Spencer Pirdy grew up in Newport Beach, CA and was a Newport Beach lifeguard. Spencer met Ben Carlson working with the Newport Beach Lifeguards and shares how he became one of his early influences around lifeguarding, along with witnessing his older brother Travis Pirdy making rescues.

On top of being a professional surfer and just an all-around good guy, Spencer sits on the board of the Ben Carlson Foundation. Spencer organizes the Ben Carson memorial paddle, which is a 30 mile paddle him to raise funds for the Ben Carlson Foundation, which goes from Catalina island to Newport Beach. The paddle has been going strong for the last 10 years and last year, raised over a quarter of $1 million dollars.

Spencer has become integrated in communities like Puerto Escondido where he not only surfs huge waves, but leads the foundation in giving back to provide water safety.

Finally we discuss the $5 challenge to get EVERY SINGLE LIFEGUARD to donate just five dollars on behalf of the BEN DID GO 10.0 Paddle as a testament to the interconnectedness of lifeguards. Please do so, and share with the next lifeguard. This is not a drill!

https://www.mightycause.com/team/Thelifeguardproject

00:00 Welcome to The Lifeguard Project Podcast

00:47 Spencer's Early Life and Lifeguarding Influences

01:17 Memorable Childhood Water Experiences

03:48 Junior Lifeguards and Family Influence

08:33 The Ben Carlson Memorial Paddle Challenge

11:11 First Lifeguarding Experiences and Meeting Ben Carlson

14:04 Returning to Lifeguard Training at 38

25:58 The Impact of Ben Carlson's Legacy

36:02 Reflecting on Ben Carlson's Legacy

39:49 The Ben Carlson Memorial Paddle

48:15 International Lifeguard Agency Outreach

50:53 The Importance of Lifeguard Training

56:10 Final Thoughts

Spencer's Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/spencestagramin/

Presented by The Ben Carlson Foundation:

https://www.bencarlsonfoundation.org/

https://www.instagram.com/bencarlson_foundation/

Subscribe to the Podcast Here:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lifeguard-project/id1748861682

https://open.spotify.com/show/7EoZTDiET6jJ6XJ1g5X54t

https://www.instagram.com/thelifeguardproject/

https://thelifeguardproject.org/

Host, Drasko Bogdanovic:

https://www.bogdogphoto.com/

https://www.instagram.com/bogdogphoto/

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-lifeguard-project/donations