

Surf Splendor
David Lee Scales
Conversations and stories about surfing. www.SurfSplendorPodcast.com email: hello@surfsplendorpodcast.com
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 12, 2025 • 1h 18min
546 - Claudia Lebenthal: Surfer Stories
In today’s episode Conde Nast’s former visual editor shares how an early experience caddying for Lisa Anderson sparked a career change, a passion to share the transformative experience of surfing with non-surfers, lessons gleaned from twelve writers about twelve iconic surfers, and how time spent in the ocean might be key to whole body restoration. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 24, 2025 • 1h 50min
545 - LIVE! Rusty, Taylor Knox, Jojo Roper at The Belly Up
In today’s show Rusty shares the flashpoints in his career that defined this shaping. Taylor Knox reveals Rusty’s role in his interest in surfing and later in his wild success on the rail. And Jojo Roper recounts his history run from Peahi, to The Eddie, to Maverick’s and how none of it would have been possible with Rusty. Live from The Belly Up, it’s Talk Story with Rusty and his tribe. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 17, 2025 • 1h 27min
544 - Kolohe Andino
In today’s show Kolohe Andino chats about the weight of expectation, why satisfaction can threaten ambition, how having children highlights the absurdity of professional surf pursuits, his idea for a restructured Tour, and why groms will always be the fertile core of surfing’s soul. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 7, 2025 • 1h 15min
543 - Alo Slebir
In today’s show, the 23 year old who just rode a potential record-breaker at Maverick's talks us through the wave itself, the prep, the media maelstrom that followed, the unique board that Stretch built for him, how 100’ surf is only accessible via a team of people, and why he didn’t celebrate the historic ride. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 31, 2024 • 46min
542 - Occy & Gerr
Today’s episode is hosted by Brad Gerlach with Occy as a guest! Recorded at Niyama Resort in the Maldives, Brad and Occy analyze Occy’s technique to provide basic truths about head and hand placement and body positioning to unlock your next level of surfing. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 23, 2024 • 2h 10min
541 - Rusty Preisendorfer
In today’s show San Diego’s surfboard and surfwear icon Rusty joins us to explain how his MIT mathematician father’s missive to follow his passion led him to art school and then to surfboards, learning how to push past moments of self-doubt, the secret unlock to Occy’s ’84 Thruster, the perils of licensing deals, and why some of the best design developments come from mistakes. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 12, 2024 • 1h 52min
540 - Matt Warshaw: Round Six
In today’s show surfing’s foremost historian reveals the pro surfer who saved his life at age 12, the gift of finding 50 year old surf footage from his youth, the unsung heroes lost to surf history, how history is shaped by those who elect to share it, and why is more important than ever to cement archiving surf history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 5, 2024 • 1h 53min
539 - Holly Beck
In today’s episode Holly Beck recounts her rapid rise into professional surfing and disillusionment, becoming an inadvertent model, expatriate freedoms, the fallacy of reality TV, and the holistic healing inherent to surfing. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 23, 2024 • 2h 3min
538 - Liam McNamara
Pipeline aficionado Liam McNamara joins us to discuss how growing up in a commune on welfare informed his approach to surfing on the North Shore, the single financial decision that salvaged his career earnings, how shepherding Hawaii’s youth rectifies past misdeeds, and why his last session at Pipe was nearly his last day on earth. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 18, 2024 • 1h 35min
537 - Brian Wynn
In today’s show we hear from Jersey board builder Brian Wynn about how he built a career on doing what no else wanted to do, the fastest way to expedite one’s learning curve, why staying small is recession safe, and how ice hockey staves off burn-out. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices