
Embrace your Inner Kook with Stephen Back
Explicit content warning
04/27/23 • 25 min
In this episode with Stephen Back we discuss his drumming for the Suede Denim Secret Police, facing addiction with presence, staying motivated to surf in winter, embracing your inner kook, and surfing naked. Steven bares it all with warmth and a good dose of humor.
Highlights:
[00:00] Drumming for the Suede Denim Secret Police
[2:54] Facing addiction with presence
[6:50] Drumming and surfing
[11:38] Staying motivated to surf in winter
[15:43] Embracing your inner kook
[19:45] Surfing naked
Quotes by Stephen:
"I would say that surfing is going to the gym, going to church. going to the bar and happy hour with your friends and going to see the shrink all wrapped into one little session. You gotta understand that it's meant to be all of those things wrapped into one."
"Drumming has been a really good therapy for me. I think people who generally drink too much, do a lot of other things in excess, whether it's social media or whatever. We're characters that go out of control with a lot of different things. It's been a true blessing to get back into it."
"The secret to being a happy kook is that you're gonna have a kook moment every single session. There's not a day where you don't do something stupid, but it's all in the attitude."
Get in touch with Stephen
- Instagram @stephen.back.7
- The band Suede Denim Secret Police
Mentioned:
More about Christine Foerster
- christinefoerster.com
- Instagram @christinefoerster
In this episode with Stephen Back we discuss his drumming for the Suede Denim Secret Police, facing addiction with presence, staying motivated to surf in winter, embracing your inner kook, and surfing naked. Steven bares it all with warmth and a good dose of humor.
Highlights:
[00:00] Drumming for the Suede Denim Secret Police
[2:54] Facing addiction with presence
[6:50] Drumming and surfing
[11:38] Staying motivated to surf in winter
[15:43] Embracing your inner kook
[19:45] Surfing naked
Quotes by Stephen:
"I would say that surfing is going to the gym, going to church. going to the bar and happy hour with your friends and going to see the shrink all wrapped into one little session. You gotta understand that it's meant to be all of those things wrapped into one."
"Drumming has been a really good therapy for me. I think people who generally drink too much, do a lot of other things in excess, whether it's social media or whatever. We're characters that go out of control with a lot of different things. It's been a true blessing to get back into it."
"The secret to being a happy kook is that you're gonna have a kook moment every single session. There's not a day where you don't do something stupid, but it's all in the attitude."
Get in touch with Stephen
- Instagram @stephen.back.7
- The band Suede Denim Secret Police
Mentioned:
More about Christine Foerster
- christinefoerster.com
- Instagram @christinefoerster
Previous Episode

What makes you thrive with Heather Moreau
In this episode with Heather Moreau we discuss her adventures with shooting international destination weddings, becoming the master of your own time as an entrepreneur, putting systems in place to get your trail running, backpacking, surfing, snowboarding, and yoga in, and weaving a family culture in the great outdoors. Come with me as we delve into Heather’s rich and meaningful life.
Highlights:
[00:00] Life as a professional photographer and entrepreneur
[12:27] Fine art photography
[13:29] Doing it all
[15:26] Motherhood and surfing
[17:18] A passion for longboarding
[17:56] Numb chins and hands: surfing in December
[21:35] Creating systems for success
[22:52] Her history of surfing
[27:04] Creating a family culture of surfing
Quotes by Heather:
"It takes a lot of deep thought and planning about what you want out of life and what’s important to you. What are your values and where do you want to spend your time? Because it’s so easy for time to just be frittered away with things that aren’t necessarily important to you. So, taking the time to think, what are my values, what are the things that make me thrive? What are the things that make me so happy and just trying to fit them all in."
"We have two boys. We want to introduce them to surfing because we think it's such a beautiful thing in the world. If you learn to surf young enough it becomes something that you can go do anytime. It's an escape. It's a built-in community. It's connecting with nature. It's having respect for the ocean. It's noticing the patterns in nature, through the seasons of winter and summer. I want my kids to have that. I want them to deeply understand that."
"I decided, this is it. I don't want to go to an office every day. I wanna work for myself. I want to be my own boss. I want to achieve and accomplish all of the types of photography that I've always loved."
Get in touch with Heather
More about Christine Foerster
- christinefoerster.com
- Instagram @christinefoerster
Next Episode

Reinvent Yourself at Any Age with Steve Lang
In this episode with Steve Lang, we discuss how his 30 years of work in law enforcement has profoundly changed how he sees the world, why he had to reinvent himself after retirement, how he learned to surf at 62, his commitment to yoga practice, surfing between the winter storms and how to surf like your 14 again. Steve is living proof that with perseverance and play, you can reinvent yourself at any stage of life.
Highlights:
[00:00] 30 Years of Work in Law Enforcement
[11:37] Surf Patrol
[12:59] Surfing Between Winter Storms
[18:50] Learning to Surf at 62
[24:12] Reinvent Yourself at Any Age
Quotes by Steve:
"Watch these kids and how they become instant friends with the water. When it's careening off the rocks, they'll take the softies and catch the waves going out. And boom, hit the wave coming in and launch themselves up in the air. You should do that! It is more fun than you can imagine. Instead, as we all do, get in a panic and try to get through the next wave. Don't do that. Just stay inside and let it pound you for a little bit. What that does is it teaches you that it's not that big a deal."
“Stay in shape, do yoga, be flexible. Don't get all nutted up, relax, and have fun with it. Be goofy. Be a goofball. You'll see people out there and they're all stiff and they're worried and they surf like hell. They're like wood. Relax. It's only water. Leave your ego on the beach.”
“When I started surfing, I thought, what do I want to do with the rest of my life? Well, when were you the most happy? What were you doing? I was hanging out at the beach. I grew up in Malibu. I didn't surf, but I grew up there, so that's what I did. And you can do that in any age. They say you can't go back. You can go back.”
More about Christine Foerster
- christinefoerster.com
- Instagram @christinefoerster
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