Beneath the Surface

Corey and Sean are back at it again with the fourth installation of the Beneath the Surface Podcast: San Somewhere. When Sean approaches Corey in 2019 with a video narrative of paddle board surfing dogs down in Mexico, Corey responds the only way one should: “Sounds rad to me, man.” And Sean was off.

In this podcast episode, Corey and Sean take you behind the camera of their 2019 video, San Somewhere. It’s crazy how fate works for Sean Murphy. From surfing at Silver Strand in Oxnard, California, a great place to get your tires slashed and your ass beat if you’re not a local, to meeting a future lifelong friend and skateboarding bulldog fur-dad, Ron Davis, this episode showcases how happenstance just so happens to make a kickass video.

Get ready for a crazy ride, spanning from California all the way to Scorpion Bay, San Juanico, all in the pursuit of some SUP with dogs.

LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

• Meet the OG of dogs on wheels, Tillman the Bulldog.
• Even Oxnards visitor site pleads for good surfing etiquette at Silver Strand.
• Gotta check out Scorpion Bay for yourself? We don’t blame you.
• Sean Murphy does it again with stunning photography and turns out, he’s pretty good at writing, too.
• If you get the urge to try SUP with your dog, check out the Flood Paddle Board.

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 paddle boards and the awesome gear that accompanies them. 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.

Ron Davis is a man of many talents, but his own proclamation is that he’s a beach bum in the highest regard. He is also a lover of dogs and looks to marry his two passions of surf and mutts as much as possible. Spending a good chunk of his life in Oxnard, California, Ron decided to make Scorpion Bay, San Juanico, his permanent home for an undetermined amount of time. When he’s not catching a wave with two or more dogs on his board, you’ll find him contributing to the community of Scorpion Bay any way he can.

In the third installment of the Beneath the Surface Podcast, Sean and Corey discuss the inspiration behind the Rover.

It’s a micro skiff. It’s a paddle board with a motor. It’s the Rover.

In Beneath the Surface: Rover, Not Your Average Micro Skiff, Sean interviews Corey about the identity of the Rover. From the initial CAD renderings and testing the very first prototype in the Gulf of Mexico, to winning Product of the Year and Best in Show at iCAST in 2016, the Rover is the first of its kind. It skirts the line between a micro skiff and stand up paddle board, so much so that the Coast Guard scratched their heads the first time they saw it.

Get to know the Rover, the most innovative water vessel we’ve ever made.

“People were moving from large bay boats to flat skiffs. So, with the paddle board, I was like, man, this is a killer way to get super shallow and to be really stealthy and have a simple approach to fishing. So we scaled a skiff down, a paddle board up, smashed them together, put a motor on it and there you go.“ – Corey Cooper / CEO & Co-Founder

LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

• Prototyped in the DarkRoom, the Rover is not your average micro skiff.
• Long before the Rover there was the HD.
• Get to know someone who embodies the Rover lifestyle, Harry Madison.
• First came the Rover, then came the Rover Aero.
• Back to the Everglades? Never Again. Except maybe one more time, on the Rover.

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.

After 40 years of working on boats, he left the industry and started working on BOTEs, naturally. Pete Buzzelli heads up research and development, helping bring all of Corey’s crazy ideas to life in the DarkRoom.

Harry Madison is a BOTE ambassador who truly embodies the lifestyle.

SOUND BITES

“In order to make your mark on the world, you often have to make a voyage from the familiar into far off places where few have ventured or even dared. These journeys are necessary to discover our true selves and grow our knowledge of the world around us. We have developed a platform that will help you take that journey. A BOTE like no other, that will take you farther, faster than anything we have ever created. We call it Rover.” - Corey Cooper / CEO & Co-Founder

Corey and Sean are back together for the second installment of the Beneath the Surface podcast, The Everglades: Without a Plan. This time, they talk us through the craziest SUP camping and long distance paddle adventure of a lifetime. Over the course of what should have taken five or six days, they paddled 100 miles from Everglades City to Flamingo in just four days.

This podcast episode is not for the faint of heart. The guys discuss the animal that is their dear friend Clint, along with real wildlife, like raccoons, saltwater crocodiles, and bull sharks. This episode of the Beneath the Surface podcast will have your skin crawling and your sense of adventure on high alert. So sit back, press play, and enjoy.

LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

• Consider the Traveller for your next long distance SUP adventure.
• Make a plan before you paddle the Everglades.
• ENO hammocks: very comfortable, not warm.
• As per usual, Sean documented the adventure from A to Z.
• A trip worth repeating? Never Again.

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.

Clint Brown is a lifelong Floridian, long time friend of both Corey and Sean, and the Manager of BOTE Grayton Beach. Ethan Luppert is a former BOTE team racer and ambassador.

SOUND BITES

“Describing this adventure is not easy. There are so many layers. Can I just write a super long run-on sentence? I don't consider myself a writer even a little bit. Come to think of it, I didn't think of myself as a paddle boarder either, but I just paddled a little under a hundred miles in the Everglades in four days." – Sean Murphy / Director of Photography

“Within a couple of weeks, I witnessed and experienced so much cool shit. Corey made a paddle board that resembles a hybrid of a Columbian cocaine smuggling submarine and a cigar boat. Then we drove to the Everglades where in some respects we were prepared and some we were not. Shark-infested waters, sand spurs the size of golf balls, fearless raccoons, alligators and crocodiles, and near hypothermia are just a few things we encountered along the way. The last day, which happened to be my Birthday, we paddled thirty-five miles (mostly against the tide) surrounded by a lot of shit that wanted to eat us. My kids will never hear the end of it.” – Sean Murphy / Director of Photography

Coming at you direct from the middle of nowhere to the center of everywhere, it’s the Beneath the Surface Podcast with BOTE CEO and Co-Founder, Corey Cooper, along with world-renowned photographer and BOTE Director of Photography, Sean Murphy. In the pilot episode, Corey and Sean take a walk down memory lane, taking you behind the scenes to introduce you to names, places, and inspiration behind the BOTE brand.

“We say it all the time. We design cool shit, for us.” - Corey Cooper, BOTE CEO and Co-Founder

More than a stand up paddle board company, BOTE is a lifestyle. For people who like to get outside and do cool shit. For people who appreciate design and quality. For people who invest in brands with soul.

The BOTE creative team is the driving force behind the brand you see on our website, in stores, in advertising, and everywhere else. Through wild adventures, shelved products that never made it to market, countless photoshoots, and exponential growth, it all goes back to who we are as a brand: we make cool shit, for us.

LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

• The home of BOTE Board: Destin, Florida.
• Sean’s kind of a big deal, just ask the guys at Tenacious D, Weezer, and Tool.
• Check out Sean’s killer portfolio at SeanMurphyPhoto.com.
• The worst and best experience of all time: the Florida Everglades.
• Adventures inspired by Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown.

“We at BOTE understand what Sean Murphy brings to the table. Yes, he brings ridiculiously creative ideas and a barrage of insane imagery, but he also brings with him an infectious energy and a laugh that can only come from the kind of crazy that we here at BOTE celebrate. The past four years has been a roller coaster of bad-assery, and I like to think that as a creative team, we have developed one of the strongest, most recognizable brand in the industry. Sean Murphy is a huge part of that team. Here is to many years, road trips and radness to come.” – Rob McAbee / BOTE Creative Director