Surf Stories

Kohl Christensen figured out a way to chase waves and make a living, much like many of us do, only the waves he chases are about 6 times larger than the biggest wave we've ever encountered. Immediately, we think of his 2019 skull-shattering wipeout at Pipeline, and next, about the organization he co-founded with friends to help people in exactly that kind of situation. BWRAG (Big Wave Risk Assessment Group) trains and equips us to help those in need in the water and on the beach before the professionals arrive. Enjoy Kohl's enjoyable journey in this chat with Kevin and John. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Longtime New Smyrna Beach surfer, Jim Morris, joins us for a conversation about growing up brined and seasoned in Florida waters.  He evolved into an aficionado of surfboard shaping and shapers and put his surf-to-live attitude in first position.  Everything afterward fell right into place, leaving us with a few quality stories to meander through on this podcast.  Enjoy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For Floridians, stepping up in critical, big waves is expected given the groundwork laid by Cory Lopez, among others. The hard yard gains came from Pete Lopez white-knuckling to Sebastian every weekend from the west coast of Florida, punching through orange grove shore pound and six-hour round-trip runs. Big or small, kegging or not, Cory defined grit and guts along side Andy Irons, battling Kelly and others in a critical time of professional surfing. All the while, he has maintained a stellar reputation as charger, dad, and brand ambassador for O’Neill. We are proud to call him a Floridian. Enjoy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mitch Varnes fused his passion for surfing and work ethic to make a career in public affairs with NASA and a career in surf journalism and athlete management.  Aside from managing CJ and Damien Hobgood and Lisa Anderson’s career for a time, he’s been creating and managing distance running and triathlons.  Check in here with Mitch for a couple Puerto Rico surf stories…. Enjoy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rob Machado's career momentum strayed from some of his peers and led him off tour and toward brand ambassadorships with some incredible people and companies who make sure we will find him in the surf regularly and hopefully on screen. We've been lucky enough to share quite a few great movies with Rob's effortless style, good humor, and memorable waves. We're so lucky to have the opportunity to hear some surf stories from the man himself. Enjoy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For over 30 years, Emmy award winning photojournalist Bob Campi has been documenting news and entertainment from places like Afghanistan Iraq, The Middle East and The Oscars. During the COVID, crisis he set out to Hawaii to create a meaningful, lasting documentary about iconic shaper Dick Brewer, a larger than life personality who for 5 decades put his craft and engineering skills to use by changing the way waves were ridden not once, not twice, but three times.  Dick's profound innovations, gifted hands and keen eye gave surfers the tools they needed to ride more challenging waves deeper, more critically, and with more enjoyment. Bob Campi's vision has succeeded, with his newly release film The Shape of Things - The Dick Brewer Story. He joins us to explain a little bit about how this wonderful project came together. Surf Stories is presented by Surfing's Evolution and Preservation Foundation, the Endless Summer license plate in Florida. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex Mecl, CEO and Executive Producer at Bruce Brown Films, discusses his early motivation to work with Bruce and his family to ensure Bruce's work is disseminated to the world in perpetuity at little to no cost. Alex shares the details behind what it takes to run and connect all the right people and ideas to keep the enduring the stories rolling on camera and off, including working with Surfing's Evolution and Preservation Foundation in Florida, which provides drivers the option of choosing an Endless Summer license plate to support dozens of organizations in Florida. Enjoy the stoke from Alex... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thoreau said something like, "My friends have come unsought." Sometimes, when luck is on your side, a nice person will come into your life, and it just fits, and you want that energy around you like sunshine and good waves. Each time you have a conversation, surf, or round of golf with Bruce Reynolds @surfinista, you'll feel some of this good fortune. His story and visual art share a sense of what it is to be a Floridian surfer who has returned from adventures in Mexico, Fiji, New Zealand, California, and more; he is a content and settled soul in Cocoa Beach, producing new work on the regular. Enjoy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the skinny brine of Mosquito Lagoon to north beach’s relief at Ponce Inlet, Evan Geiselman has almost completed his back-to-the-sea, full-reptilian transformation. Fish-hunter, professional surfer, and... golfer? Yes, a damn fine golfer. The miracle at Pipeline rebirth-ed our very own stoked slayer of dragons back to life -- revitalized, refocused, and performing surface attacks and aerial artistry on our beloved stages, New Smyrna Beach. Enjoy this beachside chat with the one and only, Evan Geiselman.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Long-time shaper and Floridian, Randy Richenberg, joins us for a chat finally. A true technician in the practical nuances of fins, channel bottom, and other designs, Randy has put to use years of experience in the water, New Smyrna Beach's side of Ponce Inlet especially. He rides shortboards to this day to refine the biomimicry used on his proprietary fin designs, taken from marine life's evolutionary advantages. Listen in to Big R's rap with Kevin and John. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices