From January to April photographers from Maine to OBX and across to the Great Lakes braved the elements to shoot the best image of winter surf in order to compete in the Clifbar Cold Shot Challenge 3.0. Last week at a gallery on the L.E.S. Clifbar and NYsea hosted an exhibition of the finalists photos smartly printed and framed. Awards were bestowed to top empty wave and surfer categories. We spoke with Jurists Emmy Award winner and filmmaker legend Taylor Steele, NY Surf Photo Giant Mike Nelson, and one grom contestant Laird French who drove down from R.I. for the show. Organizer Will Yandell of Clifbar and Rockaway shaper Joe "Clams" Falcone weighed in as well. Johnny Knapp co-hosted along with Ben.

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The Valpo Surf Project support education, language development, and good old fashion confidence building while surfing for the young people of Valparaíso, Chile. Co-Founder Jon Steuber conceived of the project while on his college semester abroad visiting the beautiful port city that poet Pablo Neruda called home. Ten years later Jon and a team of staff and volunteers have build a highly effective education and risk intervention program which works with hundreds of kids a year.

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Johnny Borbone shapes boards sourced from his background in robotic engineering and Formula 1 stock car racing. The Belmar, NJ shaper dances on the edge of art and science as he applies his expertise in fluid dynamics with love of the long board. We talk about vanguard designs like his reactive flex rail inspired by a Horatio Pagani sports car. Johnny also challenges how the industry rates and understands board performance, responding with his own scientific methods to test and design an optimal glider. He also shares with us the crash at a Slope Side snowboard comp which nearly killed him.

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Portrait photographer Jair Bortoleto sits down for a deep and candid interview with Tyler Breuer at Brooklyn's Head-Hi Gallery. The former editor of Surfer's Journal Brazil unpacks that nation's surf history and culture, as well as the effect of Brazil's cult of soccer stardom on the crafting of Gabriel Medina. Jair brings us into the stories behind his character driven new book, "A Primeira Palavra". Tyler and Jair explore the complexities within surf media and some of the reason he is making the States his home. This is a great education.

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Noah Avallone is only 11 but is quickly becoming a major name in the competitive snowboard tour with talk of possible 2026 Olympic run. Mike, his father, works in finance, is a Snowboard Coach at United States of America Snowboard and Freeski Association, and Noah number 1 supporter. We talk about what it's like to parent a rising star, and what it's like to free the high and lows of intense competition when you are only in 6th grade. Noah, who also surf in Montauk, is forced to answer Tyler's ride or surf challenge.

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David Dowd cut his teeth working at a surf shop in Long Beach Island at the ripe age of 10 years. He eventually went on to own and operate Division East Skate Shop in Montclair, NJ for over 13 years. His shop became a focal point for skate culture within that community. Division East had to shut its doors in 2012 at a time of upheaval in the skate and surf industry. Dave shares his experiences running a core skate shop and making your passion your work. We explore how you define yourself after you leave the comfort of an industry that helped to shape your identity.

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Mosco Aa first appeared on the show at a public hearing last year where he was voicing his opposition to proposed expansion of a natural gas pipeline underneath the Rockaways. He's still battling Williams Transco and now has embarked on something even more daunting - starting a gallery/ bookstore/ coffee house in Brooklyn. We talk to this surfer-creative on how he has integrated his street artist and activist selves into conceiving, along with his talented wife Alexandra, the dynamic new space called Head Hi. Mosco also gives us a report from his trip to D.C. with Surfrider Foundation where they spoke with the NY congressional delegation about the urgency and hazards of the Williams Transco Pipeline which is currently in the approval review process.

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Underground O.G. Long Island legend Davo Denis has seen and done it all. Surfboard purveyor, Brooklyn building tycoon, creator of X-Dreem clothing company, and proprietor of the Inhumane store in SoHo, Davo is a restless man of many projects. He shares with Ben and Tyler hilarious anecdotes of a surf mission in Baja that was actually a Christian charity Mission and what it was like to gatecrash Roseland Ballroom in the 90s to push t-shirts on sweaty rockstars. Davo summoned these stories by flooding our podcast studio with photos from his decades in surf, notes from the manager of Blur, and a dusty VHS copy of "Gripping Stuff 2".

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Since the late 1950s women have been charging in the big wave club but have not received the proper respect, ability to compete, or equal prize money as their male counterparts. We speak with filmmaker Karen B. Song about her project in development on the struggle for women to be properly recognized among the elite group of athletes who surf XXL . We also discuss Dan Duane's recent New York Times investigative story on the WSL and their recent decision to address pay inequity in their contests. Karen also discusses her film with the group 5 Gyre auditing the plastic floating in the ocean around Indonesia.

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Retail is a tough game. Owning a surf shop in the seasonal market of Rockaway is even tougher. We speak with Nigel Louis, owner of Station RBNY, on how community drives customer loyalty, working along side his retail peers, and why selling a sweater next to surf board is good for a store by the beach.
Louis and Co-host Tyler bring their background as big brand reps to discuss how a surf shop survives in today's retail climate.

Music credit:
The Flat Five: "This is Your Night"

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