Full episode and Show Notes - www.wearelookingsideways.comThis week’s guest is photographer Wig Worland, one of the most respected and influential people in the history of UK skateboarding. I’ve known Wig on and off since the 90s. Looking back, we were all a little bit in awe at his complete understanding of who he was as a person, and how single-mindedly he approached his craft and self-appointed task. Indeed, as my old pal Phil Young said, when I told him I’d finally persuaded Wig to come on the podcast, there’s argument to be made that for a key period in the 90s and 2000s, Wig was THE most influential figure in UK skateboarding.It’s a big claim, but the evidence (and any measure of common sense) backs it up. In the dim, distant, pre-social media years, the role of surf, skate or snow photographer carried an enormous amount of clout and influence. Particularly in the UK, which at the time didn’t have the huge industry apparatus of the States underpinning the scene. In many ways, the early history of British skateboarding is really the history of a lot of talented and extremely driven people tirelessly documenting (and hence effectively creating) the scene as it rapidly evolved in real time. Wig was and remains a crucial and highly respected part of that brilliant tradition. And Wig really has shot with absolutely everybody, as you’ll know if you follow him on Instagram, or are at all familiar with his work over the years. All of which means the man has tales and opinions galore on the history and uniqueness of UK and wider skateboarding history. Wig doesn’t do many of these, so to get the chance to hear his perspective on all things skateboarding and creativity is a privilege I don’t take lightly. Hope you enjoy the episode. Enjoying the podcast? Want to keep it free and ad-free? Donate here: https://bit.ly/LSBuyPint Thanks to Matt Ward for the theme tune, to Duncan Yeldham for production support, 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.comThere are many layers to this week’s conversation with surfer, director, film-maker, producer, creative and all-round legend Mikey Corker. On the one hand, it’s about this latest project Savage Waters, a surf film in the finest classical, questing tradition. It’s about how Mikey and a crew of similarly-driven and passionate people have spent years abroad Matt Knight’s yacht Hecate, on the hunt for a mythical wave, and the adventures and scrapes they got into along the way. Then, on another level, it’s about the travails of the professional surfing life, as well as a homage to the incredible, inspirational Knight family; a group of total legends who live life completely on their own terms, and who by the end of the film will have you wanting to jack in the job, sell the house and head for the horizon. But above all, it’s the story of Mikey’s own creative quest, and the reality of embarking upon such a quixotic creative endeavour. As you’ll hear, at the beginning of this project Mikey really had nothing more than the germ of an idea and a lot of drive. It has literally taken years to get to the point where Savage Waters is out in the world and beginning to garner plaudits in the form of festival slots and acclaimed reviews. And that’s what this one is really about: the reality of all creative projects. Nobody gives you permission. Gates don’t mysteriously swing open in recognition of your devilish cleverness and latent talent. You have to make it happen, whatever bumps in the road you encounter along the way. This is why I find Mikey’s story, and this brilliant conversation, so inspirational. Thanks to Matt Ward for the theme tune, to my editor Fina Charleson, and to Duncan Yeldham for production support. 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.comIs there anything better than catching up with an old friend after a long break, and picking up exactly where you left off?I think not - which is why my latest with Ewan Wallace is a paean to the joys of close friendship. Ewan is a snowboarder and musician (he’s guitarist with Bonobo and Karmic) who is also one of my oldest and closest friends. I spent the most formative years of my life with Ewan; 15 years snowboarding, travelling, working and playing music together. But in the last decade we haven’t seen as much of each other as usual, which is why I really cherish our time together on the rare occasions it does come around. On this occasion, I was also keen to reflect on our shared experiences with the perspective of time. I’ve been thinking much about the past recently, particularly the creative successes and failures. As somebody who was alongside me in the creative trenches for so many years, I’ve long been waiting for the chance to compare notes with Ewan on the times we had and the things we experienced. The result was the type of nourishing, grounding chat that only a proper old mate can deliver. Ewan’s always been a brilliant conversationalist and he’s led such an interesting life that know this would be a fun one. And so it proved to be. Thanks to Matt Ward for the theme tune, to my editor Fina Charleson, and to Duncan Yeldham for production support. 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.comLet’s get straight to it - I’ve got one of surfing’s all-time great legends on the show this week. Along with peers like Ian Cairns, Rabbit and MR, 1977 World Champion Shaun Thomson helped to redefine surfing over the course of one of THE most influential careers of them all. He changed the game in ways we all continue to benefit from today. Then there are his off-the-water contributions, which are as progressive and game-changing as his surfing. He was one of surfing’s earliest activists, working with organisations such as Surfrider, and organising a campaign to improve water quality at Rincon, among other firsts. He’s also an entrepreneur, starting Instinct and sponsoring other legends such as Tom Carroll and Barton Lynch on the way to their own world crowns. And, as if that isn’t enough, he’s also a creative filmmaker and cultural custodian, notably through the film Bustin’ Down The Door, which documented the mid-70s Hawaiian scene Shaun was himself such a key part of. And yet, despite these incredible heights, Shaun’s life has also been marked by rare tragedy. The death of his beloved son Mathew in 1995 left him understandably bereft and seeking a new purpose in life. He found it with his Surfer’s Code, a deceptively simple self-development tool which uses surfing as a metaphor for life’s struggles, and which Shaun has subsequently used to help thousands of individuals and business find their own purpose. Taken as a whole, Shaun’s story is remarkable on many levels, and in this conversation we spoke about this career in the context of the biggest themes of all - life, death, grief, recovery; and how surfing has the power to shape your life in ways it can take a lifetime to understand. I’m very grateful to Shaun for taking the time to share his story with such openness and generosity. Hope you enjoy this episode. Thanks to Matt Ward for the theme tune, to my editor Fina Charleson, and to Duncan Yeldham for production support. 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.comWhen does cultural guardianship become another form of toxic gatekeeping? How can you connect your own personal take on activism with the bigger themes? How can ski touring and splitboarding be a vehicle to increased creativity and self-awareness? And just why is Scotland one of the most unique places to ride a snowboard in the world? All topics covered in this week’s episode with Lesley McKenna, Hannah Bailey and Lauren MacCallum, impromptuly recorded during my recent trip to Aviemore to take part in one of Hannah and Lesley’s Wandering Workshops. This was a brilliant three days which mixed splitboarding with a much-needed creative reset. While there, I decided to grab Lesley, Hannah and Lauren for a chat. “What do you want to chat about?”, asked Lesley the day before, as we were heading uphill through classic Scottish four-seasons-in-one-day conditions. “Let’s just press record and see where we end up”, I replied. Which is exactly what we did, and as I suspected it might, it quickly evolved into a subtle, all-encompassing chat that covered a hell of a lot of ground. Of course, it helped that I was chatting to three of the smartest, most passionate people I know. This is actually the first time I’ve interviewed three people for the show, and I thought it worked really well. Big thanks to Lesley, Hannah and Lauren for taking the time to do it, and for the brilliant conversation. Thanks to Matt Ward for the theme tune, to my editor Fina Charleson, and to Duncan Yeldham for production support. 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.comSound the geek klaxon! Yep, this week’s conversation with legit US snowboarding legend Pat ‘the eYe’ bridges goes deep, deep down the snowboarding rabbit hole. I go back a long way with Pat - around twenty years, in fact. I used to write for him back when he was editor of Snowboarder Magazine, which was around when we first met. Over the years, we stayed in touch and continued to bump into each other at various events around the world. So you can imagine how chuffed I was to get the chance to work alongside Pat as part of the Natural Selection team: firstly, as part of the Selection Committee for the event; then, later, as part of the commentary team for the Jackson leg of this year’s tour. I spent that trip with working with and hanging out with Pat, which was brilliant fun and a true privilege. Cut this man and he bleeds snowboarding. He also has the most encyclopaedic knowledge of snowboarding lore of anybody I’ve ever met. Which, considering the calibre of geek I’ve spent my life hanging out with, is really saying something. These days Pat is as close to a definition of a snowboarding lifer as you’re going to get, as his work as publisher of Slush testifies. He continues to fight the good fight, and be outrageously entertaining company. Hope you enjoy our conversation. Thanks to Matt Ward for the theme tune, to my editor Fina Charleson, and to Duncan Yeldham for production support. 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.comTo say that Neil McDonald is interested in skate history is a little like saying Capability Brown liked to dabble in the odd bit of gardening. Neil is a journalist, author, curator and archivist who is obsessed, to an awe-inspiring degree, with the tales and intricacies of skate history. It’s a fascination he explores through his essential Science Versus Life Instagram account, and which he is developing on the grandest possible scale with his forthcoming history of UK skateboarding. For me, Neil’s reverent take on the power and importance of skate history makes him more akin to a legitimate cultural curator. It’s why I kept using the word archivist during our conversation, and why I think his work is so important and much more than the mere ‘scanning of old skateboard magazines’, to paraphrase his Insta bio.Why? Because this stuff matters. It’s important, like any history is important. It’s how we define ourselves as a culture, and how we safeguard the uniqueness of these activities many of us have based our entire lives around. With Science Versus Life and his forthcoming book, Neil is doing nothing less than trying to preserve and present the entire pre-digital history of British skateboarding and, by extension, youth culture in this country. As you might imagine if you’ve listened to the show for a while, this mission is right up my boulevard, and I enjoyed our chat very much indeed. Hope you do too. Thanks to Matt Ward for the theme tune, to my editor Fina Charleson, and to Duncan Yeldham for production support. 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.comThis week’s guest Yvette Curtis runs the amazing Wave Wahines, the women and girls only surf club through which she is on a mission to make surfing in the UK more accessible for women and girls from all cultures and ethnic communities. I think the reason I’m such a fan of Yvette’s work, and why I was so keen to chat to her for the podcast, is that it’s a story of how one person can impact the grassroots by the works they do. I talk about lot on the podcast about how we need to ask questions of traditional surf culture. Well, Yvette is out there doing that work, and it’s through initiatives such as Wahines that change will happen, however irrevocably. And, as I discovered during our conversation, it has come at sometimes great emotional and personal cost. Firstly, because like everybody, Yvette struggles with the dreaded imposter syndrome, and the very idea that she has any right to be a spokesperson on any of the issues we discuss. Secondly, because anybody doing such work, and daring to pose questions of the status quo, can find themselves open to attack, something which happened to Yvette when she appeared on a BBC Spotlight segment and subsequently received a truly horrendous amount of bullying and abuse. Undeterred, Yvette dusted herself down and came back more energised than ever to make a difference. As she should have one, because her experiences as a British woman of colour in the 21st century are real, impactful, challenging and are as valid a contribution to our culture as somebody who is venerated for being good at riding a piece of wood, foam or carbon. When ordinary people do extraordinary things, change can happen. Shining a light on such stories is basically why I started this podcast, and why I’m so glad Yvette agreed to come on the show. Thanks to Matt Ward for the theme tune, to my editor Fina Charleson, and to Duncan Yeldham for production support. 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.comJackson x Natural Selection omnibus special!Succeeding in any kind of career as a professional athlete is tough. Cultivating a career that lasts close to two decades? Pretty much impossible. In snowboarding, it’s a rarified feat that only a handful have managed. Those that have accomplished it have navigated ups, downs, injuries, sponsorship vagaries, trends, and everything else that life can throw at you. This week’s guest Hana Beaman is among that number, legit shred royalty whose unique career has been characterised by constant evolution. As is often the case when it comes to these lengthier career arcs, Beaman got her start on the contest scene, later making her name as one of the only women on the Grenade crew. Later, she made the switch to the backcountry under the tutelage of Travis Rice and other out-of-bounds heavyweights. Movie projects such as Listen to the Eyes followed, before Natural Selection- well - selection cemented Hana’s rep as one of the true legends of the women’s snowboarding scene. It’s a position she relishes, happy to pass on her knowledge to the next generation and own the mentor role now she’s in the position to pay it back. Naturally, given the sheer weight of this resume, I was keen to chat to Hana while I was in Jackson. The resulting conversion is a study in the long game, and an object lesson in how humility and curiosity are the fuel for longevity. What I found particularly interesting is the way Hana’s been happy to diversify and follow interests outside of snowboarding as way of keeping things fresh. I’ve long been intrigued by Hana’s story, and I very much enjoyed our conversation. Thanks to Matt Ward for the theme tune, to my editor Fina Charleson, and to Duncan Yeldham for production support. 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.This week’s guest is runner and activist Martin ‘MJ’ Johnson. Martin is a trail runner and father who, in Run to the Source, his new collaboration with Patagonia, has made a truly thought-provoking film. Run to the Source follows Martin’s attempt to set a new Fastest Known Time (or FKT, as it’s known) along the Thames Path, which he eventually did, completing the 184 distance in 38 hours and 35 minutes. But as anybody who has seen the film will know (and if you haven’t I really implore you to seek it out on YouTube) it soon becomes clear that the Martin and collaborators such as director Matt Kay and producer Phil Young have a much more ambitious story to tell. This is nothing less than the story of the river itself, which in the film becomes a metaphor for the untold black and brown history of Britain. By using this journey to tell such a nuanced story, the film becomes something else entirely, taking Martin’s feat into altogether more convention-challenging territory, and causing us to question our own relationships with the activities and history we can take somewhat for granted. It is powerful yet subtle, and as such is a fitting reflection of its protagonist. One of the things I love about Run to the Source, and Martin’s story in particular, is how it offers up such a nuanced, personal and localised take on activism. Often we’re encouraged to think of activism as a story of absolutes, of fighting the biggest battles of all. Martin’s generous interpretation offers up activism as a means of exploration, on a literal and metaphysical level, and is all the more powerful for that. 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 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