In this episode with Kim Novak, we discuss how working at a surf retreat in Indonesia challenged her to be quick and bold with her surfing, how she learned to catch shorebreak waves and bigger waves, her transition from long boarding to short boarding, her work as a Reiki practitioner, and why she follows the Ayurvedic lifestyle. For all of you beginner’s out there, Kim will inspire you to get serious with your surfing.

Highlights:
[00:00]  Surfing Bigger and Bolder
[04:29] From Longboarding to Shortboarding
[13:45] The Energy Fields of Reiki
[20:49] An Ayurvedic Lifestyle
[29:37] Our Surf Session
[39:28] From Barista to Surfer

Quotes by Kim:

"I noticed that when I'm getting egotistical in the water, I'm like, oh, I caught so many waves just now. I'm pretty good! I get slammed. She's just like, boom. No, you're not. Stop that. She immediately humbles me. There is a connection there."

"While traveling, I met many world traveling surfers and they all had short boards. It's much more dynamic. It's in your car. It's easier to carry. There's so many stairs in Bali. You don't want this heavy right 9’ 3” board with you when you're navigating down windy steps. There are many perks to shortboarding and I feel very called to it. It's hard. It's really scary and it's challenging, but that's growth, right? You're never gonna get better unless you fail a lot."

"We have our physical bodies, but our energy fields expand about six or seven feet. We're in each other's energy fields right now. If I am practicing Reiki on you, I need to be kind of three to four inches above your body to really feel and concentrate too and activating the symbols to be able to read your energy."

Get in touch with Kim or schedule a Reiki session:

• Instagram @kimnovakk

Connect:

• Listen on your favorite podcast platform here
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Connect with me at christinefoerster.com

In this episode with Cat Martinez, we discuss how her beloved truck has been her key to freedom, how surf trips are in fact work trips, the importance of board control, getting hit in the nose and hit by stingrays, and why she follows the sun food diet. Cat will enrapture you with her wisdom and warmth. I hope you will listen.

Highlights:
[00:00]  A beloved truck
[04:29] Surfing as a work trip
[13:45]  Board Control
[20:49] Hits to the nose and hits by stingrays
[29:37] Building strength
[39:28] The sunfood diet

Quotes by Cat:
"What I like to do is put my head down, work super, super hard, go to bed early, wake up early surf, go to work, do my thing. Repeat. And, it's amazing. You know when you live that super simple lifestyle, your savings just gets bigger and bigger. If you want it, just make it happen. Work for it."

“The best thing about surfing is that you have to be so tuned in and present, that everything in life is on pause. Aaaaaand, the ocean is always there for us. Good mood, bad mood, you can always trust that it’s there.”

"On your trip at some point, with whatever wave you're surfing, when you're that dialed in, you're timing everything that you do; the time that you wake up, the time that you drink your coffee, the time that you take your nap, you're timing it all around the perfect tide, the wind, everything. So when you take it seriously like that, I feel like you can score the most."

Connect:

• Listen on your favorite podcast platform here
• More about Christine Foerster here

Connect with me at christinefoerster.com

In this episode with Erich Schiefelbine, we talk about handling high stress with surfing and yoga, how being a missionary in Ecuador inspired him to fight for social justice and become a lawyer, why he teaches yoga in Spanish, and his secret to finding peace. Erich will expand your horizons, sit back and enjoy!

Episode Highlights:

• Handling high stress through yoga and surf
• Surfing, the ocean based version of yoga
• Peace is found through self care
• From missionary to activist
• Yoga en español
• Being in the water is the activity
• From punk skateboarder to lawyer to surfer

[00:00]  How to handle high stress
[05:21] A mission in Ecuador
[10:35]  From Missionary to Activist
[15:54] Becoming a Lawyer
[16:57] Yoga en Español 
[22:34] Being in the water is the activity 
[29:45]  From punk skateboarder to lawyer to surfer

Quotes from Erich:

"Being present, in my humble experience, is where peace is found, that self care is found. If you can stay present with what you're doing, you're going to minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, week by week experience one of the greatest human virtues you can find."

"I couldn't imagine prior to that time in my life that Texaco, a US company, would come down, find these oil reserves, pull it up to the surface and refine it, next to a community, into their main water supply and leave the by-product and the refinement water in these pits, or next to the river, or where these people get their water from until you actually see it."

"The journey from not being able to touch your toes, to touching your toes, there in lies the richness, the fulfillment, that unbound consciousness, that's the experience."

Get in touch with Erich

• Instagram @erichyoga 

More about Christine Foerster

• christinefoerster.com
• Instagram @christinefoerster 

Connect with me at christinefoerster.com

In this episode with Leah Conroy, we discuss the value of intense focus and consistent practice in the art of learning. Leah’s experience is vast. She began as a windsurfer in the San Francisco Bay and moved on to surfing in the rough waters of Ocean Beach. She worked as a biotech scientist at Harvard Medical School and a surgical technologist at Stanford, both of which impressed upon her the importance of donating blood. Leah also talks about the joy of returning to the piano later in life, the parallels of riding horses and riding waves, how to take care of yourself out in the water, and why every surfboard has its reason. I hope you will listen, I learned a lot from this interview.

Episode Highlights:
[00:00] A return to piano
[06:10] The art of learning
[06:54] Taking care of yourself in the water
[14:36] Every board has its reason
[22:25] Windsurfing the bay and surfing Ocean Beach
[29:28] Donate your blood
[32:57] Riding horses and riding waves

Quotes:

"I wanna be able to look out at the waves and say that biggest wave that I saw breaking before I put my wetsuit on, that set wave. I want that one. I am not going to go out if I don't want that wave."

"I do believe that anything that's difficult to master, you should try to do it every day."

"I didn't mind becoming a surfer too at 29. People thought that was crazy, up in Ocean beach in San Francisco. Most of the people learned when they were about 10, and it just wasn't an endeavor that especially a woman would take up later, that was considered old."

Get in touch with Leah

• Instagram @bonzergirl
• Facebook Leah Brindley Conroy

More about Christine Foerster

• christinefoerster.com
• Instagram @christinefoerster

The concept, the Art of Learning, was coined by Josh Waitzkin in his book, The Art of Learning. 

Connect with me at christinefoerster.com

In this episode with Ryan Paradee, we talk about intentional life design, transitioning from snowboarding to surfing, his enthusiasm for longboarding, hunting for good waves, co-owning the Surf Board Collective, and dealing with imposter syndrome along the way. Ryan is honest, heartfelt and imparts many life lessons in this engaging interview. I hope you will listen!

Episode Highlights:
[00:00] Intentional life design (and dumb luck)
[08:16] I can't say enough about my van.
[09:32] Don't take that one: Surf tips
[18:32] The most surf specific exercise you can do.
[20:06] Injuries and longevity
[26:15] Back off work and surf more
[28:17] Texas don't surf: Growing up landlocked
[32:37] Surfboard Collective: Longboarding and imposter syndrome

Quotes from Ryan:
"It was always with me internally that the traditional route is not for me, but I wasn't sure what the route was because it wasn't the traditional route. And there's a lot of conditioning and programming, I think with school and culture and society, and not all of it's bad. It's just conditioning."

"The better surfers in the lineup are so active. When you're learning to surf you're thinking, the idea is to paddle out and wait for a wave. But as you progress you actually realize, I have to hunt these waves,  so where do I want to be in relationship to where that wave is?"

"You don't need to take an egg out when it's small. They actually perform even better when it's overhead and pumping. My whole perspective changed. We have customers all the time that are making that same transition. And I love to see it. Not that I have anything against shortboards, but I know how much more fun I was having when I made that transition."

Get in touch with Ryan

• Instagram @rppyayouknowme
• The Surfboard Collective

More about Christine Foerster

• christinefoerster.com
• Instagram @christinefoerster

Connect with me at christinefoerster.com

In this episode with Jamison “Ratty” Johnson, we discuss how living in a van has allowed him to simplify his life so that he can focus on his passions; surfing, travel and yoga. He shares some helpful tips for beginners and reminds us why we are all here, it’s the stoke.

Episode Highlights:
[00:00] Life in a Van. Keeping things simple to keep it real
[04:05] Staying Light. Intermittent fasting
[06:05] Ratty Stikx. Crafting a logo and surfboards
[07:45] Surf Tips. Pop up and paddling
[12:01] Stoke the Fear.
[16:29] The Challenge is the Way

Quotes from Ratty:
"Surfing is so diverse and there's always a challenge. I've been pretty good at the sport ever since I was a kid, but I was always like the second, third, or fourth place guy. There's always something that you work on that you personally wanna do better."

"The van life thing has worked out. I'm really comfortable. I don't feel like I'm lacking anything, to be honest with you."

"You have to have that stoke. Once you've had a good wipe out and you overcome those fears, you're like, that wasn't so bad."

Get in touch with Ratty

• Instagram @hattailratty

More about Christine Foerster

• christinefoerster.com
• Instagram @christinefoerster

Connect with me at christinefoerster.com

In this episode we cover a wide range of topics with Diana Tsai from drought tolerant gardening, to short boarding, to how her training as a physical therapist informed how to get into paddling shape and deal with surfing injuries. I hope you enjoy this conversation.

Episode Highlights:

[00:00] Weed Meditation, growing worms and drought tolerant gardening
[08:35]  Decent wave, minimal crowd. Our surf session
[12:25] Females can do what guys do. Transitioning to a short board
[16:30] The most amazing feeling. Learning to surf
[21:06] Eerie beaches. Surfing (or not) in the time of Covid
[23:12] I can see your brain! Surf injuries

Quotes from Diana Tsai:

"Since I'm a physical therapist, I was able to just manage it on my own and build up the strength."

"Surfing was a great outlet because it still allowed me to get out and get some exercise. It's actually what helped mentally and physically to get through that period of time where things were stressful and unknown."

"What was challenging with learning how to surf is that the muscles that you use and how you use them is really different from a lot of other forms of exercise. You have to get into paddling shape."

Get in touch with Diana Tsai

• Instagram: @diana_tsai

More about Christine Foerster

• christinefoerster.com
• Instagram @christinefoerster

If you are enjoying this podcast, please leave a rating or review. Thank you for your time!

Connect with me at christinefoerster.com

In this first episode of the Wilding Fifty podcast, Michele Bolanos talks about how to overcome fear of the unknown and in the process develop a deep love for yourself. She is honest about the long road of trial, error and practice to become proficient at any skill whether that be surfing, teaching yoga or moving into the real estate business. I hope you enjoy this surf tale.

Episode Highlights:
[00:00] Knowing Yourself through Yoga
[02:58] Imagine the Wave has Teeth
[13:38] Learning on Bigger Waves
[17:26] A Surfboard on the City Bus
[25:50] Humble is the Way
[34:54] Love Over Fear

Quotes from Michele Bolanos:
"I set an intention for myself. I am going to let go of fear. Do the things that make you uncomfortable, you never know if you are going to get the barrel of your life unless you go!"

"If you stay in your comfort zone, you don't grow, you get bored. I've caught myself getting stuck and you're not sure why you don't feel good, why you don't wake up motivated, and you're like, oh, it's because I don't have a challenge."

"Yoga taught me how to love myself, especially after doing the teacher training. I was like, I love myself enough to do what I need to do."

Get in touch with Michele Bolanos

• Instagram @mermaidsurfs
• Email: [email protected]

More about Christine Foerster

• christinefoerster.com
• Instagram @christinefoerster

Connect with me at christinefoerster.com