The Oceanriders Podcast

George Bernard Shaw once said "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing" and this is exactly what my conversation with Felipe Pomar sparked in my mind. Felipe Pomar is a surfing icon and is listed in the Encyclopedia of Surfing as one of the most prominent surfers of his generation. His career in surfing started in the 60's. He has an incredible life story to share. I was honored to sit down for a chat with him.

Today I got to sit down for a chat with Belinda Bradford. Belinda is Australian and has been surfing for over 20 years now. Despite the fact she utterly rips in the lineup, she has worked in extremely demanding jobs most of her life: from senior managerial positions at Qantas and Time-Warner she has also created a bunch of successful startups. 

In terms of dream jobs, you could say Belinda has had them all as she always been an extremely driven person so it's interesting to talk to someone who has had a life filled with demanding jobs and the perks they come with. What is also interesting is to find out why and how Belinda ran away from the corporate world for… surfing?

I loved this episode. I got to have a chat with Tupi (or 2P for friends) Cabrera, an iconic longboarder from Puerto Rico, who has been entertaining a love-story with longboarding since the nineties. About a year and a half ago, he launched Longboardarian, a personal brand and online business to promote longboarding around the world. 

Tupi has just started a podcast, and as a fellow podcaster, I thought it would be nice to give him an opportunity to share his story…

I have always dreamed of interviewing someone from Surfrider for this podcast. I was really interested in finding out what you have to do or be to get employed full time by the NGO and what the job entails.

This week, I got to sit down for a chat with Lilly Woodbury who is an environmentalist, a writer and a media specialist making waves within the non profit organisation Surfrider Pacific Rim. She’s based in Tofino, which is off the West Coast of Vancouver Island, Canada.

This week, I got to sit down and chat with Al Mennie to talk about his latest book Overcome or Succumb, a book all about facing fear, anxiety and panic, in a goal to conquer life.

Anxiety and Fear effect millions of people to varying degrees across the world and appear to be a growing issue despite lots of research and resources available in how to handle them. Al believes his experience surfing some of the biggest waves on the planet has lead him to understand anxiety, fear and panic and allowed him to handle lots of everyday situations with a similar approach.

François is a good vibes guru. He's spent most of his life in the outdoors. He is permanently tanned, dressed in colorful t-shirts and he's either barefoot or in flip flops. His hair is bleached by the salt and the sun, as he has been pursuing this tropical lifestyle for over 30 years.

Behind this relaxed look is an incredible entrepreneur. From sports instructor to textile guru, graphic designer and now hotel owner, François has always been a true pioneer. This guy knows what it is to be outside his comfort zone and how to overcome challenges, against all odds. 

From the French Alps to Sumbawa, Indonesia, François' path is a really interesting one.

Today I am taking you to Lima (Peru) where I meet conservationist, lobbyist, filmmaker and environmental lawyer Bruno Monteferri.

Bruno is former semi professional tennis player gone green, and one amazing human who is leading his nation into becoming one of the spearhead countries for Nature Conservation. We talk about conservation, the projects he's in charge of (there are many) and we get to talk about big waveriding in Peru.

In today’s episode I wanted to share the story of Sheridan Lathe, aka Sheddy.

Sheddy is from Australia. She is what you could call a wild or an adventure vet as she has been travelling the world saving wild animals in refuges and sanctuaries. I was blown away by her story.

First of all, she had the guts to sell up all her belongings in Australia and move onto a sailboat called Chuffed in Panama. She has spent the last 2 years, saving some of the weirdest and cutest animals in Central America and learning on her own how to repair and keep her boat afloat. Lately she rediscovered surfing in the bucket list spot of Pavones Costa Rica. You could say that Sheddy is definitely creating her dream job on the go.

Today's conversation is taking us to Hawaii, on the island of Maui, where my guest was up before the chickens to talk to me, her name is Jenn Biestman. 

Jenn's story is truly uplifting. 

At the age of 27, Jenn suffered a severe back injury that left her immobilized and in pain with no real prospect of recovery. Basically, the doctors had made it clear that her life as an adventurous human being was doomed… In the turmoil of having to face this life-shattering news, she hobbled to the airport, and took off to Maui to try to figure things out. 

This is the uplifting story of her recovery, how she hacked surfing progression to become a downwind SUP racer, hydrofoiler and experimented surfer, and what inspired her to create her stylish and meaningful clothing brand called Local-ish and eventually drop out of the corporate ladder.

Today's conversation is with Simon Day, the co-founder of a burgeoning surf brand in the UK called Fitzroy. Today we're off to the North Sea!

To understand Simon's story, you have to go back a generation. Simon grew up with the North Sea as his playground, getting dizzy in the garden shed watching his Dad make kayaks and repair surfboards.

Simon started out as an ice hockey player and worked his way up the corporate ladder of winter sports companies working in retail and then in design. But surfing had always been part of his life: the beach was across the road from home. When one of his Dad's friends retired and gave him a set of shaping tools, he was finally equipped to become a shaper. It only took a nudge from his best mate David Haigh to start the ball rolling and to create Fitzroy, one of the rare North Sea surfing brands.