Surfing Podcasts you should be listening to (updated)

Lipped started out fairly heavy on Fantasy Surfer guides/tips/thoughts and has slowly evolved to being a lot more. The hosts, Cahill & Jim, both play conversational ping pong most of the time with chats ranging from who’s been ripping to who’s been stinking it up to all the way across to hot topics within surf itself. While they dance around various topics they generally do put an opinion out there without too much sugar.

The Fantasy side of the show, early on, was quite informative if you were sucking at the game and was entertaining to listen to the two of them go back/forth. Interviews with a varied range of surfers and surfing characters, along with a new’ish show – Off The Lip – where Jim goes Han Solo with his interviews. Right now, it’s a good listen most of the time and is improving at a quick rate.

Perhaps the blue ribbon surfing podcast out of them all, at the moment, is Ain’t That Swell. Hosted by Vaughan Blakey and Jed Smith – two surf media royalty in my eyes – the podcast is a straight-up re-creation of Australian surf culture in an audio format. This show is always entertaining, from the live shows like the recent Lennox one to the pre-recorded ones with interviews and current surf talk.

Having sparked their own war cry of ‘up the fucking swellians!’, the show has created a strong following amongst the surf crowd and will most likely go from strength to strength this year. Listening to Ain’t That Swell you can expect some great interviews that sit alongside their charismatic and entertaining approach to delivering a podcast. Could be over the top with energy for some, but for most, it’s a great listen.

Took STAB a hot minute and a couple of goes to get here, but they’re well and truly here in the surfing podcast world now and arrived with a bang. Getting 3x World Champ Mick Fanning to host a podcast for you is no mean feat and the interview series led by Mick (titled ‘Unplugged’) is probably already at the top of everyone lists to listen to when new eps drop. Who else has Gabby on speed dial AND can convince him to do something with STAB? Worth adding this to your podcast app asap.

STAB back this up with CUSP – the Currently Untitled Stab/Surfing Podcast – hosted by Stace Galbraith and Mikey Ciaramella where the two go back and forth over the latest surfing topics ranging from the WQS, who’s hot/not, IG interests, judging and more. It’s a good listen as the boys balance each other out quite well. Also worth adding to the rotation as neither are weekly shows…

The Lineup with Dave Prodan is from the WSL Studios, and is probably – IMO – the blue ribbon win for them as a content studio. Every episode is gold, full of insights with the who ever is getting interviewed and Dave has found his place as a podcast host quickly and has a way of seemingly creating a ‘safe space’ for the interviewee..

Production quality, as you’d expect, is amazing. No tinniness, no muffled room sounds, just clear audio drawl hitting your ears whether you’re in your car, strolling with headphones or listening via your computer. I point this out as it’s hard to get dialled across all outputs. There’s a couple in here that sound great with headphones but stink elsewhere.

I don’t know what else to say beyond I really do enjoy The Lineup with Dave Prodan, and you probably will too. Add it in. Top Three Pod for me – Lipped, Lineup and rotates between Spit!, Surf Center and UTFS !

David Scales runs, probably?, the first surf focused podcast network with multiple shows all under his ‘Surf Splendour’ banner. Surf Splendour started out with some interviews and bi-weekly chats with Scott Bass around all things surf with a focus on the professional aspect (WSL) but has since evolved into a variety of shows. Including one show that has probably brought in more new listeners to his network than others – The Grit.

The Grit is in partnership with Chas Smith from Beach Grit, where in-between talking rumours, gossip and shooting off thoughts, Chas gets into fights with Stab editor Ashton Goggins. It’s interesting listening to the approach David takes when talking to Scott (Spit!) or talking to Chas (Grit!). For the most part, the Surf Splendour network delivers a pretty solid range of surfing podcasts that suits everyone tastes/interest, I’m always listening to something new from them.

The Boardrom Show is Scott Bass solo interviewing shapers and people of interest around surfing’s history. It’s not part of the Surf Splendour Network, I don’t think, which is why its got its standalone slot here.

Some eps are winners, some are snoozers, but overall I always enjoy them as Scott is great at talking surf – he’s got knowledge, experience and history – that allows him to dig deep and bring up any number of questions that relate to whoever he’s interviewing. Little slow between episodes, but generally worth the wait for the most part.

Was probably only a matter of time before Damien Fahrenfort got a surfing podcast, the guy can talk the ears off a donkey and keep you entertained at the same time. He’s partnered up with the ex-Creative Director of the WSL – Chad White, which makes for an interesting dynamic between them. Some episodes it’s Chad pulling Dooma back into line, others its vice versa. So it works well.

Episodes stretch from general surf chit chat, to rumours, to what’s happening with the civil unrest in America and beyond. I really like the no-bullshit approach, or what seems no-bullshit, to the podcast and it’s generally pretty interesting, or engaging enough, to listen to regularly

Granted there’s a little bias here as I, somehow, got a slot on one of their pods a while back talking about all things social media and digital marketing to a degree. You can listen to that one here, if you want, otherwise just listen to their latest one below.

Chas Smith getting the limelight with The Grit! podcast with DLS was never going to last, Derek couldn’t allow it! He needed one himself, to hear his own voice and have others listen, to validate !!  Or so, I imagine how he might write about it.

The podcast itself tho is probably second to STAB with who they get to interview and the areas of subject they get to cover. The ep they did with Kolohe was really interesting to hear some of the stories from KA growing up, haven’t listened to the Flores one yet but I imagine it’ll be pretty damn good.

Derek is pretty good with the questions and keeping the chat running and avoiding any dead air. His audio set up needs a tune tho as his audio comes across quite muffled a lot of the time. Chas adds, as he does, some pepper to the chats but I kinda feel like it’s Derek running point here. A good poddy to listen to…

I’ve only just started listening to Swell Season, and it’s been pretty good so far. The hosts are based out NY, and the show does have a bit more of that coast in it’s content – which is fair enough but also gives us a fresh perspective as well.

I probably haven’t listened to enough shows to really shoot off a proper opinion, but I had Jim from Lipped recommend the show to me and I trust his opinions around surfing podcasts. So yeah, give it a listen…

Like Swell Season Radion, I’ve only just started listening to Surf Mastery and only listen to episodes that grab my interest. I’m not a listen to all eps all the time listener but the eps I’ve listened to so far have been pretty good.

I probably haven’t listened to enough shows to really shoot off a proper opinion, but I had Jim from Lipped recommend the show to me and I trust his opinions around surfing podcasts. So yeah, give it a listen…

Probably my favourite surf podcasts out of all the ones listed here, and the only brand based one we’ve included. The Wire, while focused around Firewire, Slater Designers, etc, still delivers a strong podcast that consistently shares a bunch of insights alongside an entertaining conversation, which I put down to the research that the host does – Chris Grow (he used to run Shred Show on youtube before being scooped by Firewire).

The latest one, with Todd Glasser, is really good. Give it a listen. I’d write more, but I’m cooked, it’s late, and I’m going to bed. Hope you got something out of all these…

A couple of WA Corelords talking about pro surfing and all things salt. With the tagline, Another Fucking Surf Podcast you’ve gotta love them. Tim has been a guest on there once and talked up a storm. Listen out for some epic rants by Adz Kennedy – a single fin wielding wildman/plumber who loves a good yarn. Kind of like a raw version of Lipped.