527 - Jason Baffa: Confluence

Metz is back! Today he tells us about selling his surf shop to Gerry Lopez to launch the Hobie Cat, venturing into the surf wear biz where the female customer unlocks an empire, and he learns valuable lessons in prudence and how to time an exit. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

English professor/shaper Charles Mencel joins us to edify on the Jersey beach badge, help illuminate the Shore’s deep history beyond the stereotypes, herald their music culture’s influence on surfing, and chart the travails of scaling a local board building business while raising five daughters and educating America's young adults. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s show filmmaker Jason Baffa explains the unexpected perils of getting your dream job, the importance of finding your niche within a niche, how collaboration is a pathway to success, and why the future of surf films is a live viewing experience. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Quietly and immeasurably influencing the surf world, Jon Roseman's stewardship of Cloudbreak has been cosigned by Fijian tribal leaders and pro surfers alike. Today he shares stories from 30 years of swells, why his best surfing is still ahead of him, and how he hopes to convert his experiences and a newly earned MBA from Yale into sustainable success for Tavarua's future. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s show Dave Nelson reflects on the gift that was skating while growing up in the epicenter of tech, how one early gift from mom would dictate his life’s passion, the magic of living on Reunion Island in the early 90s, and how surf photography led him from darkness and allowed him to service something far greater than his own pursuits. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s show Californian Mark Sausen explains how he landed on Kauai in 1970, why humility is a gateway to universal acceptance, the biggest concerns with the tech autocrat invasion on island, why it takes 20 years to get Hanalei dialed, and how to surf well into your 60s. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s show Anastasia Ashley recounts lessons learned as a haole grom on the North Shore, winning a Pipe event at age 23, embracing surf’s sex appeal to build a business, turning down a six-figure paycheck from Playboy, and how early career choices she was scrutinized for have now become standard industry practice. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s show Chris Christenson recounts the time Tiger Woods got him disqualified from a golf tournament, why Dick Brewer invested in him, how Clark Foam’s closure was the best thing that ever happened, and discusses going to war with a corporate behemoth and inadvertently becoming an environmental activist in the process. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nainoa is back to explain why having a focused leader is the secret to building magic boards, how learning history enriches both work and play, why it’s a bad idea to fake it until you make it, and why sucking only a little grants you access to powerful teachers. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s show laminator Nainoa Speier shares how his personal journey to discover his family’s origins connected him to a network of SoCal surf icons, how teenaged vandalizing informed his future resin works, and why overseas surfboard manufacturing erodes the bedrock of surf culture. Enjoy!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices