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Waterpeople

Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich - surf stories & ocean adventures

Surf stories, ocean adventures +  the aquatic experiences that shape us. 

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. 

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. 


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  • 27 episodes
  • fortnightly
  • Avg 1 hr 20 min
  • English

Episodes 27

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  • S8 · E9
    October 27 · 55 min

    Daniel Treloar: Built to Bend

    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. 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 farm’s lightweight flowering agave stalks, the organic waste of fibre farming. Those experiments became Grow Blanks. They aren’t the first surfboard blanks built from agave, but Dave reckons they’re the liveliest and most performance-driven to date. Daniel’s 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 Haleakalā on Maui, the two nerd out about variable rocker, honey badgers, performance design, and what sits inside the boards we ride. Send us Fan Mail ... Co-Hosts + Production: Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Kai Mcgilvray + Ben J Alexander Closing track: 'Sunseekers' by Andysixstring Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast ... Thanks to our generous sponsors this season: Patagonia Australia: in business to save our home planet Ngalung Kalla Eco Retreat: surf adventure paradise The Sunglass Fix: give your favourite sunglasses new life Sodii: hydration for salty humans ... Subscribe to our newsletter for BTS stories from making the podcast, and the books, films and music we’re currently into. Written by us + free to read.

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  • S8 · E8
    October 9 · 1 hr 47 min

    Knowing When to Go (po'e wa'a) with guest host Chris Miyashiro + voyaging friends

    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 “Mysto” Miyashiro: surfer, artist, voyager. Mysto takes us into Hawaiʻi’s 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. Mysto sits down with some of the men who shaped him: Cromwell Day, Uncle Kiko Kitazawa, Hualālai Keohuloa, and Kalani Alapa’i. We get deep insights into what makes Hawaiian channels so intense, why the Hawaiian canoe sheds embellishments to navigate heavy water, and how the va’a and the ocean become places to move rage, love, and memory into action. We learn how simple rigs, tarp sails, and DIY problem-solving - human ingenuity - make ocean travel more accessible than most people think. ... ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi Glossary: waʻa (canoe), ama (outrigger float), ʻiako (crossbeams), manu (bow and stern endpieces), makani (wind), hōʻailona (sign, omen), kuleana (responsibility), ʻiwa (frigatebird), hānai (adopted or raised family), pidgin (Hawaiʻi Creole English). Send us Fan Mail ... Co-Hosts + Production: Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Kai Mcgilvray + Ben J Alexander Closing track: 'Sunseekers' by Andysixstring Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast ... Thanks to our generous sponsors this season: Patagonia Australia: in business to save our home planet Ngalung Kalla Eco Retreat: surf adventure paradise The Sunglass Fix: give your favourite sunglasses new life Sodii: hydration for salty humans ... Subscribe to our newsletter for BTS stories from making the podcast, and the books, films and music we’re currently into. Written by us + free to read.

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  • S8 · E7
    September 27 · 1 hr 32 min

    Rodrigo Perez: Active Patience

    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. Rod’s 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. 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. 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. Rod’s life and career reiterate a central message: bodies are built to adapt. If we let them. 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. Send us Fan Mail ... Co-Hosts + Production: Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Kai Mcgilvray + Ben J Alexander Closing track: 'Sunseekers' by Andysixstring Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast ... Thanks to our generous sponsors this season: Patagonia Australia: in business to save our home planet Ngalung Kalla Eco Retreat: surf adventure paradise The Sunglass Fix: give your favourite sunglasses new life Sodii: hydration for salty humans ... Subscribe to our newsletter for BTS stories from making the podcast, and the books, films and music we’re currently into. Written by us + free to read.

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  • S8 · E6
    September 10 · 1 hr 35 min

    Shaun Tomson: Age of Acceleration

    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. 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. Send us Fan Mail ... Co-Hosts + Production: Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Kai Mcgilvray + Ben J Alexander Closing track: 'Sunseekers' by Andysixstring Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast ... Thanks to our generous sponsors this season: Patagonia Australia: in business to save our home planet Ngalung Kalla Eco Retreat: surf adventure paradise The Sunglass Fix: give your favourite sunglasses new life Sodii: hydration for salty humans ... Subscribe to our newsletter for BTS stories from making the podcast, and the books, films and music we’re currently into. Written by us + free to read.

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  • S8 · E5
    August 27 · 1 hr 9 min

    Laura Crane: Befriending Fear

    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. 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. Laura set her sights on heavy water. She is the first British woman to surf Nazaré. We dialled in to connect with Laura where she’s 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 she’s helping others to befriend fear for personal growth. She speaks with a kind of full-circle purpose about the film she recently starred in and produced, called Undercurrents. 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 ocean’s power to both humble and elevate. Send us Fan Mail ... Co-Hosts + Production: Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Kai Mcgilvray + Ben J Alexander Closing track: 'Sunseekers' by Andysixstring Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast ... Thanks to our generous sponsors this season: Patagonia Australia: in business to save our home planet Ngalung Kalla Eco Retreat: surf adventure paradise The Sunglass Fix: give your favourite sunglasses new life Sodii: hydration for salty humans ... Subscribe to our newsletter for BTS stories from making the podcast, and the books, films and music we’re currently into. Written by us + free to read.

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  • S8 · E4
    August 14 · 2 hr 9 min

    Whaia: Mana Waka

    Who has the right to speak on behalf of water? Who carries that responsibility? Drawing on her lineage of wayfinders and traditional music makers, Whaia regularly takes the stage of international political gatherings – like the United Nations Climate Summit – to invoke the voice of water. She is a Māori 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. 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. 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. As a mother of three, Whaia continues to follow the instruments that find her and to reclaim the languages that were always hers. The message that echoes throughout: don't be selfish with your voice. Share it. ... 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. Secure your tickets + use code 'waterpeople' for $50 off your booking. Send us Fan Mail ... Co-Hosts + Production: Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Kai Mcgilvray + Ben J Alexander Closing track: 'Sunseekers' by Andysixstring Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast ... Thanks to our generous sponsors this season: Patagonia Australia: in business to save our home planet Ngalung Kalla Eco Retreat: surf adventure paradise The Sunglass Fix: give your favourite sunglasses new life Sodii: hydration for salty humans ... Subscribe to our newsletter for BTS stories from making the podcast, and the books, films and music we’re currently into. Written by us + free to read.

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  • S8 · E3
    July 29 · 1 hr 28 min

    Jon Swift: Making Friends with the Cosmos

    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. 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. 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. 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. Learn about his forthcoming children's book here. Send us Fan Mail ... Co-Hosts + Production: Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Kai Mcgilvray + Ben J Alexander Closing track: 'Sunseekers' by Andysixstring Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast ... Thanks to our generous sponsors this season: Patagonia Australia: in business to save our home planet Ngalung Kalla Eco Retreat: surf adventure paradise The Sunglass Fix: give your favourite sunglasses new life Sodii: hydration for salty humans ... Subscribe to our newsletter for BTS stories from making the podcast, and the books, films and music we’re currently into. Written by us + free to read.

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  • S8 · E2
    July 16 · 1 hr 16 min

    Bryanna Bradley: All That Lingers

    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. 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. ... The forthcoming film Let Me Chase This Dream traces Bryanna's accident, through-hike and recovery. Send us Fan Mail ... Co-Hosts + Production: Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Kai Mcgilvray + Ben J Alexander Closing track: 'Sunseekers' by Andysixstring Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast ... Thanks to our generous sponsors this season: Patagonia Australia: in business to save our home planet Ngalung Kalla Eco Retreat: surf adventure paradise The Sunglass Fix: give your favourite sunglasses new life Sodii: hydration for salty humans ... Subscribe to our newsletter for BTS stories from making the podcast, and the books, films and music we’re currently into. Written by us + free to read.

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  • S8 · E1
    July 2 · 1 hr 51 min

    Ziggy Alberts: Wildly Underprepared

    What does it take for you to slow down? 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 “hell-for-leather” 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. 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. 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 — in music and in surfing, both. … Ziggy’s song ‘Runaway’ is featured in this episode. … Notable links + recommendations from this episode: Ishmael by Daniel Quinn Michael Hutchence / INXS documentary New Jack Johnson film Steph Strings, Aussie musician Spotify daily upload rate — conversations cites 60,000 songs per day, that stat seems to be older, probably more like 100,000+ in 2026. Send us Fan Mail ... Co-Hosts + Production: Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Kai Mcgilvray + Ben J Alexander Closing track: 'Sunseekers' by Andysixstring Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast ... Thanks to our generous sponsors this season: Patagonia Australia: in business to save our home planet Ngalung Kalla Eco Retreat: surf adventure paradise The Sunglass Fix: give your favourite sunglasses new life Sodii: hydration for salty humans ... Subscribe to our newsletter for BTS stories from making the podcast, and the books, films and music we’re currently into. Written by us + free to read.

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  • S7 · E19
    March 11 · 2 hr 37 min

    Howie Cooke: Artivism

    When was the last time you had an epiphany? Artist/activist Howie Cooke shares the sudden realisation that steered the course of his life's work - a handful of decades on the front lines of marine protection via NGOs, art, music and direct action. Howie has spent 50 years boogie boarding, playing guitar and painting. He has shown in hundreds of art exhibitions around the world – in addition to his large-scale murals, mostly of cetaceans. Twenty years ago, Howie co-founded the NGO Surfers for Cetaceans to activate surf media on the issue of whaling. S4C then grew into one of surfing’s most scrappily impactful direct action organisations – through campaigns like Transparentsea, films like Academy Award winning documentary The Cove, and collaborating with groups like Paul Watson’s Sea Shepherd. Along the way we dig into what keeps conviction alive as you age: ideals without absolutism, humor as a tool, and the role of the artist in a world flooded with distraction. If you care about the power of art, cetacean conservation, ocean pollution, or creative environmental activism, this conversation offers both practical lessons and deep emotional re-centering. We talk through the campaigns, contradictions, and mindset that have kept Howie moving forward without slipping (too far) into perfectionism or despair. Send us Fan Mail ... Co-Hosts + Production: Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Kai Mcgilvray + Ben J Alexander Closing track: 'Sunseekers' by Andysixstring Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast ... Thanks to our generous sponsors this season: Patagonia Australia: in business to save our home planet Ngalung Kalla Eco Retreat: surf adventure paradise The Sunglass Fix: give your favourite sunglasses new life Sodii: hydration for salty humans ... Subscribe to our newsletter for BTS stories from making the podcast, and the books, films and music we’re currently into. Written by us + free to read.

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  • S7 · E18
    March 1 · 1 hr 15 min

    Soli Bailey: Maps to Now

    There's no straight lines in the ocean - nor in a surfing life. We sit with professional surfer and Bundjalung waterman Soli Bailey to trace his lines from early talent and success, through the grind of competing and a life-threatening neck injury, to a grounded love of surfing that’s deeper than any accolades. Soli opens up about the quiet crisis that arrived during lockdowns: paddling out and not wanting to be there. He breaks down how stepping off the contest treadmill, and reconnecting with community brought the spark back. Then comes the hard turn: a violent injury, neurosurgeons warning he was lucky to walk, and the decision to have surgery. Soli shares what recovery taught him about slowing down, caring for his body, and holding ambition without letting it hollow you out. We revisit his dream run—Cloudbreak’s drainers, Shipstern’s step-ladders, and hidden points—and why he doesn’t need “bigger, faster, farther” to feel complete. Along the way, he honors the people who steadied him: a steadfast stepmum, a patient partner, mentors, and sponsors who backed a freesurf path over results. Send us Fan Mail ... Co-Hosts + Production: Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Kai Mcgilvray + Ben J Alexander Closing track: 'Sunseekers' by Andysixstring Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast ... Thanks to our generous sponsors this season: Patagonia Australia: in business to save our home planet Ngalung Kalla Eco Retreat: surf adventure paradise The Sunglass Fix: give your favourite sunglasses new life Sodii: hydration for salty humans ... Subscribe to our newsletter for BTS stories from making the podcast, and the books, films and music we’re currently into. Written by us + free to read.

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  • S7 · E17
    February 9 · 1 hr 14 min

    Patti Paniccia: Raising the Bar

    What are you unwilling to ignore? Through her experience in pro surfing, journalism and law, Patti Paniccia is a formidable advocate for equity in the water and the workplace. Patti helped build the IPS tour from the ground up, organised the Hawaii Women’s Surfing Hui to create opportunity, and then carried that same tenacity into law and journalism—ultimately winning a landmark workplace discrimination case against CNN. We sit down with Patti to unpack how a young surfer inspired by chasing lost boards at Huntington Pier became the woman cold-calling promoters, writing qualifying criteria, and pushing the sport past the tired trope of “curiosities with too many male hormones.” Patti takes us inside the inaugural 1976 world tour—its camaraderie and the mess of sponsors asking for wet t‑shirt contests and “date raffles.” She breaks down why equal pay without equal opportunity is still inequity, citing the principle that interest and ability grow from access and experience. We talk media erasure and the plaques that forgot women, and the everyday tactics it took to earn respect in the lineup. Then the story widens. Law school at Pepperdine with dawn sessions at Malibu. Local TV, an Emmy nomination, and an on-air career shaped by a reporter’s craft: tell the human story first. Motherhood reveals the limits of “we love your reporting” as doors close and memos suggest “mommydom.” Patti’s lawsuit—gruelling and precedent-setting—shows what it costs to confront power and what changes when you win. Through it all, surfing remains the anchor: of strength, confidence, and perspective that travels from the lineup to the classroom, newsroom and courtroom. If you care about surfing history, gender equity, media accountability, or how to hold a line under pressure, you’ll find a blueprint here. Patti Paniccia is one of professional surfing's under-celebrated architects. Send us Fan Mail ... Co-Hosts + Production: Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Kai Mcgilvray + Ben J Alexander Closing track: 'Sunseekers' by Andysixstring Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast ... Thanks to our generous sponsors this season: Patagonia Australia: in business to save our home planet Ngalung Kalla Eco Retreat: surf adventure paradise The Sunglass Fix: give your favourite sunglasses new life Sodii: hydration for salty humans ... Subscribe to our newsletter for BTS stories from making the podcast, and the books, films and music we’re currently into. Written by us + free to read.

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  • S7 · E16
    Dec 22, 2025 · 1 hr 19 min

    Living the Questions: answering your queries

    Ever felt the ocean fix what land couldn’t? This episode, we turn the mics on one another and answer your questions about grief, love, parenting, and crowded lineups. Hear the stories behind the sails, the garden, and the choices that have shaped us. Also: It’s time for our annual giveaway – you can enter by leaving a review of the podcast before January 15th – wherever you listen to podcasts. A couple of years ago our dear friends took us to their favourite hidden gem in Indonesia: Ngalung Kalla Eco Retreat nestled into the cliffs of Sumba. We want one lucky listener to experience it, too. To enter: Leave us a review wherever you listen – Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc with at least two sentences. The first sentence is about your favorite Waterpeople episode, and the second is about who you would like to bring with you to experience the spaciousness and reeling rights of Ngalung Kalla in 2026 – and why you want to take that person with you. Don’t forget to leave a way to get in touch with you – your name, email, - any way you prefer. Send us Fan Mail ... Co-Hosts + Production: Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Kai Mcgilvray + Ben J Alexander Closing track: 'Sunseekers' by Andysixstring Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast ... Thanks to our generous sponsors this season: Patagonia Australia: in business to save our home planet Ngalung Kalla Eco Retreat: surf adventure paradise The Sunglass Fix: give your favourite sunglasses new life Sodii: hydration for salty humans ... Subscribe to our newsletter for BTS stories from making the podcast, and the books, films and music we’re currently into. Written by us + free to read.

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  • S7 · E15
    Dec 17, 2025 · 42 min

    The Rivers Run: Theory of Change (pt. 2)

    What's a river to you? After cyclone Alfred crossed Australia's East Coast earlier this year, tens of thousands of fish died in our local river, Dave got a persistent staph infection and our community tousled with a question: what's wrong with our river? And what can we do about it ? How does change happen when we, and the world, seem stuck in our ways? We’re curious about how change happens – and what people are doing on the ground, in our community, to create the causal pathways to shift social and environmental ideas, norms, and policy. The first episode heard from organisers and attendees of the 2025 Waterwomen Camp Out put on by the NGO Surfers for Climate. In today's episode, we head to Richmond River Fest 2025, a month-long celebration of the rivers, cultures, and communities of the Northern Rivers put on by Richmond Riverkeeper. We hear from marine scientist Liz Hawkins, who reveals how our resident Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins use the Richmond as a kitchen and nursery. She connects river health to coastal resilience. Then, lifelong commercial fisher Mark lays down hard truths about the Teven/Tuckean barrage and failed floodgates. The fix is practical and proven. Revive The Northern Rivers founder Tom Wolff speaks of his seventh generation connection to the river and gives Dave a guiding question that fills his sails. Dave shares the story behind one of his projects this year, The Rivers Run. It's a 50-kilometer run–paddle–swim designed to recruit surfers, divers, and sailors into tree-planting, mangrove restoration, and on-the-ground river care with OzFish and Revive the Northern Rivers. Along the Cape Byron Marine Park and a UNESCO-recognized Hope Spot, we remember why this coastline still inspires—and what it demands in return. Send us Fan Mail ... Co-Hosts + Production: Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Kai Mcgilvray + Ben J Alexander Closing track: 'Sunseekers' by Andysixstring Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast ... Thanks to our generous sponsors this season: Patagonia Australia: in business to save our home planet Ngalung Kalla Eco Retreat: surf adventure paradise The Sunglass Fix: give your favourite sunglasses new life Sodii: hydration for salty humans ... Subscribe to our newsletter for BTS stories from making the podcast, and the books, films and music we’re currently into. Written by us + free to read.

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  • S7 · E14
    Dec 12, 2025 · 1 hr 31 min

    Sterling Spencer: Fan of the Universe

    At age 8, Sterling Spencer was signed to surf sponsorship and then had a successful amateur career before chasing the Pro Tour. He was an early internet adopter who found his stride not in competitive surfing, but in making good fun of an earnest surf industry and culture. Sterling is a pro surfer and media maker from Florida’s Gulf Coast known for blending high performance surfing with comedic skits in films like GOLD and Surf Madness. He is the host of Pinch My Salt, a mashup surf and comedy podcast “where surf culture gets roasted, worshipped, and flipped upside down.” Sterling was the subject of the 2024 film Are You Serious? That traces his diagnosis and recovery from Traumatic Brain Injury. We go deep on the invisible chaos of concussion—why scans can miss it, how symptoms creep, and what happens when COVID and old infections complicate healing. Surfing becomes both mirror and medicine, not a performance, but a practice that quiets the noise and rebuilds trust in body and mind. Along the way, Sterling opens up about his upbringing, the relief of humor, and the early internet era when he roasted the surf industry and found sudden notoriety. There are stories you’ll replay: Kelly Slater’s psychological heat tactics, centaur sightings that became an icebreaker, and the hard-earned lesson that being a nobody can feel like freedom. We talk parenting and breaking cycles, why algorithms flatten originality, the comedic brain, crisis as creative fuel, and making surfing his own again. Send us Fan Mail ... Co-Hosts + Production: Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Kai Mcgilvray + Ben J Alexander Closing track: 'Sunseekers' by Andysixstring Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast ... Thanks to our generous sponsors this season: Patagonia Australia: in business to save our home planet Ngalung Kalla Eco Retreat: surf adventure paradise The Sunglass Fix: give your favourite sunglasses new life Sodii: hydration for salty humans ... Subscribe to our newsletter for BTS stories from making the podcast, and the books, films and music we’re currently into. Written by us + free to read.

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  • S7 · E13
    Dec 5, 2025 · 1 hr

    Peter Gash OAM: Custodian of Curiosity

    Not long ago, Lady Elliot Island was basically unrecognisable. In the late 1800s, it was mined for guano used as agricultural fertiliser. The island was stripped bare. This is a story about what happens when one person has a vision and refuses to let hard work, qualifications or accepted definitions of 'possible' get in the way of curiosity. Regenerating the precious coral cay Lady Elliot Island is part of Peter Gash's legacy. He is the Custodian and Managing Director of Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort and CEO of Seair Pacific Aviation. Peter is a licenced Pilot and has been flying tourists to the Great Barrier Reef for over 35 years. In the mid 90's, Peter took the floats off his seasplane and began flying guests to the coral cay of Lady Elliot Island on the southern end of the reef. In 2005, Peter and his family took over the lease of the island. In 2018, the island was selected as the first site for the Great Barrier Reef Foundation’s Reef Islands Initiative, a bold program focused on building climate resilience across key reef habitats. In 2020, Peter was the recipient of an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for his service to eco-tourism and aviation. Peter talked us through the unexpected interconnections between reef systems and terrestrial ecosystems, the importance of being a ‘doer’ not a gunna, the compromise of flying airplanes, and how he’s embraced his role as an “injection of enthusiasm” for visiting world leaders, decision-makers, business folk and scientists alike – from King Charles to David Attenborough. Send us Fan Mail ... Co-Hosts + Production: Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Kai Mcgilvray + Ben J Alexander Closing track: 'Sunseekers' by Andysixstring Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast ... Thanks to our generous sponsors this season: Patagonia Australia: in business to save our home planet Ngalung Kalla Eco Retreat: surf adventure paradise The Sunglass Fix: give your favourite sunglasses new life Sodii: hydration for salty humans ... Subscribe to our newsletter for BTS stories from making the podcast, and the books, films and music we’re currently into. Written by us + free to read.

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  • S7 · E12
    Nov 21, 2025 · 51 min

    Ethnomads: Ke'ili Mcevilly + Chris Miyashiro

    Grief, love, and lineage shape a rite of passage as our guests recall learnings from storms, stars, mentors, and manta rays at midnight. Ke'ilii Mcevilly is an environmental scientist with a Masters degree in sustainability. Ke'ili grew up surfing in California, and is now based on the island of Oahu. She is an artist and waterwoman involved in the flourishing of traditional Hawaiian cultural practice, from aloha aina based conservation work, to hula and making kapa under the tutelage of Pūkoʻa Studios. Artist- surfer- sailor-filmmaker Chris Miyashiro shares his story in-depth here. Together, they are Ethnomads, two pacific islanders learning how to wayfind. We get into an unlikely origin story: finding the canoe on Craigslist, and calling in a mentor to teach traditional lashings. Then the real crossing begins: A compass left unsecured spins uselessly on day one, a phone with charts pops overboard, and the crew leans into mixed navigation: swells, stars, and disciplined watches. Ke'ili shares what it meant to be the only wahine aboard, from cycle logistics and zero‑waste choices to the mental endurance of being surrounded by water you can't get amongst. They weathered cold, wet nights under June gloom, feet stuffed into wetsuit tops, and defied a fear list that covered everything from infections to constipation - revealing the gritty side of ocean travel. Along the way, the ocean becomes a classroom—mahi on the lines, journals open, and the sky replacing the newsfeed. Threaded through the voyage is lineage. Aʻa, the star whose name means 'to burn bright' and 'to dare,' becomes both compass and prayer. We talk kuleana and wayfinding ethics, the quiet authority of mentors, and how culture lives through practice. The canoe A'a shapes not just their route but their relationship, teaching balance, patience, and mutual care—two hulls moving as one. Send us Fan Mail ... Co-Hosts + Production: Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Kai Mcgilvray + Ben J Alexander Closing track: 'Sunseekers' by Andysixstring Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast ... Thanks to our generous sponsors this season: Patagonia Australia: in business to save our home planet Ngalung Kalla Eco Retreat: surf adventure paradise The Sunglass Fix: give your favourite sunglasses new life Sodii: hydration for salty humans ... Subscribe to our newsletter for BTS stories from making the podcast, and the books, films and music we’re currently into. Written by us + free to read.

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  • S7 · E11
    Nov 16, 2025 · 1 hr 4 min

    Chris Miyashiro: Homecomings

    A captain wakes in the night certain he’s wrecked in mangroves—only he’s on his own porch. That jarring reentry from a month under sail becomes our portal into a deeper story about attention, tradition, and becoming a different kind of person at sea with artist-sailor-filmmaker Chris Miyashiro. Chris takes us from his grandfather’s walls—painted with visions of Hōkūleʻa —to a 2,700‑mile, unsupported crossing on a double-hulled canoe that reshaped his senses and his sense of home (more on that voyage in the Ethnomads episode, forthcoming), Chris shares how homeschool freedom and skate culture trained him to see the world as material for making, a mindset he has carried into surf/films that inspire a sense of playful wonderment. For Chris, film school offered rules and he's learned how to break them well. We talk about “nai'a brain,” the half-sleeping state where awareness sharpens, the importance of values-grounded voyaging, and his time as a guest professor at Laguna College of Art and Design. If you’re craving an episode that blends voyaging wisdom, creative practice, and some encouragement to get out amongst the living world, then this one's for you. Send us Fan Mail ... Co-Hosts + Production: Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Kai Mcgilvray + Ben J Alexander Closing track: 'Sunseekers' by Andysixstring Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast ... Thanks to our generous sponsors this season: Patagonia Australia: in business to save our home planet Ngalung Kalla Eco Retreat: surf adventure paradise The Sunglass Fix: give your favourite sunglasses new life Sodii: hydration for salty humans ... Subscribe to our newsletter for BTS stories from making the podcast, and the books, films and music we’re currently into. Written by us + free to read.

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  • S7 · E10
    Nov 4, 2025 · 38 min

    John Peck: Rebirth

    What does it mean to live a life of service? Pipeline pioneer John Peck was devout to many things over this 81 years, and exploring this question was amongst them. In 2015, we hosted John for what was a precursor to this podcast - a storytelling evening in our local community hall. He was captivating - virtually no one moved for hours, as Dave's questions and John's stories interwove with improvisational tunes from The Babe Rainbow. Sipping chai and sitting on cushions in concentric circles, it felt like a gathering from a bygone era. In honour of John's metamorphosis, we share this snippet from that evening - an audio recording that was only re-discovered after his passing - thanks twice to Nathan Oldfield. We trace John Peck’s path from pioneering Pipeline to a life of service, music, and sobriety, and reflect on why elders’ stories matter to surf culture. The ocean rebirths us; our job is to carry that clarity home and be useful. On John Peck in the Encyclopedia of Surfing: "Peck placed fourth in the juniors division of the 1960 Makaha International, and returned the following year to finish third, but was virtually unknown in the surf world until New Year's Day, 1963, when he and California switchfooter Butch Van Artsdalen put on a fantastic display at Pipeline, with Peck spontaneously inventing a low-crouch stance, his right hand grabbing the rail of his board, that allowed him to ride high and tight to the curl. That summer, Peck's thrilling Pipeline rides were the highlight of three surf movies—Angry Sea, Gun Ho!, and Walk on the Wet Side—and earned the 18-year-old the first-ever SURFER foldout cover. Peck had meanwhile set out on a lengthy course of alcohol and drug abuse, including a seven-year LSD phase beginning in 1965. He was involved in the Brotherhood of Eternal Love, a Laguna Beach consciousness-raising group...". He gave up drugs and drinking in 1984, four years later began surfing again, and in the mid-'90s was reintroduced to the nostalgia-hungry surfing world" via Cyrus Sutton's Riding Waves. Peck died in 2025, of cancer, age 81." We will never forget the joy, wisdom, stoke and epic one liners John brought into our world. Send us Fan Mail ... Co-Hosts + Production: Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Kai Mcgilvray + Ben J Alexander Closing track: 'Sunseekers' by Andysixstring Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast ... Thanks to our generous sponsors this season: Patagonia Australia: in business to save our home planet Ngalung Kalla Eco Retreat: surf adventure paradise The Sunglass Fix: give your favourite sunglasses new life Sodii: hydration for salty humans ... Subscribe to our newsletter for BTS stories from making the podcast, and the books, films and music we’re currently into. Written by us + free to read.

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  • S7 · E9
    Oct 21, 2025 · 56 min

    Layne Beachley + Tess Brouwer: Mental Fitness

    Two friends chart a path from pain to agency: Layne Beachley examines the drive behind seven world titles and finds a search for self-worth, while Tess Brouwer turns a hidden spinal injury and a hospital-bed reckoning into a mental fitness toolkit. Together, Layne and Tess are the co-authors of the book Awake Academy, wherein they share the life altering changes that shook their respective senses of purpose. Layne details the comedown from her 19-year professional surfing career, and Tess, former head of partnerships for Virgin Australia, shares the tumultuous road to recovery after injury in frozen water. Their stories and friendship led to the creation of the Awake Academy workshop, and the book adaptation of that popular workshop features their personal stories, positive psychology principles and practical exercises to boost energy, emotional intelligence and empathy. They talk us through adoption, shame, midlife freedom, and why labels become lenses that shape every relationship and result. There’s no toxic positivity here, just candid stories and actionable tools for stress management, trauma recovery, and sustained success—at work, in sport, and at home. This episode is live from The Byron Writer’s Festival – a celebration of the act of creation, of writing and art making, community building, and the good, hard work of progress. Courtney Miller joins as cohost - she’s chair of the Byron Writer’s Festival, relentless advocate for art and community engagement and a veritable surf rat. If you’re curious about cultivating resilience, mental health, high performance, and the kind of friendship that tells the truth, this conversation will land. Send us Fan Mail ... Co-Hosts + Production: Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll Additional music by Kai Mcgilvray + Ben J Alexander Closing track: 'Sunseekers' by Andysixstring Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast ... Thanks to our generous sponsors this season: Patagonia Australia: in business to save our home planet Ngalung Kalla Eco Retreat: surf adventure paradise The Sunglass Fix: give your favourite sunglasses new life Sodii: hydration for salty humans ... Subscribe to our newsletter for BTS stories from making the podcast, and the books, films and music we’re currently into. Written by us + free to read.

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