Basis Surf Podcast

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https://go.surfbasis.com/pb_freetrainingplan

Cindy Lai (@Cindylaifitness) is a New York-based fitness coach with over 20 years of experience helping people work through chronic pain. She's also a surfer who makes regular surf trips to El Salvador. In this episode, we get into why pain rarely starts where you actually feel it, and how something as small as an old ankle injury can end up affecting your body years later. Cindy also breaks down the posture issues she sees constantly in people who sit at a desk all day, and the simple practices that can help alleviate issues. She gets honest about being skeptical the first time she heard about the Basis Paddle Trainer, and what actually changed her mind thereafter. She talks through what happened after paddle training and how she felt when she finally got in the water in El Salvador. Her body felt different, her confidence increased, and her surfing changed for the better. 

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Chapters
1:57 Cindy Lai's Background: 20+ Years as a Pain & Movement Coach
2:16 Cindy's Approach: Movement Quality First
3:27 How Uneven Hips Create a Ripple Effect
5:51 The Kinetic Chain: Feet, Knees & Hips
6:49 Why Surfing Wrecks Your Body Symmetry
9:32 Desk Posture & the Hunched-Forward Trap
13:11 Spine Mobility Drills: Cat-Cow & Rotation
16:07 Patience, Prevention & Small Daily Fixes
19:31 Diagnosing Van's Hips, Feet & Ankles
22:17 "Just Get Strong" Squats, RDLs & Mind-Muscle Connection
26:55 Training in All Planes: The 90/90 Hip Drill
29:40 Feet-Up Theory & More Hip-Strengthening Moves
33:12 Cindy's Surf Journey: Rockaway to El Salvador
39:02 Skeptical No More: Learning Proper Paddle Technique
45:29 Feeling Lighter in the Water & Final Advice

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🔥Get your FREE personalized 2-4X wavecount training plan in under 30 seconds. https://go.surfbasis.com/pb_freetrainingplan

In this episode, I sit down with Gold Coast free surfer and content creator Blake Neka to talk style, boards, and the mental side of trading competition for free surfing. Blake breaks down how switching from a standard thruster to asymmetrical boards and quads completely changed the way he rides, why he'd rather surf chopped-up, onshore junk than a perfect point, and how obsessively studying surfers like Julian Wilson, right down to individual hand placement, helped him develop his own style. We also get into just how physically demanding his home break really is: with crowds packed shoulder to shoulder, and how he surfs best when he’s most relaxed and tired, around 2 hours into his sessions. 

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Chapters
01:27 Welcome to Blake Neka & board shorts talk
02:52 Growing up surfing between Bali and the Tweed
03:54 What it's like having a pro surfer dad
04:43 Fixing a "crabby" style: Julian Wilson and Matt Banting
07:46 Skating, rugby league, and surfing like a skater
09:17 How asyms and quads changed his style
10:58 Why he loves crappy onshore waves over perfect ones
12:05 Surviving the Snapper crowds and localism
16:40 Leg burners and sweep on long point waves
18:36 Competing through the Pro Juniors and QS
23:11 Pickle forks, the shark tooth, and custom asyms
27:46 Lessons from competing and surfing best when tired
35:06 Fitness and training in the gym
37:42 Rapid fire: favorite surfers, fins, board sizing, and training tiers
44:03 Upcoming film and what's next

Subscribe for more interviews with pro surfers, coaches, shapers, and everyday surfers like Tom Carroll, Zeke Lau, Victor Bernardo, Matt Parker of Album Surf, Matt Meola, Ryan Lovelace, Eric Arakawa, Noel Salas of Surf n Show, Parker Coffin, Dane Gudauskas, Kassia Meador, Clayton of Ombe Surf, Dylan Lightfoot, Derek Dunfee, Magnum Martinez, and more!

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🔥Get your FREE personalized 2-4X wavecount training plan in under 30 seconds.

https://go.surfbasis.com/pb_freetrainingplan

Adam Tory of Hurricane Surf Company (@hurricanesurfcompany) presents a unique perspective shaped by two very different coastlines. He learned to surf in Tofino before relocating to the inconsistent waters of Nova Scotia, and now coaches surfers of every level while competing for the Canadian national longboard team. We get into why river and lake surfers often out-surf people who live right on the coast, how Adam breaks down a backside cutback on a longboard step by step, why he's built his whole approach around surfing bad waves instead of only waiting for good ones, and how the Basis Paddle Trainer helped him stay conditioned through a foot injury heading into a tough contest season. We also talk about what separates top international longboarders from everyone else, how climbing and skateboarding carry over into surfing, and go through a rapid fire round where Adam builds his ideal surfer.

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Chapters
1:16 Adam Tory of Hurricane Surf Co.
2:11 Nova Scotia's Wild Seasonal Swings
3:47 From London Skateboarder to Tofino Surfer
6:06 What Makes Tofino's Beach Breaks So Consistent
9:12 Building Skills on Tofino's Closeout Beach Breaks
12:03 Moving to Nova Scotia: Quantity vs. Quality
14:58 Competing for Team Canada & the Nationals Barrier
16:03 Contest Nerves and a Lesson from a Lake Surfer
19:58 "Crappy Waves Make Good Surfers"
25:44 Reading Waves & the Hunter Mindset
31:03 Paddle Power: The Overlooked Fundamental
36:49 Pan Am Games & Lessons from Elite Surfers
45:53 The River & Lake Surfer Cheat Code
51:58 Longboard Footwork & the Backside Cutback
1:00:50 Cross-Training Secrets, Rapid Fire & Wrap-Up

Subscribe for more interviews with pro surfers, coaches, shapers, and everyday surfers like Tom Carroll, Zeke Lau, Victor Bernardo, Matt Parker of Album Surf, Matt Meola, Ryan Lovelace, Eric Arakawa, Noel Salas of Surf n Show, Parker Coffin, Dane Gudauskas, Kassia Meador, Clayton of Ombe Surf, Dylan Lightfoot, Derek Dunfee, Magnum Martinez, and more!

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🔥Get your FREE personalized 2-4X wavecount training plan in under 30 seconds.
https://go.surfbasis.com/pb_freetrainingplan 

Gary McNeill is a lifelong surfboard shaper, who focuses on hybrid construction, environmental sustainability, and hand-shaped designs. He has been shaping surfboards for Dave Rastovich for years and in this conversation he breaks down exactly what goes into building boards for one of the most respected surfers in the world. Gary gets into flax construction and why it holds up so much longer than a standard board without adding excess weight. He also talks about what it actually takes to shape for a surfer as dialed in on volume as Rastovich. He describes the channel design behind his twin fins and why it changes how the board holds through a turn. We discuss why most surfboard companies have no interest in building something that lasts, and we also take a rare look into the thinking behind boards that have shown up in some of surfing's most iconic footage.

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Chapters
3:02 From Thruster Competitor to Shaper
5:01 Teaming Up with Dave Rastovich
7:03 The "Castles in the Sky" Board Story
9:19 The Taurus Channel Explained
13:25 RTT & Pip: Sizing the Twin Fin Fish for Any Wave
24:42 Developing the Flax Construction
27:43 Why Flax Outperforms Other Materials
30:50 Mass Adoption & Designed Obsolescence
33:43 Dane Reynolds and the Acid Surfboard Test
35:27 Advice for Riding Alternative Boards
38:48 New Shapes & What's Next with Dave
45:24 Quickfire Round: Perfect Surfer & Fin Preferences
49:07 Tier Lists: Board Sizing, Cross-Training & Sign Off

Subscribe for more interviews with pro surfers, coaches, shapers, and everyday surfers like Tom Carroll, Zeke Lau, Victor Bernardo, Matt Parker of Album Surf, Matt Meola, Ryan Lovelace, Eric Arakawa, Noel Salas of Surf n Show, Parker Coffin, Dane Gudauskas, Kassia Meador, Clayton of Ombe Surf, Dylan Lightfoot, Derek Dunfee, Magnum Martinez, and more!

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🔥Get your FREE personalized 2-4X wavecount training plan in under 30 seconds.
https://go.surfbasis.com/pb_freetrainingplan

Matt Grainger (@surfers-compass) is a former pro-surfer-turned-coach who has worked with world champions and CT event winners. In this episode he walks us through Nathan Hedge's comeback story, including the training and mindset work behind his run to the semis at Teahupo'o, and how paddle training was fundamental preparation - something that most everyday surfers forget. We also get technical about frontside carves in terms of weight distribution and rail engagement, taking examples from John John Florence. Matt also explains why style comes down to keeping your personality in the water instead of copying anyone else's approach, and how slowing down and completing waves builds the muscle memory needed for progression in maneuvers. He also gets into board selection, land training, and the mental side of competing, pulling from decades of coaching everyone from grommets, intermediates, to pro surfers at the highest level.

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Chapters
01:07 Welcome & Meet Matt Grainger
02:32 Coaching Nathan Hedge's Comeback
04:53 Hedge’s Winning Trials & Facing Kelly Slater
06:51 Teahupo'o 2014: Facing Adriano de Souza
10:06 The Perfect Barrel & Board Rescue Drama
15:18 Reading Athletes: Mindset vs. Technique
16:46 Margaret River Prep & Wave Selection
21:01 Foot Pressure & Rail Engagement Explained
26:32 How John John Florence Redefined Surfing
33:49 Style, Personality & "Surfing Is Dancing"
40:12 Teaching Progression: Why Less Is More
47:12 Prepping for Teahupo’o & the Power of Paddling
59:47 Rapid Fire: Favorite Surfers, Fins & Boards
1:13:46 Land Training Tiers & Where to Find Matt

Subscribe for more interviews with pro surfers, coaches, shapers, and everyday surfers like Tom Carroll, Zeke Lau, Victor Bernardo, Matt Parker of Album Surf, Matt Meola, Ryan Lovelace, Eric Arakawa, Noel Salas of Surf n Show, Parker Coffin, Dane Gudauskas, Kassia Meador, Clayton of Ombe Surf, Dylan Lightfoot, Derek Dunfee, Magnum Martinez, and more!

Join our community of over 140k followers across IG, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube:

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