The Lineup with Dave Prodan - A Surfing Podcast

WSL Commentator Shannon Hughes joins the pod to talk about the Mid-season Cut and her journey to becoming a Championship Tour broadcaster. First, she shares her thoughts on the Mid-season Cut, what it was like to experience it on the ground in Margaret River, witnessing all the emotions, and also seeing how the pressure pushed the level of performance through the roof. She then takes us through her own personal journey in the sport, growing up in a surfing family, moving to J-Bay at 21, starting to compete in longboard events at a later age, commentating her first event in 2013, and finally getting called up to announce the CT. She breaks down the challenges of the job, describes talking live on air for full eight-hour days, discusses overcoming some unwelcoming co-commentators early in her career, and shares some key advice from Joe Turpel for aspiring announcers. Finally, Shannon talks about all the other projects she’s currently got in motion, from hosting The Double Up podcast, to starting The Women’s Surf Network, to working on the “Make or Break” series and commentating at the Olympics.Keep up to date with Shannon here, check out the Women's Surf Network here, and listen to the Double-Up Podcast here.Watch her next at the Boost Mobile Gold Coast Pro presented by Rip Curl live May 7-15.Join the conversation by following The Lineup with Dave Prodan on Instagram and subscribing to our Youtube channel. Stay up to date with all things WSL. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Winner of the WSL North America men’s QS tour Michael Dunphy joins the podcast to talk about his career year. After bagging two big wins in the regional Qualifying Series, he discusses making it onto the Challenger Series and starting the season in just a few days on the Gold Coast. He looks back at his long road through pro surfing, from getting his start in Virginia Beach, to choosing surfing over other sports, to battling through the QS, to surfing against the world’s best as a wildcard at the Surf Ranch Pro last year. He looks forward to the Challenger Series, his plans to surf all eight events, his desire to keep the momentum hot through the Australian leg, his close friendship with some of the other competitors, and the clear roadmap to the Championship Tour.Learn more about Michael here. Watch him compete next at the Boost Mobile Gold Coast Pro presented by Rip Curl live May 7-15.Join the conversation by following The Lineup with Dave Prodan on Instagram and subscribing to our Youtube channel. Stay up to date with all things WSL Challenger Series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Championship Tour star and Margaret River local Jack Robinson joins the podcast to talk about the Mid-season Cut-deciding event being held at his home break. He discusses his welcome return to Western Australia after spending 10 months of the year away, his passion for his home waves, and his excitement for potentially surfing at The Box. He breaks down his start to the season, including a strong 3rd place finish at the last event in Bells Beach that confirmed he had made the Mid-season Cut, and his focus turning from the pressure of the cut to making the WSL Final 5. He looks back at his road from Margaret River to the Championship Tour, how he dealt with intense hype from the media, fans, and sponsors from a very young age, how he doesn’t get distracted by comparisons to iconic surfers, and how his win last year in Mexico showed him surfing freely can have a real impact. Jack also talks about Pipeline versus The Box, filming Stab in the Dark, his thoughts on the season’s second half, Gabriel Medina’s return at G-Land, and much more. -------------------Learn more about Jack here. Watch the Margaret River Pro live April 24 to May 4.Join the conversation by following The Lineup with Dave Prodan on Instagram and subscribing to our Youtube channel. Stay up to date with all things Championship Tour. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Re-Air of Episodes 17 and 18 featuring 3x World Champion Mick Fanning. In the first half of this two-part series, 3x World Champ and fastest-surfer-alive Mick Fanning lets loose about his evolution from scrawny Gold Coast grom to competitive machine, his infamous encounter and new stance on sharks five years later, and his decades-long relationship with Rip Curl.In the second half of this two-part series, Mick returns to talk about going head to head with prime Kelly Slater and Andy Irons, the physical gap between the QS and CT, 2020 season predictions and the possibility of returning to the tour in the future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Surfing Victoria CEO and former pro surfer Adam Robertson joins the podcast to talk about the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach being held at his home break. He dives into the different parts and peaks of the iconic spot, lists his favorite Bells surfers, and makes his predictions for standout performers in the event. He breaks down his own competitive career, his amazing 2nd place finish as a wildcard at Bells in 2009, surfing for Australia in the ISA World Junior Championships, and his memorable time on the Qualifying Series. He talks in depth about Surfing Victoria, the positive power of surfing, and how their programs work to get more women into the sport, support equality in the lineup, teach surfers ocean safety, and promote surfing and water safety to indigenous youth around Victoria. Adam also touches on surf coaching, some of the elite young local talent aiming for the Championship Tour, his favorite surf movies, and his very unique prizes for winning the O’Neill Coldwater Classic in Scotland. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Championship Tour star Sally Fitzgibbons returns to the pod to talk about the upcoming Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach and beyond. She discusses the tradition of making the pilgrimage to Bells, her spiritual connection to that specific break, what it was like to ring the bell after her first win there, the importance of not rushing things on the wave, and her favorite sections of the iconic break. She looks towards the upcoming Mid-season Cut and breaks down the hungry, “swing free” mentality she will bring into the next two events. She looks back at her amazing 2021 season where she accomplished two major career milestones - representing Australia in the Olympics and surfing in the first-ever Rip Curl WSL Finals. Sally also touches on athletes in other sports who have influenced her, her comfort and success at Margaret River, the purist experience of connecting to a wave, competing at Pipeline for the first time, and her role in the 2032 Olympic games in Brisbane. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The explosive, dynamic former Championship Tour superstar Julian Wilson joins the podcast to check in after his year away from the tour. He dives into all the elements that went into his tough decision to retire from the CT, how his family changed his priorities, and how the pandemic played in. He talks about what he’s been up to during his welcome break from competition and discusses rediscovering his love for riding longboard and alt crafts. He looks back at the genesis of his successful career in pro surfing, including growing up in a surfing family in Coolum, getting into the industry (and feeling that pressure) at a very young age, the life-altering moment of getting the final part in “Young Guns III,” signing with Nike, fighting to provide for his family, and finally qualifying for the tour. He breaks down his time on tour, his strengths and weaknesses as a competitor, and the surfers who influenced him most. Finally, Julian looks forward to the future, working on the Rivvia Projects, still being in his prime, and training to hopefully compete at the Challenger Series events in Australia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Re-Air of Episode 60 (Originally Aired March 16th 2021)-----------Author and surf scribe Nick Carroll joins the podcast for a deep discussion about a wide and unexpected array of surfing topics. He breaks down the differences between Australian and American surf journalism as well as the similarities between the California and Australia surf scenes. He describes how you can learn a lot about who a person really is by watching them in the water. He dives into the irony of surfing’s counter culture, the long-standing surf institutions, the anti-establishment community, and the death of surf culture. He shares stories of his early competitive aspirations, watching his younger brother win World Titles, and how he moved from competing to writing about surfing for a living. He also touches on the current surfing boom caused by the pandemic and Kelly Slater’s future on tour before giving his top five things that changed the pro surfing game forever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Lineup Episode 38 Re-Air featuring a conversation with Griffin Colapinto in August of 2020.-------------------Griffin Colapinto talks about his role as California’s next great Title Contender, his relationship with Kolohe Andino, buying his own house, being the first and only Californian to win the Vans Triple Crown, and having success at such a young age. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To celebrate International Women’s Day, Rosy Hodge and Jessi Miley-Dyer take over The Lineup for a special episode. The two start by telling the story of how they met at the World Junior Games in Durban about 20 years ago. They share how they each got into surfing at a young age, the surfers they came up through the ranks with, and the women that inspired them along the way. They dive deep into the evolution of the women’s Championship Tour over the last decade and the impact its made on the next generation of women in surfing, including instituting equal prize money, holding men’s and women’s events at all the same venues, and the women competing for the first time at Pipeline. Jessi and Rosy also discuss the huge progression in women’s surfing, this year’s super talented rookie class and the young women poised to join the tour soon, what to expect at the waves of consequence on tour, the impactful WSL Rising Tides program, and honoring trailblazing women in sports with the International Women’s Day activation at the MEO Pro Portugal presented by Rip Curl. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices