Looking Sideways Action Sports Podcast

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 Jack Harries. Jack is a film-maker and environmental activist from London. He initially came to prominence thanks to his wildly popular YouTube channel Jack’s Gap, which he started with his brother Finn and which quickly amassed four million subscribers. Such an audience gave him quite a platform and, as you might imagine, quite a few opportunities - such as the chance to head to Greenland and take part in a documentary about glacial retreat. It would prove to be a life-changing moment for Jack, who decided from that point to dedicate his life to raising awareness on climate change and attendant issues such as forced migration. He’s done so by making documentaries in environmentally compromised places like Bhutan and Kiribati, through his work as an ambassador for organisations such as the WWF and, latterly, by his very visible involvement with the Extinction Rebellion group. If anybody fulfils the premise of using their platform to create change, it’s Jack, and having been one of his 1.5 millions Instagram followers for a while, I’ve long been intrigued by his story. So with a fortnight of London-based Extinction Rebellion action in full swing, I headed up to meet him at his place in West London and find out more. I found him to be charming, impassioned, articulate and persuasive. Here's how it went down. New episodes of Type 2 will be 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 It’s the first half of my episode 100 bonanza! To mark my ascension to triple figures, I wanted to stoke my loyal listeners out AND do something that sums up the spirit of the podcast. So I’m releasing two episodes at the same time and calling them BOTH episode 100. This, episode 100a, is the first instalment, and is my interview with the great Danny MacAskill. Danny is a professional street trials rider who is one of the great stars of the viral age. In many ways, his career is emblematic of the way that action sports and the wider media landscape have evolved over the last decade. As everybody knows, Danny came to prominence when he released Inspired Bicycles, a film he made with some mates around Edinburgh which quickly became one of the defining viral films of the last ten years. It also made him globally famous, with the opportunities afforded by such a platform, and he took full advantage of it with a string of peerless films that upped the ante with each release, and showcased his creativity and sense of humour into the bargain. Naturally, I’ve been keen to get him on the podcast for years, and happily Danny agreed to meet up for an episode 100 chat. So I headed to Edinburgh to meet Danny and get his own take on the last crazy decade. The result was a relaxed and intimate chat in which new covered the lot. Big thanks to Danny and Till Bohlig for helping make this one a reality. 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 second half of my episode 100 bonanza! To mark my ascension to triple figures, I wanted to stoke my loyal listeners out AND do something that sums up the spirit of the podcast. So I’m releasing two episodes at the same time and calling them BOTH episode 100. This, episode 100b, is the second instalment, and is my interview with the great Nicolas Muller. Where do you start with Nicolas? For over two decades, he’s epitomised a style of snowboarding that sums up everything great and creative about our unique sideways art form. He’s one of the true GOATs, a master of every type of terrain who has shaped snowboarding in their own image. He’s also renowned for a freewheeling and freethinking approach to life, something brilliantly depicted in his Fruition biopic a couple of years ago. I’ve known Nicolas for a while now and have long had him pencilled in as one of my episode 100 guests. I wanted to get under the skin of this unique snowboarding legend and talk about it all - his career, his views on snowboarding, his inspirations, interests and unique worldview on life, snowboarding and everything. I’m happy to say we did that, and much more. The result is a supremely relaxed and revealing chat with the greatest snowboarding stylist of our age. I’m thrilled to have Nicolas on the show for this special episode, and happy we were able to have such a great conversation. 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 Every so often this podcast throws up some proper pinch-yourself moments, and this conversation with graphic design titan David Carson is one such occasion.Carson is, without question, the most notorious graphic designer of the last thirty years. His reach is total and his influence ubiquitous, as anybody who has worked in the media during that time will tell you.He also has a strong link to the action sports world, whether through his work designing titles such as Transworld back in the day, or as a hardcore surfer who avidly reads Beach Grit each day and counts Mikey Dora as a personal hero.He’s been a dream guest for years, but somebody I always assumed I’d never get the chance to interview. So when friend of the podcast David Benedek asked me to go and meet Carson any Gatwick airport to pick up some prints and record an interview, I leapt at the chance. The result was a highly enjoyable, meandering chat that took in the highlights of Carson's career and his views on surf culture, while showcasing his puckish sense of humour and insatiable curiosity.My thanks to David Benedek for making this one happen, and to Carson himself for being such a great sport on a rainy night in Gatwick.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 An intriguing thing about the podcast has been the number of unexpected themes that have developed over the course of the last 90 plus episodes. One of which is: how massively conservative and blinkered the action sports world can be.Think of the patriarchal struggles outlined routinely by guests such as Layne Beachley and Cara-Beth Burnside. Or the ongoing story around women’s big wave surfing. In skateboarding, a world which has traditionally had real issues with area of society that have progressed hugely in the last 40 years, it can be particularly acute. Take homosexuality. Skate history is full of murky examples of top pros engaging in casual or even violent homophobia, and top pros having their career cut short at the mere suggestion that they might be gay. Which is what makes Sam McGuire’s story so courageous and essential. Because Sam, one of skating’s most high profile photographers, is gay. Even admitting that simple, totally ordinary fact is rare in skateboarding. Sam publicly came out a few years ago, and in doing so went a long way towards normalising the idea of a high profile skateboarder being open about their sexuality. Why is this important? Because the more people in our closed little world are exposed to the reality of the debate, and the reality of life for people like Sam, the quicker attitudes will change for good. That’s exactly why I wanted to get Sam on the show, and why this is such a brave and important conversation. 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 Jake Black. Jake is a snowboarder from Colorado who initially parlayed his love for snowboarding into a professional career but he soon decided he wanted to try and give something back to the industry, and began to broaden his interests - notably as a journalist specialising in issues of sustainability in the snow industry, and then with Protect Our Winters, a none profit organisation that is the leading climate advocacy group in the winter sports world.Today Jake is Program Manager for Protect Our Winters, working to further the group’s climate aims on projects around the world. So he oversees initiatives like the Hot Planet Cool Athletes programme, the ambassador program, and basically acting as the conduit for POW US to the world. I first met Jake up in Lofoten in March 2019. We got on straight away - and not just because he loaned me his crampons during one particularly icy traverse. Like many people working in this sector, Jake has been motivated by his own love for the outdoors, and his personal experiences as a rider and traveller - and I was impressed with his take on the unique climate challenges faced by people in our world. So we arranged to meet later in the summer during his next trip to Europe for the European POW summit in Innsbruck. We sat down to discuss Jake’s career, his take on how to respond to the charges of hypocrisy that anybody attempting to affect change inevitably faces, and how we can reconcile these two seemingly opposing stances. New episodes of Type 2 will be 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 episode info and Show Notes - www.wearelookingsideways.comAhead of the forthcoming London Surf Film Festival, I caught with an old friend for episode 097 of the podcast. I’ve know Demi Taylor for years and have long admired her questing, creative approach to life, whether through her prolific writing, or the festival she’s been organising with partner Chris Nelson for the past nine years. In that time the London Surf Film Festival has quietly become one of the most essential dates on the UK calendar. There’s a spirit of wry celebration about it that sums up all that is great about surfing, and UK surf culture in particular.So with this year’s event coming up, I thought it was high time I sat down with Demi to find out the story behind the festival, and also exactly how she carved out such an fascinating, influential career for herself. It’s a great story, driven by what Demi characterises as a spirit of ‘hopeful naivety’. She’ll scoff, but it also an object lesson in how it is possible to create the career you want by being steadfast in your goals and consistently brave in your decision-making. Listeners are perennially fascinated in finding out how guests ended up with such singular careers in such an unpredictable industry, and Demi’s story is a brilliant example. I had a blast chatting to Demi, and can’t wait for this year’s festival. Hope you enjoy the conversation. 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 episode info and Show Notes - www.wearelookingsideways.comI welcomed legitimate skateboarding royalty onto the show for episode 096 when I visited the legendary Cara-Beth Burnside at her Oceanside home for the final episode of my Looking Sideways California tour. CB is surely one of the most influential women in the history of action sports. Just look at her list of unique achievements. First woman on the cover of Thrasher. The only woman to win X Games summer and winter golds. First woman to have a signature skate shoe. 4th place in the Nagano Olympics. It is, by any measure, an extraordinary career. And yet, as is becoming depressingly familiar, these achievements only tell part of the story. Because throughout her career Cara-Beth has also had to fight to gain recognition in the face of a disinterested and sometimes hostile industry. Its particularly galling in CB’s case, because as you’ll hear, she’s done more than anybody to pave the way for the women who have come after her, and her story raises interesting questions about the differing levels of support the industry gives its legends depending on their gender. Still, as I discovered during our conversation, for CB it’s just one part of a long, storied and truly remarkable skateboarding career. I was really honoured to spend some time with CB, and help bring her story the platform and attention it deserves.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 episode info and Show Notes - www.wearelookingsideways.comI’m back! After an unscheduled few weeks off. And I got right back into it with a visit to Bristol, where I was shown around the new Wave site by Nick Hounsfield, the man behind the entire project. Like most British surfers I’ve been following the story of the Wave for a good few years now, and I’ve long been intrigued by Nick’s role in the whole escapade. Sure, it’s about building the facility itself. But on another level, it’s a classic ‘if you build it, they will come’ story of one man and his unlikely vision. Rich territory for a podcast conversation indeed, so with the project close to completion and the first waves about to flow, I headed down to Bristol to meet Nick and dig into his whole story. The result is a conversation that covers a lot of diverse, emotional ground. Because the Wave is much more than a story about - well - a wave. There’s a deeper purpose at play, and a wider community vision for which surfing is the vehicle. And there’s another level to this, too - the implications of such developments for surfing as a whole, and what it will mean for our oldest and most jealously protected sideways culture. So yeah, a lovely weighty chat this, conducted on site a few weeks before UK surf culture changes for good. Hope you can forgive the background noise, and enjoy this unique insight into the man behind the Wave. 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 episode info and Show Notes - www.wearelookingsideways.comI welcomed the great Nick Jensen onto the show for episode 094.Nick is a skateboarder and artist from London who has been a pivotal part of the UK scene for at least 15 years now. He occupies a really particular place in the UK skateboarding firmament - as a street skater of global renown and influence, and also as somebody with a unique approach to creativity and skateboarding.I’ve been intrigued by Nick’s take on skateboarding for a few years, particularly his video parts or the work his does through Isle Skateboards. There’s always a considered aesthetic at play, and I was interested in how Nick transfers this vision between the different disciplines he’s dedicated his life to.So I headed over to his studio in Homerton, to sit down and discuss the whole thing. As regular listeners to the show will know, I’m pretty interested in that whole area of creativity works, where ideas come from, and how you can still that voice of self doubt in your head to give yourself permission to do the work you’re trying to do.So that's what we chatted about. The result is a super involved conversation about the mechanics of creativity, and the challenges involved in trying to live a creatively fulfilling life. Really enjoyed meeting Nick and getting such an insight into his life and work, hope you enjoy this one.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