Wilding Fifty: Surf Tales

In this week’s episode with Bamboo Bob we discuss the wide diversity and uniqueness of his nursery Pura Vida Tropicals, how he builds soil with local resources, how awareness is everything when learning to surf and learning to live well, his karma initiator, swimming with aliens and his 60 year history of surfing. You don’t want to miss this one, Bamboo Bob’s enthusiasm is electrifying!
Episode Highlights:
[00:00] A sample of the plants and edibles at Pura Vida Nursery
[06:45] Building soil
[13:48] Awareness is everything: Our surf session,
[16:07] His karma initiator and swimming with aliens,
[23:05] Sweet spots like Oceanside
[31:07] 60 years of surfing history
[33:52] Tracing a familial line
Quotes from Bob:
"Nature's phenomenal. I just love collecting everything. As you can see here, I haven't stopped yet and I'm 75 years old and I continue to put seeds in the ground, even though I know I'm not gonna be able to live long enough to accept its shade. I've had couples that come over here and brought their kids, and then I get a phone call later from the parents. "Hey, my son wishes you were his grandpa, so he could learn lessons." They come back and have started their own little gardens. I hope I'm doing good and that's the inspiration that I like to try giving."
"You gotta have releases where you can get out of that rat race of working and what have you. Find time for yourself and getting yourself centered. That's what surfing does. You have to have more of it, and then you find that euphoria."
"There's a lot of more life than what we think we know all the time. We’re like a horse with blinders, take those blinders off and inundate yourself with stuff and really find out what you want to do."
Get in touch with Bamboo Bob

• Pura Vida Tropicals Nursery

More about Christine Foerster

• christinefoerster.com
• Instagram @christinefoerster

Photo of Bamboo Bob by permission by Santos Sal Garcia of Global Photo USA

In this episode with Ryan Paradee, we talk about intentional life design, transitioning from snowboarding to surfing, his enthusiasm for longboarding, hunting for good waves, co-owning the Surf Board Collective, and dealing with imposter syndrome along the way. Ryan is honest, heartfelt and imparts many life lessons in this engaging interview. I hope you will listen!
Episode Highlights:
[00:00] Intentional life design (and dumb luck)
[08:16] I can't say enough about my van.
[09:32] Don't take that one: Surf tips
[18:32] The most surf specific exercise you can do.
[20:06] Injuries and longevity
[26:15] Back off work and surf more
[28:17] Texas don't surf: Growing up landlocked
[32:37] Surfboard Collective: Longboarding and imposter syndrome
Quotes from Ryan:
"It was always with me internally that the traditional route is not for me, but I wasn't sure what the route was because it wasn't the traditional route. And there's a lot of conditioning and programming, I think with school and culture and society, and not all of it's bad. It's just conditioning."
"The better surfers in the lineup are so active. When you're learning to surf you're thinking, the idea is to paddle out and wait for a wave. But as you progress you actually realize, I have to hunt these waves, so where do I want to be in relationship to where that wave is?"
"You don't need to take an egg out when it's small. They actually perform even better when it's overhead and pumping. My whole perspective changed. We have customers all the time that are making that same transition. And I love to see it. Not that I have anything against shortboards, but I know how much more fun I was having when I made that transition."

Get in touch with Ryan

• Instagram @rppyayouknowme
• The Surfboard Collective

More about Christine Foerster

• christinefoerster.com
• Instagram @christinefoerster

In this episode with Jamison “Ratty” Johnson, we discuss how living in a van has allowed him to simplify his life so that he can focus on his passions; surfing, travel and yoga. He shares some helpful tips for beginners and reminds us why we are all here, it’s the stoke.
Episode Highlights:
[00:00] Life in a Van. Keeping things simple to keep it real
[04:05] Staying Light. Intermittent fasting
[06:05] Ratty Stikx. Crafting a logo and surfboards
[07:45] Surf Tips. Pop up and paddling
[12:01] Stoke the Fear.
[16:29] The Challenge is the Way
Quotes from Ratty:
"Surfing is so diverse and there's always a challenge. I've been pretty good at the sport ever since I was a kid, but I was always like the second, third, or fourth place guy. There's always something that you work on that you personally wanna do better."
"The van life thing has worked out. I'm really comfortable. I don't feel like I'm lacking anything, to be honest with you."
"You have to have that stoke. Once you've had a good wipe out and you overcome those fears, you're like, that wasn't so bad."

Get in touch with Ratty

• Instagram @hattailratty

More about Christine Foerster

• christinefoerster.com
• Instagram @christinefoerster

In this episode with Erich Schiefelbine, we talk about handling high stress with surfing and yoga, how being a missionary in Ecuador inspired him to fight for social justice and become a lawyer, why he teaches yoga in Spanish, and his secret to finding peace. Erich will expand your horizons, sit back and enjoy!
Episode Highlights:

• Handling high stress through yoga and surf
• Surfing, the ocean based version of yoga
• Peace is found through self care
• From missionary to activist
• Yoga en español
• Being in the water is the activity
• From punk skateboarder to lawyer to surfer

[00:00] How to handle high stress
[05:21] A mission in Ecuador
[10:35] From Missionary to Activist
[15:54] Becoming a Lawyer
[16:57] Yoga en Español
[22:34] Being in the water is the activity
[29:45] From punk skateboarder to lawyer to surfer

Quotes from Erich:
"Being present, in my humble experience, is where peace is found, that self care is found. If you can stay present with what you're doing, you're going to minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, week by week experience one of the greatest human virtues you can find."
"I couldn't imagine prior to that time in my life that Texaco, a US company, would come down, find these oil reserves, pull it up to the surface and refine it, next to a community, into their main water supply and leave the by-product and the refinement water in these pits, or next to the river, or where these people get their water from until you actually see it."
"The journey from not being able to touch your toes, to touching your toes, there in lies the richness, the fulfillment, that unbound consciousness, that's the experience."
Get in touch with Erich

• Instagram @erichyoga

More about Christine Foerster

• christinefoerster.com
• Instagram @christinefoerster

This is the first of a two part episode recorded on La Misión Surf Trip with the Surf Continuum. When I was in the very beginning stages of learning to surf, I was completely clueless about surf etiquette and all of the rudimentary steps that precede actually standing on a surfboard. Then, I found KookCast, hosted by the Surf Continuum and everything started to make sense. Coaches Chris and Ev do a fantastic job of breaking down the fundamentals of learning to surf and they teach you how to stay safe in the water. After following their podcast for a year, I jumped at the chance to join their Baja Surf Trip. It was spectacular. 7 days of 4 hour morning surf sessions in uncrowded lineups, lots of followup feedback, video sessions, and a local’s experience in Baja. In addition, we were only 7 students, the coolest group of people with whom you would ever hope to share this kind of intense experience. In the following two episodes I interview the other two women who were on the trip with me.
In this episode with Celia Mulderrig, we talk about embracing fear head-on by doing scary things such as improv, Muay Thai Kickboxing, Tough Mudder obstacle courses and of course learning to surf. We discuss how to set clear intentions before a surf session or any challenging activity, and the vital importance of creating community wherever you go. Celia will challenge you to be scared but do it anyway because more often than not, the stakes couldn’t be lower.
Show Highlights:
[0:00 - 5:14] Doing Improv: The Stakes couldn’t be lower
[5:15- 9:42] Muay Thai Kickboxing: Do I cry or throw up?
[9:43 - 13:47] Tough Mudder: For the love of strangers
[13:48 - 16:29] La Misión Surf Trip: Setting Clear Intentions
[16:30 -22:54] Kookcast: The ultimate beginner tool belt
Quotes by Celia:
“The first Muay Thai class I did was an hour and a half. At the end of it, I didn't know if I was going to cry or throw up because it was such an intense workout and I was really hooked!”
“In Tough Mudder, we intentionally build obstacles where you would have to work together to complete them. There's something really powerful when you're doing it for a stranger. You reach out a hand and a stranger just grabs it and helps you over. There's no questions asked, like, who are you? What do you need? It’s just I see you and I help you.”
“I don't want to look back on my life and say I didn't do this thing because I was afraid. I think recognizing that fear has a purpose. It's to protect you and our bodies don't always recognize what is a real fear versus a perceived fear. Don't let it hold you back. Life's too short.”
Get in touch with Celia

• Instagram celia2001spaceodessey

More about Christine Foerster

• christinefoerster.com
• Instagram @christinefoerster