This week on KookCast, Erin LaVallee joins Coach Chris to share her story on fulfilling a lifelong dream to surf, the mistakes and successes on the journey, and of course her kooky story.

• (01:58) - Intro to Erin
• (08:25) - First Surfboard
• (09:56) - First Boogie Session & Revelation
• (16:08) - Background as a tattoo artist
• (18:08) - Being a woman surfer, courage, and perseverance
• (27:55) - Surf tripping to the East Coast
• (30:57) - Erin's Kooky Story

This week on KookCast, Alek Rockrise joins Coach Chris to talk surf education, sharing your surf knowledge, and the personal battles that come with it. Thank you to our sponsor Crooked Wetsuits for helping us stay warm in the water.

Episode timestamps:

• (02:01) - Alek's surfing background
• (07:15) - The grom mentality
• (08:49) - Teaching "how to read waves"
• (13:06) - Surf etiquette
• (16:08) - How we learned to surf
• (18:58) - Paddling technique
• (24:15) - Catching waves
• (27:25) - Why do surfers hate instructors/student surfers?
• (37:45) - The importance of surf history
• (41:02) - Surfboard talk
• (57:00) - The California Surf Academy
• (59:20) - Alek's kooky story
• (1:03:54) - Alek asks a personal question

Episode links:

The California Surf Academy - Website

Alek's personal instagram - @arockrise

The California Surf Academy instagram - @thecaliforniasurfacademy

In this episode, Coach Chris and Coach Evan are sitting down to discuss 7 pillars upon which they've built their brand of surf education on. Head over to the membership site and check out the video version of this episode to see pillar #8, which they forgot to include in this recording.

• (02:04) - What makes surfing special
• (03:31) - #1. No touching, stabilizing, or pushing students
• (08:39) - #2. Fundamentals are the foundation
• (10:27) - #3. Good surfing is simple
• (12:03) - #4. Create Space
• (17:53) - #5. Unconditional surfing
• (20:17) - #6. Slow is fast (link to deeper discussion about this topic)
• (23:43) - #7 - The joy is in the journey
• (26:46) - Members Bonus #8

Coach Chris and Coach Ev are taking you back to the boogie board! One of the most overlooked crafts in helping beginner surfers progress is the boogie board, and in this episode we're telling you a few reasons why.

• (01:28) Come to La Misión with us (email: [email protected])
• (01:49) Why Coach Chris gets self conscious about the boogie episodes
• (03:15) Why the "grom mentality" is so important
• (05:16) The Values of the Boogie: Timing: Getting Through Waves
• (11:12) The Values of the Boogie: Catching Waves
• (14:08) The Values of the Boogie: Setting Your Rail
• (19:02) The Values of the Boogie: Paddling
• (20:16) The Values of the Boogie: Release, Corking & Sitting Up
• (24:54) The Values of the Boogie: Getting Your Feet off the Bottom
• (27:29) The Values of the Boogie: Getting Your First Tube
• (28:52) The hardest aspect of this episode

FINALLY! Rob Case has entered the chat. With KookCast over 200 episodes in, it's safe to say this episode is late.

Rob is a paddle technique coach and one of our personal favorite surfers to talk shop with. Check out his website, subscribed to his newsletter, and see the timestamps below to find key moments in our chat together.

https://www.surfingpaddling.com/

• (01:08) - How I discovered Rob
• (06:21) - Moving the needle: New board vs Fundamentals
• (08:23) - The importance of technique
• (14:17) - Corking technique
• (22:00) - Finding the sweet spot = control
• (30:31) - Personal feelings towards copy cats
• (40:10) - At home workouts & training for paddling
• (49:37) - How to learn more with Rob
• (53:26) - Optimizing your surf energy
• (1:02:04) - Rob's kooky story

This week on KookCast, we're happy to have Matt Warshaw back on the show. The premier historian and archivist of surfing, the value of this man's work isn't lost on us, and it shouldn't be lost on you either!

Subscribe to the Encyclopedia of Surfing and consider making a donation to make help make sure Matt continues his good work.

Here's a link to The New Yorker article we discuss at the beginning of the episode:

"Can't Tell an A-frame from a Poo Stance? Try the Encyclopedia of Surfing"

It's in the title! Take care of that thing and don't be a wetsuit kook!

Booking spots on our La Misión surf trip 2024. E-mail us: [email protected] to learn more.

Coach Chris sits down with Matt George to discuss his book In Deep, a highly recommended read, which is a compilation of his life's work as a surf writer and journalist. The book covers some serious ground in the surf world, but it's only on KookCast you'll get to hear some of the insights you won't find anywhere else.

Watch our video call with extra content on TSC membership site: https://thesurfcontinuum.com/podcast-videos/interview-with-matt-george/

Buy the book: https://www.diangelopublications.com/shop/p/in-deep

This week on KookCast, Coach Chris and Coach Ev are discussing a surfer characteristic you should develop, but exercise wisdom with how you wield it.

Do you feel like "it all happens so fast" ? When taking off, or while surfing and suddenly realizing there's a person in your way ? In this episode, Coach Chris and Coach Evan are speaking on a few ways to create time and feel more at ease with the things you need to do in the line-up.