We talk with Kei Kobayashi on The Inertia podcast and discuss his mission to represent his family on the World Tour and why he's the hardest working surfer on the planet.

Welcome to Episode 1 of Split Peak. This is a special edition of The Inertia Podcast, and the first in a series of debates where we take on some of surfing's most controversial topics. In this episode we go back and forth on whether surfing leashless is acceptable or selfish. 

Robin Van Gyn is one of the most iconic snowboarders to ever strap in. Her riding speaks for itself, born of the steep terrain and incredible snow of British Columbia. She’s won video awards for her epic parts in films like Full Moon and Depth Perception. But she’s so much more than just an athlete. She’s been a splitboard guide for years and is now producing a new documentary called Fabric, where she profiles other women doing similar things in action sports. We talk about her Natural Selection World Title, the new film and even how her family has looked at her snowboarding career during a really fun conversation. No, Robin Van Gyn is not just a snowboarder. She’s become an inspirational leader in the worlds of snow, skate, and surf.  

Ridge Lenny is a 24-year-old waterman from Maui, who was a rising star in bodyboarding and stand-up paddling before heading off to college on the mainland at the University of San Diego. He's now back on Maui, pursuing a couple of business ventures and pushing the limits of tow-in surfing with his older brother, professional big-wave surfer Kai Lenny. They couldn't be more different. Bt they both like to push it in big ocean conditions. Meet Ridge Lenny. 

For the past year, the world has been in chaos like never before in our lifetimes. A pandemic has ravaged the Earth and social unrest has threatened to unravel our democracy. During all the craziness, I couldn’t help but wonder what Gerry Lopez was thinking. As I’ve known him, he’s always been a calming force, easily able to turn a surfing analogy around to help explain things that impact our lives. That’s why it was such a pleasure to talk with him recently. He’s been laying low near his home in Bend, Oregon and we talked about the beautiful place he’s settled in and all the craziness. But as always, Gerry turned things positive. He’s found himself relying on his yoga and mindfulness practices to get through the days more than ever. And how snowboarding has been such a light in his life lately, and how excited he is to see his son Alex shaping surfboards. Gerry Lopez is known the world over for his surfing. But to me, he’s always been such a pillar of positivity for humanity. And in this day and age, there is nothing more important than positivity. 

This is a special edition of The Inertia podcast where we talk with Erik Logan, CEO of the World Surf League. The WSL, like most professional sports leagues, has had to deal with unprecedented circumstances this year to simply operate. But surfing is a different animal all together from football or basketball or baseball. There isn’t a more international sport where athletes must be moved between nations and states and municipalities, all with different protocol to deal with the pandemic. In his first year, Logan has had to navigate these circumstances like no director before him. To say we’re living in different times is an understatement. I spoke with Erik about those challenges, the recent changes to the Australian leg of the tour, what we can expect from the rest of the year, the resignation of Pat O’Connell and more. 

This is a special edition of the Inertia Podcast. Due to the Pandemic, I spoke to Martina Duran, Chelsea Woody, and Danielle Black Lyons on a recorded Zoom call where we discussed the movement that is Textured Waves, a collective of African American women working to get more females of color involved in surfing. The lack of color in American lineups is a complex problem, of course, as are race relations in general. The awakening that was the George Floyd killing and the Breonna Taylor shooting and the countless other African American deaths at the hands of police have sent our country into state of self examination. At least I hope that’s where we’re at.

These are difficult issues that must be looked at, and then solved, from a number of different angles. With Martina in Hawaii, Danielle in Los Angeles, and Chelsea in Santa Cruz, we narrowed it down and discussed the African American experience in surf and the barriers that have kept women of color from playing in the sea more readily. And how they’re working to change all that – all while maybe inspiring the rest of us to look at the issue of systemic racism a little more closely.

Matt Biolos has one of the most varied skill sets in all of surfing. He’s a renowned surfboard shaper, but he started building his own snowboards at 13 and has been riding snow for at least that long. And he of course knows his way around a lineup. This diverse knowledge base is partly what makes him such an interesting interview – that along with his dry sense of humor and willingness to have an opinion. At his office in San Clemente’s legendary Los Molinos shaping district, with the bustle of surfboard manufacturing in the background, we talked about surfing’s relevance as a sport, some interesting WSL conspiracy theories, why snowboarding is more easy-going than surfing and the iconic …Lost films vault. Matt’s easy-going cadence and vast surfing knowledge are perfect for the podcast format. 

Ryan Buell is one of the truly great characters of the surf industry. And that’s saying something given he hails from Santa Cruz, California. The Buell wetsuits founder is a rapper, a self described water “jock”, and of course a surfer. And that’s probably one of the most core components of his brand - a true surfer making important decisions for a surf company. I talked with Ryan about the industry carnage of late, and the corporatization of everything surf. On the one hand, it was a sober reminder of where we’re at; but Ryan has a way of keeping things light (as you’ll hear at the end when he rapped about Bobby Martinez over my C-grade b-boxing). He opens the curtain a bit and gives us the inside scoop of what it was like trying to sponsor Kelly Slater and Dane Reynolds, and how fun it is to work with Jamie O’Brien and Sage Erickson. To sit down with Ryan Buell is an education into the craziness of building a brand in the world of surf.

Chris Burkard is a surf photographer. The sea has  basically spawned his entire career and he takes pride in his ocean roots. But his image-making has become much more than surf photography. Thanks to a background in landscape, which we talk about, his photos capture the real feel of a place, not just the surf, and makes people want to be where he’s been. Even if it means five millimeter wetsuits and snow covered beaches.

As we talk Chris reveals a new film he’s working on right now, based in Iceland, that encompasses the hopes and dreams and fears of one Icelandic family. We also discussed Chris’s fears, and how he’s used those to grow as a human