The Lineup with Dave Prodan - A Surfing Podcast

Big Wave World Champion and former Championship Tour surfer Keala Kennelly talks about her successful career as a surfing pioneer. She dives deep into equality in women’s surfing, touching on the importance of women’s events at waves of consequence like Pipeline and Teahupo’o, her excitement about the women’s CT returning to those places yearly, fighting for and eventually winning equal pay, and how female surfers always rise to the occasion when given the opportunity. She dissects her own origin story and career on tour, from growing up in a surfing family on Kauai and competing with the Irons brothers, to making it onto the tour, always performing better at big waves than smaller beach breaks, and her eventual decision to leave the CT for free surfing. Keala also shares stories about her evolution into a Big Wave champion, her first time surfing Teahupo’o, working in Hollywood on “Blue Crush” and “John In Cincinnati,” her career as a DJ, and how the WSL has begun to embrace LGBT surfers like Tyler Wright. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former Championship Tour star Cory Lopez looks back at his successful career on tour, including surfing in the famous 2006 event at Barra De La Cruz, his success at Teahupo’o, pushing the sport forward with airs, the expectations versus the reality of being a pro, and his World Title chances. He talks about some of the main figures who influenced him along the way, from his brother and fellow pro surfer Shea Lopez, to his close friend Andy Irons, to Shane Beschen and longtime shaper Matt Biolos. Cory also shares stories of how he helped put Skeleton Bay on the map, homeschooling while on surf trips in Indonesia, growing up in Florida, experimenting with new types of surfboards, and his favorite Andy Irons story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

WSL commentator Joe Turpel talks about his insanely busy year on and off tour. He goes into detail on the redesigned Championship Tour schedule for next season (especially Trestles and G-Land), gives his thoughts on the midseason cut, gets stoked on the Challenger Series slate, and looks at how this schedule will impact the return of Kelly Slater. He shares stories of working as the primetime announcer for Olympic surfing and calling the action from Connecticut, and then reviews which country’s teams he thought performed best. He also talks about his experience as the commentator on the new ABC show “The Ultimate Surfer,” from shooting the show during the pandemic to recording the new podcast with Cassie Randolph. Joe also tells his backstory, from growing up in Hawaii and Orange County, announcing NSSA events, being on the same UCSB surf team as Dave, passing up jobs that wouldn’t allow him to announce surfing, and committing to the craft of commentating. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

World Surf League CEO Erik Logan joins the podcast for a special episode to break down this week’s huge 2022 Tour Announcement. ELo and Dave dive into next year’s Championship Tour Schedule, the all-new Challenger Series, the benefits of the exciting midseason cut, and the way the regional Qualifying Series will change the path to the CT. They talk about the current fight for the WSL Final 5 that will play out over this season’s final two events in Mexico and Tahiti. Finally, they look forward to all the big content coming soon, from The Ultimate Surfer on ABC to the WSL surfing show on Apple TV+ and beyond. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Four-time WSL World Champion Lisa Andersen talks about her iconic career on tour. She looks back at surfing’s emotional debut at the Olympics, the awesome unpredictability of ocean surfing versus wave pools, the huge stakes, and her experience surfing in Japan. She tells her origin story, starting to surf in Florida, learning life lessons as you learn to surf, being taught by surf magazines, and then moving to Huntington Beach alone and committing to the sport, and finally getting on tour. She discusses opening up through surfing, pushing through criticism, and what went into her absolutely dominant four year title run. She also touches on motherhood on the Championship Tour, why she likes surfing in Florida over California, hear 30-year relationship with Roxy and Quiksilver, her thoughts on the new Rip Curl WSL Finals format. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reunion Island’s CT star Johanne Defay talks about the shark problem in her hometown, quarantine life, the big transition from QS to CT, and her Semifinal heat against Tyler Wright at the 2014 Roxy Pro France. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Merewether Beach’s own CT star Ryan Callinan talks about being shaped by the legends of the Newcastle surf community, dealing with grief and loss while on tour, and discovering the confidence to compete with the world’s best. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

WSL Commentator and former Championship Tour surfer Rosy Hodge talks about how surfing plays into political movements, apartheid and growing up in South Africa, making the switch from the lineup to the booth, and being a prominent voice in women’s surfing.Find the trailer for 100 foot wave here: https://youtu.be/znCNT-9k_Ws Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the new “Break Room” episode of the podcast, host Dave Prodan speaks with a panel of fellow WSL employees that work across the league. Get insights from inside headquarters on all the big names that are fighting for requalification, the competitive and unpredictable women’s World Title race, and how to identify surprise superstars like Italo Ferreira before they break onto the world stage. They also debate the best strategy for the Rip Curl WSL Finals, answer listener questions about what it’s like behind the scenes at the World Surf League, and compete in some surfing trivia with a new game called “Dave vs. The Field.”Leave us a voicemail! Send in your unpopular opinions by calling this number: 657-210-2642 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

WSL Championship Tour rookie Isabella Nichols talks about her unique and memorable first season on tour. She describes waiting a whole year between qualification and her first event, her strong Australian leg that included a second-place finish at Newcastle, and the challenges of surfing at Surf Ranch for the first time. She discusses pursuing her education while chasing her dream of making the tour, getting a degree in engineering, and her desire to work with wave pool technology. Isabella also touches on her scariest session at Sunset Beach, working as a stunt double for Blake Lively and her strategy and preferred seeding if she were to make the Rip Curl WSL Finals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices