Steven Preisman is a Creative Director at Humanaut Brand Invention Agency, and this episode is about how to come up with a shit load of ideas fast. Steven is known in the ad world for delivering the Liquid Death Tony Hawk blood board stunt, where the pro skater dripped his blood onto a deck and sold it at auction. We also talked about Steven’s criteria for what makes ideas spread, word association games, and why he rarely looks to advertising for inspiration. If you dig this episode and want...

Charles Duhigg. The man. The myth. The big idea guy. The dude writes books, maybe you’ve read them. The Power of Habit spent over three years on New York Times bestseller lists. His second book, Smarter Faster Better, was also a New York Times bestseller. And his latest, which just hit the shelves, is titled Supercommunicators. Turns out ol’ Charles also lives in my hometown of Santa Cruz, California, and the dude surfs! Who would’ve thunk? This pod was under an hour, and we covered a lot:...

Rick Hanson, Ph.D. is a psychologist, New York Times best-selling author, and buddy of mine. He’s a wonderful and (sane) blend of science and spirituality and often writes writes about the intersection between the two. His books include Making Great Relationships, Neurodharma, Resilient, Hardwiring Happiness, Just One Thing, Buddha’s Brain, and Mother Nurture—with over a million copies in English alone. This podcast was first released over Covid—whew, remember those dark days—and it's still...

I’ve known Shems Hartwell for a while now. A relationship coach, foil surfer, and long hugger, he’s a guy I could easily see myself rolling my eyes at if it were not for his authenticity. Even the word “authenticity” feels like it’s circling the drain of descriptors these days. It’s always the carefully curated posers who love to share their “authentic” selves with the world. And in this podcast, we get into it. The phenomenon of men who commodify their vulnerability to achieve status,...

Marine Protected Areas. No take zones. Areas of the ocean where fishermen cannot recreate. Do they work? Or are they sledgehammers where scalpels would be better used? In this episode, I speak with environmentalist Randy Garrett about the proposed MPA in the Pleasure Point area in Santa Cruz, California. He details his concerns about MPAs as potentially ineffective and even destructive mechanisms to protect ocean resources. Randy is one of the most science-based thinkers I know, so when he...

You know the guy. He's been coming on this podcast so often these days I should probably call it The Charlie Hart show. He's a brilliant marketing mind who also happens to be my housemate. (Rent's coming soon Charlie, I swear.) This episode was a little different. T'was a book review. We each read Ogilvy On Advertising and discussed it over this podcast. Maybe you don't fancy yourself a "marketer." Maybe that word grosses you out. But this book is really about psychology. It's about how to...

Manu Koenig serves as First District Supervisor for Santa Cruz County. Prior to his election to the Board, Manu worked for several technology startups including Paystand in Scotts Valley and Civinomics, where he was co-founder and CEO. The local startup created an app for citizens to propose and vote on new policy online. It also conducted polling and survey research for local governments throughout the Monterey and San Francisco Bay Area. Manu was born and raised in Santa Cruz County. He...

James Arthur (@JamesArthurFoto) began his journey with regenerative aquaculture as a teenager volunteering at the Nature Interpretive Center in Southern California where he got first hand experience with a steelhead trout breeding and hatchery program.  For the past ten years he lived aboard and sailed around the Pacific from San Francisco to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. Throughout that time he’s been on a mission visiting ocean aquaculture farms, vetting claims, lab testing seafood...

At eight, Coco Nogales sold gum on the street in Mexico City. He was a runaway, sleeping in bushes and bus stops, and if the police caught him, they would throw him in a juvenile detention center, so he hid at night and worked on the streets to survive. Eventually, he had enough money to buy a bus ticket to Puerto Escondido, a small town with one of the most dangerous big waves on the planet. The watershed moment of his career came when he was 17, photographed surfing a gigantic wave at...

I met Ben Moon years back at Burning Man. He was carrying a five-gallon bottle of urine, and I was not entirely sober. Since then, I’ve admired his work from respectful a distance, (his IG is worth a stalk). I was very grateful to cross paths with him again for this podcast. This time, he held a kombucha and I was reasonably sober. Ben is an adventure, lifestyle, and portrait photographer whose vibrant images have graced the pages of Patagonia catalogues for the past 18 years.  In recent...

As one of the leading players in the revival of paddle-in surfing in giant conditions, Kohl Christensen spends much of his time tracking swells and testing new board designs at some of the most dangerous waves on the planet. An erudite and well-read man with a keenly unique perspective, he explores the world as Hunter Thompson may have, had he surfed. Kohl has lived all over the world, including a year in Easter Island, the remote island off the coast of Chile. When it’s flat, he installs...

Lee Povey is the Founder of Maximize Your Potential Coaching. As an executive coach, he works with ambitious brands to help them upgrade their emotional software. To see problems differently. Because in business, growing pains are not limited to financial or structural. They are also emotional and spiritual. That’s where Lee comes in. Back when I worked as Senior Copywriter at MUD\WTR, Lee worked with our employees every week, and the results were remarkable. As a previous elite cycling...

You know him. As a professional big-wave surfer, spearfisherman, bow hunter, filmmaker, and part-time Hollywood stuntman, Mark Healey (@healeywaterops) is the last true action hero of surfing. Healey has been on the mic before (Ep. 28, Ep. 152, Ep 158), and this one was my favorite to date. He recounted stories of 100ft waves in Morocco, bull riding in a Mexican rodeo, breathing techniques while bow hunting, the birth of his first child, and the last time he felt true fear in the ocean. If...

Dane Anderson is a professional surfer from Carmel, CA. A few weeks ago, Dane texted me and said he’d like to come on the podcast. He told me that when he was 17 years old he was involved in a traumatic car accident in Big Sur. The car flipped, and two close friends died. Ever since this tragedy, Dane has struggled with substance abuse issues as a way to cope with the pain. This is a very raw and vulnerable episode. It’s told by someone who has days—not years of sobriety under their belt. Big...

Kevin Grunewald is a Montana-based conservationist, hunter, and angler. His winding career path in conservation biology has seen him teaching students how to trap bats in the outback of Australia, guiding clients to experience bear country in Alaska, dissecting Zebrafish embryos in a university laboratory in Wisconsin, and, most recently, conducting and sharing the benefits of sound, ecological land stewardship practices on nature preserves in California and Colorado. In his former role as a...

Nick Hutchison is the founder of BookThinkers, a marketing agency bridging authors and readers. Nick's platform and services have helped authors reach millions of readers. Nick recently authored "Rise of the Reader," delving into mastering reading habits and applying newfound knowledge. Nick reached out to be on my podcast, and it was one of the most seamless pitches I had ever received. In this conversation, we talk about how to cold email someone, build a digital following (f**k if I know)...

Keiko Kurita (FNP-BC) is a board-certified family nurse practitioner working in Maine as a Primary Care Provider. She received a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Southern Maine. Previously, she taught yoga and claims to be inspired by rainbows. I have known Keiko since high school. She has always been one of the most original thinkers I know, with a deep appreciation for science-based tools to better understand health. In this podcast, we explore topics such as the dangers...

By popular demand, this is the second podcast I’ve recorded with Mr Hart. At age 24, Charlie Hart (@callingmrhart) became the 10th employee at RXBAR, the protein bar company known for its clean branding and "No BS" campaigns. A natural marketer, Hart quickly rose to lead the brand’s marketing and growth, helping guide the company to a $600m exit before his 30th birthday. Shortly after, Hart has a crisis of sorts, suffering a panic attack at a business meeting in a luxurious restaurant, a...

This podcast is with one of one of my great surfing heroes. Peter Mel (@Peter_Mel) is the 2011 Big Wave World Champion and the 2013 Mavericks Invitational Surfing Champion and a broadcaster for the World Surf League. Two winters ago, Pete paddled into arguably the best barrel in surfing history. If you dig this podcast, would you be please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It’s takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests to come...

Amy Baldwin has been on this podcast many times because she’s just the best. She is a Sex and Relationship Coach trained in both the Somatica® and Hakomi Method, Certified Sex Educator, as well as co-owner of a mother-daughter owned online pleasure boutique called Pure Pleasure Shop. Amy has a passion for promoting shame-free, pleasure-focused sexuality education while emphasizing the deep emotional and energetic forces behind great sex and intimate connection, offering everything from...

Clayton Vila is an X Games medalist skier, award-winning director, and innovator in the realm of street-skiing. It’s wild shit. While working the pro-skier circuit, he began directing his own ski movies, then quickly transitioned to documentaries and branded content for the ski audience and beyond. His unparalleled understanding of professional athletes and their unique struggles has allowed him to highlight the most emotional elements of any story he finds. Vila is only beginning his...

If you dig this conversation with Chris Ryan, Ph.D and want more, he’s also featured in episodes 48, 79, 109, and 206. Christopher’s work has been featured just about everywhere, including: MSNBC, Fox News, CNN, NPR, The New York Times, The Times of London, Playboy, The Washington Post, Time, Newsweek, The Atlantic, Outside, El Pais, La Vanguardia, Salon, Seed, and Big Think.  A featured speaker from TED in Long Beach, CA to The Festival of Dangerous Ideas at the Sydney Opera House to the...

This damn fine podcast is with a man who has worked as a producer, writer, van builder, winemaker, experiential designer, and restaurant owner. His name is Jordan Chiu and he is one of the most erudite souls I know. In 2018, Jordan built out a van, put his stuff in storage, and drove from California to Argentina. He came back with a lifetime’s worth of lessons, memories, and an incredible partner, who he then tragically lost to suicide after she lost her battle with depression. That loss has...

Tyler Fox is a Maverick’s big wave surfer, entrepreneur, and tiny home dweller. His magazine, Santa Cruz Waves, has been a fixture of the surf community for over a decade. Ever the inventor, Tyler recently pivoted his efforts to 3D printed surfboards and Capture Packs, two ventures we explore in this episode. On a more personal level, Tyler is the dude responsible for getting me into big wave surfing, and his magazine was where I first got my start as a writer. P.S. If you dig this podcast,...