Adam Bonvin wanted one thing: to surf at home. So he did the impossible and created his own wave in Switzerland.

Adam is a surfer, a musician, and an entrepreneur who grew up in the Swiss Alps — skiing, snowboarding, skating — until a surf camp in southwest France at age 12 changed everything. At 18, he had an idea. At 25, it was done. Alaïa Bay is a surf lagoon sitting at the foot of the Alps in Sion, Switzerland, generating up to 1,000 waves an hour, year round. It drew 200,000 visitors in its first year, and what started as a single wave pool is now an action sports group redefining what a four-season mountain destination can look like.

In this episode, Maya sits down with Adam to talk about what it actually takes to build something from nothing in a place where nothing like it has ever existed before. From the benefits of naiveté, to the price of making a dream come true, and why when it comes to experiences, every day is a new day. They also talk about surfing as a life philosophy, what it means to teach yourself to love the paddle, and why sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is often the most obvious: just start.

Learn more about Alaïa Bay: www.alaia.ch

All of the music in this episode is from Adam's band, Boy Amor.

Track List:

• 00:01:14 — The Surfer
• 00:09:38 — Want to Feel Alive
• 00:28:43 — In My Mind
• 00:34:43 — Feel my Heart
• 00:43:09 — Love it When I Need It (Feat. Bipolar Sunshine)
• 01:00:00 — Sexy Eyes

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White Water is a podcast about creative urgency and the magical things that happen when we 'ride the wave' of life. Hosted by Maya Guice, business storyteller and Founder of Panakin Studios, each episode features candid stories of tenacity and grit from individuals leading creative ventures that span industries, mediums, and borders. If you've got an idea and don't know where to start, come hang out with us in the white water! Panakin Studios is an interdisciplinary shop of thinkers and doers. Medium-agnostic, we're half think-tank, half content studio, creating a whole machine that produces new stories for smart audiences. www.panakin.co

What separates the brands that hold from the ones that quietly fall apart? Maya has spent her career as a brand strategist asking exactly that question — and the answer isn't the logo, the messaging, or the campaign. It's whether the logic running through all of it actually holds together. In other words, it's the glue, not the parts. And most brands, she's found, are missing it. In this bonus episode, Maya reads her essay on cohesion, the one thing that turns a name into meaning, a product into a promise, and a point of view into something people actually believe. Because confusion, no matter how beautifully packaged, never converts. Read the essay on Medium.

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White Water is a podcast about creative urgency and the magical things that happen when we 'ride the wave' of life. Hosted by Maya Guice, business storyteller and Founder of Panakin Studios, each episode features candid stories of tenacity and grit from individuals leading creative ventures that span industries, mediums, and borders. If you've got an idea and don't know where to start, come hang out with us in the white water! Panakin Studios is an interdisciplinary shop of thinkers and doers. Medium-agnostic, we're half think-tank, half content studio, creating a whole machine that produces new stories for smart audiences. www.panakin.co

Every surfer needs someone who's been in the water before. Not to clear the path, but to help illuminate the way through. I imagine if you are a traveler, moving in and out of the white water, from one sandy beach to the next, you are likely meet many people who can walk you through each phase of life. People who can get you into the white water, people who bring you back to shore, people who equip you with the tools we'll need when its time to hit the road once more. These are teachers, parents, coaches, mentors. Maya uses the term, 'guide'. In this episode of White Water, Maya sits down with dancer, choreographer, and 2021 Guggenheim Fellow Tommie Waheed-Evans, a man whose entire path has been shaped by guides who showed up exactly when they were supposed to. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Tommie trained at Hamilton High School before receiving a fellowship to the Ailey School in New York. He has performed nationally and internationally with Lula Washington Dance Theater, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and PHILADANCO!, one of the most storied Black dance companies in America — where he now serves as co-artistic director. He holds an MFA in Choreography from Jacksonville University, taught for twelve years at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and has been commissioned by companies across the country, from BalletX to the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. He is a Princess Grace Award recipient, a Research Fellow at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and the Center for Ballet and the Arts at NYU, and the founder of waheedworks, his Philadelphia-based company. Together, Maya and Tommie explore dance, mentorship, arts business, and the quiet, profound responsibility of becoming someone else's guide. To learn more about Tommie visit: https://www.tommiewaheed.com/ To learn more about PHILADANCO! visit: https://philadanco.org/ ____ White Water is a podcast about creative urgency and the magical things that happen when we 'ride the wave' of life. Hosted by Maya Guice, business storyteller and Founder of Panakin Studios, each episode features candid stories of tenacity and grit from individuals leading creative ventures that span industries, mediums, and borders. If you've got an idea and don't know where to start, come hang out with us in the white water! Panakin Studios is an interdisciplinary shop of thinkers and doers. Medium-agnostic, we're half think-tank, half content studio, creating a whole machine that produces new stories for smart audiences. www.panakin.co

If apologizing is wrong, then I don't want to be right. One day last year Maya caught herself apologizing and then immediately judging herself for it. Because society says saying 'sorry' is something strong, competent women are not supposed to do. That moment sent her down a deeper line of inquiry—not about language, but about power. About compassion. About what we confuse for strength, and what actually defines it. Because her view, refusing to apologize doesn't make you more powerful. It just makes the world … more cold. In this special bonus episode, Maya reads her essay, "Girl, Keep Apologizing" aloud, reflecting on rules, awareness, and what we lose when we mistake distance for empowerment. Read the article on Medium.

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White Water is a podcast about creative urgency and the magical things that happen when we 'ride the wave' of life. Hosted by Maya Guice, business storyteller and Founder of Panakin Studios, each episode features candid stories of tenacity and grit from individuals leading creative ventures that span industries, mediums, and borders. If you've got an idea and don't know where to start, come hang out with us in the white water! Panakin Studios is an interdisciplinary shop of thinkers and doers. Medium-agnostic, we're half think-tank, half content studio, creating a whole machine that produces new stories for smart audiences. www.panakin.co

Author and futurist James Wallman has spent decades making a simple but radical case: that we are moving from materialism to experientialism, toward a world where experiences, more than things, shape our culture, our economy, and our sense of what's possible. In this episode of White Water, Maya sits down with James to talk about the slow, relentless work of building something you believe should exist—long before there's proof, polish, or consensus. From founding the World Experience Organization—the world's first global institution dedicated to the experience economy—to cultivating a truly international community of designers, strategists, and makers, James shares what it takes to turn conviction into infrastructure. Together, Maya and James unpack the reality of community-building as a business practice: the patience it demands, the responsibility it carries, and the emotional endurance required to stay with an idea over time. They explore the experience economy not as a buzzword, but as a human-centered shift—one that asks leaders to think beyond transactions and toward transformation. A bestselling author (Stuffocation, Time and How to Spend It), keynote speaker, and advisor to everyone from global brands to cultural institutions, James is both a thinker and a doer. His story is a masterclass in perseverance, belief, and the quiet courage it takes to build something simply because it should exist. Listen in as Maya and James talk about White Water at scale—the uncertain, unglamorous middle where vision outruns the map, community is forged slowly, and meaningful change only happens if you're willing to keep going without guarantees. Learn more about James and the WXO here: www.worldxo.org

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White Water is a podcast about creative urgency and the magical things that happen when we 'ride the wave' of life. Hosted by Maya Guice, business storyteller and Founder of Panakin Studios, each episode features candid stories of tenacity and grit from individuals leading creative ventures that span industries, mediums, and borders. If you've got an idea and don't know where to start, come hang out with us in the white water! Panakin Studios is an interdisciplinary shop of thinkers and doers. Medium-agnostic, we're half think-tank, half content studio, creating a whole machine that produces new stories for smart audiences. www.panakin.co

"Authenticity" alone no longer earns trust; what matters for brands is ruthless self-awareness. Originally published by Drucker+, the Drucker School of Management's thought leadership platform, this essay explores the rise of a new kind of audience — one that values depth, discernment, and creative integrity over noise. In this special bonus episode, Maya reads her article aloud and unpacks how the "Discerning Class" is reshaping culture, business, and the creative economy. Read the article on the Drucker Institute's website.

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White Water is a podcast about creative urgency and the magical things that happen when we 'ride the wave' of life. Hosted by Maya Guice, business storyteller and Founder of Panakin Studios, each episode features candid stories of tenacity and grit from individuals leading creative ventures that span industries, mediums, and borders. If you've got an idea and don't know where to start, come hang out with us in the white water! Panakin Studios is an interdisciplinary shop of thinkers and doers. Medium-agnostic, we're half think-tank, half content studio, creating a whole machine that produces new stories for smart audiences. www.panakin.co

Painter Victoria Cassinova survived a five-story fall—and turned that life-altering moment into a masterclass in creative alchemy. From learning to walk again to redefining her path as an artist, Victoria shares how she transforms pain into purpose, and why manifesting your dreams often requires us to slow down to speed up. Victoria is an LA-based visual artist whose work explores the unconscious and unseen. Her bold, multimedia style blends striking portraiture with abstract textures, touching on themes of identity, resilience, and community. Known for her large-scale public murals, her distinct voice has made her a sought-after collaborator for brands like Netflix, Disney Pixar, Adidas, CNN, Time Magazine, The Washington Post, Teen Vogue, and more. She's also contributed to political and social justice initiatives through powerful visual storytelling. Entirely self-taught and fiercely expressive, Victoria's art is as much about social commentary as it is about beauty, placing her among the most compelling creative voices in LA's contemporary art scene. Listen in as Maya and Victoria talk about what it means to be in the White Water——the messy, powerful process of turning change into creative growth. Learn more about Victoria: www.vcassinova.com

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White Water is a podcast about creative urgency and the magical things that happen when we 'ride the wave' of life. Hosted by Maya Guice, business storyteller and Founder of Panakin Studios, each episode features candid stories of tenacity and grit from individuals leading creative ventures that span industries, mediums, and borders. If you've got an idea and don't know where to start, come hang out with us in the white water! This episode was mixed, mastered, and music and sound designed by Dylan Agajanian. Panakin Studios is an interdisciplinary shop of thinkers and doers. Medium-agnostic, we're half think-tank, half content studio, creating a whole machine that produces new stories for smart audiences. www.panakin.co

Can imagination help solve a housing crisis? In this episode, Maya joins Kacy Keys—"one of LA's most influential women in real estate"—and Maya's mom, a lifelong Altadena resident, for a drive through a neighborhood still healing post fire. As they take in what was lost and what remains, Kacy and Maya discuss what happens after the fire: the slow rebuild, the policy gridlock, and the deeper housing crisis it exposes. Listen in as we explore how imagination becomes a tool for recovery, how local politics have stalled development across LA, and what it might look like to reimagine housing from the ground up—not just in Altadena or the Palisades, but citywide. See Maya's photos of Altadena here: https://www.mayaguice.com/altadena-fire Learn more about Kacy: http://www.praxisdevgroup.com Learn more about Freedom West: https://freedomwest.com

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White Water is a podcast about creative urgency and the magical things that happen when we 'ride the wave' of life. Hosted by Maya Guice, business storyteller and Founder of Panakin Studios, each episode features candid stories of tenacity and grit from individuals leading creative ventures that span industries, mediums, and borders. If you've got an idea and don't know where to start, come hang out with us in the white water! This episode was mixed, mastered, and music and sound designed by Dylan Agajanian. Panakin Studios is an interdisciplinary shop of thinkers and doers. Medium-agnostic, we're half think-tank, half content studio, creating a whole machine that produces new stories for smart audiences. www.panakin.co

The longest way round is the shortest way home. — CS Lewis This is PT IV, the final part of a short series describing White Water: that critical, transformative, transitionary phase where we leave our comfort zone and ride the wave toward our dreams. This series is also available on Medium. Visit here to read the whole series.

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White Water is a podcast about creative urgency and the magical things that happen when we 'ride the wave' of life. Hosted by Maya Guice, business storyteller and Founder of Panakin Studios, each episode features candid stories of tenacity and grit from individuals leading creative ventures that span industries, mediums, and borders. If you've got an idea and don't know where to start, come hang out with us in the white water! This episode was mixed, mastered, and music and sound designed by Adam Mehr. Panakin Studios is an interdisciplinary shop of thinkers and doers. Medium-agnostic, we're half think-tank, half content studio, creating a whole machine that produces new stories for smart audiences. www.panakin.co

It takes a lot of effort to make something look effortless. This is PT III of what will be a four-part exposition on White Water: that critical, transformative, transitionary phase where we leave our comfort zone and ride the wave toward our dreams. This series is also available on Medium. Visit here to read the whole series.

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White Water is A podcast about creative urgency and the magical things that happen when we 'ride the wave' of life. Hosted by Maya Guice, business storyteller and Founder of Panakin Studios, each episode features candid stories of tenacity and grit from individuals leading creative ventures that span industries, mediums, and borders. If you've got an idea and don't know where to start, come hang out with us in the white water! This episode was mixed, mastered, and music and sound designed by Adam Mehr. Panakin Studios is an interdisciplinary shop of thinkers and doers. Medium-agnostic, we're half think-tank, half content studio, creating a whole machine that produces new stories for smart audiences. www.panakin.co