Looking Sideways Action Sports Podcast

Full episode info and Show Notes: www.wearelookingsideways.comActual legend alert! I have to admit, the first time I heard of Ross Edgley’s plan to swim around the coast of Great Britain I thought he had absolutely no chance of completing it. Swimming six hours on, six hours off - for over 1500 miles? It just seemed too vast an undertaking to contemplate, let alone actually complete. Then, like many thousands of others, I became hooked on the whole crazy story, following Ross through his regular vlogs and cheering him on as it became clear that he was going to finish - and in his trademark inspirational and positive style.Naturally, I had to try get him on the show - so on the eve of his big finish in Margate I jumped aboard Hecate, his home for the past five months, to meet the man himself and find out exactly how he was got though one of the most celebrated physical and mental feats of recent times. The result is a brilliant, poignant and hilarious conversation with Ross in which we unpick the whole thing. It was a real privilege to spend some time abroad Hecate with Ross, Matt Knight and crew, and the sense of achievement and camaraderie among everybody was brilliant to witness. Huge thanks to Ross, Matt, Euan Godon, Robbie Henderson and everyone else who made this happen. Thanks as ever to Matt Ward for the theme tune. 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.comHossegor omnibus! Yep. I headed to France for a quick 48 hour Quik Pro trip, and ticked off three podcasts while I was at it. This first instalment is with somebody I had an inkling would be a great guest, and he didn’t disappoint: the great Todd Richards. The word ‘legendary’ doesn’t really cut it with Todd, who during his 90s heyday helped set the standards that continue to define snowboarding to this day. Todd’s what you might call an action sports lifer - somebody who has been immersed in skateboarding, snowboarding and surfing since he was a kid and who is showing no signs of slowing down now he’s nearing action sports senior citizenry.He’s also brilliant company, and we had a great time trading stories and gossip about the sports we love. As I soon realised, Todd knows that ultimately our whole thing is a completely frivolous waste of time that also happens to be the greatest thing in the world, and his chat is that of a person who has spent a lifestyle becoming increasingly comfortable with this essential truth. He is also full of great one-liners and brilliantly opinionated on everything from Terje’s boycott to the state of snowboarding today. Yes snowboard geeks, your ship has come in. Grab the popcorn, and settle down for an enlightening 90 minutes with one of the greats. Big thanks to Todd for this one. I really enjoyed it and I hope you do too. Thanks as ever to Matt Ward for the theme tune. 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.comIts always great when the legends live up to the hype - and that was definitely the case when I welcomed Rob Machado onto the show for episode 057. Rob was in town to promote Momentum Generation, the new documentary that catches up with the iconic Momentum crew 25 years after they first came onto the scene via Taylor Steele’s classic film of the same name. It’s a compelling watch, and the film doesn’t shy away from tackling some of the great surfing talking points of our time: Rob and Kelly’s infamous high five, the injury wild card vote that ended Rob’s tour career, the death of Todd Chesser, and plenty more. Happily, Rob was also up for going in-depth on these same legendary stories, and the result is an intimate, honest and totally compelling chat with one of the greatest surfers ever. Thanks as ever to Matt Ward for the theme tune. 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

Noah Lane bonus episode! In October 2018 I found myself in Strandhill and arranged to meet my friend Noah Lane for a quick catch up. Noah was in the middle of an injury-enforced lay-off so headed on down from his home in Bundoran to sit down and fill me in on his life and career. We chatted about how he’s coping with a summer of rehab, his life as an Aussie surfer on the west coast of Ireland, his work with Backwash, and the psychology of surfing the scary, cold and heaving waves that have put this part of the work on the map. Big thanks to Noah for coming on the show - make sure you check out Backwash, and his latest project Beyond the Noise with Dan Crockett and Andrew Kaineder. There are no Show Notes for this bonus episode, so if you want to find out more about any of the things we discuss, check out my Instagram (@WeLookSideways), Twitter (@WeLookSideways) and Facebook (@wearelookingsideways). Nice one. 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.comIt was back to Ireland for episode 056, as I visited Strandhill in Sligo for a few days and grabbed legendary local bodyboarder Seamus ‘Shambles’ McGoldrick for a chat while I was at it. Although he’s too modest to admit it, Shambles first made his name as part of the local crew of surfers and bodyboarders who pioneered the mean array of ugly, evil-looking slabs that the west coast is now famous for. With peers such as Fergal Smith and Mickey Smith, Shambles explored places like Riley's and Aileen's and helped redefine Irish surfing and bodyboarding in the process. He’s also, as I discovered, a deeply original thinker with a quicksilver mind, somebody who is attuned to life’s mysterious currents and has a completely infectious worldview. In this atmospheric chat, recorded on an autumnal evening on the shores of the Atlantic, we chatted about Shambles’ life as a bodyboarder in Ireland, and got heavily into the details of the life-changing wipeout he suffered at Riley’s.Its a lovely, reflective conversation from a true one-off and one of the warmest and most generous characters I’ve yet had on the show. I was also lucky enough to get Shambles to play me a couple of tunes at the end of the show, so make sure you keep listening for that. Big thanks to Owen Tozer for coming with me and taking the amazing pics that accompany the episode. And thanks to Matt Ward as ever for theme tune. 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.comEpisode 055, and I invited one of my oldest and dearest friends onto the show - Sian Leigh. Sian is a health coach, a yoga instructor, a mum, a wife and a snowboarder. You may be familiar with her from work as one of the coaches on Jenny Jones’ camps, for example. But what makes Sian unique is her unapologetically positive and joyful take on life, and her perspective on the issues we’re all dealing with, whether we like to admit it or not. I described her as a health coach but that doesn’t really do justice to what she does, which is help people find the underlying root of why they are struggling to cope with life, whether physical or mental.What Sian does is bridge the gap been these two realities - the Instagram-friendly front we put on for the world, and the real shit that’s going on behind this veil, where everyone is struggling, we’re all pretending we’re not and nobody is talking about it. And as such, as somebody who is actually tackling this big unsaid, her persepective is unique and valuable, and that’s why I wanted to get her on the podcast and why I would implore you to check out this episode. Sian may not have the wider profile of some of my other guests but she’s as interesting and insightful as anybody else I’ve had on. So yep - some weighty themes in this one, although hopefully delivered with the lightness of touch that is the hallmark of every conversation I have with Sian. Huge thanks to Sian for being such a good sport, and to Melody Sky for the brilliant photos that I’ve used on the website. Thanks as usual to Matt Ward for the theme tune. 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 was lucky enough to welcome surfer, father, rancher, director and Patagonia ambassador Keith Malloy onto the show for episode 054, recorded during my recent trip to Newquay.Keith’s is a surfing life in three parts. He spent his twenties on the WCT tour, following the contest circuit and enjoying a huge profile as one third of the Malloy brothers with long-time sponsors Hurley. As he approached 30, Keith made an abrupt left-turn but dropping out of the tour and reconnecting with the surfing values that had driven his initial love for surfing as a kid. It was a move that coincided with the Malloys as a trio moving to Patagonia to help the brand shape their entire surf category, something they have been doing ever since, and saw Keith embark upon a decade of wave-chasing to some of the remotest, coldest climes on the planet. Now, as Keith settles into his fifth decade, life has changed once again and in this lovely, ruminative conversation we covered plenty of ground, including Keith’s involvement with Patagonia, his relationship with his brothers and father, how his family life has completed a wider, cross-generational circle, being an auto-didact and much more. Big thanks to Patagonia for hosting me down in Newquay on their inaugural European WornWear tour, particularly to Alex Weller, Jelle Mul and Louise Brierley Ingham. Hope you enjoy the episode. Thanks as ever to Matt Ward for the theme tune. 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 a couple of weeks podcast downtime - and my guest this week is the legendary Don Brown. You might not be too familiar with the name, but Don, a Brighton local, has had one of the most quietly influential careers in skateboarding. How? From world champion freestyler to the man who came up with Go Skateboarding Day, Don has been there, seen it, done it and probably sold you the t-shirt. Don was part of the early generation of UK skaters, who very early on headed over to the States to pursue his absolute love for skateboarding and along the way found himself at the heart of the global skate industry. And that’s where he’s been ever since, giving him a ringside seat for every significant development in skate history since the mid 1980s. It means the man, a brilliant raconteur, has stories to burn and in this episode we get plenty of those. We also get a glimpse of Don the romantic, a man for whom fate is real, and who has always been guided by his passion for skateboarding and by a burning desire to spread the skate gospel as honestly and funnily as possible. As he says himself during our conversation, “I just loved skateboarding. It was all I knew and that was passion that really drove who I was as a person. So I followed the path of where that was rolling”. The result is a funny, gossipy, rollercoaster of a chinwag that touches upon every era of skateboarding and just might have the most extensive Show Notes yet. So if you’re struggling to keep up with all the names and references dropped by Don then head on over to my website for the full breakdown.Massive thanks to Don for coming on the show and knocking it out of the park so entertainingly. Enjoy!Thanks as usual to Matt Ward (www.linguistine.com) for the theme tune. 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 was lucky enough to speak to the great Pete Cabrinha for episode 052 - founder and owner of Cabrinha Kites, legit Hawaiian waterman and complete force of nature. Pete has been at the cutting edge of waterborne action sports since the last 70s, and since then achieved mastery at no less than three different disciplines - windsurfing, surfing and kitesurfing. His achievements are legendary. He was world champion windsurfer in 1985. Along with Laird Hamilton, Dave Kalama and others, he was part of the legendary crew that pioneered tow-in surfing at Jaws in the early 90s. Today, thanks to his innovative approach both on and off the water, he is one of the world’’s most influential kitesurfers. But beyond the headlines I found a supremely confident, thoughtful and reflective individual, somebody who has always been inspired by the search for constant progression and forward motion. HIs life has been characterised by an innate curiosity and willingness to take risks, and the result has been an endlessly questing and fascinating career. It was a real privilege to catch up with Pete during his recent visit to London, enjoy the episode. Thanks as usual to Matt Ward (www.linguistine.com) for the theme tune. 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 finally bagged a guest I’d been after for months when I welcomed Hanli Prinsloo onto the show for episode 051. Hanli is an ocean advocate, conservationist, writer and speaker who is the founder and executive director of I Am Water, an ocean conservation trust. She is also a freediver who enjoyed a decade long career at the top of the sport.That’s the thumbnail sketch anyway, although it doesn’t really do justice to the sheer depth of Hanli’s vision. For Hanli, human wellbeing is intrinsically linked to an intense and close communion with nature, and she has dedicated her career to fulfilling this vision through the work of her trust, her talks and her writing. We met up in Cornwall in July 2018 at the Ocean Plastic Solutions Day organised by Finisterre and Surfers Against Sewage, and the next day sat down with a coffee to run the rule over her life and career. Some familiar themes in this one, which regular listeners will be well used to: imposter syndrome and the corrosive power of self-imposed pressure, but there are also true moments on wonder in this as Hanli describes some of the transformative experiences she’s had in the ocean with some of our planet’s biggest creatures. Hanli is definitely one of the most skilful communicators I’ve had the privilege of speaking to for the show, and the upshot is an episode brimming with positivity, inspiration and generosity. Huge, huge thanks to Hanli and Peter for being such great sports, and to Hanli in particular for taking the time to speak to me for the podcast.Thanks as usual to Matt Ward (www.linguistine.com) for the theme tune. 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