this episode, Corey and Sean give us a hearty rundown of some of their favorite places to go paddling in Florida.

Broken down by types of waterways—from springs and rivers, to bays and bayous—and also broken down by types of paddlers—from hard-charging sadists to chilled out recreationalists, this list is a bona fide primer on great places to paddle in The Sunshine State.

As Sean says, “I find that there are many levels of paddlers. We are lucky here in Florida because there is so much variety and different types of water. Florida has something for every paddler.”

From the Florida Panhandle to Key West, the Suwannee to the Apalachicola, there are plenty of world-class paddling destinations in Florida’s waters for both experienced and novice paddlers alike. Enjoy.

Links from the Episode 

Experience the eerie beauty of the Dead Lakes.

Get dressed for the occasion. 

Explore Florida’s vast system of freshwater springs. 

Check paddling with manatees off your bucket list.

Who’s in the Episode

Lead Designer, Co-Founder, and CEO at BOTE, Corey Cooper is a licensed engineer hailing from Auburn University. Corey is the pioneer of the DarkRoom, assisting with the design of the machinery, concepting the layout and ultimately developing the workflow used in DarkRoom production. Corey’s passion for this project is so strong that on any given day, regardless of how busy things are at BOTE, you will often find Corey working in the DarkRoom.

Sean Murphy is the Director of Photography at BOTE and a world-renowned photographer based in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. After spending most of his career based in Los Angeles, shooting for brands like Adidas, Red Bull, and Toyota, just to name a few, Sean moved back to the Redneck Riviera. You can find Sean capturing gritty America and spontaneous moments that translate into visually stunning photography. 

Sound Bites

“Here in Florida, we have bayous, we have bays, we have the Gulf, we have rivers, we have lakes. So really the best thing about paddling is that there’s something for everybody.” - Sean Murphy, BOTE Director of Photography 

“Whether it’s river paddling or lake paddling or ocean paddling, it’s the personal experiences that make most of these things for us.” -- Corey Cooper, CEO and Co-Founder at BOTE