The Kyle Thiermann Show

Wallace J. Nichols was a friend, ocean advocate, and often requested guest on the podcast. I first met J when I was twenty. I was a young activist, a little too eager, convinced that the world needed saving, and I would be the one to save it. After giving him my little spiel, he took a long breath through his nose, smiled slightly, and said, “You’re very earnest, Kyle. Don’t lose that.” Over the next decade, we became buds. He gave me public speaking lessons, opened countless doors, and sat down for recorded chats. Even when months passed, each time we reconnected, the depth was immediate. The way he spoke, listened, and showed up caused anyone in his energy field to drop their shoulders and breathe a little deeper. In that way, J was like the ocean. Blue Mind is a book about water, but its core message is mental health. J knew that the mind is a muscle capable of moving the world, and his simple message of jumping in the water brilliantly flipped the doom and gloom narrative into a story that was personal:We won’t save nature. Nature will save us. It’s easy to try and numb pain with distraction. J felt life deeply, he was one of the most earnest people I know. And I think when he told me not to lose my own earnestness all those years ago, he was telling me not to lose my capacity to feel. Because life can hurt, so let it hurt. I end each podcast the same way: Get in the water, whichever body of water is closest to you. The next time we plunge into our “blue marble,” let’s feel the sensation fully and thank our friend Wallace J. Nichols for all he gave us. Earnestly. Please donate to his family and continued mission here. Get full access to Kyle Thiermann at thiermann.substack.com/subscribe

If you’re a man and you work, technically, you do “men’s work.” There’s also that band “Men At Work” that sang that one about that thing and got us all to drink Foster’s beer for two whole months. Dark times. And then there’s Eli Buren, who has been on a dedicated path of facilitating men’s work since 1998. He leads in-depth retreats with training in embodied presence, depth meditation, yoga of awareness, martial arts, breath journeys, outdoor leadership, and how these disciplines may be lived back in the real world. I went out to Zion with podcast alumni Chris Keener to experience Eli’s work firsthand and was very impressed. Zion is pretty sweet too. Check out Eli’s work here.If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. I read them all. You can join my newsletter on Substack. It’s glorious.  Get full access to Kyle Thiermann at thiermann.substack.com/subscribe

The name’s Othman… or as fellow big wave surfers call him, Hot Man. The eccentric Moroccan can often be found in small airports or humungous barrels worldwide, dancing, high-fiving, and tracking swells to his next destination like a comet, forlorn damsels trailing close behind. Hot Man had a two-day layover in LA before he flew to Teahupoo, Tahiti, to place himself inside the throat of some scary oceanic cylinders. So, he crashed on my couch and we talked story. Follow him on the gram. Just don’t fall in love… like I did. (Sigh.)If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. I read them all. You can join my newsletter on Substack. It’s glorious.  Get full access to Kyle Thiermann at thiermann.substack.com/subscribe

Shaun Lopez is a Maui-based big wave surfer, hunter, solar energy enthusiast and host of the Buoy Report podcast. In this podcast, Shawn interviews me about my thoughts on creativity, advertising, external rewards, my journal process, respect, faith, embarrassment, and, of course, surfing. Check out Shawn getting ridiculously barreled here. If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. I read them all. You can join my newsletter on Substack.  Get full access to Kyle Thiermann at thiermann.substack.com/subscribe

Orion Levine is a weapon. The kind of terse comedy writer who will likely read through this bio line by line and remove all of the unnecessary, bloated, run-on blather with a red marker. I first saw Orion perform a few years back and was amazed by the exactness of his craft. So few words. Such big laughs. In this podcast, we talk about his comedy writing process, habits, routines, and the parallels between open mics and surfing. Orion has appeared on the Late Late Show with James Corden, Comedy Central, was named a New Face at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in 2022, appeared at New York Comedy Festival, and on Netflix Radio. Now he performs all over the Country. Follow him on Instagram and find his upcoming shows here. If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. I read them all. You can join my newsletter on Substack.  Get full access to Kyle Thiermann at thiermann.substack.com/subscribe

Steven Preisman is a Creative Director at Humanaut Brand Invention Agency, and this episode is about how to come up with a shit load of ideas fast. Steven is known in the ad world for delivering the Liquid Death Tony Hawk blood board stunt, where the pro skater dripped his blood onto a deck and sold it at auction. We also talked about Steven’s criteria for what makes ideas spread, word association games, and why he rarely looks to advertising for inspiration. If you dig this episode and want more like it, check out these gems: #327  Charlie Hart, #317 - Scott Norton, #299 - Dersu Rhodes. And scope Steven’s work here. He’s very impressive… for a Canadian. If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. You can join my newsletter on Substack. It’s glorious. This episode is brought to you by Claude Copywriting Agency---An out of the box way to inbox. Get full access to Kyle Thiermann at thiermann.substack.com/subscribe

Charles Duhigg. The man. The myth. The big idea guy. The dude writes books, maybe you’ve read them. The Power of Habit spent over three years on New York Times bestseller lists. His second book, Smarter Faster Better, was also a New York Times bestseller. And his latest, which just hit the shelves, is titled Supercommunicators. Turns out ol’ Charles also lives in my hometown of Santa Cruz, California, and the dude surfs! Who would’ve thunk? This pod was under an hour, and we covered a lot: the writing process, breakthrough communication skills, and, of course, surfing. If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. You can join my newsletter on Substack. It’s glorious. This episode is brought to you by Claude Copywriting Agency---An out of the box way to inbox.This is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Kyle Thiermann at thiermann.substack.com/subscribe

Rick Hanson, Ph.D. is a psychologist, New York Times best-selling author, and buddy of mine. He’s a wonderful and (sane) blend of science and spirituality and often writes writes about the intersection between the two. His books include Making Great Relationships, Neurodharma, Resilient, Hardwiring Happiness, Just One Thing, Buddha’s Brain, and Mother Nurture—with over a million copies in English alone. This podcast was first released over Covid—whew, remember those dark days—and it's still one of my favorites, so I figured I'd bump it back to the top of your feed so your ears can luxuriate in all of the wisdom that is Rick Hanson, Ph.D. one more time. Get Rick’s newsletter. If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. You can join my newsletter on Substack. It’s glorious. This episode is brought to you by Claude Copywriting Agency—an out of the box way to inbox. Get full access to Kyle Thiermann at thiermann.substack.com/subscribe

I’ve known Shems Hartwell for a while now. A relationship coach, foil surfer, and long hugger, he’s a guy I could easily see myself rolling my eyes at if it were not for his authenticity. Even the word “authenticity” feels like it’s circling the drain of descriptors these days. It’s always the carefully curated posers who love to share their “authentic” selves with the world. And in this podcast, we get into it. The phenomenon of men who commodify their vulnerability to achieve status, sharing just enough to be cheered on for their bravery while never letting the truly risky parts of themselves show. Real authenticity means a willingness to fail. And Shems is willing to fail. He creates a safe container for other men to fail too. For lots of dudes, the pressures of careers and mortgages and relationships are enough to snap the spine, and this is where true terror lies. Women say they want a vulnerable man, but they also don’t want a loser. This tightrope walk leaves men shakily standing on a high wire, looking thousands of feet below—Jocko Willink to one side, liberal cucks to the other. Shems is the net. (Did that metaphor make sense? Meh, I’m keeping it.) He’s is leading a men’s retreat in Nicaragua in a couple of months. There will be surfing. If this seems like your jam, check it out and more of his work here. If you like this episode and want more, check out Episode #121 or Episode #148.If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests to come on the show. Get my newsletter at Substack. It’s glorious. Get full access to Kyle Thiermann at thiermann.substack.com/subscribe

Marine Protected Areas. No take zones. Areas of the ocean where fishermen cannot recreate. Do they work? Or are they sledgehammers where scalpels would be better used? In this episode, I speak with environmentalist Randy Garrett about the proposed MPA in the Pleasure Point area in Santa Cruz, California. He details his concerns about MPAs as potentially ineffective and even destructive mechanisms to protect ocean resources. Randy is one of the most science-based thinkers I know, so when he asked to have this conversation I was all ears. Learn more at: Allwaters.orgIf you dig this podcast, will you be please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests to come on the show. Get my Friday newsletter at Substack. It’s glorious. Get full access to Kyle Thiermann at thiermann.substack.com/subscribe