The story of eight-year-old Heather Preen, who died after contracting E. coli following a sewage spill on a Devon beach, forms the emotional core of the series, and is what really makes this such a powerful piece of storytelling.

Because what Dirty Business does so effectively is remind you that behind all of this - the corporate failure, the regulatory collapse, the wholesale extraction of profits, the outrageous cynicism - there are devastating, long-lasting human consequences.

Julie, Heather’s mother, has spent nearly 30 years campaigning for justice. Alongside environmentalist Chris Hines, she has worked tirelessly to hold those responsible to account and bring national attention to the issue.

In this essential, riveting conversation, we explore Heather’s story, the long-term impact on her family, and the wider context: how the UK’s water system reached this point, why it has been allowed to continue; and what it reveals about privatisation, regulatory failure, accountability, and public apathy.

This is an urgent look at an issue that affects us all, and what might be the most emotionally impactful and important episode of Looking Sideways I’ve ever recorded. Don’t miss it.

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This episode focuses on the Ski Fossil Free campaign, initiated by activists Calum McIntyre and Nikolai Schirmer, which seeks to end fossil fuel partnerships across IOC and FIS events.

This incredibly effective feat of climate campaigning saw Nikolai deliver a petition - signed by over 20,000 people - to the IOC on the eve of the Games, an act which garnered much publicity and pushed the issue into the spotlight at a critical moment. 

A week or so later, in an attempt to understand more about the campaign and its goals, I hosted an online panel featuring voices from across sport, activism and the outdoor industry, including campaign organiser Calum, Greenpeace, Creatives for Climate and Greenlandic Olympian Uqaaleq Slettemark.

We discussed the campaign, the role of athletes and brands in driving change, the challenges of effective climate activism — and the accusations of hypocrisy that inevitably follow. 

It’s a conversation about where responsibility really sits when it comes to the future of outdoor sports, and as such is a fitting end to this short Olympic series. 

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--

To find out more about what I do, you can sign up as a subscriber to my Substack newsletter here. There's a brilliant community and much more than just the podcasts.

In this second episode, I’m joined by Lesley McKenna, one of snowboarding’s great original thinkers.

A pro skier, snowboarder, coach and team manager, she is herself a three-time Olympian, and helped run GB Park & Pipe in the years when Jenny Jones and Billy Morgan won their medals.

She has spent the last few years working on a Phd that analyses the tension that exists between a traditional sporting structure as epitomised by the Olympics, and a none-conventional action sports culture such as snowboarding. She’s has called it the Risk Aesthetic Framework, and it is fascinating stuff.

Why does this matter? Because while snowboarding now looks fully integrated into the Winter Olympics, its relationship with the Games has always been complex — and at times uneasy.

In this conversation, we dig into judging controversies, cultural friction, performance vs. progression, and ask whether something essential is gained — or lost — when snowboard culture enters the Olympic machine.

As ever with Lesley, this is a mind-bending conversation: endlessly intellectually-stimulating, and full of the ideas and provocations that mark her work out as so original.

If you care about snowboarding and its culture, don’t miss this one.

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This week’s codes to use for some big old savings: 

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LOOKINGSIDEWAYS for 15% off any Stance order

--

To find out more about what I do, you can sign up as a subscriber to my Substack newsletter here. There's a brilliant community and much more than just the podcasts.

As a lifelong snowboarder, I’ve always had a complicated relationship with the Olympics. The performances and spectacle are incredible. But beyond the hype, there are bigger cultural conversations worth having. That’s what this short series is about.

In this first episode, I’m joined by BBC Olympic commentators Tim Warwood and Ed Leigh — lifelong snowboarders and much-loved voices of Olympic action sports on the BBC.

In this riotous chat, we discuss their experience at the Games, their breakout moment this year, the cultural tensions between core snowboarding and the Olympic machine, the controversies, the progression — and what these Games really mean for the activities and cultures we love.

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This week’s codes to use for some big old savings: 

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--

To find out more about what I do, you can sign up as a subscriber to my Substack newsletter here. There's a brilliant community and much more than just the podcasts.

Since then, she’s been on a mission to break down the barriers that stop people with disabilities participating in the outdoor sports and activities that so many of us take for granted.

In this episode, we explore the reality of life for a disabled person in 2026, and the systemic, societal difficulties disabled people face when it comes to participating in outdoor sports and activities.

We also discuss Alice’s own story, as well as her latest initiative UN[PARA]LD, which launches at the Milano-Cortina Paralympics with the aim exposing a hidden barrier in elite sport: the incredible fact that many Paralympic athletes are still required to adapt, alter, or retrofit their own outdoor and alpine clothing in order to train and compete.

This is one of the most illuminating and intellectually-stimulating conversations I can remember hosting on the podcast. I learned a lot, and I think you will too.

To find out more about Alice’s work, and the UN[PARA]LD initiative, click here.

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This week’s codes to use for some big old savings: 

LOOKINGSIDEWAYS for HUGE savings on ski and snowboard hire with Intersport this winter.

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LOOKINGSIDEWAYS for a whopping 20% off anything from Goodrays.

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--

To find out more about what I do, you can sign up as a subscriber to my Substack newsletter here. There's a brilliant community and much more than just the podcasts.

In that time, films such as Virunga, The White Helmets and The Lost Children have set a new standard in gripping, immersive documentary story-telling.

Recorded live at the 2025 Kendal Mountain Festival in front of a sold out audience, this wide-ranging conversation centres on Orlando’s latest film The Cycle of Love, which is currently cleaning up on the festival circuit.

It also a rare, honest insight into the reality of life at the sharp end of documentary filmmaking, even when you appear to have achieved the success everybody craves.

We dig into Orlando’s creative process, the state of the documentary landscape, and the somewhat dire financial realities of getting ambitious projects off the ground, even for an artist of Orlando’s calibre.

If you enjoyed my recent episode with Lucy Walker, or are interested in the real, often precarious mechanics of a creative career, this one’s for you.

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This week’s codes to use for some big old savings: 

LOOKINGSIDEWAYS for HUGE savings on ski and snowboard hire with Intersport this winter.

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--

To find out more about what I do, you can sign up as a subscriber to my Substack newsletter here. There's a brilliant community and much more than just the podcasts.

Even if you don’t know his name, you’re living in a snowboarding culture that he helped shape. Especially if you’re a European snowboarder. 

To qualify this rather bold claim, it helps to remember how singular an outlier Axel truly was. 

Back in the early 90s, professional snowboarders from mainland Europe were a genuine rarity. Professional snowboarders from flat Northern European countries such as the Netherlands, the UK or Belgium, where Axel was brought up? Legitimate trailblazing pioneers.

All of which makes Axel’s career path especially legendary. Here was a rider who started snowboarding late - and on dry slope to boot.

And who, by the end of a storied twenty-year career, was universally regarded as one of snowboarding’s greatest ever freeriders, and had demonstrated that European riders could lead the way in a proving ground like Alaska alongside peers such as Travis Rice, Jonaven Moore and Jeremy Jones. 

And the story of how Axel made this happen is as unlikely as it is instructive. This isn’t your standard pro snowboarder origin story. 

Here we have an outsider, both literally and figuratively, who was driven by a potent emotional combination: his own insecurities, a Stakhanovite work ethic, and a ferocious desire to use snowboarding a way of finding a sense of belonging. 

In Axel’s case, that ultimately led him to AK, and the pursuit of risks that today make him pause and wonder, as we discussed. 

As you might be gathering, this is a very honest conversation that covers belonging, identity, and the psychology and selfishness of risk; as well as the reckoning that comes to us all once the body and mind begins to fade, and other priorities take precedence.

Big thanks to Axel and my friend Dave Mailman for the help with this one. 

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This week’s codes to use for some big old savings: 

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LOOKINGSIDEWAYS for a whopping 20% off anything from Goodrays.

LOOKINGSIDEWAYS for 15% off any Stance order

--

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This might well be the conversation I look forward to the most each year. If you’re new to the show, some background: I go back thirty years with these boys, who I first met through the very close British snowboarding community we’re so lucky to be an integral part of.

Eight years ago, we got together at Christmas to record the first Looking Sideways special, and it’s since become a tradition during which we get together to catch up, and generally glory in the closeness that comes when you’ve been friends for as long as the three of us have.

And this is a lesson I’ve especially learned this year: that as you get older, the fundamental element of trust that exists between you and your oldest pals provides a level of increasingly-needed comfort.

It’s one of the best parts of getting old. Especially as it’s so difficult to see the people you love. So as the years pass, this episode becomes ever more important and cathartic to me.

As ever, it’s a freewheeling catch up that saw us cover our usual topics - our annual Yuletide review, our highlights of 2025, our hopes for 2026, and the now traditional quiz of the year (spoiler alert: I won!).

As ever, wherever you’re listening to this, grab a festive drink and a mince pie, don the Santa hat, and join us as we wax festive for a couple of hours.

I’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy another brilliant Looking Sideways year, so huge thanks for listening and supporting what I do. I’ll be back refreshed, rested and ready to go once again in 2026 - in the meantime, have a brilliant break 🎄

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Some links to use below - merry Christmas!

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LOOKINGSIDEWAYS for a whopping 20% off anything from Goodrays.

LOOKINGSIDEWAYS for 15% off any Stance order

--

To find out more about what I do, you can sign up as a subscriber to my Substack newsletter here. There's a brilliant community and much more than just the podcasts.

--

Adam Skolnick is a journalist, none-fiction writer, famed Roll On podcaster, and the author behind the brilliant new novel - his first! - American Tiger.

American Tiger (a work that has been gestating for years) is a milestone for Adam in more ways than one.

As his first published novel it is, of course, the latest stage in his evolution as an artist.

But it is also confirmation of the way that personal philosophies inevitably seep into the work we produce. 

Because while the book is ostensibly about a young girl called Bell spotting a tiger in suburban California, it’s really about much more.

Like all the best works of art, American Tiger brings together the preoccupations that have underpinned Adam’s career up to now into one artistically coherent and page-turning whole. 

It’s an LA novel, a coming-of-age novel, and a novel about the way that Adam sees nature as a partner, not a resource.

And the story of how Skolnick brought this thing into the world is itself an instructive tale for anybody attempting to get their own creative vision off the ground: part creative psychology, part survival guide to the modern writer’s life, part sheer bloody-minded entrepreneurialism in an era of shrinking outlets and collapsing budgets.

I loved this conversation, and I think you will too. Find it via my website, the link in bio, or the usual platform.

My thanks to Adam for the brilliant chat, and to April for all the help. Looking forward to meeting you both in person soon! 

To find out more about what I do, you can sign up as a subscriber to my Substack newsletter here. There's a brilliant community and much more than just the podcasts.

Len, a proud member of the Navajo Nation, works at the intersection of Indigenous peoples, natural resource, and environmental policy. 

He is the founder of Natives Outdoors, a board member at the Honnold Foundation, and somebody whose work has become essential when it comes to the current debate around how to create meaningful impact in an imperfect system.  

This, of course, was a key theme of my Announcement series proper. And it is the territory Len provocatively and articulately explores through his work and writings, in which he respectfully yet firmly challenges the comfortable assumptions around ‘purpose’ that tend to dominate the discourse in outdoor and adventure spaces.

As you’ll be aware if you’ve read Len’s brilliant Substack or follow him on social media, he is not interested in letting individuals, brands, or organisations mark their own homework. 

Instead, he is interested in asking the only questions that truly matter: Will this have an impact? Is your work upsetting the right people? Is it calculated to drive forward the change you claim to seek? 

The more I explore these avenues, the more I think these are really the only honest questions worth asking, which is why I admire Len’s work and his willingness to ask these questions so outspokenly and articulately. 

From this challenging conversation, you'll gain insights into:

- Why accountability matters more than stated intentions in purpose-driven business

- How Indigenous perspectives fundamentally shift conversations around environmental policy and outdoor access

- What it means to take genuinely bold approaches, rather than performative stands

- Why challenging industry orthodoxy is essential to meaningful progress

This was the type of challenging and progressive conversation that Len specialises in— full of provocations, unimpeachable logic, and the moral integrity we sorely need at this time. 

For bonus and behind-the-scenes material, click here.

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Filmmaker, surfer, seeker and - OK, then - influencer: Seth Hughes is one of British surfing’s most thought-provoking creative presences.

We’ve been friends for a few years now, and like everybody who follows him on Instagram, over the last few years I’ve been following his ‘apprenticeship to the land and sea’ with fascination and interest.

I’ve also appreciated the increasingly searching and occasionally uncomfortable questions he likes to pose.

How to regain a new understanding of health and wellness. How to regain our lost relationship to nature. How we escape the pernicious power of addictive technology. And how to reconcile our ‘real’ and public-facing selves, and the many masks we wear.

These are Seth’s preoccupations and themes. And they were among the many topics we discussed in this meandering, insightful and hugely enjoyable exchange, recorded during my visit to Cornwall at the end of October 2025.

We began this conversation on the site of the old mining slag heap that forms a backdrop to our mutual pal Chris Hines’ beautiful property, before heading inside to record this evocative conversation.

I’m very grateful to Seth and Chris for the lovely afternoon. I learned a lot from our conversation, not least about my own views and behaviours.Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 

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Skateboarder, photographer, artist, Toy Machine company owner - Ed Templeton is one of skateboarding’s most influential and beloved influences. 

And as a 14-year-old who obsessively wore out their copy of 1281 back in the day, he was a real and important influence on me personally when it came to working out how to express myself as a creative person. 

What, you could be into this stuff - and also art, culture, and literature? And skateboarding and snowboarding could be the catalystt for this exploration? This was revelatory to me.  

All of which is why I’ve been hoping to interview Ed since I began Looking Sideways back in 2017. In October 2025, we finally made it happen.

Whenever you interview somebody of such notoriety, who at this point has been interviewed countless times, the challenge is always the same: how can I make this person comfortable, and get them to open up?

As is often the case on Looking Sideways, a shared interest in art and creativity was the foundation of a conversation rich in insight and honesty.

Yes, we spoke about skateboarding, Toy Machine, Welcome to Hell, art and photography, as you might expect.

But we did so through an unexpectedly wistful and nostalgic lens as Ed, now in his 50s; and with the wit, candour and humility that have always been his hallmarks; grapples with the topics that come for us all in the end: aging, impermanence, the value of possessions, the influence of our forebears, and the legacy we want to leave behind.

Special thanks to Don Brown and Thomas Campbell for their help with this one.

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Legendary surf and skate film-maker Thomas Campbell’s new film Yi-Wo has been ten years in the making.

So when TC got in touch to ask if he could come back on the podcast to talk me through the decade-long creative process that went into the making of this instant classic, I was in. I’ve had the good fortune to see Yi-Wo a few times now, and can confirm that this long-awaited release is a wondrous, challenging and completely artistically uncompromising piece of work that confirms TC’s position as surfing’s premiere bloody-minded auteur.

And personally, I appreciate that. As we discussed during our conversation, in times of social and political turmoil such as these, the role of art becomes ever more important. Especially a work like Yi-Wo, which rejects immediacy, defies easy characterisation, and asks many necessary questions of the audience.

If you’ve listened to my first two chats with Thomas, during which we delved into his creative process in great detail, you’ll appreciate this conversation as a complement to those previous exchanges.

Here is the culmination of ten years of ‘sitting in the chair’, as he likes to say, an active demonstration of where TC’s curiosity, principles and artistic integrity have led him; and a brilliant summation of the fact that, in the end, creativity is about making decisions, putting one foot in front of the other, and seeing where it leads you and your audience.

As ever, it was a great privilege to get such a priceless insight into this unique artist’s creative process, and to catch up with one of surfing’s great original voices.

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MAD Fest is a huge festival for brands and agencies that takes place each year in East London, and I was invited to take part in this year’s event by organiser Dan Brain, who it turns out is an avid Looking Sideways and Announcement listener.

As he put it in a very kind blog he wrote in the lead up to the show, ““I’ve been a big fan of Looking Sideways for some time now and I’m excited to bring a live version to MAD//Fest that will ask important questions like whether brands can use their reach, cash and influence for good, or if there’s a fundamental contradiction between sales growth and sustainability”

To help me answer these question, I spoke four brilliant guests, each experts on the topic in their own particular way: Finisterre CMO Bronwen Foster-Butler, activist Lauren MacCallum, CEO of B Corps Chris Turner, and author and purpose pioneer Thomas Kolster.

Among the questions I was interested in discussing:

- What role (if any!) should brands play in activism and using their scale, audience and money to address local, national and global issues? 

- Is purpose something all brands should establish, or an act of greenwashing that sounds good in an annual report but delivers little meaningful impact? 

- Are brand partnerships and activities an effective means through which to drive change?

What followed was a lively, passionate and very well informed discussion recorded in front of an equally engaged crowd - they’d put me in a prime slot on the big stage, much to my surprise - and we got through a lot in our allotted 35 minute stage time.

A note on the sound - a few audio teething issues meant we weren’t able to hear our fellow panelists super clearly, which might account for the somewhat strident way we’re all speaking to each other during this conversation. But hey, it was live, and that’s the way it goes sometimes.

Huge thanks to Dan and everybody at MAD Fest for getting me involved, to Bronwen, Lauren, Chris and Thomas - looking forward to hearing what everybody thinks.

For bonus and behind-the-scenes material, click here.

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250 episodes of Looking Sideways! And to mark the occasion, I invited the great Jeremy Jones back for this second visit, six years after we recorded our first conversation for the podcast.

Much has changed in Looking Sideways land since that first chat. Back then, the show was basically me interviewing famous action sports types about their lives and careers. This was pre-Type 2, and certainly pre-The Announcement, and since then Looking Sideways has evolved into something pretty different.

All of which made Jeremy an especially fitting guest with whom to mark this milestone. Why? Because few high-profile professional snowboarders, surfers or skateboarders (if any, come to think of it) connect the worlds of performance and activism like Jeremy does.

As a pro rider, he is of course one of the greatest to ever do it. Certainly, he’s one of the most influential snowboarders ever, whether that’s through his own extraordinary feats, his company Jones, or his creative work as a proponent of what he calls ‘shralpinism’.

Then there’s his hugely influential activism. For right or wrong, in many ways Jeremy’s strategic work with Protect Our Winters has come to define winter sports activism over the last decades, and he’s certainly the figure who has come to be associated with what he refers to as the outdoor state’s response to the climate crisis.

All of which makes him the perfect guest to connect the past and present of Looking Sideways for this milestone episode: especially as he’s been such a supporter of my own work in recent years.

We caught up to record this episode in early July 2025, and it’s an open, relaxed and revealing conversation about politics, risk, family life, and what snowboarding means to Jeremy now in the classic Looking Sideways mould.

Hope you enjoy this episode, and thanks to everybody for supporting Looking Sideways over the last eight years.

--

To find out more about what I do, you can sign up as a subscriber to my Substack newsletter here. There's a brilliant community and much more than just the podcasts.

To mark the big 250, I thought it’d be fun to revisit some favourite articles and podcast episodes from the last eight years of Looking Sideways: continuing with this classic interview with legendary skater Jamie Thomas, originally recorded back in April 2019.

As I discuss in the intro to this episode, for long-term listeners of the show, this chat is one of THE reference points, especially listeners who have been flummoxed by the various left turns I’ve taken with the podcast in the intervening years.

I discussed my thoughts on this, the circumstances around recording this chat, and my thoughts on eight years of Looking Sideways generally, in the new intro I recorded for this Rerun episode.

And with all that in mind it was really interesting to listen back to this one. I think it still stands up! If you’ve not heard this one, have listen and let me know what you think.

Here’s the original intro below:

At some point in their life, every skateboarder chose skating as their ultimate means of self-expression and self-identity. Ask any skater who they are and the chances are the answer will be - I’m a skater. It’s that simple.

So what happens when the one thing that has defined your life no longer serves you in the same way? When the quest you have dedicated your life to no longer fulfils you as it used to? And how do you cope when it has been the defining part of your life in the eyes of the world?

It’s a reckoning that everybody serious about their chosen path has to deal with at some point. For high-level athletes, it is often the most difficult transition of all. And in the skate world, where credibility is defined by your single-minded dedication to the creed of skating, dealing with it publicly is almost unheard of.

Which is why my interview with Jamie Thomas is perhaps the most honest and fascinating episode of the Looking Sideways podcast yet.

For over twenty years, Jamie has been one of the select group of individuals who have defined the culture of skateboarding and changed our understanding of what it means to be a skater. He has been driven by a ferocious work ethic and an unquenchable thirst for progression that have made his career one long continuous run of inspirational successes.

Now, at a critical point in his life, The Chief is looking inward, and bringing that legendary focus and commitment to his own internal struggles.

I’ve been interviewing skaters, snowboarders and surfers for twenty five years now. But I’ve yet to conduct an interview with this level of honesty, or hear a world-renowned figure express their own self-doubt and internal struggles so honestly and so eloquently. I’m grateful to Jamie for trusting me to tell this latest chapter of his story, and for approaching our conversation with such candour and openness. This is The Chief as you’ve never heard him before, tackling the same issues we all have to face at some point with the same honesty and pitiless intensity he brought to one of the most celebrated skate careers of all time.

There are lessons here for all of us - whether you’re skater or not.

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To find out more about what I do, you can sign up as a subscriber to my Substack newsletter here. There's a brilliant community and much more than just the podcasts.

--

As America's current democratic crisis has unfolded over the last few months, I’ve pondered an increasingly uncomfortable question: where is the meaningful opposition from our community as fundamental institutions and public lands face unprecedented assault?

How to account for the relative silence from community leaders, athletes, ambassadors, brands and media as democratic norms erode, judicial independence faces mounting threats, habeas corpus is openly threatened, corruption becomes increasingly brazen, and environmental protections are dismantled at alarming speed?

These musings led me to this week’s guest: , a Montana-based journalist who is one of the few people out there actually speaking truth to power, and whose work has become an increasingly vital source of methodical, forensic reporting when it comes to the current administration's systematic attack on America's public lands and outdoor heritage.

What distinguishes Wes from many of his peers in American outdoor media is his willingness to report on these issues with both uncompromising authority and controlled fury.

His background gives him unique insight into what's happening to public lands, while his journalistic approach represents a return to fundamental principles of fact-based reporting that feel increasingly rare.

In today’s conversation, we discussed:

- The specific threats facing America's public lands under the current administration.

- Why traditional opposition forces have been largely ineffective in the face of these challenges.

- How Wes's professional experience informs his understanding of this historical moment.

- What meaningful resistance looks like, including his decision to run for office.

- Why this period may be as consequential as the Civil War or Civil Rights era.

After listening, I'd welcome your thoughts on the role journalists, industry leaders, and citizens should play as democratic institutions face mounting pressure.

Is a return to rigorous reporting and civic engagement enough to meet this moment? Or are new approaches needed?

Once you've listened, I'd love to know what you think

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To find out more about what I do, you can sign up as a subscriber to my Substack newsletter here. There's a brilliant community and much more than just the podcasts.

This conversation addresses perhaps the most significant yet under-discussed aspect of the Patagonia ‘Earth is our only shareholder’ story - its relevance as a model for most businesses, especially publicly-traded or shareholder-owned companies.

Because the uncomfortable reality is that structural and organisational constraints make a similar action nearly impossible for most businesses. That’s why I decided to dedicate episode three of the Announcement series to an in-depth exploration of a simple question: what can ‘ordinary’ businesses do to have an impact?

And if you want to understand the history of what tends these days to be referred to as ‘business for good’, and how it impacts most companies, there is really only one place to start: John Elkington.

It really is difficult to understate John's profound influence on how we conceptualise the relationship between business and sustainability. For decades, he has defined and shaped sustainable business conversations, whether that’s through his ‘triple-bottom line’ framework, or groundbreaking works like Green Swans.

For this chat, I was joined by his equally brilliant colleague Louise Kjellerup Roper, CEO of Volans, and expert on helping business with ‘transformation’ as they seek to lessen their impact.

From this in-depth conversation, you'll gain insights into:

Why capitalism, in John’s view, is the ‘least worst’ model.

The historical context of the ‘business for good’ movement, and where it stands today

How a backlash comes hand-in-hand with progressive policies.

What meaningful corporate transformation might actually look like beyond Patagonia's unique example.

After listening, I'd welcome your thoughts on how these practical pathways compare to the more radical restructuring we explored in the series proper, and whether they offer sufficient solutions to our current challenges.

For bonus and behind-the-scenes material, click here.

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What happens when one of the world's foremost documentary filmmakers turns her lens on the world of action sports and mountain culture in vital films such as Mountain Queen and The Crash Reel?

That’s the question at the heart of this conversation with the brilliant Lucy Walker, a filmmaker who I think is one of the most important nonfiction storytellers of our era.

Bold statement, perhaps, but one I'm happy to stand by – and I think if you've seen Lucy's work, you'll likely agree.

Take her exceptional The Crash Reel, which documented Kevin Pearce's traumatic brain injury and its aftermath. What struck me immediately was how Lucy avoided the typical pitfalls that usually stymie outsiders when they attempt to tell action sports stories.

Here, clearly, was a grown-up, accomplished filmmaker at the height of her powers creating something that was nuanced, cerebral, and an important contribution to our culture.

Since then, I've followed Lucy's career closely, which brings us to her latest triumph – Mountain Queen – the story of Lhakpa Sherpa, ostensibly about the most successful female Everest summiteer of all time, but in typical Lucy Walker fashion, about so much more.

I won't explain further because if you haven't seen it yet, it's streaming on Netflix, and I'd rather you experience firsthand the craft, guile, artistry, wit, and intelligence with which Lucy approaches her subjects.

I've wanted to interview Lucy for years and, with some help from our mutual pal Jamie Brisick, we made it happen on Lucy’s last trip to London.

What follows is an in-depth exchange about documentary filmmaking, storytelling, and the unique lens through which Lucy views the world – whether that’s the mountains of Nepal or the wildfire-ravaged landscapes of California (the subject of Bring Your Own Brigade, another of her must-see documentaries).

It's a conversation that goes well beyond action sports into questions of representation, climate change, the craft of documentary film-making, and what it means to truly capture someone's story.

I had a great time chatting to Lucy, who really opened up about her career process and influences.

Once you’ve listened, I’d love to hear what you think.

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I'm joined by Jon Alexander, co-founder of the New Citizen Project and co-author of the increasingly influential book Citizens - a work that offers a compelling, necessary vision about who we are and how we might move forward together.

This exchange builds directly on themes discussed in my original three-part Announcement series.

While those conversations examined top-down change models driven by government, business and the philanthropic sector, Jon presents a fundamentally different vision: one where citizenship, not consumerism, takes the leading role in driving societal transformation.

In the months since my original series aired, we've witnessed the increasing tension between communities, grassroots movements and wealthy power brokers playing out across global politics.

As we all navigate these complex dynamics, Jon's perspective - that ‘to change the future, we must change the story’ - couldn't be more timely.

In this conversation, you'll gain insights into:

Jon’s view of the three dominant post-war stories - the consumer story, the subject story, and the citizen story.

Why citizenship represents a more historically accurate and hopeful vision of human potential than the consumerist tale we’re currently shackled to.

How grassroots movements can effectively counterbalance billionaire and corporate power.

What a collaborative, empathetic vision of society might actually look like in practice.

Once you've had a chance to listen, I'd love to hear your thoughts on how Jon's citizenship framework might complement or challenge the perspectives presented in previous episodes.

For bonus and behind-the-scenes material, click here.

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The notion of the visionary founder is the most ubiquitous of modern tropes.

It is also one of the most harmful, as one glance at the madness that unfolds on LinkedIn on any given day ably demonstrates.

And in a way the idea that the founder is fuelled by a weird diet, 4am starts and a particularly itchy social media trigger-finger reminds me of another toxic stereotype - the myth of the anointed creative.

Both rely on this idea that these roles are only open to a particular type of borderline toxic gunslinger, operating slightly outside the margins of society.

I was reminded of this during my recent Creative Exchange conversation with Db founder Truls Brataas, which I am sharing today.

Because Truls’ tale is a much-needed reminder that kindness, gentleness, and a constant striving for evolution, are equally valid foundations when it comes to running a successful, visionary company.

Truls’ story of how he steered Db from plucky winter sports start-up, to renowned global luggage brand, is the perfect demonstration of the value of doing things with care, and on your own terms.

That’s why, if you’ve ever wondered what it takes to run your own company, harbour ambitions to begin something yourself, or have launched your own start-up, my conversation with Truls is a must-listen.

Plus! A special Housekeeping Corner Db Fund update as we whittle down a record number of entries.

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I'm joined once again by Carl Rhodes, academic and author of Woke Capitalism: How Corporate Morality is Sabotaging Democracy and his new book Stinking Rich: The Four Myths of the Good Billionaire.

This conversation builds on our earlier examination of Patagonia's decision to transfer ownership to a climate-focused trust, which formed a large part of episode two of the original series. When we first spoke, many viewed the critique Rhodes espoused as a nuanced and even obscure point (particularly to partial commentators inclined to see Patagonia and Chouiniard’s actions as ‘good’ by default).

In the months since, especially following Trump's inauguration, this critique has become one of the most contentious topics in global politics. The growing influence of Elon Musk and his DOGE cadre, for example, has suddenly made Rhodes' arguments much more accessible to millions of people worldwide.

Which is why I decided to release my first conversation with Rhodes in its entirety, and record a follow-up conversation in which we explore billionaire influence in our current political landscape, and discuss alternatives to billionaire-led social change.

From this conversation, you'll gain insights into:

How billionaire philanthropy can undermine democratic processes

Why the "good billionaire" narrative is problematic for public policy

What democratic alternatives to billionaire-led social change might look like

Once you've had a chance to listen, I'd love to know what you think about these conversations with Carl and the topics we discussed.

For bonus and behind-the-scenes material, click here.

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“A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play, his labour and his leisure, his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves other to determine whether he is working or paying. To himself, he always appears to be doing both.”

- Chateaubriand

Over the years, I’ve featured a lot of individuals on this show who aspire to the ideal articulated in the above quote.

But few have managed to combine their interests and their work to quite the same degree as Les Seddon-Brown, this week’s guest.

I’ve known Les for almost 30 years. We grew up together in the snowboarding industry, and were close friends from the very beginning.

In the intervening years, we’ve supported each other in our various ventures, and I’ve watched with pride and admiration as his career has evolved and developed.

And with the brilliant Rematch, his latest venture, Les is driving his own vision of creative, artistic and commercial excellence with complete single-mindedness, and with his ethics and values intact. It’s one reason I’m such an admirer of what he does, because I know how difficult it is, and how lightly he wears it.

It was Les who invited me to Sri Lanka in the first place. So after ten days of brilliant waves and good times, we headed to the spectacular Galle Face Hotel in Colombo, where we sat down for a reflective look back over Les’s brilliant career for this conversation.

This was a memorable one - and not just for because of that extraordinary recording location. Have a listen and let me know what you thought of our conversation.

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Packing it all in to lead your dream lifestyle in an exotic location is a fantasy every traveller has indulged in at some point.

Few make it a reality. And yet that’s exactly what the inspirational Ed Templeton - no, not that one - and his wife Sofie have accomplished with the brilliant Soul & Surf community they have created in Sri Lanka, India and Portugal.

I’ve been hearing about Soul & Surf for a least a decade. I’ve crossed paths with Ed and Sofie over the years, and we’ve many mutual friends.

So when the pair invited me to stay with them for a couple of nights at the beginning of my recent trip to Sri Lanka in February 2025, I leapt at the chance. Sure, I was keen to check out their wondrous spot at the Cove in Ahangama, above.

But I was also curious. How had they done it? What sacrifices had they made to create this beguiling reality? And what lessons can others take from this tale of people dreaming big, and upending their lives to pull it off?

To find out the answer to these questions and more, I sat down with Ed towards the end of my trip to record this fascinating conversation. It’s a classic lifer tale, the supremely inspiring story of how the lessons you accrue over the years, if you’re prepared to listen, can be the foundation for the type of life you’ve always dreamed of.

I was also interested in Ed’s take on the current state of tourism in Sri Lanka; especially in the light of the explosion of development that has taken place on the island in the two decades since I last visited.

The result is a properly inspiring conversation about ordinary people doing extraordinary things, and a snapshot of an island and community on the cusp of great change. My thanks to Ed, Sofie and Kit for the incredible hospitality, and for welcoming me into their community so whole-heartedly.

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Patagonia’s September 2022 decisions to make ‘Earth’ the company’s only shareholder was huge news, particularly in the worlds of climate activism, business, philanthropy, the outdoors, and action sports.

And at the heart of this decision, as the company made clear at the time, was a desire to shake up the capitalist and democratic status quo.

What does this actually look like? Is The Announcement really at the vanguard of a ‘different form of capitalism’?

And where does it fit into the ongoing story of ‘business for good’, a story that has been unfolding for the last 50 years?

For bonus and behind-the-scenes material, click here.

Patagonia’s September 2022 decisions to make ‘Earth’ the company’s only shareholder made headlines around the world.

So perhaps understandably, it wasn’t long before commentators began to scrutinise the details of the announcement.

Was it all just an elaborate tax dodge? What are the ethical implications of billionaire philanthropy on this scale?

And where does The Announcement sit within the context of the long history of corporate philanthropy?

The Announcement is a new three-part podcast documentary series from Looking Sideways, hosted by Matt Barr.

Episode 3 will be released on Monday January 27th.

For bonus and behind-the-scenes material, click here.

Patagonia’s September 2022 decisions to make ‘Earth’ the company’s only shareholder was huge news, particularly in the worlds of climate activism, business, philanthropy, the outdoors, and action sports.

Here was the most influential company in the outdoor world, and one of the most influential businesses on the planet per se, relinquishing control of their profits for the greater good.

But … what did this actually mean? Why did the company do it? How was the decision made? Who was involved?

And is this really a critical moment in the history of capitalism, as Patagonia believe?

The Announcement is a new three-part podcast documentary series from Looking Sideways, hosted by Matt Barr.

Episode 2 will be released on Monday January 20th.

For bonus and behind-the-scenes material, click here.

In September 2022, Patagonia's billionaire owner Yvon Chouinard relinquished control and made 'earth' the company's only shareholder.

But … what did this actually mean? Why did he do it? What about the scrutiny the company received? And is this really a critical moment in the history of capitalism, as Patagonia believe?

The Announcement is a new three-part podcast documentary series from Looking Sideways, hosted by Matt Barr.

This is a story about legacy, purpose, what we leave behind, and courageous people doing things differently.

It’s about capitalism, democracy, the movement of money, and the history of giving it away.

Above all, it’s about the power of symbolism, and the importance of storytelling when it comes to helping us get our heads around something as vast and conceptual as the climate crisis, and our own role in it.

Episode 1 will be released on Monday January 13th.

Find out more here.

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Ah, Christmas. A time of friends, family and tradition - which in Looking Sideways world means the much loved Festive Special with my close pals and stalwart podcast supporters Tim and Gendle!

If you’re new here (and many thousands of you subscribed anew this year), I’ve known Tim Warwood and Adam Gendle, two incredibly funny and talented broadcasters, commentators, TV presenters, directors and all round media polymaths, for coming up to three decades now. We met through the extremely tightknit British snowboarding community, and spent a very fortunate decade snowboarding and travelling the world together.

It was a wondrous run that forged bonds to last a lifetime. So when I launched Looking Sideways back in 2017, I invited the boys on to record a freewheeling special to mark the festive season.

That episode was so well received that it soon evolved into something of a Christmas Looking Sideways tradition: all of which means that we are back once with our very own addition to the Christmas canon (even if, this year, we managed not to get blind drunk while recording this one).

Apart from that, it was the usual story - our highlights of the year, our hopes for 2025, the usual quiz (spoiler alert: I lost yet again), and a freewheeling catch up for our annual Yuletide review.

As ever, wherever you’re listening to this, grab a festive drink and a mince pie, don the Santa hat, and join us as we wax festive for a couple of hours. I’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy another brilliant Looking Sideways year, so huge thanks for listening and supporting what I do. I’ll be back refreshed, rested and ready to go once again in 2025 - in the meantime, have a brilliant break 🎄

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Regulars who’ve been following Looking Sideways at all closely for the last two years will be familiar with the name Chris Nelson. Alongside Demi Taylor and Lewis Arnold, he’s one of the triumvirate of creative talents behind the brilliant Big Sea, which I’ve been championing since I saw the first cut back in November 2022.

But I actually go way, way back with Chris. To the mid-1990s, in fact, when we were both young journalistic tyros from either side of the Pennines, keen to forge creative careers based around our respective passions of surfing and snowboarding.

In many ways, our careers have followed similar trajectories. And one of the things I’ve always admired about Chris in the decades I’ve known him is the strong sense of editorial and moral integrity that has always been such a clear hallmark of his work.

Whether it’s the early years as a start-up publisher inspired by terrace fanzine culture, the hugely influential Footprint books that redefined surf travel for a generation, his trailblazing work as one of the co-founders of the London Surf Film Festival, or the four-year mission to bring The Big Sea from idea to the big screen, this thread has guided his work since the beginning.

Chris has been an influence on my own work and approach since we became friends back in the mid-1990s, and the release of The Big Sea seemed like the perfect occasion to sit down and cast a reflective eye on his unique career.

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One of the odd things about podcasting (at least the way I do it, anyway) is when a episode you’re convinced is one of the best, most enjoyable conversations you’ve ever had doesn’t get the pick up it deserves.

That was very definitely the case with my autumn 2022 conversation with legendary ski film-maker Greg Stump. Which is why, four years later, I am re-running it so that recent subscribers to Looking Sideways can listen to my conversation with one of the most quietly influential figures in action sports.

I’m going to come right out and say it: Greg Stump is as influential a guest as I’ve yet had on the show. Now, if you’re unfamiliar with Greg’s oeuvre (and in recent years his achievements have been shamefully overlooked) this might seem like a fairly wild claim. But when you consider the success of an era-defining smash like his film The Blizzard of Aaahhs, and look seriously at the lasting impact of his work, who can really doubt it?

Greg, a skier, snowboarder and film-maker, first came to prominence with low-key ski film hits such as Maltese Flamingo and A Fistful of Moguls. But the success of 1998’s Blizzard changed everything. Here was a genuine pop cultural crossover success that redefined the ski film for a new generation, gave snowboarding a new platform, saw stars Glen Plake and Scott Schmidt appear on The Today Show, and set the ‘extreme’ agenda that still resonates to this day.

On a personal level, Greg certainly changed my life. My first viewing of Blizzard as a skate and snow-obsessed Mancunian teenager in 1990 introduced me to a new world, where dirtbag skiers and snowboarders chased the snow in beguiling sounding-locations such as Telluride, Squaw Valley and Chamonix. For me, it was as exotic as the smooth Californian pavements I wished I could skate, and it put me on the path I am still following to this day.

All of which goes some way to explain why, when I sat down to speak with Greg, excitement levels were high - on both sides of the Zoom call.

After all, it isn’t often you get to chat to a legit hero and tell them what an impact their work had on your life.

The resulting conversation was a riot - funny, warm, extravagant and shamelessly vain - a little like those films that changed so many lives. Hope you enjoy this one as much as I did.

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As anybody who’s watched your typical softball chat-show conversation will be aware, interviews with people at a certain level of fame and renown, such as this week’s guest Jordy Smith, tend to unfold in one of two ways.

There’s the filtered, on-message, and generally uninteresting stuff we’ve all heard countless times before.

And then, very rarely, there’s what happened here: which is a really an insightful and frequently hilarious chat that certainly captures the personality of one of surfing’s modern greats, as well as the experience of life on the modern tour.

Jordy was in town (at the Wave, specifically) to take part in the regular O’Neill Rookie Rippers event, so I headed over to grab him for an hour to record this chat.

As soon as Jordy clocked the Looking Sideways approach, he was straight into it, and what followed was a quick fire and super enjoyable romp through his life and times as one of African surfing’s modern greats.

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What a treat to welcome the great Jamie Brisick back for his third Looking Sideways appearance.

The occasion? The release of The Life and Death of Westerly Windina, his brilliant documentary collaboration with Australian director Alan White about the life and times of Peter Drouyn and Westerly Windina.

But also, a welcome chance to catch up with one of surfing’s sharpest, brightest minds. My friendship with Jamie has been one of the great pleasures of this whole Looking Sideways business. As has been watching his career continue to blossom in the years since his first appearance on the show.

His Soundings podcast, for example, produced in conjunction with The Surfer’s Journal, is six seasons in and rightly beloved around the world. And his journalism continues to hoik the bar higher with every passing year.

Jamie has also been a very generous cheerleader for my own work, acting as a welcome sounding board as I’ve worked on The Announcement, and encouraging me in all my own weird little creative endeavours.

So it was that we caught up one evening in October to catch up, compare notes, and discuss the Westerly project, Soundings and The Announcement in detail.

What follows is a digressive, self-indulgent catch up in the finest Looking Sideways tradition. I enjoyed it immensely, and I hope you do to.

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Over the last year, it’s been one of the biggest stories in British surfing.

How Croyde’s own Laura Crane headed to Nazare, and surfed the biggest waves ever snagged by a British woman.

No wonder if’s been covered by everybody from Carve to BBC Radio Five Live.

But if you’ve been listening a little bit more closely, you’ll realise that there’s actually much more to Laura’s story than this admittedly incredible feat.

And it’s this aspect of the story, the bit that most surf media seems to have missed, that I was interested in discussing when we caught up for this conversation at the end of August 2024.

Because the truth is that Laura’s professional surfing career has been as much about rejecting the preordained role the surf industry demands of its women professionals as it has been about the actual surfing.

It’s been about understanding the personal impact of this institutionalised toxicity - in Laura’s case bulimia.

And it’s been an ongoing battle to balance her love of surfing with the demands a predominately male surf media and industry make on female bodies and identities.

As anybody who has been paying attention will realise, this is a depressingly familiar story when it comes to women’s professional sport, no matter how high the profile.

Think of Naomi Osaka, Simone Biles, or Serena Williams, for example; women with about as much agency as it’s possible to have in the world of professional sport, and yet who have still had to constantly fight to establish their own physical and mental boundaries.

And it’s here that we find the real power in Laura’s story. Her account of the reality of the professional surfing dream, and its impact on her, is one we just don’t hear very often. That’s why it is so important.

Ultimately, it’s a story of reclamation, in which Laura has remade her own story, and shaped her surfing future, on her own terms.

Yes, it has taken her to Nazare. But what’s really going to be exciting is seeing where it takes her next.

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I’m joined by one of THE all time greats this week: Tommy Guerrero, legendary skateboarder and musician; and one of the select few to have shaped the way we collectively view this entire sideways culture.

Tommy was, of course, part of the original Bone Brigade crew, alongside Tony Hawk, Steve Caballero, Mike McGill, Lance Mountain and Rodney Mullen.

His parts in Future Primitive, Ban This and Public Domain basically defined the concept of modern street skating. In tandem, he also established a career as a hugely influential musician, which continues to this day.

In short, Tommy well and truly justifies the ‘legend’ epithet. And yet, as is so often the case, I found him on wry, reflective form: as happy to geek out on Sudanese jazz as he was to discuss those legendary video parts; and ruminate on how growing up without a father influenced his life and career.

Sometimes this gig is a total privilege and delight, and this was one of those occasions. Thanks to Tommy for taking the time, and to our mutual pal Thomas Campbell for the intro.

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Hallvard Kolltveit describes himself as ‘the surf photographer that doesn’t know how to swim properly’.

It’s a good line, and one that sums up Hallvard’s witty and self-deprecating take on his own unconventional route through action sport and outdoor media.

If you’re unfamiliar with his work, he's one of the first really popular post-Burkard cold water surf photographers to blow up on Instagram, and I’ve been following his career with interest ever since.

We actually first met back in April 2019, in Lofoten, during a Patagonia Snow Impact camp. We stayed in touch, and have since worked on a couple of gigs together, and crossed paths in unusual places.

In this chat, recorded in May 2024, we discussed the nature of risk-taking, in both physical and creative pursuits, and how discomfort can be a powerful catalyst for growth.

Literally, in Hallvard’s case, as he explained how his recent foray into ultra-endurance events have influenced his perspective on life and art.

We also discussed the balance between commercial success and artistic integrity, the importance of collaboration, and the endless quest for new perspectives in a rapidly changing media landscape.

Classic Looking Sideways fodder, in other words. Have a listen, and let me know what you think.

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Nick Russell is one of those rare snowboarders who combines grace and intellect in equal measure, pushing the boundaries of what's possible in the high alpine with a distinctly cerebral approach.

I've been following Nick's career since I first interviewed him for Curator Magazine, and it's been a joy to watch his subsequent evolution into one of our most innovative and pioneering riders.

And this past winter has been especially significant for Nick. He ticked off the first snowboard descent of Papsura, a 6000-meter behemoth in the Indian Himalaya. He followed that with another crack at Mount Saint Elias in Alaska - a peak that 'Fifty' aficionados will recognise as one of the last great unsolved problems of that particular series.

It was an intense winter, and by the time we sat down to record this conversation, at the end of July 2024, I found Nick in recovery mode and in an open, reflective mood.

The result is a hugely insightful and thoughtful conversation that covers the two expeditions, themes such as the law of diminishing risk-versus-reward returns that comes with the high alpine territory, as well as a diverting thread around climate change and the accusations of hypocrisy that are so often levelled at people in NIck’s position.

I’m a big fan of NIck’s approach to snowboarding, and I enjoyed this chat very much. Enjoy, and let me know what you think.

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How do you find an original angle with somebody who’s discussed the same story hundreds of times? Especially when that person is one of the best-loved and most-interviewed people in their field?

That’s the challenge I faced when approaching this interview with the great Captain Liz Clark. The occasion was the paperback release of Swell, Liz’s much-loved book about her decade-long voyage around the Pacific, with the author at the end of what was essentially her second round of promotion for the same tale.

And Swell really is a modern maritime classic; much more than ‘just’ a straight retelling of Liz’s incredibly gruelling, challenging and rewarding journey, as eloquently and honestly as she tells that tale.

It’s also about how we cope with the biggest themes of the lot: the generational accumulations that have brought us to this particular point, how a challenge such as Liz’s can be the canvas upon which we engage in the grandest acts of self discovery, and also how we can learn to face life’s challenges with grace and equanimity. It’s also about Liz’s own environmental awakening, a theme that brings us full circle to the present day.

In the end, I decided to go full Looking Sideways on this one: eschewing the questions Liz has been asked a gazillion times before: ignoring all the received podcasting interview wisdom (and believe me, there’s a LOT of that about these days); leaning into my full repertoire of lengthy digressions, two-minute long questions; and generally trusting Liz would get I was trying to have a conversation we’d both (and hopefully, my listeners) appreciate on a more human level.

I’m happy to report that Liz went seemed to be as into the idea as I was, and the result is the chat you’re about to listen to. Hope you enjoy it, and fo let me know what you think if you get a second.

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Regular listeners will know that British skateboarding institution Read and Destroy occupies an important place in the Looking Sideways firmament, both for me personally and for British sideways culture in general.

I've talked about it at length over the years, but Read and Destroy was hugely important to me when I was growing up. Not just because it was the main UK skate mag at the time. Looking back, I realise that it’s what RaD represented that was really important - that you could make something like that about the things you loved. That you could blatantly make it up as you went along. And you didn't need permission!

These were important, revelatory lessons for me at the time, that continue to influence the work that I do to this day.

This is why, in the early years of Looking Sideways, it was so important for me to speak to Tim Leighton-Boyce. Sure, I wanted to hear his story. But I also wanted to pay homage to what he'd created.

In the intervening years, it's become clear I'm not the only one who was influenced by the work of Tim, and peers like Paul Sunman. Among the wider skateboarding and creative community, there is huge affection not only for Read and Destroy, but for the creative uniqueness of the British scene generally. You can see it in the works of somebody like Neil Macdonald, who I've also had on the show, and the huge popularity of the Read and Destroy Instagram account run by Dan Adams.

You can also see it in the response to last year's London Calling event, and the outpouring of love and excitement with which the release of new Read and Destroy book has been greeted.

Which is why, on the eve of the release of this new history of Read and Destroy (and this year's London Calling event), I decided to sit down with Dan, Paul and Wig Worland for the conversation you're about to listen to. Wig is another old friend, but I'd never met Paul, even if we both knew of each other and have plenty of mutual friends.

As ever, I didn't really have an agenda. I just wanted to let the virtual tape roll and let these three oldest of friends, all so influential when it comes to UK skate culture, take the conversation where they wanted. As you'll hear, that's exactly what happened. It's a good one, this. Even Wig enjoyed it, which really is the highest of praise. I hope you do too, and as ever I’d love to know what you think of this one.

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As regular listeners will know, I don't often cover mountaineering and climbing on Looking Sideways.

But I knew I had to make an exception for Everest Inc., Will Cockrell's brilliantly written and nuanced exploration of the increasingly commodified world of mountaineering on the world's highest peak.

Firstly, as somebody who's been devouring books on climbing, adventure, and exploration since I was a kid, I was intrigued to discover that Will had managed to find a fresh angle on the most obvious topic of all.

Secondly, there’s much more to Will’s book than a straightforward retelling of the history of guided exploration on Everest. At its heart, Everest Inc. is a dispassionate examination of the increasingly commodified nature of adventure, bookended by those first British expeditions and, latterly, Nirmal Purja’s testosterone-fuelled approach to the business of mountaineering.

In this classically meandering Looking Sideways chat, Will and I discuss the ethics of commercialisation, the socio-economic impact of climbing, and the legacy of colonialism and empire that underpins the entire tale.

We also pondered the challenges of writing about a subject that has at this point been done to death - especially when two of your main subjects refuse to be interviewed - as well as the recent New York Times story about Nirmal Purge that broke the week we spoke.

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I’ve been really enjoying the recent online ‘Creative Exchanges’ I’ve been doing with my friends at Db Journey. They’re such a brilliant idea that I’m not surprised they’re going down so well.

The premise is really simple - Db gather together some of their ambassadors and creatives to form a loose panel to discuss that week’s topic. We then extend the invite to people on our mailing lists, jump on a Google Meet link, and see where the discussion ends up.

Our February subject was a pretty hot topic right now - what does ‘responsible travel’ mean?

The resulting chat was about the ethics of travel in the age of the climate emergency, sure, but we also covered plenty of other themes - the ethics of travel today, the 90s-to-pre pandemic ‘Golden Age’ of travel, and what the future of travel looks like.

For this discussion, I was joined by panellists Kepa Acero, Timothy Myers, Alex Aubry and Db Journey’s Jon, Marcus and Tin, as well as over 100 passionate and smart people who proved there’s a huge appetite for this type of debate and knowledge-sharing. We discussed our own experiences, took questions, and generally engaged in a really fascinating and wide-ranging debate on this fascinating topic.

Big up the Db Journey team for the brilliant idea and for getting me involved, to the panelists for their thought-provoking insights, and to everybody for participating.

PLUS! We’re are doing a LIVE Creative Exchange in London in June! Keep an eye out for more details on this one, and if you enjoyed this chat then, please do share or leave me a comment:

HKC Discount Club is kicking off - click here for exclusive discounts from my partner brands such as Finisterre, Db, Goodrays. Albion and Vivobarefoot. Coming soon - Stance and The Wave!

To find our more about what I do, you can sign up as a subscriber to my Substack newsletter here. There's a brilliant community and much more than just the podcasts.

Or you can follow me on Instagram here.

When Freddie Meadows finally surfed RÁN, it signified more than the biggest wave ever surfed in Scandinavia.

It was also the fulfilment of a lifelong ambition; the endgame of a ten-year search; and the symbolic culmination of Freddie’s singular career as a surfer of proud Scandinavian and Swedish heritage thus far.

No wonder he named it after the Norse goddess of the sea.

But then, the long, thoughtful and myth-strewn trip that led to RÁN is emblematic of Freddie’s wider path through professional surfing.

I’ve been following him for years, and have always been fascinated by the way he has looked east instead of west - eschewing the classic professional surf career for something much more original and unique.

It’s an approach that comes through in everything he does, from the particular brands he chooses to work with, to the particular aesthetic that always embellishes the work he puts out.

And it’s why our thoughtful, involved conversation for Looking Sideways covers so much more ground than the usual pro surfer chat.

We discuss what RÁN means to Freddie, of course, now he’s had time to digest the experience.

But we also covered plenty of the classic Looking Sideways themes: our place in nature, the important of honesty when it comes to creativity and a fulfilling life, and why you need determination and vision to follow your own path.

--

PLUS! HKC Discount Club is kicking off - click here for exclusive discounts from my partner brands such as Finisterre, Db, Goodrays. Albion and Vivobarefoot. Coming soon - Stance and The Wave!

To find our more about what I do, you can sign up as a subscriber to my Substack newsletter here. There's a brilliant community and much more than just the podcasts.

Or you can follow me on Instagram here.

All topics I discussed with snowboarder, activist and campaigner for Just Stop Oil Calum Macintyre. You might not know Calum, but he has a vital story to tell about how our democratic right to protest is carefully being steadily and stealthily dismantled in the age of the climate emergency, and I implore you to listen to what he has to say.

I first met Calum in Lofoten back in 2019 on a Patagonia activist camp. We became friends and stayed in touch, and since then I’ve watched with great interest as Calum has become more and more immersed in the world of direct action.

It was Calum who wrote my most popular ever guest blog - last year’s thought-provoking 5 Reasons Why Our Community Does Not Engage, in which he was politely yet forcefully critical of the outdoor and action sports community’s approach to protest and activism.

We’ve spent much time over the last year discussing these ideas, which has helped inform and shape my own thinking as I’ve been working on The Announcement, my forthcoming podcast documentary series about Yvon Chouinard’s September 2022 decision to give away Patagonia.

Calum’s participation in this movement has also given him a minor role in a wider, much more important story - the way that climate protest is being weaponised by a government intent on criminalising protest for their own nakedly political ends.

Which was why, in March 2024, after Calum successfully defended himself in court after being arrested for taking part in a slow march for Just Stop Oil, I decided to ask him to come on the podcast to discuss these topics.

This is a vital conversation about the climate crisis, the notion of protest, effective activism, and how the climate emergency is being weaponised as part of the culture wars. It’s also about how Calum has found a little untouched snowboarding paradise in one of Europe’s last wildernesses, which might make you want pack up and head for the hills.

Eric Blehm is a journalist and author who has had one of the most interesting and quietly-influential careers in snowboarding.

As one of the original and most high-profile American snowboard journalists, he certainly had an influence on my own career.

His work at Transworld Snowboarding, in particular, where he combined a none-more-geeky passion for snowboarding with an insatiable curiosity about the wider world, inspired me to think it might be a path that I could also follow.

Eric’s storytelling talent meant he soon outgrew our little world, and these days he’s an acclaimed none-fiction writer in the Krakauer/Grann mould. But with his latest book, The Darkest White, he’s returned to his sideways roots to tell one of the most important stories of all - the life and death of Craig Kelly.

I have no hesitation in saying that The Darkest White is the best book ever written about snowboarding. It is a subtly structured and truly brilliant piece of work that, like all the best none-fiction, is about much more than its ostensible subject matter.

Of course, it a lovingly and respectfully put together biography of Craig, Eric’s friend and mentor who clearly had a huge personal impact on his life. But it is also the grown-up history of snowboarding we’ve been crying out for, which sheds new light on the key phases of our culture’s development.

And it is also a dispassionate, forensic and at times enraging (for me, anyway) look at what actually happened to Craig, and which cast the entire sorry episode in a completely new light.

Myself and Eric have plenty of mutual friends and have known of each other for years. But this is the first time we’d actually connected, which made this one a real pleasure. This one covers a lot: the books, of course, but also Eric’s own remarkable career. Hope you enjoy our conversation.

Buy The Darkest White here.

If you’ve been following Looking Sideways for a while, you’ll know that I’ve covered the conversation around chloroprene rubber and Yulex extensively over the last year or so - through my conversation with Big Sea documentary film-makers Chris Nelson and Lewis Arnold (below), for example, as well as blogs such as this one. If you aren’t yet aware of the connection between neoprene and higher rates of cancer among one hugely impacted Louisiana community, find out more by clicking those links.

It’s through those conversations that I first made contact with Liz Bui, CEO of Yulex, the natural rubber alternative to neoprene and so-called limestone neoprene, which is touted by Yulex and partner brands such as Patagonia and Finisterre as a natural alternative to these materials and is, according to Yulex ‘proven equal or better when compared to neoprene in all applications’.

So when my pals at Finisterre invited me to host a live q&a with Liz and Yulex founder Jeff Martin at Finisterre’s London store in February 2024, I was in. Particularly because, whenever this conversation comes up among surfers, you always hear the same (to put it politely) received wisdom about Yulex. It’s too expensive. It’s not flexible enough. It’s just as bad for the environment as neoprene. (And that’s just some from some of the surf industry’s trade bodies).

Here was an opportunity to put these very questions to Liz and Jeff in person, as well as find out more about the basics of the Yulex process, while also exploring some of this issue’s more contentious talking points.

So that’s what I did, and the result was a fascinating, insightful and revealing conversation with two people who understand this topic, with all its nuances, intimately. Huge thanks to my Finisterre family for getting me involved, and to Liz and Jeff for answering everything with such clarity and transparency.

I think it’s fair to say myself and Thomas got on pretty well first time around, and we’ve stayed in touch over the months.

This redux episode came about after I asked him if he’d be up for taking part on one of my Open Threads, in which guests (such as the great Jeremy Jones, here) answer questions from listeners and readers.

Thomas was up for it, but asked if we could just do it as another conversation. Which I thought was a great idea, and is exactly what we did.

The result was yet another brilliantly entertaining, discursive chat about life, art, surfing, music, creativity and the rest of the good stuff. As it was originally supposed to be a written piece, you can find the transcription for the entire episode here as well.

Huge thanks to everybody who contributed questions for this one. I’d love to know what everybody thinks of this new format - let me know by either leaving a comment on my Insta or Substack 🤙

Initially published in RaD and mentored by the great Tim Leighton-Boyce, he soon followed in footsteps of Bod Boyle, Steve Douglas and Don Brown by heading to the States, where he embarked upon a truly remarkable career in the US industry. He was a staff photographer at Transworld, and eventually ended up running the entire thing during that institution’s undoubted heyday. Later, he took a role as team manager at adidas Skateboarding.

An amazing CV -but this brief overview really doesn’t do justice to Skin’s outsized influence on global skate culture during this period. He shot with absolutely everybody - and I mean everybody - and has the tales and respect that go with such an outsized CV, as a quick look at the comments of any his recent Instagram posts will demonstrate.

So far, so legendary, and if you checked out Skin’s Nine Club chat from the other year, you’re probably familiar with that part of his story. What hasn’t been so well documented is the way things changed quickly for Skin after he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Finding himself unable to stay in the States, he returned home to Swansea where he’s spent the intervening years coping with the new realities of his life.

I went to see Skin in Swansea early in January 2024. We cover the history, sure. But we also cover plenty of themes that aren’t discussed too frequently in the skate, surf and snow industries: how quickly his career in the industry unravelled, and how he’s coped with such an abrupt change of circumstances, with all the mental challenges this has entailed.

This is a tale about the challenges of dealing with a diagnosis that changes your life overnight, when there’s no safety net in place, and you’re left to work it out.

It’s also about the last thirty years of the UK, and the political manoeuvring that has wrought such havoc during that time, as epitomised by Skin’s South Wales home turf. And it’s about British working class culture, and how things such as skateboarding, football, music and art are the light in the darkness.

It’s an important one, this. Big thanks to Skin for this poignant and powerful conversation (and to listener Marc Evans for the help setting it up).

Yep, we’re back once again with our very own addition to the Christmas canon -even if, this year, we managed not to get blind drunk while recording this one. Apart from that, it was the usual story - our highlights of the year, our hopes for 2024, the usual quiz (spoiler alert: I lost yet again), and a freewheeling catch for our annual Yuletide review.

As ever, wherever you’re listening to this, grab a festive drink and a mince pie, don the Santa hat, and join us as we wax festive for a couple of hours. I’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy another brilliant Looking Sideways year, so huge thanks for listening and supporting what I do. I’ll be back refreshed, rested and ready to go once again in 2024 - in the meantime, have a brilliant break 🎄

I was lucky enough to be official media partner for this year’s festival, part of which was hosting this special workshop with four brilliant film-makers and creatives: Rebecca Coley, director of the brilliant Point of Change, which scooped Best British Film; Maddie Meddings, director of Yama, which won Best International Short; Chris Nelson, writer and producer of The Big Sea; and Owen Tozer, my creative right hand man and director of the beautiful, unsettling Blood Type Plastic.

A word of warning: there’s a LOT of background noise in this one. But I hope you can bear with me, because there’s some proper gold in here from these four - film-making, storytelling, creativity, and all the other good stuff that makes the Looking Sideways world go round.

They’re all at different points in their careers, each with very distinct style and approaches, which is what I think gave this chat such depth and resonance.

MASSIVE thanks to Chris and Demi at the London Surf Film for getting me involved, to the panellists for being such good sports, and to the audience for being so engaged and up for it.

This conversation came about when Kendal founder and friend of the show Steve Scott asked myself and Matt to pull together a panel for a discussion on the topic of The Power of Storytelling - New Perspectives. We invited our pals Adam Rajah, Soraya Abdel-Hadi and Roundtable regular Lauren MacCallum to join us, and this conversation is the result.

In this episode, we discussed, among other things, the following topics:

- Vulnerability in storytelling.

- How do we take climate storytelling out of the echo chamber?

- Is longform dying?

This one was really special. I’m really grateful to Steve and Matt for being such great collaborators; to Adam, Lauren and Soraya for their trust and openness; and to the audience for being so engaged and receptive to this format and conversation. Let’s do it again!

As usual, I’d love to hear what you think about this episode. And make sure you follow Matt and his brilliant podcast.

I’m loosely connected to what you might call the wider activism movement, which has become a proper industry these days. And much of it leaves me cold. From my slightly remote perspective, it seems to be an echo chamber full of impenetrable language, where activism tends to be cast as a personal journey or - worse - a nakedly commercial business opportunity: as opposed to a genuine attempt to invoke change that will benefit everybody, and not just those that trade in the same wonky jargon.

Fumblingly exploring these ideas is why I’ve published stories by Calum McIntyre and Lesley McKenna this year, why I am careful about which events I attend and which causes I personally lend my name to, and why I was so keen to speak to Gavin Fernie-Jones for this episode of the podcast.

You probably haven’t heard of Gavin. But for me, this is one of the most insightful and important conversations I’ve hosted this year. Gav lives in the French Alps, and originally his story was a well worn one - Brit skier moves to the mountains, embraces the seasonaire lifestyle, and ends up staying put.

And yet, over the last few years, Gavin has been slowly but surely changing his life in response to the climate crisis he can see unfolding around him, and impacting his local environment and community.

He’s quit the lucrative, ski season job that enabled him to work a mere few months a year; started a local grassroots community group called Re-Action; embraced a slower, more purposeful life; and has begun actively living as a ‘citizen’ rather than a consumer.

Why is this important? Because change is coming, and mountain communities like Gavin’s will be at the forefront of this change. Personally, I also feel that the type of ‘activism’ that Gav and his Re-Action peers are engaged in - local, grassroots, community-based, circular, symbolic, and undeniably impactful - is the type of quietly revolutionary approach that has the power to drive real change. Where the work has an impact on real people, is forward-thinking and inclusive, and will actually help real communities address the challenges they’re going to face.

So that’s why I asked Gavin to come on the podcast, and why I really implore you to check out this episode. Inevitably, because Gav is just an ordinary bloke rather than a massive name, these episodes tend to get much less traction. But I’m hoping that if you do give this a listen, it’ll give you as much food for though as it did me.

I’ve had a ringside seat as they’ve developed as artists and film-makers over the last two-and-a-half decades, so to see them have a hit on their hands with their new film Here, Hold My Kid, which they’ve just made with Jackie Paaso and Elyse Saugstad, is a really proud moment.

Here, Hold My Kid has a lot of interesting things to say about motherhood, parenthood, and the different ways men and women are treated in the industry. It’s funny, too.

And it’s also a really great combination of the pair’s talents, as well as the culmination of all the ideas, dreams, occasional dead-ends, and risks that go into the average creative career.

With all that in mind, it was such a treat to sit down with Johno and Gend to discuss the new film and all of the above. Hope you enjoy our conversation

Paid subscribers! This episode comes with an extra 15 minute bonus section with me and Ray so make sure you have your paid podcast feed set-up.

Free subscribers! Don’t worry! You’ll still be able to listen to the main interview with me and Ray (that’s the ‘free preview’), but to hear the bonus chat about Ray’s music and next record, and HKC, you'll need to upgrade to paid.

Just where do you start with a legend like Ray Barbee? After all, this skate, photography and music legend, who happens to be one of the most influential skateboarders ever, has probably been interviewed thousands of times during the course of his career.

Perhaps it helped that our mutual friends Thomas Campbell and Don Brown did the intros, because I’m happy to report that Ray bought into the spirit of the podcast whole-heartedly, completely happy to ‘windbag’ about any topic that crossed our path. The resulting chinwag covers a lot of ground in the classic LS fashion: everything from how faith helped Ray cope with the intense fame he experienced early in his career, to his memories of THAT 1995 Radlands comp at which he came second to Tom Penny.

Even better, it is hallmarked by the wisdom, humour, generosity and candour for which Ray is legendary. We had such a laugh having this chat that I kept the tape running once the ‘main’ conversation was over, and am including this extra 15 minutes on Ray’s next record, his approach to music, and why the beat is the pulse of all things, as an extra section exclusively for paid subscribers. Free subscribers, of course, can still hear the bulk of the chat as per usual.

No fuss, no fanfare, just a non-traditional episode banged out every now and again when this opportunity comes up.

This episode you’re about to listen to is the full live chat with Schoph, Andrew Cotton, Helena Long, Marcus Chapman from Tour de Test Valley and Simon Gunning, CEO of CALM, which I hosted at the Vans store in London at the beginning of September 2023.

This was an event organised by my old pal Marcus to raise funds for CALM in memory of our much-loved and much-missed friend Nelson Pratt, who took his own life back in 2012.

This year, Marcus and the family decided to take year off organising the Tour de Test Valley proper, so this event was a way of celebrating Nelly, bringing a load of his friends together, and of course continuing to raise awareness of this important issue. I personally lost another close friend to suicide this year, something which has made me more determined than ever to speak about this issue.

It was a lovely evening. Bittersweet, as usual, but another fitting tribute to Nelly, and a great impromptu gathering of his tribe. I’m really grateful to Helena, Schoph and Cotty for trusting me to ask them some pretty sensitive questions.

Anyway, I’m releasing it as a bonus episode - these are usually paywalled and exclusively for paid subscribers, but give the topic here I thought I’d get it out there for everybody to hear.

Ride on Nelly. We miss you brother X

Any pro hoping for a career longer than this simple arc better find another string to their bow quickly, ideally something marketable alongside the actual board-riding ability, which kicks in as their actual ‘riding’ career draws to a close.

Then there’s Cliff Kapono. Somebody who has done things the opposite way round and, as a result, has surely carved out one of the most unique careers in surfing.

As Cliff explains, he realised at young age that talent wouldn’t be enough - especially when your peers are surfers like Clay Marzo. Instead, he focussed on science as much as surfing, using academia and his intellectual smarts as a way of surfing more.

Today, this unlikely route has propelled Cliff to the top of the surf industry - supremely respected as a surfer by his peers, while also having an increasingly important voice on some of the topics that also impact wider surfing and surf culture, such as climate change and colonialism.

Perhaps it’s because Cliff’s route to the top has been so unusual that has such a reflective and insightful unique take on surfing, the surf industry, and the way we as surfers interact with our environment and the history that has impacted us in countless ways, whether we realise it or not.

I’ve wanted to chat to Cliff for a while, and this conversation didn’t disappoint. Hope you enjoy it.

It’s been a long time coming - five years since I first contacted him - but in July 2023 I finally caught up with artist, director and all-round creative legend Thomas Campbell for this Looking Sideways conversation.

And I’m happy to say that this conversation was everything I hoped it would be, and much more. Sure, Campbell - much as he would balk at such talk - is one of surfing and skateboarding’s most important influences thanks to classic films such as The Seedling, and a singular aesthetic and approach that has an outsized influence on what it means to be creative in our world

Thomas is a true omnivorous polymath, as happy to experiment with sewing or his record label as he making era-defining surf flicks, and for whom the act of ’sitting in the chair’ is the point of it all.

But as I discovered, he’s also a thoughtful and generous conversationalist, and our chat covers music, life, art everything in between.

This is already one of my favourite ever LS chats, in which one of most successful and engaging influences delves right into his process and motivation, and displays the charm, curiosity, and appetite for life that is such a feature of his work.

In Deep is a hand-picked collection of Matt’s era-defining surf writing that spans well over 30 years.

But, as I discovered during our conversation, for Matt it symbolises much more than this. It’s a flag-in-the-ground moment to memorialise a passing moment in surf culture, as the analogue age represented by Matt himself and the culture and writers he so venerates, is superseded by a new primarily artificial and digital culture defined by clicks, views and, latterly, AI.

No wonder at one point in our conversation he refers to the collection as his ‘cave paintings’, in what I assume is a very deliberate image.

Matt lives in Bali, and in early August 2023 we hopped online to record this conversation. The resulting chat encompasses many favourite Looking Sideways themes, whether creativity, working processes, literary influences or the importance of the recognising your place in the environment when it comes to the surfing experience.

Above all, Matt is a consummate story-teller and a shameless surf romantic. He’s lived life on a vast scale, has sought out equally big experiences, and has documented the lot during one of THE essential surf writing careers.

It makes In Deep a real time capsule, and this conversation is a wonderfully digressive, occasionally self-aggrandising and always entertaining rove through Matt’s life and times and the modern history of surfing itself.

Buckle up!

Gilly is a snowboarder, swimmer, open water swim coach, climber, event organiser, speaker - you get the picture. Basically, she’s a proper force of nature, a proper catalyst and peerless communicator who gets stuck right in whatever she’s doing. Plus, she raised the bar for all past and future LS guests by bringing me along a book as a present, which obviously made my day.

And, as I’ve known for a while now, she’s also brilliant company, as I rediscovered in June 2023 when we met up in Brighton at the amazing new Sea Lanes to record this episode.

I must say, for me this was proper ‘If Carlsberg did podcast set-ups’ (hat tip Mat Pycroft) occasion. We met at the height of the heatwave, and just had a lovely morning: swim, coffee, beach, good food, and this brilliant conversation.

Even for me, this one went all over the place; which makes it a perfect podcast conversation, to my mind. Obviously we covered Gilly’s life and career, but we also followed all manner of tangents in a sprawling, multi-layered chat that I enjoyed immensely.

Thanks for being such a great sport Gilly, and humouring my incessant Smiths-related gags. Hope you enjoy this episode.

There's no new episode this week, so I thought that just this one I would lift the paywall on the first episode of Rondtable, the new discussion show which will usually be exclusively for paid subscribers. Looking forward to hearing what everyone thinks!

A few months ago, my pal and staunch Looking Sideways supporter Jon Weaver asked me if I’d ever considered doing a Housekeeping Corner episode for paid subscribers.

I was intrigued, but after chatting to Jon and kicking the idea around for a bit, I decided that bringing in a new, irregular panel discussion format was a way better idea.

So I roped in Jon as co-host, asked another friend-of-the-show Lauren MacCallum to join us as second co-host, quickly jotted down a rough format, and thought of some topics to discuss and guests to invite on.

And here we are. In this inaugural episode, we discuss, among other things:

- The topic of disruptive activism and the lack of engagement on issues such as climate change and water quality among our community. Why is there such apathy? How can we change it? What role should brands play? And was I being harsh when I said the culture of mountain biking had ‘big petrolhead energy’? Huge thanks to listener Hamish Lawson for contributing the first listener question for this section.

- The Byron Bay compulsory leash brouhaha, with contributions from special guests Wavelength editor and pro longboarder Mikey Lay, and long-term surf hack and friend-of-the-show Ben Mondy

-Is the FIS takeover of competitive snowboarding finally complete? What does this mean for our culture? And will Olympic freeriding be next to get the treatment? With special guest Liam Griffin, co-founder and COO of Natural Selection.

I had a blast doing this and am looking forward to doing more. Way back at the end of 2016, when I first had the idea to make Looking Sideways, I originally planned on it being this format. In the end I went with the interview format, so it’s nice to revisit this idea so many years later.

Next time around, we’ll be asking for listeners/readers to contribute a topic for discussion so get thinking. Hope you enjoy this episode!

If you’re somebody who scans the name of the guest and thinks ‘never heard of them, I’m not going to bother’, I implore you not to make that mistake here, but Melody Sky has surely had one of the most fascinating careers in European action sports media.

Sure, she’s a photographer, filmer, artist and all-round creative legend, but these descriptions really don’t do justice to the sheer range of accomplishments and adventures she has to her name.

And what I love about Melody’s story - and career - is how entirely self-made it is. She’s created this unique role for herself, driven by curiosity, drive, graft, passion and a desire to have a life filled with unique and unusual experiences. Perennial themes during Looking Sideways discussions, and particularly relevant when it comes to this chinwag.

We recorded this one on Brighton beach in mid May, and it’s a rambling, shaggy-dog-story of a conversation in the classic Looking Sideways style. This one for the LS originals, and for anybody looking to be inspired by somebody who lives life completely on their own terms. Melody is a hero and I’m stoked to finally chat to her for the show.

Yep, I’ve got my old pal Easkey back on the show this week for her second visit, a mere six years after we first chatted for the pod. We’ve stayed in touch, and over the years I’ve watched the evolution of her singular, insightful career as a surfer, academic and writer with awe.

So when Easkey got in touch to say she’d be in London in mid May to do a talk at the Finisterre store about her new book Ebb and Flow, I packed the podcast kit, called up Tozer to take care of picture duties, and headed up to meet her.

And what an endlessly stimulating, occasionally mind-bending and always thought-provoking chat this one was. For me, Ebb and Flow is a quietly political piece of work, concerned as it is with the world we want to live in as individuals and a society, and gently interrogating as it does recent explosion in all things Blue Mind over the past few years. As ever, Easkey has a lot of very interesting things to say about water, our relationship to water, and how her own relationship to the element that has thus far defined her life has changed since she became a mum of twins.

I very much enjoyed this conversation, which roves all over the place, and is embellished by the thoughtfulness and insight that characterises Easkey’s view of the world. Thanks for following me down my usual conversational rabbit holes, Easkey.

If you’ve heard our previous conversation, or watched any of his films, you’ll know Elias is a true snowboarding original. On the snow, he’s one of our most highly-regarded freeriders, respected by peers such as Travis Rice, and with the CV to prove it. But it’s off the snow that he is arguably having the biggest impact on the culture. He’s one of our great thinkers, somebody for whom snowboarding is as much a forum for internal examination as it is physical expression.

His series of films prove the point,. In Contraddiction, he explored his own relationship with professional snowboarding. In Narcis, he ended to Kosovo to explore that land’s recent history. And now, in Invisible Ground, he turns his attention to one of the most important topics of all: our individual and collective relationship to fear, danger, and vulnerability.

That last word is key when it comes to Elias’s work, and why he’s such a unique snowboarding artist. Few snowboarders have experience of the situations that have formed the basis of Elias’s career. Among those that have, those willing to explore these situations through the context of fear and vulnerability are rare indeed.

It’s why Elias’s work is so important, and why I was happy to welcome him back onto the show for this vital and enlightening conversation. Hope you enjoy the episode.

Earlier this year, I interviewed Chris Burkard at a special event in London organised by my agency All Conditions Media and my pals at Db. I offered up a number of free tickets for paid subscribers - and originally I released the entire conversation as a bonus episode exclusively for paid subscribers only. Now I'm dropping the paywall so everybody can have a listen.

If you listened to last year’s hugely popular conversation with Chris (also recorded in front of a live audience, that time in Stockholm), you’ll know what to expect. This was yet another intensely honest conversation about art, creativity and life itself with one of the most influential visual artists at work in the outdoor today.

Sure, we briefly covered some of the territory we discussed in Stockholm, but there are new insights, pearls of wisdom and sharp exchanges here that showcases Burkard’s trademark humour, vulnerability and insight.

Thanks Chris for being such a great sport, and to my All Conditions Media and Db family for taking care of such a brilliant event. And thanks to my paid subscribers for supporting the show! It’s so appreciated. If you enjoyed this, or have any feedback, tell me in the comments, or hit me up directly in the subscriber chat thread. Looking forward to hearing what everybody thinks.

Regular listeners will recall my previous conversation with Lucy back in 2021, after she achieved notoriety for speaking up about gender equality in surfing in a famous post-contest speech that went viral. In the intervening years, Lucy has continued to lead this conversation on her own terms and in a way that continues to move things forward.

And now she’s back with this film, a collaborative creative project with British film-maker Maddie which sees them explore the female surf and skate scenes in Ghana, explore the country’s hitherto untold surf history and, as the duo put it, ‘challenge the historic representation of Ghanians in a story of reclamation and joy’.

They also focus on the work of two driven, impressive locals: Sandy Alibo of Surf Ghana, and Justice Kwoife of Obibini Girls Surf Club, who are building Ghanian surf culture from the ground up.

Embellished by Maddie’s pulchritudinous cinematography and Lucy’s lovely surfing, the result is a compelling surf film that tells a new story in what is rapidly becoming Lucy’s trademark style. This is really a  tale of complete creative openness and collaboration, and I particularly enjoyed hearing about how the pair devised and created the project as they went along. Hope you enjoy this one.

At least, that’s the contention of Steven Kotler, this week’s guest and author a new book called Gnar Country.

Kotler, who tends to be described as an ‘expert in human performance’, made his name as the doyen of all things flow thanks to books such as The Rise of Superman and The Art of Impossible, and his work as Executive Director of the Flow Research Collective. In Gnar Country, his latest book, he turns his attention to the science of ageing, and tests his theories of ‘peak performance ageing’ by attempting to learn to park ski at the age of 53.

As you might imagine from that brief précis, we’re in life hack and ‘actionable protocol’ territory with this one, which regular listeners will know isn’t really my usual style. But I enjoyed The Rise of Superman, which articulated supremely well a lot of concepts and experiences anybody who has dabbled in sport at any level will recognised, and also find the premise of Gnar Country to be an intriguing one, and something which I imagine most listeners will also find of interest. After all, who doesn’t want to continue to ‘kick ass before you kick the bucket’, as Kotler puts it?

On a personal level, too, an interview such as this, with somebody on the promo trail and with a very clear message to impart, always presents an interesting challenge. So it was that in early April 2023 I hopped on Zoom to chat to Steven. Of course, we discussed Gnar Country and the ideas that underpin Kotler’s quest. We also explored the reasons we do what we do, and how we can mindfully harness the techniques Steven has dedicated his life to understanding. And we delved into Steven’s own motivations, and some of the contradictions inherent in his own quest as outlined in the book.

Hope you enjoyed our conversation. I’ve really love to know what everybody thinks of this one, and whether you recognise the ideas and experiences myself and Steven discussed.

And after four years - this is the final ever episode of Type 2! And what a fitting guest I’ve got for this landmark episode - Jenna Johnson, current President of Patagonia Inc.

Jenna is a Ventura lifer, a proud product geek, and somebody who has ascended the ranks from shopfloor to her current status at the very top of the company.

Today, she’s one of the senior leaders at Patagonia, one of a handful tasked with actually delivering that recent ‘Earth is our only shareholder’ announcement. Indeed, it was Jenna, if you recall, who set the tone at the announcement itself with her ‘We’re here to talk about a really big fucking deal’ line.

All of which makes Jenna herself kind of a big deal. Of course, we covered her career, and her path to her current role. But I was really interested in getting her take on some of the themes I began to discern during my time at Patagonia HQ. How the concept of ‘product activism’ has always been a key tenet of the company philosophy. How all the ‘it’s a tax dodge’ criticisms levelled at the company last year are nothing new. And whether ‘the announcement’ signals a shift into a more overt form of campaigning leadership as the company celebrates its 50th anniversary.

It’s a good one, this. Massive thanks to Jenna, Corey, Corley, Alex, Louise, Ryan and Jelle for all the help with this episode. And to my Patagonia Europe family for all the help and encouragement during this last four years of Type 2 episodes.

Paid subscriber special!

Last week, I interviewed Chris Burkard at a special event in London organised by my agency All Conditions Media and my pals at Db. I offered up a number of free tickets for paid subscribers - and now I’m releasing the entire conversation as a bonus episode exclusively for paid subscribers only.

If you listened to last year’s hugely popular conversation with Chris (also recorded in front of a live audience, that time in Stockholm), you’ll know what to expect. This was yet another intensely honest conversation about art, creativity and life itself with one of the most influential visual artists at work in the outdoor today.

Sure, we briefly covered some of the territory we discussed in Stockholm, but there are new insights, pearls of wisdom and sharp exchanges here that showcases Burkard’s trademark humour, vulnerability and insight.

Thanks Chris for being such a great sport, and to my All Conditions Media and Db family for taking care of such a brilliant event. And thanks to my paid subscribers for supporting the show! It’s so appreciated. If you enjoyed this, or have any feedback, tell me in the comments, or hit me up directly in the subscriber chat thread. Looking forward to hearing what everybody thinks.

All questions I explored with legendary snowboarding photographer Stan Evans in this fascinating conversation, recorded during my recent trip to LA. Back when I was working in the snowboard media, Stan had one of the highest profiles in the games, shooting Travis and Romain at Chad’s Gap, and helping to document the history we now take as gospel.

Then he shifted his focus away from snowboarding, embarking upon another equally successful career as a commercial photographer. He also spent a lot of time assimilating his experiences in the snowboarding community, thinking deeply about the topics of diversity and inclusion, and establishing platforms such as his Social Studies Show through which he explores this history and these topics on his own terms.

Why? Because, as we discussed during one strand of our conversation, true diversity only really happens when stories are being made ‘by’ people, rather than ‘about’ them. It’s why Stan is so careful about who he discusses these topics with, and why it took him a few years to agree to come on the show for this discussion.

This is a wide-ranging, illuminating and nourishing conversation. We covered Stan’s life and career, of course. But it’s really about how the storytelling choices we make impact people and communities. About how our little corner of the world is generally a generation or so behind the main tenor of any cultural debate. And about how threatened people can get when their own cherished orthodoxies are challenged, however gently or logically.

Yep. There’s plenty to take in with this one. Thanks for a brilliant afternoon Stan, and for sharing your insights and wisdom so generously.

And it was proper batten down the hatches and don the sou’wester time. - I was in LA during the wettest, stormiest weather the state had experienced in a decade. It meant that normally flawless line-up of spots resembled my local here in Brighton, and that fabled sunshine and blue skies was replaced with greys more synonymous with my home town of Manchester.

Still, this inclement weather event did mean I had more time to spend engaging in some truly nourishing conversations, both on and off tape. Including this conversational gem with Weller.

I go way, way back with Alex. As we worked out, we first met back in the late 90s when he came to stay with me in Meribel when we were young idiots trying to make our way in the industry. And I had a brilliant time recording this episode, spending a lovely day with Alex in Ventura and Santa Barbara, taking in a lovely surf at C-Street, before sitting down to record this quickfire run through Alex’s life and times.

As you’ll hear, we’re in classic lifer territory with this one, and the tale of how Alex made the long, circuitous trip from the London skate scene to his current lofty position at Patagonia is a fascinating one. Expect plenty of industry insights and lessons for people looking to forge their own path in a career they cherish from one of the smartest minds in the game.

Recording this type of episode with an old pal in an unexpected place is one of the true joys of running Looking Sideways, and something I don’t take lightly. I hope you enjoy our conversation - and a special HKC update on my trip. And my thanks to Alex, Alice, Emmy, Tabby, Lou, Jelle, Corey, Corley and everybody else at Patagonia for their help setting this one up.

The search for our authentic self is a lifelong process. And not always a successful one. It takes a huge amount of self honesty, and a willingness to embrace consistent and at times not always comfortable evolution.

It’s something we all have to face, whether consciously or not.

But imagine undergoing this entire process as a world-renowned skateboarder – while also trying to juggle both wider societal pressures, and those of a patriarchal industry who have tied your own career success to their own restrictive definitions of gender.

This is exactly the position Leo Baker faced at the height of their success. And it is why there is so much more to Leo’s story than their admittedly generation-defining feats as a skater.

Today, as they explained during our conversation, Leo is in a very different place, proud to be living authentically as the most high-profile nonbinary trans skater in the world.

And yet, as Leo explained during our conversation, gaining the understanding and self-confidence required to finally present as their authentic self has been a long and involved process.

It has involved learning to deal with the collateral damage and mental health issues that have accrued along the way and, ultimately, committing to a measured and long term approach to self-care.

Leo’s story is one of the most important in modern skateboarding. I’m grateful they’ve trusted me to tell it in their own way, and in their own words.

Tom was one of my first guests back in the early days of the show. Back then, we had a swim on Brighton beach and then recorded the episode on the pebbles over a pint or two. This time around, we had a great day, starting with a fun surf at Tom’s local Chapel Porth, before heading up to Finisterre HQ to sit down and record this conversation.

I wanted to catch up with Tom on the occasion of Finisterre’s 20th year in business to find out how the business has grown, and how Tom himself views the last two decades, as well as his plans for the future. Back then, Tom began the brand in a flat above a shop in Saint Agnes, armed with nothing more than a big idea and a lot of passion. Today, Finisterre is one of British surfing’s true success stories, and in the six years since our first conversation, the brand has grown to the point that it has ten stores around the UK and well over 100 members of staff around the UK.

It’s been quite a mission, with all the ups and downs that this type of founder-driven start up involves. What has he learned, as a founder and entrepreneur? What plans does he have for the brand’s future? What’s the idea behind initiatives such the new Finisterre Foundation, and Sea7? And what advice would Tom have if he was starting out again now?

If you enjoyed my conversation with Nick Hounsfield, in which we cast a reflective eye over Nick’s mission to bring the Wave to life, then you’ll enjoy this one. I had a brilliant time down in Cornwall, and it was great to catch up with an old friend for the first time in years. Hope you enjoy our chat.

If so - tell me in the Substack comments, or if you’re a paid Substack subscriber who has any feedback or questions about this week’s episode, hit me up directly in the subscriber chat thread. Looking forward to hearing what everybody thinks.

Yep, six years and countless HKC rants later, episode 200 is finally here. And I’ve decided to mark this landmark occasion with the usual double header. Next week, I’m releasing a special bonus episode 200 conversation with my old pal and most-capped Looking Sideways alumnus Ed Leigh for paid subscribers only.

Today, for this instalment, I’ve invited surfer and Wave founder Nick Hounsfield onto the show for his second visit. Why? Because if you ask me, there’s an argument to be made that Nick Hounsfield has had more influence on British surf culture over the last decade than anybody else. Certainly, the Wave has changed the landscape of British surfing in ways we’re still getting our heads around.

And then there’s Nick’s own story. When we recorded our first episode, back in September 2019, the pool itself was still dry and the place was a building site. Excitement crackled in the air, as Nick drew close to the end of a ten year mission to get the place built. That chat ended up being a classic ‘if you build it, they will come’ look at the struggle’s Nick had been through to get the thing over the line.

Four and half years later, the picture, naturally, looks different. As Nick put it during our conversation, “I thought that was the end of the journey. I know realise it was actually the beginning”.

And what a journey is has been, taking in Covid, the energy crisis, and the debilitating stroke Nick suffered in spring 2020. It’s this narrative that means, for me, the story of the Wave is inextricably linked to Nick himself, as a founder and entrepreneur. What has he learned? What’s the personal cost been? And has it been worth it?

The resulting conversation is a truly fascinating insight into the personal cost of delivering such an all encompassing vision. It’s about what it takes to be a founder and visionary, and why hard, pragmatic decisions come with the territory.

I got a lot out of it, and I’m stoked Nick trusted me to go there. Hope you enjoy our conversation.

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 Nick Hayes, an illustrator, graphic novelist, political cartoonist, and author of The Book of Trespass. He’s also an activist who uses art and creativity as a tool to try and change the world.

There’s a grand tradition of this in English art, and I think you can draw a direct link between Nick’s work and those other peculiarly English artists who combine art and protest to reclaim the way we see our history, ask us to reconsider how we use our land, and above all ask an increasingly important question: who is this place for?

Historically, I’m thinking of people like Hogarth, Cobbett, Hazlitt, Blake and (a tad obviously perhaps) Orwell. These days, I would include people such as Ben Wheatley, Ben Myers and Mark Jenkin; as well as Nick’s great hero Roger Deakin, all of whom explore these themes through their work; and in different ways nod to the occasionally unsettling strain of anarchical, magick-with-a-K weirdness that is a recurring motif in this lineage.

In the homogenised monoculture live in today, such a take can be jarring and discomfiting. But if you ask me, we need these perspectives more than ever. Because these are fundamental questions, particularly when it comes to land use, ownership, and the dark history that led us to this point, themes which are the main preoccupations of Nick’s work.

Through campaigns such as the Right to Roam and Esme Boggart, Nick is challenging the monolithic conventions that shape our lives, and inviting us to ask these wider questions for ourselves.

He is also, as I suspected he might be, a brilliant conversationalist, with a wide palette of cultural and historical touchpoint, and an ability to communicate his ideas with wit and clarity.

Looking forward to hearing what everybody thought of my conversation with Nick and the wider right to roam conversation - leave me a comment, or if you’re a paid subscriber who has any feedback or questions about this week’s episode hit me up directly in the chat thread.

Episode 199! How on earth did that happen?

I’ve had a couple of admin and R&R focussed weeks since I released the Festive Special, but now I’m back and raring to go with a lovely, timely chat with photographer, musician and snowboarder Nathan Gallagher.

Nath’s a very old friend I first met in the mid-90s, when we were young snowboarding idiots looking for a way into the industry. We’ve been friends ever since and I’ve watched with real pride and interest over the intervening years as he’s created a really unique and commercially successful creative career for himself.

And, as you’ll hear, Nathan has a lot of really original and interesting things to say about art, creativity, the voices in our heads that dictate the paths we follow, and our wider search for validation.

I must be honest: this conversation came at a good time for me personally. Firstly, there was the chat itself, an intensely pleasureble exchange that reminded me that, for me, the conversation has always been the ultimate reward when it comes to Looking Sideways.

But I also needed to hear Nathan’s canny, empathetic message about the importance of remembering why we do creative work, and how, in today’s digital landscape judging anything on the numbers (especially your self-esteem) is a modern fool’s errand. Like anybody, I’m not immune to falling prey to such corrosive reflections, so I found Nath’s expert, passionate analysis of the dynamics at play here very fascinating and, personally, much needed.

I hope you get as much our of our conversation as I did. If so - tell me in the comments, or if you’re a paid subscriber who has any feedback or questions about this week’s episode hit me up directly in the chat thread: www.lookingsideways.substack.com

All questions that I discussed with this week’s guest Christina Koch, a surfer and – yes – astronaut who spent 328 days in space aboard the International Space Station, setting a new record for the longest spaceflight completed by a woman in the process. She also spent her downtime photographing the planet’s best surf locations, posting them on her hugely popular Instagram feed and outing herself as a serial surf geek in the process.

Christina’s story is as inspirational and fascinating as any I’ve featured on the Looking Sideways podcast. It’s a lesson in focus and determination, and a tale of a life embellished with profound experiences that have seen her spend seasons at the South Pole and literally live among the stars.

This breadth of experience has also given Christina a unique perspective on the biggest philosophical questions of all, whether it’s our place in the universe, the huge challenges we face on earth right now or the best way of handling individual experiences of stress and adversity.

All topics, as you’ll know if you’re a regular listener, that are right up my boulevard, and the resulting exchange is one of my favourite ever Looking Sideways conversations, which is why I am resharing it today. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Mince pies. Carols. Mistletoe. The John Lewis ad. Festive tunes on endless repeat. Yep, Christmas is a time of tradition. And in Looking Sideways land, that means it’s time for the annual Tim and Gendle Christmas Special, our very own addition to the Christmas canon.

Although…this year, we approached things a little differently. Of course, we sat down and chatted for a couple of hours, discussed how 2022 was for us, our hopes for 2023, and answered the many listener questions we received on Instagram. Gendle even did a special quiz, which worked out a treat.

But this year I’ve also got some specially-recorded guest appearances from a few truly notable friends of the pod, including Ed Leigh, Selema, Ben Powell, Chas Smith, Demi Taylor, Lesley McKenna, Christian Stevenson, Owen Tozer and even real live astronaut Christina Koch.

So for now, wherever you’re listening to this - I imagine it’s either in the car on the way to someone’s gaff, or while peeling the sprouts - I urge you to don a silly Santa hat, grab an eggnog and kickback while us three absolute idiots wax festively for the next couple of hours.

It’s been another great Looking Sideways year, and this episode was the perfect way to cap it off. Hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed recording it. Merry Christmas!

And it really is an extraordinary piece of work - an investigation into surfing’s ‘dirty little secret’, as they put it: the industry’s relationship with neoprene. Neoprene is the market name for chloroprene. Chloroprene is produced by a company called Denka in a factory in St.John, Louisiana, which emits levels of chloroprene that the EPA has found to be carcinogenic, and so deadly to the local community that the area has become known as ‘Cancer Alley’.

The Big Sea is many things: a shocking environmental documentary; a cold-eyed juxtaposition of surfing’s public image with this shabby truth; an investigation into the socio-economic factors that have led to this situation; and an exploration of the hidden hypocrisies that prop up our lives in the west, with surfing’s relationship with neoprene one metaphor for this wider unspoken reality.

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And it is also an exploration of activism in its many forms, from the dogged fight for justice headed up by local St John Parish campaigners such as protagonist Robert Taylor, to Chris and Lewis’s own independent efforts to bring this story to light over many years in the face of industry indifference and suspicion.

As such The Big Sea has the power to reframe the conversation about surfing environmentalism and drive real tangible change in a way that will benefit real people in real communities. No wonder Surfers Against Sewage co-founder Chris Hines calls it ‘probably the most focused 50 minutes of environmental and social campaigning by surfers ever.’

As you can tell, I was blown away by the film, and especially the way Lewis and Chris have marshalled these disparate threads into an elegant, impactful 50 minute film. As soon as I saw it I decided to chat to them for this episode of Type 2. We talked about the entire thing - how they heard of the story, the three-year mission to bring it to life, what the entire saga says about surfing and our relationship to environmental issues, and what change they hope to inspire. You can also find out how you can help the duo finish the film, and bring it to the wider audience is so richly deserves. Hope you enjoy this episode.

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.

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When my friend at Whitelines magazine asked me to chat to snowboarder Kimmy Fasani about her cancer diagnosis for this year’s annual, we decided to join forces on a print/audio double-header. The print version of our conversation was released last week, followed by the full audio version of our conversation on the podcast.

The result was a hugely affecting conversation that moved me greatly. As I wrote in my introduction to the Whitelines story:

“Death, serious illness, grief. These milestones are or will be a part of all of our lives.

Yet as a society, we are strangely reluctant to deal with them or even consider them until they’re in our immediate future.

So when we see somebody we care about confront these hidden commonplaces, and address these taboos openly, it has real impact. And when that person has a high profile in their field, and chooses to share their experiences in a vulnerable, confrontational, yet generous way, it can change the way we all think about and see them”.

“How else to explain the awe-inspiring power of the way Kimmy Fasani has chosen to tell her story through the prism of snowboarding?

As a rider, Kimmy has always been held in great affection by the snowboarding community. She is also somebody that has long been aware of how her profile gives her the ability to ‘shift the needle and change the conversation’, as she puts it.

Following the birth of her first son Koa, she did just that by challenging the perception of what it means to be a mother and a professional snowboarder.

Now, thanks to the wisdom and grace she has shown in sharing her experience of being diagnosed with and treated for stage 3 breast cancer, she is doing so again - by openly exploring the biggest, scariest themes of all.

Over the last decade, Kimmy and her family have dealt with a series of escalating crises that culminated in her diagnosis with stage 3 breast cancer at the end of 2021.

By choosing to share their experiences with her trademark combination of grace, beauty and great generosity of spirit, Kimmy is once again changing the collective snowboarding conversation in the most powerful way of all”.

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I’m so grateful to Kimmy for the generosity and trust she showed during our conversation. Big thanks to Owen for the Zoom portraits, too.

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Lifer alert!

It’s been a while since I had a good, honest lifer chat on the show, and this episode with my pal James Joiner is a rambling comfort blanket of a conversation in the classic Looking Sideways fashion.

James is a journalist, photographer, podcaster and all-round creative doer who I first met when I was a guest on his own 1% For The Planet podcast a few years back. We hit it off real well and have since stayed in touch. And James has become a huge supporter of Looking Sideways, writing a couple of stories about the book and podcast for sites like Monster Children, and generally being the type of positively-affirming cheerleader that any creative type like me needs.

James also has a really great story himself: the type of classic, by-the-bootstraps tale that long-term listeners to the show will be familiar with. He tells his tale with real candour and humour, and the resulting chat was a rambling stemwinder of the lifer genre which I enjoyed hugely.

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Expect discussions on different creative approaches and the importance of recognising key life choices; as well as digressions on the peculiarly British habit of trainspotting, the classically Gen-X tendency to self-mythologise (guilty as charged), the term ‘flyover country’ and plenty more.

Thanks for doing the show, James. Looking forward to catching up in person when we make it over for round two next year.

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Let’s get the snowboarding out of the way first. Chris is certainly one of the most influential figures in early British snowboarding history. He came up on the legendary early 90s Rossendale dryslope scene and quickly made a name for himself on the embryonic British scene thanks to a beautiful, elegant and much-imitated style; and the warmth and generosity that he’s always been famed for.

Soon after, along with peers like Justin Allison, Steve Bailey, Lesley McKenna and Stu Brass, Chris became one of the first Brit riders to really make a proper living from snowboarding. This was at the point that snowboarding really began to take off, and marketers and brands began to pay attention. Chris and Stu, in particular, really grasped this opportunity, and in doing so set the foundations for the professional British scene that still exists today.

But if you ask me, Chris’s influence goes way beyond that, thanks to his ability to relish the wonder of life while dragging people along with him. I was lucky enough to meet Chris when I was 13, and he immediately opened my eyes to the opportunities that would eventually define my life, and that there was much more to the world than the grey Mancunian streets we grew up on.

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It was the beginning of a 30 year friendship which is still going strong today, and I’ve spent a large part of the past three decades riding, travelling and working with Chris: firstly as part of the brilliant Whitelines editorial team we were lucky to be part of for a decade; and then latterly through All Conditions Media, the company we set up together in 2005, and which I still run today.

Sometimes, if you’re lucky, individuals come along who change the way you see the world at just the right time, and have a huge, important impact on your life. Chris is one of this people for me, which is why I cherish our friendship, and why I wanted to chat to him for this episode. Hope you enjoy it.

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For an entire generation, surfing, skating and snowboarding being Olympic sports is completely normal. And yet, the dichotomy at the heart of the our relationship to this most performance-based of sporting behemoths remains: just how do you place a progression-based culture in such a white-hot competitive environment without eroding the very factors that made that culture unique in the first place? Especially when you throw funding and medals into the mix? And what does impact does it have on the grassroots of the scene?

All questions that every culturally unique discipline entering the Olympic family has to face, and which British surfing is grappling with now, halfway through the cycle that leads to Paris 2024. And all reasons why I was so keen to chat to Joel Gray, GB Surfing’s newly-appointed Performance Pathway Director, for this episode of the podcast.

Joel is a true British surfing lifer who has dedicated his life to the culture. He came up as part of the north east scene, and has spent years tirelessly giving back to the community through his Surf Solutions coaching venture. Over the months, he’s also one of the few public figures in UK surfing to have stuck his head above the parapet and ask a few searching questions about the way administrative bodies such as UK Sport and GB Surfing intend to steward the culture of surfing during this critical new phase.

Now, by taking this role, Joel has followed the approach of peers such as Lucy Adams and Lesley McKenna, who also made the decision to try and effect change from inside the tent, rather than simply throw stones from the outside. Naturally, given my longstanding interest in this conversation goes back over two decades, I was really keen to find out Joel’s plans for both this role, and for his views on the long-term future of British competitive surfing and its attendant grassroots culture.

Listeners will know I have some fairly strong views about all this. So instead of my using this conversation to expound my own views, I decided to take to Instagram to ask listeners to send in questions for Joel about this new role, his views on the Olympics generally, how he intends to tackle the issues of access and diversity that continue to affect participation, and whatever else people wanted to find out. The response was amazing, and the resulting conversation was a really insightful look into the future direction of travel for British surfing; from a committed, passionate surfer who’s in it for the long haul, and is determined to try and strike a balance between the two opposing poles of the Olympic board sports conversation.

Big up Joel for taking the time to do this, Owen for the pics, and Watergate Bay for hosting our chat.

No fuss, no fanfare, just a non-traditional episode banged out every now and again when this opportunity comes up.

This episode you’re about to listen to is the full live chat with Olympic gold medal winning snowboarder Sage Kotsenburg, water photographer Christa Funk, surfer Kepa Acero and cameraman Tim Myers that I hosted for my friends at Db back in June.

Of course, I’ve already released individual episodes with each of these guests. But I really enjoyed this chat and it went really well. It’s always a bit of a challenge hosting and stewarding a live interview like this - especially with four people and the temperature in the high 30s.

But I think it’s an interesting appendix to the four main interviews proper, which is why I’m decided to release it. And if you’ve listened to the other four episodes, this one will be an interesting insight in to the way I approach the whole interviewing business.

Anyway, enjoy this special bonus episode and let me know what you think.

There are no Show Notes for this bonus episode, so if you want to find out more about any of the things we discuss or join in the debate:

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This week’s guest is skier, cyclist, journalist, news correspondent and broadcaster Keme Nzerem. Keme’s a passionate outdoorsman and has been involved in the outdoor scene in the UK for years, notably as head judge at the Kendal Mountain Festival, and more recently as an articulate and passionate spokesperson on the topic of diversity in the outdoors.

For the last two years, Keme, myself and a big group of individuals, agencies and brands who work in the European outdoor and creative industries have been involved in the establishment of Opening Up The Outdoors (OUTO), a not-for-profit initiative that seeks to further the continued inclusion and enjoyment of outdoor spaces by people of the global majority.

As a group, we came together in the wake of the Black Live Matter protests, with the goal of doing something tangible to help create an outdoor community and industry that is truly diverse, equitable, anti-racist and accessible.

To do so, the OUTO group partnered with entrepreneurship organisation Hatch to introduce the OUTO Changemaker Programme. As you’ll hear, we decided to try and help existing grassroots organisations by offering selected groups expert-led masterclasses, peer mentoring, business coaching and skilled consulting, and are joining other entrepreneurs and leaders from diverse sectors.

With the first cohort (which featured groups such as Black Trail Runners, Muslim Hikers and Wave Wahines) safely through the programme, OUTO officially launched at the beginning of September 2022. So to mark the occasion and to go into the concept in more detail, I headed up to London to see Keme and chat the whole thing over.

As you might expect from one of the UK’s most respected broadcasters, Keme is a peerless communicator and it was an absolute pleasure to discuss the OUTO story with him, as well as understand his own relationship to the issues OUTO was formed to help try and resolve.

Keme is a great friend of the podcast, and over the years I’ve been endlessly inspired by his leadership. I enjoyed our conversation greatly and I hope you do too.

New episodes of Type 2 are released every four weeks through my Looking Sideways channel. Hear it by subscribing to Looking Sideways via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any of the usual other podcast providers. Thanks to Ewan Wallace for the theme tune, and to my editor Fina Charleson.

This week’s guest is Soraya Abdel-Habdi, a writer, artist and activist from Hampshire who is the founder of All The Elements, which she describes as a community working to increase diversity in the outdoors.

I first met Soraya at the Kendal Mountain Festival in November 2021 through our mutual friend Phil Young, and have since followed her work closely. The idea behind All The Elements is in its way pretty similar to what I do with Looking Sideways and Type 2. It’s about sharing knowledge and ideas, and pooling resources, in the hope that the community as a whole will benefit.

This type of approach is particularly important when it comes to the conversation around diversity and equality, particularly in the outdoor space. Over the last two years, groups such as All The Elements have been quietly helping to shape this conversation in positive and powerful ways.

You can also say the same about Soraya herself. Soraya’s story underlines just how important taking that first step truly is. The importance of forwards-movement as a means of navigating life is a perennial topic of conversation on Type 2 and Looking Sideways. Hell, it’s what Yvon’s words at the beginning of the show are all about. Soraya’s story underlines the significance of this. After all, as you’ll hear, there was no masterplan in place. Just a desire to explore the issues Soraya is passionate about, take some positive action, and follow the path where it leads. The results today speak for themselves.

Incidentally, that’s one reason why I was so happy to hear about the way Soraya had been partially inspired to take action after listening to my episodes with Phil Young a couple of years ago. Stories like that keep me going, and confirm that it’s always worth lobbing that first stone into the pond. You really never know where those outward ripples will lead.

I’m a huge fan of Soraya and her work, and I’m really intrigued to see where she takes things next, especially following her participation in the Opening Up The Outdoors incubator programme, which we discuss during outrconversation. Hope you enjoy our chat.

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.

I’ve tried and failed to get Burkard on the show at various points over the years. Hell, he’s a busy man. So when my pals at Db asked me to head over to Stockholm for the weekend to interview Chris in front of a live audience at renowned local camera emporium Scandinavian Photo, I jumped at the chance.

The original plan was to record a separate conversation with Chris after the live chat was in the bag. But our panel conversation turned out so well that we agreed it’d be best for us to just release that as an episode instead.

What follows is a total masterclass in creativity and finding your voice, from somebody who is absolutely at the top of their game. Every successful artist has their imperial phase, that period when everything they touch turns metaphorically to gold, and Chris is at the height of his right now. So it was completely fascinating getting a glimpse into the eye of the storm, and hearing how Chris navigates these turbulent, satisfying waters emotionally, psychically, professionally and personally.

I learned a lot, and I hope you do too. My thanks to Chris, Db, and the lovely people at Scandinavian Photo for making this one such a great experience. A note on the audio: we did have a few technical difficulties while recording this one, but I think it’s worth persevering with. Hope you enjoy the episode!

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As a total swim geek, I loved this book. But as well as being manna for swimmers, it is also just a really brilliantly marshalled and elegantly-styled treatise on our relationship with nature through the lens of swimming.

Like all the best none-fiction crossovers, it has an appeal way beyond its subject matter; and as Bonnie is such a scrupulous journalist and an excellent none-fiction stylist, you know you’re in safe hands from the first page.

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I headed up to London to meet Bonnie in early July 2022, where we sat down to record this conversation about the book, during which I was keen to find out how Bonnie manage to condense such a vast topic into such a compelling, readable tale.

As you might expect if you’ve previously heard her on Rich Roll or Finisterre’s Hell or High Water podcast, Bonnie is a great conversationalist, able to switch between topics with ease and calm authority. This one is all about the opportunities and restrictions of creativity, told with great insight and candour from a writer in their imperial phase.

Enjoyed my chat with Bonnie? Let me know 👇

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Let’s start with the facts: this week’s guest Stacy Peralta is one of the most influential cultural figures in our corner of the world. If you’ve stood sideways on any craft - hell, even if you’ve listened to my podcast - you’ve been influenced by Stacy, whether you realise it or not. Even my weird little career, on an extremely minor level, is following a template set by Stacy and his peers. He’s a giant, in every sense of the world.

Just look at the CV. By his mid teens, he was part of the legendary Z-Boys. At 19, he joined forces with George Powell to form Powell-Peralta. He followed that by establishing the Bones Brigade, then went on to create epoch-defining films such as The Search For Animal Chin and Ban This. A few years later, he parlayed these experiences into his current career as a director and writer, making Dogtown and Z Boys, Riding Giants and Lords of Dogtown, among others. Today, he balances a career as a highly successful commercial director with passion projects such as the Yin and Yang of Gerry Lopez, his latest film and the reason he was in London when I sat down with him.

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I’m sure you get the point. Stacy’s influence is incalculable. And, as ever with this type of guest, the challenge is how to approach a conversation with such a figure. Especially when you only have an hour, and he’s spent three weeks on the promo trail essentially giving the same interview.

If you’ve listened for a while, you’ll know I try not to do the chronology or the straight, on-the-nose career debrief. Sure, I want to cover the highlights, but in a way that’s insightful, revealing and ideally less obvious. (This is, incidentally, is a big part of the How To Podcast And Interview People course I’ve been running for companies recently. Hit me up for more about that).

Anyway, I’m really grateful that the conversation we ended up having is just about everything I hoped it would be. Stacy embraced the spirt of the pod wholeheartedly and showed himself to be the curious, creative, humble, vulnerable and yet truly generous person you always hope the legends will be when you get the rare chance to meet them.

There’s so much gold in here, from somebody who has defined the board-riding conversation for a solid 40 years. I’m hugely grateful to Stacy for his time and creative insights.

If you enjoyed my conversation with Stacy, let me know 👇

Type 2 is my podcast in association with Patagonia that explores the intersection between the outdoors, action sports and activism.

This week’s guest is surfer, swimmer and academic Rebecca Olive, a Senior Research Fellow at the School of Global, Urban & Social Studies at RMIT University in Melbourne.

I first became aware of Rebecca through her work investigating a couple of areas of particular interest to me, and which I’ve explored in some detail on Type 2 and my main podcast Looking Sideways

First up is Moving Oceans, her research project about the way recreational sport and leisure activities shape our relationships to nature. Rebecca examines this dynamic through the lens of ocean ‘sports’ like swimming, surfing and even sailing. To quote from her Moving Oceans website, the project is about ‘exploring the everyday individual and community relationships we develop through surfing, swimming and other ocean lifestyle sports. Rebecca’s work is about showing how and why ocean lifestyle sports help us experience such close connections with saltwater plants, animals, geographies and climates’.

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Then there’s the other strand to Rebecca’s research, which explores the way women are represented in action sports media, and the impact this can have on how women interact with and are perceived by these communities and cultures.

As I say, both topics are of real interest to me, and it was through chatting about this stuff on Instagram that Rebecca and I first met. When I heard that she’d be heading to London for a few weeks this summer, I headed up to London so we could sit down and chat through her work and ideas for an episode of Type 2.

This is activism as investigation, about how the exchange of often niche and sometimes challenging ideas has the power to change the way we perceive the everyday activities that embellish our lives. This was a nourishing and at times extremely thought-provoking chat, which I enjoyed very much. Hope you do too!

New episodes of Type 2 are released every four weeks or so through my Looking Sideways channel. Hear it by subscribing to Looking Sideways on Substack, or through ApplePodcasts, Spotify or any of the usual other podcast providers. Thanks to Ewan Wallace for the theme tune, and to my editor Fina Charleson.

Enjoyed my chat with Rebecca?

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Kepa Acero is one of modern surfing’s most intriguing and beloved characters. Why? Because there’s just something irresistible about people who are completely comfortable in their own skin and who take life on their own terms. That’s definitely the case with Kepa, and it comes across in everything he does, which is why I think people genuinely seem to love and admire him so much.

Not that it’s been an easy ride for Kepa. Like everybody with a vision and the determination to see it to fruition, he’s taken big risks and make critical decisions to get where he is today.

But the second, post-competitive part of his career has seen him evolve into one of THE great surfing travellers. He’s a Peterson/Naughton for the digital age; somebody who is, in his own way, as quietly influential as those two giants.

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Myself and Owen were lucky enough to spend a couple of highly enjoyable days in Hossegor with Kepa while we recorded this episode, and I found him to be a lovely, warm and generous individual who has time for people and brings out the best in them.

Kepa has a unique take on the experience of surfing, and a brilliant story about how he has adapted his life to accommodate this vision. This is a surfing life in two halves, and a beautiful, compelling tale it so too.

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As my followers on Instagram will know, I frequently run polls to ask listeners who I should speak to for future episodes. And after a while I noticed something: among the usual suspects like Hawk and Slater, one name kept popping up over and over again - Sally from Yonder.

I did some digging and quickly came to understand why. Yonder, which Sally runs with her husband Tom, is a surf school, a coaching company and a brand. But more than that, it symbolises an inclusive approach to surfing that has come along at the exactly the right time to meet the moment UK surfing finds itself in right now.

So when I realised Sal would be in Devon at the same time I would be in May 2021, we arranged to catch up for what was only my third in-person interview since Covid came along. I’d almost forgotten how much more fun and enjoyable it is to do this in person, and what followed was a really lovely chat about about all things Yonder and Sal’s life in surfing.

I think Sal’s approach to surfing will really resonate with a lot of people, especially the way her and Tom have worked hard to build Yonder based upon their values, and a legitimate desire to create a genuinely inclusive community.

This week’s guest is Ryan Gellert who last year replaced Rose Marcario as Patagonia’s CEO, taking charge at a critical point in the company’s history. Ryan took the role following his successful six-year stint overseeing Patagonia in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, during which he helped the brand attain its leadership position in the European outdoor and environmental communities, and oversaw projects such as Save The Blue Heart of Europe and Patagonia Action Works.

Of course, as in all episodes of Type 2, we delved into Ryan’s back story and explored his own personal history of activism. But I was particularly interested in finding out more about his new position, and what he hopes to achieve during his time in the role, as we all reflect upon 12 months that have changed the world.

After all, the position of Patagonia CEO fulfils a certain totemic role in the outdoor and environment worlds, and how Ryan approaches his tenure will obviously say a lot about Patagonia the company.

How is he going to use this position and power? What does he stand for? And, by extension, what does Patagonia in 2021 stand for? These are the topics I was interested in discussing and which, I’m happy to say, Ryan was equally happy to explore.

The result is a completely fascinating and wide-ranging conversation with someone in one of the most influential roles in our industry. I’m also extremely grateful to Ryan for sharing his own at times very personal story. My thanks to Ryan and his team for their help in setting this episode up. Hope you enjoy it.

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.

Long term listeners will know Owen - he’s one of my oldest and closest friends who has been a key part of the Looking Sideways story since its inception a decade ago. He’s also my co-author on Looking Sideways Vol.1, the first Looking Sideways book we recently finished and which will be available soon.

Not that this comes close to covering the full extent of Owen’s omnivorous creative talent and range. As I’ve said many, many times before, Owen is the real deal - a supremely talented photographer, art director, designer, film-maker, artist and musician. Sure, like any creative he sometimes doesn’t know when to stop arguing with the producer but that’s alright. His standards are higher than everybody else’s.

I’m extremely fortunate he continues to lend his considerable talents to Looking Sideways, and the completion of our book and episode 150 seemed a fitting occasion to finally get him on the show.

Join us, as we cover Owen’s life and career, his work on new project Goodrays, Looking Sideways Volume 1, the creativity v. commerce conundrum, and loads more classic LS topics.

I’m so grateful for my friendship and creative partnership with Owen, and this was a hugely enjoyable catch up with one of my favourite people - hope you enjoy it! Thanks to Matt Ward for the theme tune, and to my editor Fina Charleson.

It’s a veritable War of the Roses this week as I welcomed my favourite Yorkshireman onto the show for a proper northern summit meeting. Schoph is a snowboarder, artist and all-round creative powerhouse, and his story is one of the strangest and most interesting in action sports.

Today, he is probably the most sought-after artist in snowboarding, exhibiting at packed shows around the world, creating successful collaborations with Lib Tech, Dragon and Vans; and enjoying a fruitful creative partnership with the legendary Jamie Lynn.

It’s a singular success story that begs a rather obvious question: just how did a lad from Doncaster, who started snowboarding at his local dryslope, end up here? At times Schoph’s persona can make it seem as though the whole thing is dashed off between metal shows and pints of his beloved ‘black milk’.

But the truth is much more straightforward. Schoph is a grafter, pure and simple. You just don’t achieve this level of success without pushing yourself as hard as you can and being an extremely shrewd individual, which is something I’ve long recognised in Schoph.

So when I headed to Laax for the Tidal art show in March 2019, I grabbed a couple of tinnies of Guinness and sat down with Schoph to get the full lowdown on his whole extraordinary career. Expect northern accents cranked up to 11, and some classic anecdotes from one of snowboarding’s truly unique characters. Enjoy.