Dersu Rhodes is the former Creative Director at Vice and MUD\WTR. He helped launch Vice TV, worked on VICE on HBO, and has led creative teams to launch literally hundreds of brands. Raised by hippie parents in Montana, he didn't have a television until he was nine. And from a quiet yearning to fit in as a child a necessity for storytelling emerged.…

Born and raised near Toronto, RJ had a thirst for adventure from a young age and moved to the coast to work at a remote salmon fishing lodge in Haida Gwaii. Now 34, he’s the co-owner of the Nootka Wilderness Lodge, a floating fishing and surfing resort off the remote west coast of Vancouver Island. In the winter, he manages ops at a new heli ski op…

Thomas Kemeny is a Creative Director/Copywriter and author of the advertising book Junior. I own the book, recommend the book, and when I’m feeling completely lost on a copywriting job, occasionally smear goat blood on the book and pray to it. An idea always arrives. Thomas has worked at top creative agencies all over the country and has won The On…

Paige Alms (@Paigealms) is 2x Big Wave Surfing World Champion and a fellow Patagonia Surf Ambassador. Recently, we spent a week on a ship together, huffing diesel fumes and salt water through unruly seas on an adventure to British Columbia. Paige is widely considered to be the best female big-wave surfer in the world and the only woman to ever get …

Sean Jansen is a freelance writer and seasonal wilderness guide in Yellowstone National Park. He’s intense, slightly awkward, and deeply committed to dancing with the more raw frequencies of human experience. I love this guy. During his off-season from guiding, he partakes in a litany of expeditions from thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail to his r…

Ah, the joys of a post-hunt podcast. The feet were sore, and the schnoz was rosey after spending a few days tromping around in the Montana woods. Much knowledge was dropped in this episode by Dr. Kelsey Martin, who grew up on a nature preserve and cattle ranch that her family manages along the windswept plains of Eastern Colorado. She spent her you…

Evan Quarnstrom is a freelance writer specializing in surf, the outdoors, travel, and the NBA. He recently released his first book, “The Substitute Asshole: How a rogue suburban kid’s escape from conformity collided with a cultural revolution, drug smuggling, psychedelics, and federal prison.” He grew up in the quiet surf town of Santa Cruz, Califo…

Tim Cahill is one of the founders of Outside, author of its long-running "Out There" column, and an editor-at-large. He's the author of nine books, one of which (Jaguars Ripped My Flesh) National Geographic named as one of the 100 best adventure/travel books ever written. He is the co-author of four IMAX documentary screenplays, two of which were n…

Frank Solomon (@franksolomon) is one of the most well-liked people I’ve ever met. Every country has a couch for him to crash on, random encounters turn into lifelong friendships, and for some reason that science still can’t explain, meals are always “compliments of the chef.” He’s just one of those guys. Frank is a talented big wave charger, Patago…

Rob loves the people-side of storytelling — and not just the folks in front of the camera, but those behind the lens, behind the scenes, and in front of the screens. He has produced stories across many genres on every platform winning Webbys and Emmys along the way. Pre-PTP, he was the Creative Director of the MacArthur Award-winning think tank, Fr…

When I was a teenager, I remember opening an issue of SURFER magazine and reading an article about a Mexican pro surfer who, at the peak of his career, walked away from it all and moved to Finland. Finland! I didn’t know Kalle Carranza then, but the rarity of his story was memorable. Once the ocean grabs us, it rarely lets go. So why oh why, I wond…

Let’s play a word association game. Ready? Okay… EXPAT. For most of my life, I would have smashed that red gameshow button and shouted, “Pirate with a surfboard!” A lawless scallywag set adrift by society, living off coconut meat and massive quantities of Vitamin D. But as America gears up for another cortisol-inducing election, the prospect of mov…

Wallace J. Nichols was a friend, ocean advocate, and often requested guest on the podcast. I first met J when I was twenty. I was a young activist, a little too eager, convinced that the world needed saving, and I would be the one to save it. After giving him my little spiel, he took a long breath through his nose, smiled slightly, and said, “You’r…

If you’re a man and you work, technically, you do “men’s work.” There’s also that band “Men At Work” that sang that one about that thing and got us all to drink Foster’s beer for two whole months. Dark times. And then there’s Eli Buren, who has been on a dedicated path of facilitating men’s work since 1998. He leads in-depth retreats with training …

The name’s Othman… or as fellow big wave surfers call him, Hot Man. The eccentric Moroccan can often be found in small airports or humungous barrels worldwide, dancing, high-fiving, and tracking swells to his next destination like a comet, forlorn damsels trailing close behind. Hot Man had a two-day layover in LA before he flew to Teahupoo, Tahiti,…

Shaun Lopez is a Maui-based big wave surfer, hunter, solar energy enthusiast and host of the Buoy Report podcast. In this podcast, Shawn interviews me about my thoughts on creativity, advertising, external rewards, my journal process, respect, faith, embarrassment, and, of course, surfing. Check out Shawn getting ridiculously barreled here. If you …

Orion Levine is a weapon. The kind of terse comedy writer who will likely read through this bio line by line and remove all of the unnecessary, bloated, run-on blather with a red marker. I first saw Orion perform a few years back and was amazed by the exactness of his craft. So few words. Such big laughs. In this podcast, we talk about his comedy w…

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 crit…

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’ Charle…

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 Mot…

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 “authe…

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 potent…

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 po…

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 …

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 Ecuado…

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 o…

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 advent…

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 surf…

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 w…

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 ridin…

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 …

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, conductin…

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 mo…

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 thi…

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 be…

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 …

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 sexu…

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 ath…

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,…

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 wort…

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 …

Katie Hendricks, Ph.D. is an evolutionary catalyst, contextual disruptor and freelance mentor who has been a pioneer in the field of body intelligence and conscious loving for fifty years. Katie is the co-author of twelve books, including the best-selling Conscious Loving, At The Speed of Life , and Conscious Loving Ever After: How to Create Thrivi…

At age 24, Charlie Hart 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…

Whew, this was an intense one. But good. And helpful, I hope. In this episode, Sara Russell (@Betheradicalway) and I explore the underworld of depression, a mental state that is all too often felt but rarely explored openly. Sara was just the one I wanted to have on to cover this material. She held the weight of it all with skill and grace. Sara is…

Steve Coletta has been shaping surfboards since 1967. The Santa Cruz legend has shaped more than 30,000 surfboards under the name Natural Curves Surfboards. My longtime buddy, Kyle Buthman, and I caught up with Coletta in his new residence in Mainland Mexico to talk surfboard and how to stay stoked for a lifetime. As Coletta says, "Our perspective …

Anupa Asokan [uh-new-puh uh-soak-in] is an avid waterwoman and ocean advocate dedicated to protecting our marine environment. She previously worked for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the World Surf League, and led the Ocean Initiative and Government Affairs at XPRIZE Foundation. She currently works at the Natural Resource…

Mark Divine (@realmarkdivine) is a tough one to pin down. And I like that. As a Navy SEAL Commander and Zen meditation practitioner, Divine weaves between worlds of Eastern spirituality and Western militance. This was the second time I had Divine on the show, the first was in Ep. #271, and I find the guy endlessly fascinating. A little background: …

The first thing that struck me about William Padilla-Brown was the power and velocity of his speech. It was as if he had more ideas inside him than his vocal cords could handle, like trying to power a city with a single extension cord. A citizen-mycologist and founder of MycoSymbiotics, his perspective on mycology is both captivating and approachab…

My buddy Dylan Sohngen is one of the coolest guys I know. Cool… What exactly do I mean by that? It’s usually synonymous with vague detachment. A kind of flick-your-cigarrette-on-the-ground-don’t-give-fuck-about-anything sort of vibe. But Dylan gives many fucks. He’s engaged. In his community, ocean, and the natural world. As a citizen-entomologist,…

We are in the midst of a psychedelic revolution. It’s here. Now the question is whether or not we can approach the conversation with nuance—not something we Americans are not generally celebrated for. Psychedelics force another uncomfortable conversation for many: The power of thought. The suggestibility of your brain while under the influence of p…