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...
info_outline Audio Reads: A Place in the CrowdThe Inertia Podcast
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.
info_outline Audio Reads: Surfing Progression – The Top 10 ListThe Inertia Podcast
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.
info_outline Emi Erickson on What It Means to Be a Big Wave SurferThe Inertia Podcast
Emi Erickson occupies two separate realms of the wave-riding universe. 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...
info_outline Duke Aipa Talks About Growing Up in a Legendary Family and Finding His Own Way as a ShaperThe Inertia Podcast
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.
info_outline Freeskier Cody Townsend Discusses Finishing The Fifty Project and Balancing Risk as a New FatherThe Inertia Podcast
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, , 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...
info_outline Audio Reads: 'Down With Surf Contests!' Criticizing Competition Is Anything But NewThe Inertia Podcast
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.
info_outline Death to Secret Spots: Readers RespondThe Inertia Podcast
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.
info_outline Audio Reads: Death to Secret SpotsThe Inertia Podcast
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.
info_outline Audio Reads: "WE vs VALS: The Paradox of Making Surfing 1975 Again"The Inertia Podcast
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?
info_outlineAsk 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.