Full episode and Show Notes - www.wearelookingsideways.comCould a wooden surfboard change your life? It wasn’t a question I was expecting to ask when I travelled down to Porthtowan to meet James Otter of Otter Surfboards for the first episode of my Cornish omnibus. I thought we’d be discussing the backstory of Otter Surfboards, finding out how James got into wooden surfboard shaping and design and delving into the history of this venerable practiseOf course, we did cover all that. But in the tradition of all the best Looking Sideways conversations, this chat took on a life of its own, and strayed into some wholly unexpected territory. Like how we humans have a preternatural connection to wood, something which fuels our innate creativity. And how the business model behind Otter evolved unexpectedly, the meaning of which deepens for James with every passing year. And, above all, how the simple act of building a wooden surfboard might just have the power to help you make sense of your life, as it has done for James and the countless others who have joined him in the act of creating their own wooden craft. My thanks to James and Mat Arney of Hailer Media for their hospitality and help, and to my friends at the Watergate Bay Hotel for hosting me during this trip. Thanks to Matt Ward for the theme tune, and to my editor Fina Charleson. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wearelookingsideways.com/subscribe

Full episodes info and Show Notes - www.wearelookingsideways.com Dan ‘Danmials’ Leidahl and Benny Urban special TRIPLE episode! This episode came about when my friend Matt Georges asked me to write the words for his latest book project with Vans - TRIPLE. The TRIPLE project saw Matt organise three shoots to represent the different sides of snowboarding - Arthur and Blake for backcountry, Rene Rinnekangas and Fridtjof Tischendorf for park, and Danimals and Benny Urban for street. Matt asked me to interview each duo for the book - naturally I thought I might as well record these chats and see if they were worth putting out as podcasts.So that’s what I did - I relaxed my ‘no Skype’ rule, sent the guys mics and arranged to chat with each of them about the whole thing. This second instalment is with Dan and Benny. Of the three styles of snowboarding featured in TRIPLE, street riding is the one with the closest kinship to skateboarding. There are moments of progressive, creative beauty that represent the culture being pushed forward in real time. These two friends are two of the best rail riders on the planet, and they were the perfect duo to explore the multi-faceted possibilities of street snowboarding for TRIPLE. They joined Matt and filmer Alex Pfeffel for a mid-season trip to Japan where they spent two weeks exploring the bust-heavy possibilities of Otaru-Hokkaido. During our conversation, we discussed the challenges involved with taking a mountain-based form into an occasionally hostile urban environment - shovelling snow in the dark, finding spots, dodging cops and getting shots.Big thanks to Matt Georges and Vans for getting me involved, and to Dan and Benny for being such good sports. Thanks to Matt Ward for the theme tune, and to my editor Fina Charleson. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wearelookingsideways.com/subscribe

The importance of creative confidence has been a constant theme since I began the podcast in February 2017. Think of my conversations with Nick Jenson, Mickey Smith or Sachi Cunningham, to name just three where this topic has loomed large. From those conversations we learned that this bravery is required if you’re going to stick to your creative guns. We also learned that it is equally essential if you’re going to understand a crucial lesson: that the process of creating is the point, not some nebulous thought of ‘success’ or acceptance. And it is also critical if you’re going to accept and be comfortable with your own place in the artistic eco-system - and give yourself permission to enjoy the act of creativity in the long termThese are lessons CJ Mirra knows well, and are partly why he’s been able to develop such a singular and intriguing musical aesthetic. He’s best known for his collaborations with director and previous guest Chris McClean; notably Translate, their ‘pan-European surf odyssey / live / audio / visual experiment’ which they performed live for the first time at the 2019 London Surf Film Festival. But as I discovered when I went to visit him at his Leyton studio in February 2020, there’s much more to CJ than this. I very much enjoyed our chat about all things creative and musical, and I hope you do too. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wearelookingsideways.com/subscribe

Type 2 is a podcast from Looking Sideways in association with Patagonia that explores the intersection between the outdoors, action sports and activism.So far my Type 2 conversations have been with people aiming to inspire a movement of incremental change that - they hope - will add up to larger system change. People like Hugo from SAS, and Jake from Protect Our Winters. Today I’m speaking to photographer Christoph Jorda, a witness and storyteller who is using his talent and privileged position to document the real time effects of the crisis on our world today. By operating on the other side of the debate, he is bearing witness to the challenges faced by ordinary people and showing how the environments we take for granted are changing forever. Photojournalists like Christoph have always been an essential part of any movement for change. His documentary approach is essential because it injects emotion and humanity into a narrative that can often by characterised by nebulous facts and figures, or impossible-to-comprehend predictions.Christoph’s work documents in poignant, often harrowing detail the damage that is being done right now, making him a compelling voice in this entire debate. And in pursuing such fascinating and sometimes shocking photo stories around the world, he’s following in the lineage of the great photojournalists who’s work in turn inspired him. That’s exactly why I wanted to speak to him for the show, and what we discussed during this episode. Hope you enjoy it. New episodes of Type 2 are released every four weeks through my Looking Sideways channel. Hear it by subscribing to Looking Sideways via ApplePodcasts, Spotify, Podbean, OvercastFM or any of the usual other podcast providers.Thanks to Ewan Wallace for the theme tune, and to my editor Fina Charleson. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wearelookingsideways.com/subscribe

Full episodes info and Show Notes - www.wearelookingsideways.com Arthur Longo and Blake Paul special TRIPLE episode! This episode came about when my friend Matt Georges asked me to write the words for his latest book project with Vans - TRIPLE. The TRIPLE project saw Matt organise three shoots to represent the different sides of snowboarding - Arthur and Blake for backcountry, Rene Rinnekangas and Fridtjof Tischendorf for park, and Danimals and Benny Urban for street. Matt asked me to interview each duo for the book - naturally I thought I might as well record these chats and see if they were worth putting out as podcasts.So that’s what I did - I relaxed my ‘no Skype’ rule, sent the guys mics and arranged to chat with each of them about the whole thing. The first instalment was with Arthur and Blake, and as you’re going to hear it turned out so well that I decided to put it out as an episode of the podcast. What’s really interesting about this conversation are the insights into how two such stellar riders like Arthur and Blake approach a project like this. They pair are obviously both absolutely incredible snowboarders, but as became clear during our conversation, they have different, complementary approaches and it was fascinating finding out exactly what that looked like. Yep, a proper snowboard geek fest this one - well it has been a while - and, basically, a bit of an experiment to see how it would work doing a three-way chat over Skype. I reckon it turned out pretty well. Big thanks to Matt Georges and Vans for getting me involved, and to Arthur and Blake for being such good sports. Thanks to Matt Ward for the theme tune, and to my editor Fina Charleson. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wearelookingsideways.com/subscribe

Full episodes info and Show Notes - www.wearelookingsideways.com It can be funny how these episodes come together sometimes. You can spend months trying to arrange a meeting. Or you can randomly bump into somebody at the top of a backcountry run off the back of Niseko Annapurri, as happened with me and Lena in this case. It was the type of welcome coincidence that has characterised my friendship with Lena Stoffel over the last few months. So after our day in the backcountry, we arranged to sit down in Niseko the next day to record this episode. I was keen to speak to her about her life and career as a skier, snowboarder, surfer, photographer and film-maker. Like all pro athletes in this world, Lena is a traveller, and I admire the way she’s putting herself out there with her recent projects. It takes a certain of amount of creative courage to think beyond the usual trick porn and attempt to explore the cultural hinterlands of skiing, surfing and snowboarding, as Lena is. Her approach is now winning renown beyond the narrow horizons of our own little world. As you’ll hear, Lena is extremely humble, but as is so often the case, there’s a drive and creative ambition at work that is leading her onwards to ever more intriguing projects.I really enjoyed this one, recorded on a lovely, snowy, calm afternoon in Niseko. Hope you do too. Thanks to Matt Ward for the theme tune, and to my editor Fina Charleson. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wearelookingsideways.com/subscribe

Full episodes info and Show Notes - www.wearelookingsideways.com It’s the final episode from my Portland series, recorded during a breakneck week spent exploring the City of Roses with my various guests. And this episode, recorded with my very old friend Jonathan Weaver, is a fitting departure from the usual format. That’s because we recorded this episode during a very pleasant and leisurely drive around the Oregon coastline. I rode shotgun, grabbed the mics and spent an extremely enjoyable day riding around, checking the surf and having what is even for me a properly meandering conversation. And what a perfect format it was for exploring Jon’s inspirational and circuitous career through the industry. I actually gave Jon his first gig as a writer way back when I helped to run Whitelines, and he’s sure come a long, long way since then; ticking off stints as a snowboarder, team manager, and general industry mover and shaker at brands like Forum and Nike as his career has flourished. Listeners often ask how you begin get a career in the action sports industry, and this episode is a very good place to start. Above all, it’s the story of a brilliant life in snowboarding and beyond, powdered by passion and curiosity. I’m very proud to call Jon a close friend, and even more stoked to have him on the show for the episode. Hope you enjoy it. HUGE thanks to Travel Portland, Kex Portland, Hertz and Black Diamond PR for their help in pulling this entire trip together.Thanks to Matt Ward for the theme tune, and to my editor Fina Charleson. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wearelookingsideways.com/subscribe

Full episodes info and Show Notes - www.wearelookingsideways.com Coffee x snowboarding special! Yep, for this episode I headed to Heart Roasters to speak to the great Wille Yli-Luoma. Back in the late 90s and early 00s, Wille was one of the most progressive snowboarders in the world. And, as a member of the celebrated Forum 8, he was a member of the one of the heaviest and most progressive teams in snowboarding history. Go and watch The Resistance to get some measure of how they defined freestyle snowboarding for a generation. Wille was a key part of that team and for a decade bestrode the snowboarding world like the backcountry freestyle colossus he was. As his career wound down, he turned his attention to a new venture, and set about establishing Heart Roasters - despite having zero experience in the coffee industry. Today, Heart is a Portland institution, and Wille’s rapidly expanding wholesale business means it is about to go global. So many layers to this conversation. Sure, it’s about coffee - geekily so. But it’s also about the choices an athlete has to make a critical point in their career, and how the same tools that worked in one area of life can also serve you just as well in other areas. As inspiring off the hill as he was on it at the height of his career, this is a brilliant, all encompassing conversation with a true snowboarding legend. The coffee wasn’t bad either....Thanks to Matt Ward for the theme tune, and to my editor Fina Charleson. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wearelookingsideways.com/subscribe

Type 2 is a podcast from Looking Sideways in association with Patagonia that explores the intersection between the outdoors, action sports and activism.My guest for this episode of Type 2 is Hugo Tagholm, CEO of Surfers Against Sewage, the UK’s most beloved and certainly most successful marine conservation charity. Hugo and SAS are experts at taking their message beyond their own niche and energising the support of the wider community. I wanted to understand how they consistently mobilise this huge, engaged community to bring about the legislative action required to create tangible change. The other reason I wanted to speak to Hugo was to find out how he copes with the workload that comes with his position. Hugo has a ferocious work ethic, and a seemingly effortless ability to deliver comprehensively across multiple fronts. How does he do it? And what can we learn from his approach? It’s always a pleasure to see Hugo and I always really enjoy our conversations, whether the mic is on or not. This one is no different. Hope you enjoy it too. New episodes of Type 2 are released every four weeks through my Looking Sideways channel. Hear it by subscribing to Looking Sideways via ApplePodcasts, Spotify, Podbean, OvercastFM or any of the usual other podcast providers.Thanks to Ewan Wallace for the theme tune, and to my editor Fina Charleson. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wearelookingsideways.com/subscribe

Full episodes info and Show Notes - www.wearelookingsideways.comSkateboarding royalty alert! There’s really no other way to describe Bryce Kanights, one of skateboarding’s most legendary photographers.Bryce Kanights really has seen and shot it all. He came up as an original SF local, and honed his photographic talents while shooting his local punk and skate scene. From there, his career developed as skateboarding itself did, meaning he had a ringside seat for every notable development in skateboarding history.Think of an iconic image from skate history and chances are Bryce was behind the lens. Gonz at Alcatraz? Bryce. The iconic pic of Jake Phelps everyone ran when he passed? Bryce. The EMB heyday? Yep. Bryce again. Today, he lives in Portland, still shoots skating and is, as I discovered, absolutely fantastic company with a bottomless bag of anecdotes that could fill an entire season of the podcast, let alone one episode. It was a true pleasure to sit back, and hear a master tell tall tales from one incredible career. My thanks to Jen Sherowski for doing the intros, and for Bryce himself for taking the time to spend the afternoon with us.Thanks to Matt Ward for the theme tune, and to my editor Fina Charleson. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wearelookingsideways.com/subscribe