Surf stories, ocean adventures +Β the aquatic experiences that shape us.Β
Listen with Lauren L. Hill and Dave Rastovich as they gather stories, insights and useful skills from some of the most outstanding waterfolk on the planet.Β
Waterpeople is where our global ocean community dives into the facets of watery lives lived well: ecology, adventure, community, activism, science, egalitarianism, inclusivity, meaningful play, a sense of humour. And, surfing, of course.Β
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When did your body last tell you to bolt? Did you listen?
Astronaut Christina Koch holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman: 328 days aboard the International Space Station. In April 2026, she flew around the Moon on Artemis II, the first woman to do so. The crew travelled nearly 253,000 miles (406,000 kilometres) from home, farther than any humans have ever gone.Β
Christina is a surfer and sailor. One of her personal projects on the Space Station was photographing surf breaks. Search #SwellFromSpace to see her orbitβs-eye view of some of Earthβs most celebrated waves.
Christina takes us back to a solo dive trip in Australia at 18, where a scuba emergency triggered panic and a rapid ascent. The moment became a lifelong reference point for self-reliance and for recognising fear in her body early. We follow that lesson into surfing, which she took up at 35, into astronaut training, and talk through some of the tools she uses to stay steady under pressure.Β
Christina describes water inside a spacecraft as something you have to constantly contain, while outside the window Earth is clearly an ocean planet. We talk about the far side of the moon, seeing our planet small enough to hide behind her thumb, and why space exploration is no excuse to abandon Earth. We also get into inclusion at NASA, how βfirstsβ happen, the role surfing played through her years of astronaut service, and the kind of intelligence Christina values most.
Subscribe to our newsletter for BTS stories from making the podcast, and the books, films and music weβre currently into. Written by us + free to read.Β
Daniel Treloar: Built to Bend
Season 8 Β· Episode 9
Tuesday, October 27, 2026 β’ Duration 55:55
Have you felt the difference a magic board makes in your life?
This episode, Dave sits down with the man behind the core of his current magic carpet.Β
Daniel Treloar is a waterman and the founder of Grow Blanks.
Daniel was born in Zimbabwe and raised in South Africa. He grew up with a severe stutter and dyslexia to boot, and his approach to both was to throw himself into the deep end. He studied agriculture and planned to farm, but the ocean pulled him in other directions. Travel, handcraft and a lot of trial and error helped him find his footing, and his calling came on a 30,000-acre agave farm in Kenya.
He and his partner started experimenting with the farmβs lightweight flowering agave stalks, the organic waste of fibre farming. Those experiments became Grow Blanks. They arenβt the first surfboard blanks built from agave, but Dave reckons theyβre the liveliest and most performance-driven to date. Danielβs workshop creates jobs in a part of Kenya where work is scarce, and shapers and surfers across Europe and Australia are beginning to choose the blanks over petrochemical foam.
On the slopes of HaleakalΔ on Maui, the two nerd out about variable rocker, honey badgers, performance design, and what sits inside the boards we ride.
Knowing When to Go (po'e wa'a) with guest host Chris Miyashiro + voyaging friends
Season 8 Β· Episode 8
Friday, October 9, 2026 β’ Duration 01:47:50
Who talks you out of your worst ideas, and into your best ones?
For the first time, we hand the mic to our mate Chris βMystoβ Miyashiro: surfer, artist, voyager. Mysto takes us into HawaiΚ»iβs underground voyaging communities, where backyard builders keep canoe sailing traditions alive with humility and resourcefulness.
In four vignettes, we hear stories of friendship, loss, healing, and bold dreaming.Β
We get deep insights into what makes Hawaiian channels so intense, why the Hawaiian canoe sheds embellishments to navigate heavy water, and how the vaβa and the ocean become places to move rage, love, and memory into action.Β
We learn how simple rigs, tarp sails, and DIY problem-solving - human ingenuity - make ocean travel more accessible than most people think.Β
...
Κ»Εlelo HawaiΚ»i Glossary:
waΚ»a (canoe), ama (outrigger float), Κ»iako (crossbeams), manu (bow and stern endpieces), makani (wind), hΕΚ»ailona (sign, omen), kuleana (responsibility), Κ»iwa (frigatebird), hΔnai (adopted or raised family), pidgin (HawaiΚ»i Creole English).
What do you need to change to still be surfing in 20 years?
Performance and longevity coach Rodrigo Perez is practical about what it takes to keep surfing as we age, from mindset and community to the unglamorous basics of strength and mobility. He is the author of The Art of Longevity.Β
Rodβs path to coaching is built on lived experience. He grew up in Brazil and struggled with respiratory issues that kept him sidelined from sport. He learned firsthand how movement, breath control, and patient repetition can change a body completely.Β
At 23, Rod sold his car, flew to Australia with $500 in his pocket, taught himself English, and has built a career to share what he's learned the hard way.Β
Rod has spent more than two decades working with elite surfers on both the men's and women's World Tour. He supports everyday surfers and world champions alike, to heal, handle setbacks and redefine personal perceptions of what it means to be 'well.'
We get specific about surf injury prevention and performance: why lower back pain and hip problems are so common, how tight hips can limit your surfing over time, and why shoulder stability matters for paddling endurance and neck health.Β
Rodβs life and career reiterate a central message: bodies are built to adapt. If we let them.Β
He gives us his recommendations for the top ways to set kids up for strong physical foundations and says he's doing his best wave riding at 50, which we hope you take as an invitation. We did, and we've been spending a lot more time hanging from things since.Β
Thursday, September 10, 2026 β’ Duration 01:35:03
When everything is taken from you at once, what is left?
Shaun Tomson is the 1977 World Surfing Champion, the author of Surfer's Code, and a keynote speaker whose work has reached Harvard, Google, Disney, and SEAL teams. He was shaped by his upbringing in South Africa, by the pro tour's formative years, and by the loss of his son Matthew at fifteen years old.
In this conversation, Shaun connects surfing to faith and prayer through his Jewish heritage and his mother's World War II survival story. He names the overlooked women who shaped the timeline, and walks us through the design revolutions he watched, and helped, unfold. He's direct about what over-commercialism did to the industry he helped build, and why the tube is still a sacred space.Β
He also shares the leadership work he's known for today: The Code, a twelve-line writing practice built on the words "I will," now used by students, prisons, sports teams, and executives at some of the world's largest corporations.
Shaun holds a Master of Science in Leadership from Northeastern University. He co-produced the documentary Bustin' Down the Door and is an inductee in the US, Jewish, and South African Sports Halls of Fame.
Here, he helps us recenter the significance of one of surfing's most central concepts: stoke.
Have you had someone believe in your potential before you could see it yourself?
Laura Crane is a big wave surfer from North Devon. She came of age in a surf industry that measured her worth by how much exposure her image could earn.Β Laura stepped away from pro surfing in her early twenties, took a turn at reality TV, then returned to surfing whole-heartedly when a mentor called out something she'd never fully faced.Β
We dialled in to connect with Laura where sheβs now based in Portugal, where she is currently recovering from knee surgery. She told us about grappling with disordered eating, what it feels like to be amongst some of the heaviest water in the world, and how sheβs helping others to befriend fear for personal growth.Β
She speaks with a kind of full-circle purpose about the film she recently starred in and produced, called Undercurrents.Β It follows a young surfer whose aspirations Laura wanted to protect and nurture, and what it felt like for Laura to be the adult in the room this time. The film toured the UK to sold-out screenings.
At the surface it's a conversation about big wave surfing and recovery, but the subtext is all about trust: in the body, in a mentor, and in the oceanβs power to both humble and elevate.Β Β
Who has the right to speak on behalf of water? Who carries that responsibility?Β
Drawing on her lineage of wayfinders and traditional music makers, Whaia regularly takes the stage of international political gatherings β like the United Nations Climate Summit β to invoke the voice of water.Β
She is a MΔori vocalist, surfer, multi-instrumentalist, and cultural producer whose work moves between the sacred and the political, the intimate and the global. Born on the East Coast of Aotearoa and raised from age six amongst the rich red earth of Australia's Pilbara, she shares the journey of finding belonging in both worlds.Β
As a member of A Wisdom Keepers Delegation, Whaia collaborates with a network of global Indigenous elders who attend COP annually to bring the voice of nature into policy conversations.Β
Whaia reveals the housing instability that led to her current home: the Mana Waka, a 40-foot bus she and her family built from the chassis up. It is a collaborative space used as studio, classroom, and creative hub.Β
As a mother of three, Whaia continues to follow the instruments that find her and to reclaim the languages that were always hers.Β
The message that echoes throughout: don't be selfish with your voice. Share it.Β
...
Surfers for Climate is hosting the 3rd annual Waterwomen Camp Out this September 11th to 13th, on Bundjalung Country in the Northern Rivers.
Whaia will be sharing her sonic weaving and wisdom - live.Β
Has something astronomical ever made you reassess your life's trajectory?
Jon Swift is an astrophysicist and lifelong surfer with a PhD from UC Berkeley. He runs a research observatory at The Thatcher School in Ojai, California, teaches math and science, and his music has featured in cult surf films from the 2000s, like Shelter and The Drifter.
Jon shares his story of living alone in Mexico after finishing a physics degree, and the cosmic event under a desert sky that lit his path forward.Β
In this conversation, Jon takes us from the ocean to the outer edges of the galaxy. He speaks to the golden age of modern astronomy, and explains how a small, autonomous research observatory still does meaningful work by moving fast on transient events like exploding stars and tidal disruption events near supermassive black holes.Β
We talk about the disjoint between flashy space exploration narratives and the realities of basic research funding, plus what higher education is worth when running the student debt math. Β
Jon pinpoints the origin of Earth's water, speaks to how surfing trains pattern recognition, and explains why so much of the universe, including waves, moves in spirals.
It's rare to hear someone move effortlessly between a black hole and a backyard, without either one losing its significance. With deep curiosity, Jon shares stories that get at the timeless mystery of why phenomena like waves and stars can still rearrange what we care about.
Listen to Jon's music from the episode here and here. Β
Learn about his forthcoming children's book here.Β
Bryanna Bradley: All That Lingers
Season 8 Β· Episode 2
Thursday, July 16, 2026 β’ Duration 01:16:22
How good are you at convincing people you're fine?
On a burnout-inspired whim, Bryanna Bradley booked a one-way ticket from inland Canada to Hawaii. She quit her job and started putting in hours in the water at Waikiki. Surfing first, but her goal? To become a surf photographer.
Bryanna has become one of the surfing world's leading cold water photographers, building a community and career based in Tofino, British Columbia.
In 2022, off Sayulita, Mexico, Bryanna found herself shooting photos in the wrong place at the wrong time: a longboard trimmed right into her head, centimeters from her eye. She was stitched up and cracked jokes through it, convincingly enough that the doctor never ordered a scan. She went back to her Airbnb alone.Β Four days later, declining fast and unable to walk straight, she took a taxi by herself to the nearest hospital and learned she had a brain bleed.
We trace Bryanna's story from landlocked Canada to Florida beach trips with her grandmother, then into the deep end of photojournalism at 19, when her job was to run toward car crashes, homicides, and trauma with a camera. She shares the eating disorder that gripped her amid grief, and the 3,000-mile solo thru-hike she undertook in the middle of her recovery.
Bryanna ultimately walked the Continental Divide Trail from Mexico to Canada. In the episode, she explains why long-distance hiking called to her after injury, what pain and monotony taught her, how micro goals beat overwhelm, and what ultimately helped her relax from "bracing for impact" in the ocean.Β
...
The forthcoming film Let Me Chase This Dream traces Bryanna's accident, through-hike and recovery.Β
Ziggy Alberts started playing live at 17, admittedly underprepared, but fizzing. By 21, he was staring at a studio ceiling noticing the lights had gone dim, but no one had touched the switch. It led him to break down to a friend. After years of βhell-for-leatherβ world-touring, he'd finally stayed still long enough to feel what he'd been outrunning.
Ziggy is a songwriter, surfer, and founder of Common Folk Records, the independent label he built with his family and has run for nearly nine years. He grew up homeschooled on the Sunshine Coast, home-birthed and beach-shacked, surfing ratting before music making.Β
In 2025, Ziggy, now in his 30s, toured 165 days and played The Royal Albert Hall to a packed house of fans who crossed Europe to be there. Β
This year? Only 3 or 4 shows. In this episode, he explains why.
Our conversation moves through burnout and self-belief, busking the streets of Byron, the physiological crash that follows a long tour, what it takes for men to talk to each other, and the art of dissolving β in music and in surfing, both.
β¦
Ziggyβs song βRunawayβ is featured in this episode.Β
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Notable links + recommendations from this episode:Β
Subscribe to our newsletter for BTS stories from making the podcast, and the books, films and music weβre currently into. Written by us + free to read.Β
Subscribe to our newsletter for BTS stories from making the podcast, and the books, films and music weβre currently into. Written by us + free to read.Β
Subscribe to our newsletter for BTS stories from making the podcast, and the books, films and music weβre currently into. Written by us + free to read.Β
Subscribe to our newsletter for BTS stories from making the podcast, and the books, films and music weβre currently into. Written by us + free to read.Β
Subscribe to our newsletter for BTS stories from making the podcast, and the books, films and music weβre currently into. Written by us + free to read.Β
Subscribe to our newsletter for BTS stories from making the podcast, and the books, films and music weβre currently into. Written by us + free to read.Β
Subscribe to our newsletter for BTS stories from making the podcast, and the books, films and music weβre currently into. Written by us + free to read.Β
Subscribe to our newsletter for BTS stories from making the podcast, and the books, films and music weβre currently into. Written by us + free to read.Β
Subscribe to our newsletter for BTS stories from making the podcast, and the books, films and music weβre currently into. Written by us + free to read.Β
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