The Inertia Podcast

Brianna Cope’s surfing journey has been as unique as any. Following a solid junior career, the Kauaian nearly qualified for the Championship Tour in 2014 and 2015. She'd still love to surf at the highest level, but her competitive focus now is on select events that she loves, like the Pipe Masters. Not to mention her other pursuits, including television. Brianna is certainly a shining light in the surfing world with her positive outlook, and I spoke to her about her new focus on other projects: like the differences between starring in the television shows Ultimate Surfer, and Surf Girl Hawaii, why she’s running marathons, training with navy seals and her own personal wave-pool world tour.

Ask a surfer to describe the conditions at any surf spot, on any particular day, anywhere in the world and it's almost guaranteed they'll tell you about the crowd. Which begs the question: Where, exactly, do we fit in the lineup? Should we change our mindset when it comes to crowded surf? It might not be the worst idea.

How do maneuvers successfully pulled off in competition over a quarter century ago, let alone today’s less dramatic, almost perfunctory whitewater reverses, qualify as “progressive?” This question really got me to thinking about what advancements in surfing performance can be considered truly progressive. So here’s my Top 10 list of the most progressive advancements in surfing's history.

Emi Erickson occupies two separate realms of the wave-riding universe. She's still a young woman but an old soul, perhaps. She told me she often dreams of the old days when one merely needed a wetsuit, a board, and good swell to ride big surf. Simple times when lineups weren't overcrowded and catching larger than normal waves was just part of your daily routine near her home on Oahu. But Emi lives in the modern big wave world where those who ride big surf often compete, when competitions survive and have longevity. But most surfers really just ride big waves for the love of it. We spoke with Emi about this dichotomy between competition and soul, and her place in the surfing world.

Duke Aipa took the roundabout way to follow his legacy. Which makes his story so much cooler. After growing up in Hawaii, Duke followed his passions for hockey, and heavy metal music, and other pursuits, which took him all over the United States. But the surfing world is glad he came home. Duke is now carrying on that family legacy as the head of Aipa Surfboards. I talked with Duke about the weight of being Ben’s son, the famous Stinger design, his own journey, and Aipa Surfboards' reputation as a pioneering brand of performance surfing.

Looking for the definition of a modern explorer, only with an emphasis on high-performance? Then Cody Townsend is an adventurer for the ages. And what a cool human to boot. If you hadn’t heard, Cody is in the middle of an epic project, The Fifty, where he’s attempting to climb, and then ride, all of the lines in the book, The 50 Classic Ski Descents of North America. Now, classic to some means straight up gnarly to others. It's all in one's perspective. But Cody is tackling them all, regardless. The longtime freeskier who’s starred in hugely influential movies like Days of My Youth, started a vlog to document the project. But something crazy happened as he moved through The Fifty: the YouTube channel's popularity grew, not because of his audacious descents (which were notable), but because of his relatable personality. Cody brings it in a way skiers, snowboarders, and even non mountain people, can relate to. We talked with Cody about The Fifty's success, if he can actually finish it, and balancing danger with fatherhood (lest we forget he's a new dad). Enjoy.

Feel like criticizing surf competition? Then get in line. It's nothing new and has literally been happening for centuries. Here's a look at the history of vitriol spat at competitive surfing.

Secret surf spots mean different things to different people. Sam George is tired of the media and industry exposing spots without naming them. His first piece, "Death to Secret Spots," riled up The Inertia fan base. Here, Sam revisits the subject and looks at some of our readers' responses.

For years, magazines, surf brands, and now, social media users, have promoted surf spots without telling us where they are. I've never been a fan of that. This is my examination of the death of secret spots. And I want your feedback. Find this feature on TheInertia.com and leave me a comment.

VAL: Vulnerable Adult Learner. Coined by a longtime Australian surf journalist no doubt thrilled by its growing usage, this snobbishly derisive term harkens back to the slur used by early 1960s Malibu surfers to describe those who lived in the San Fernando Valley, some 10 miles inland. The sixties Vals were to be condemned by their area codes, just as today’s VALs are being condemned by their age and, through reference, the actual year they “took up” surfing. Where does the resentment come from?

The media loves big waves. The adrenaline, the danger, the peril? But most of us ride surf on the more mundane side. So what's wrong with small waves?

Professional skier Lexi Dupont has a seen it all in the world of snow: she’s competed at the highest levels of free skiing, she’s raced, she’s filmed for Warren Miller and Poor Boyz. And now, she’s creating her own event reality with the Sister Summit, a women’s only video competition coming up this month (Nov. 24-Dec.1) outside of Revelstoke British Columbia, Lexi’s second home. I got the chance to speak with Lexi about the new event, the format, and what she hopes to do for women in snowsports. She’s teamed up with some bright minds to make it happen. We also talked about competition in general and where skiing and snowboarding is at this Apex moment. Lexi also touched on her recent surf trips, and how right now is one of the best times to be an adventure athlete. .

Aaron Lieber is one of the most prolific young filmmakers in the surf industry. Actually, he’s evolved well beyond the surf industry, recently working on more mainstream projects with iconic athletes like the Los Angeles Rams’ Aaron Donald. But Aaron Liber started in surf, where he released his first film The Pursuit, in 2008. He then worked with Lakey Peterson on Zero to 100. Last year, he released the preeminent Bethany Hamilton documentary Unstoppable. We talked with Aaron about that progression as well as the state of surf filmmaking. And he had a lot to say about where we were, and where we’re going.

It’s been a newsworthy year on the Championship Tour. Coming out of COVID, this was the first season the WSL’s new format was in full bloom, so to speak. Pipeline starting the tour. A mid-year cut. The revamped Challenger Series. All of these changes, it seems, were made to up the “engagement” of the events on all formats for the League. Some of these changes didn’t please every surf fan. I had a chance to speak with Erik Logan about these changes, the fans’ reactions, the dustup with the Longboard Tour, and even trans surfing. Yes, there’s been lots of surfing in the news of late. And much of it has revolved around the World Surf League.

Gabby Reece is a powerhouse. She’s a shrewd business person, running the latest family entrepreneurial endeavor, Laird Superfood. She finds time to produce her own podcast where she goes deep to try and uncover new truths about life for her listeners. She also works as her famous surfing husband’s manager. Most important to her, though, is being a mother. What I’m always impressed about with Gabby, though, is her never-ending search to improve her life and the lives of those around her. She’s always looking for better ways to live and be healthy, and treat others. Our talk was wide-ranging: we discussed family, business, working to improve your health, fear. All this before we discussed Laird Hamilton and some of his famous controversies, namely, when Maya Gabeira nearly died at Nazare and Laird's comments after. Laird has spoken on this extensively with mainstream news outlets, much to the chagrin of some surfers. But his intentions were always good, says Gabby. We covered a lot of ground in 60 minutes. And it was worth every second.

Andrew Cotton has been on the pioneering end of two of Europe’s most iconic big waves: Ireland’s Mullghamore, and of course, Nazare…The latter of which has captured the world’s imagination. In that time, the dedicated big-wave surfer from the Devon, England has seen it all: equipment evolution, advances in rescue techniques, and of course, injuries (he suffered a broken back at Nazare in 2017). That’s why it was so good to catch up with him to talk about that history, and the recent string of “world record” claims coming out of Nazare. One of the most interesting debates spawned from that particular spot is how to measure world-record waves? Andrew and I discussed technology and much, much more.

Welcome to Episode Two of Split Peak. This is a special edition of The Inertia Podcast, and the second in a series of debates where we take on some of surfing's most controversial topics, and have a back and forth to shed light on the subject. In this episode, I sit down with The Inertia's Social Media Editor Juan Hernandez to chat about localism in surfing. Its pros, its cons, and if there's a way we could be doing it better.

We talk with Kei Kobayashi on The Inertia podcast and discuss his mission to represent his family on the World Tour and why he's the hardest working surfer on the planet.

Welcome to Episode 1 of Split Peak. This is a special edition of The Inertia Podcast, and the first in a series of debates where we take on some of surfing's most controversial topics. In this episode we go back and forth on whether surfing leashless is acceptable or selfish.

Robin Van Gyn is one of the most iconic snowboarders to ever strap in. Her riding speaks for itself, born of the steep terrain and incredible snow of British Columbia. She’s won video awards for her epic parts in films like Full Moon and Depth Perception. But she’s so much more than just an athlete. She’s been a splitboard guide for years and is now producing a new documentary called Fabric, where she profiles other women doing similar things in action sports. We talk about her Natural Selection World Title, the new film and even how her family has looked at her snowboarding career during a really fun conversation. No, Robin Van Gyn is not just a snowboarder. She’s become an inspirational leader in the worlds of snow, skate, and surf.