The Wipeout Weekly - Surf Podcast

Fights. Chases. Wins. 🦭 Surfer chased out of water by sea lion in New Zealand 🥊 Lineup tensions go full fight club at Steamer Lane 🏄‍♀️ Hawaiʻi crowns first-ever high school surfing state champions 💛 Adaptive surfing championships underway in Waikiki 👑 Steph Gilmore wins gold coast pro 🐶 Dog surfing tour draws crowds in Pismo Beach 🏄‍♂️ Longest-running longboard contest returns to Santa Cruz  

It's super sharky this week. 🦈 Shark chase, not a sighting A foil surfer off Santa Barbara was chased by a shark that matched his speed and turns for minutes, turning a casual session into a full-on ocean sprint. 🦈 Sharks now attend competitions A shark sighting paused the Vans Jack's Surfboards Pro in Huntington Beach for 24 hours, proving even surf contests answer to the ocean. No wait, it's back. 🏆 Lakey Peterson is back back Lakey Peterson won the Margaret River Pro with a last-minute score, jumping into a tie for first on the Championship Tour. 😬 Steph Gilmore…dead last?! Stephanie Gilmore is currently at the bottom of the rankings after two losses, in a format that leaves little room to ease back in. 🌊 Florida builds its own waves Florida's first major surf park is underway, promising consistent, customizable waves in a state better known for waiting than riding. 🏛️ Surf history, now on display A new museum in West Palm Beach is opening with over 100 boards and a century of surf history, spotlighting Florida's surprisingly deep roots in the sport. 🕊️ Aloha spirit, embodied Paul Strauch has passed away at 83, leaving behind a legacy that helped shape modern surfing and define what people mean by "Aloha spirit." 🎙️ The king, speaking for himself Duke Kahanamoku appears in a resurfaced 1966 interview, offering a rare, firsthand glimpse into the origins of modern surfing.

In this week's surf news roundup: 🌊 Surfing almost got handed to the ski people 🏄‍♂️ A surfer finds his way back after paralysis 🧠 Surfing as therapy…again (but this time with a stroke) 🍺 Lifeguards, alcohol, and very questionable decisions 🏖️ Newquay gets a surf statue (and people have thoughts)

In this week's surf news round up: 🐦 A surfer got attacked by pelicans (kind of) A surfer in Huntington Beach was reportedly attacked by a group of pelicans in the lineup. 🗿 Santa Cruz is arguing over a surfer statue In Santa Cruz, a proposed bronze statue of a female surfer has gotten a little out of hand. 🎟️ Olympic surfing tickets sold out immediately Because of course they did. 🌊 Wave pools are getting… big 12 football fields size big to be precise.

We are so back. And our surf news roundup now arrives on Fridays. Whale encounters, cyclone swell in Australia, Hawaiʻi finally making surfing a high school sport, a 19-year-old charging Maverick's the right way, wave pool suburbs, and why surfing in Gaza is barely surviving.

In the final daily episode of The Wipeout Weekly, we tackle a question many surfers secretly wonder about: is it weird if you don't like surfing alone? We talk about the rise of surf coaching, why some surfers thrive with an instructor in the water, and why learning in a group might actually make surfing less intimidating—and more fun. Plus, after 365 consecutive daily episodes, we announce what's coming next.

Surf news this week is pretty varied. A surfer drifts at sea for 20 hours off Bali before a fisherman spots him, Munich surfers try to resurrect their famous Eisbach river wave, The Eddie big-wave contest won't run this season after Waimea fails to deliver 40-foot surf.

Kim is a 66-year-old surfer from Toronto who decided to seriously pursue surfing at 62. In this episode, this is KIm's story about learning later in life, navigating fear in the water, chasing tiny green waves from Lake Ontario to Costa Rica, and why surfing—even once a year—has completely captured her imagination.

Before surfboards, there was bodysurfing—riding waves using nothing but your body as the planing surface. In this episode we explore what many Hawaiian watermen consider the purest form of wave riding, one that even Duke Kahanamoku reportedly preferred to board surfing.

In this episode we tackle one of the most confusing things in surfing forecasts: the difference between swell height and surf height. These two numbers get mixed up all the time—even though they're measured in completely different places. We explain what swell height actually represents out in the open ocean, how waves transform as they approach the coastline, and why the number you see in your surf forecasting app doesn't always match what's breaking at your local beach.

This week's Sunday Surf Poem is "In the Surf" by Australian poet, Agnes L. Storrie. Agness was a bit obsessed with the Wattle Day.

Bad things can happen in the ocean—but what if you don't know what's causing them? In this episode of Hey Zuz, I'm Confused, we tackle a surfer's mysterious rash and the surprisingly common culprits behind painful spots after a session—from board friction and wetsuit seams to skin conditions and plain old stress.

In Honolulu, a man recovering from gambling addiction is offering free surf lessons to strangers at Waikīkī through his First Wave Project. In California, surfer Scott Muir is walking again just five months after a devastating Oceanside accident that left him paralyzed, crediting the teens who rescued him with saving his life. And in Peru, a 3,500-year-old tradition of riding waves on reed boats called caballitos de totora may find new life through surf tourism.

Cory returned to surfing at 47 after decades away from the ocean. What started as a quiet wish on the beach at Linda Mar became something much bigger. In this episode, she shares how learning to surf again—through fear, cold water, long drives, and setbacks—pulled her out of a dark place and gave her a reason to keep going.

Surfers accumulate UV like it's a loyalty program. We romanticize being "salted" and "weathered," but melanoma doesn't care about aesthetics. In this episode, we talk about the uncomfortable truth about sun exposure in surfing—and why smearing sunscreen actually matters.

The first time I heard about "Velzy's Pig," I imagined a Malibu surfer walking a little fat pig on a leash. Turns out the pig that made Malibu famous wasn't an animal—it was a surfboard. In the late 1950s, legendary shaper Dale Velzy created the Pig, one of the most influential longboard designs ever made. Funny-looking but revolutionary, it changed how surfers rode waves—and helped cement Malibu's place in surf history.

This week's Sunday Surf Poem is a slightly unhinged poem about obsession, ego, and waiting your whole life for "the perfect wave." We're reading The Perfect Wave by Shel Silverstein—a wild little tale of Dave McGunn

Let's talk about our love-hate relationship with the world's biggest forecasting app—from paywalls and AI-driven LOTUS models to overcalls, undercalls, and the illusion of precision. Has automation made it worse? Why did Magicseaweed disappear? And what are surfers using instead?

This week on Hey Zuz, I'm Confused, we're diving into a question every beginner surfer has Googled at least once and maybe been too shy to ask out loud: can you surf on your period? Sharks. Wetsuits. Logistics. Rental gear. Mild panic. We cover it all.

In today's episode, we break down the latest headlines—from TikTok wave riders to Olympic controversy, real-world rescues, and cold-water adventure filmmaking in Alaska's Aleutian Islands.

Suzanne didn't plan to learn to surf. She stumbled into it at 39 while on holiday in Morocco—and something shifted immediately. In this episode, she shares how that first lesson turned into a life change that led her across continents, through green waves in Sri Lanka, and eventually to building The Sevana—a women-only surf retreat designed specifically for adult learners.

Why do kids stick with surfing despite it being the most frustrating sport known to humankind? Lou Harris of the Black Surfing Association has some ideas—and we can learn a thing or two from them. In today's episode, we chat with Mr. Lou—the Rockaway local (and low-key celebrity) who has been teaching New York kids to surf for over a decade.

Let us introduce you to The Wipeout Weekly's All Things Surf Directory—a curated, location-based hub for surf businesses and community listings worldwide. Man, that does sound good. Like the sky's the limit. Think of it as Willy Wonka's Factory—but for surf stuff. In this episode, we give you a preview of where to find the directory, how the directory works, and how it will change our collective surf lives, for better.  

Enjoy this week's Sunday Surf Poem, because from mid-March you will be enjoying them less frequently as we move to a monthly cadence. This is "I Am a Surfer" by Derrick Jones.  

Thinking about posting your surf video on Reddit for feedback? Don't! Until you hear us out.

In this episode, we head to Ireland's most infamous big wave break—Mullaghmore Head—often called the Mavericks of Europe.

In this week's surf news roundup: Olympic qualification drama is brewing ahead of LA 2028, a Long Beach local goes street surfing during a winter storm, and we officially launch the All Things Surf Directory.

Here's another surfer girl story. Suzanne is 47, lives in Brooklyn, and started surfing because of her kid. In this episode, Suzanne talks about learning to surf in New York (yes, New York), and the humbling reality of catching six waves one day…and none the next.

It's the second most popular question in surfing—right after "What should my first surfboard be?" We are absolutely obsessed with equipment. But here's the uncomfortable truth: you don't have to downsize.  

In this episode, we are not talking about fin cuts, reef scars, scraped knees, raw bikini rashes, or the occasional not-quite-concussion. That stuff? Included in the price of admission. Instead, we talk about our mental health.

A little Sunday Surf Poem for you to cheer you up—Surfing Pig by William Worthless.

Part 2 of our "dude or dudette" question gets more cheerful. We run through a short history of women in surfing, participation ratios, physical differences, lineup behavior, and where being in the minority can actually be an advantage. 

In today's Hey Zuz, I'm Confused, we tackle a surprisingly common question: can you bring your dog to the beach and let them roam while you're out surfing?

Heavy surf, close calls, and real-world heroics in the lineup. In this surf news roundup, we cover a California surfer rescued after clinging to a lobster trap buoy, the chaotic boat capsizing straight through the Steamer Lane lineup (and the surfers who jumped into rescue mode), and the suspended search for two missing Santa Cruz surfers. We also look at Justine Dupont's serious injury at a big wave event, USA Surfing's new commissioner ahead of the LA Olympics push, and a £10,000 film fund supporting women surf filmmakers. 

We've got another surfer girl story for you. Meet Jen, who: a) is in the water 5 mornings a week, b) didn't start until she was 55, c) found waaaay more than just the joy of surfing in the lineup. This is a must-read story for anyone who's obsessing over their pop-up.

*]:pointer-events-auto scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" tabindex="-1" data-turn-id= "6fb365b9-6b7a-47c9-a6d4-e9e5119fc299" data-testid= "conversation-turn-222" data-scroll-anchor="true" data-turn= "assistant"> While hunting for second-hand surf books, I stumbled across a $15,000 first edition of Hawaiian Surfboard by Tom Blake. In this episode, we look at why this slim 1935 book is considered the most important publication in surf history.      

Freezing on 4ft waves even though you're fine in 2–3ft? This episode is about the jump from small surf to "little big waves" and why it feels so much scarier than it should. We break down what your brain is really reacting to, plus practical ways to build confidence, manage wipeouts, and finally commit to the drop.

This episode is a quiet one. This is a poem we discovered on the Surfing Waves forum, written by Old Man Surfer from Kauai. Untitled and unpolished in the best possible way.

In this episode, we tell Silvia's story: about learning to surf as an adult in male-dominated lineups, surfing solo at dawn, navigating injuries, impostor thoughts, and balancing surfing with motherhood, a corporate job, and running her own surf gear business, Surf Halo. 

This is a problem that shows up again and again when people learn to surf in certain vacation spots: you stand up, you ride to the beach, you feel stoked—and then you go home and can't catch a single wave on your own. In this episode, we talk about the downside of being pushed into waves, why standing up isn't the same as surfing, and how that "help" can quietly set beginner surfers back. 

This week, we're doing something we may never do again: a celebrity edition of our surf news roundup. We talk Prince Harry dropping serious cash at Kelly's wave pool (and whether he can actually surf), Jason Momoa's real-life connection to Hawaiian surf royalty, and John John Florence stepping away from the Championship Tour to follow waves—not trophies. Plus, the strangest non-celebrity story of the week: why U.S. Ski & Snowboard still hasn't given up its quest to absorb action sports culture, and why skateboarders will almost certainly say no.  

Cass, also known as Surfer Cass on social media, is a late-starting surfer and content creator based in Los Angeles. In this episode, we talk about navigating lineup anxiety, body representation in surf culture, and why Cass is intentionally keeping surfing as a passion—not a job. We also dig into wave pools, surf travel, coaching, board choices, and what slow, realistic progression actually looks like when surfing has to fit into a full, real adult life.

What should your first surfboard actually be—and why does everyone seem so confident (and wrong) about it? In this episode, we tell you what your first surfboard should be and why it's a foamie.

This is a question I've been circling for years, we start with an uncomfortable but necessary place: safety, power, and violence in the lineup. Sparked by a recent court case involving the alleged attempted drowning of a female surfer by a male paddleboarder, this episode looks at how gender dynamics play out in surf culture when things go wrong. This is part one. There's more to come.

This week's Sunday Surf Poem comes from Hawaiʻi: Prayer for Surf by Ryan Oishi. Oishi is a Honolulu-based educator, writer, and community advocate whose work is rooted in Hawaiian culture, education, and care for community.

J-Bay is out, Raglan is in. With Raglan joining the Championship Tour, this episode looks at what makes this Kiwi wave so special—beyond the long, perfect lefts.

Can you surf in a politics-free environment? With everything going on right now, someone asked—and the answer isn't as simple as we'd like. Surfing isn't a vacuum. Lineups are made of people, opinions, and contradictions. This episode is about how we can deal with it.

Morocco. New Zealand. Arizona. Bay Area. Hollywood.

Learning to surf in your 50s wasn't part of Cindy's original plan—it was a bucket list moment that turned into something much bigger. In this episode, Cindy shares what it's like to start surfing later in life and the biggest lessons.

A palate cleanser episode. What does aloha really mean? Not the bumper-sticker version, but the deeper cultural, linguistic, and legal meaning behind the word. Also, the Aloha Spirit Law.