Basis Surf Podcast

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

Alex Novoa of Surfing Your Fears has been surfing for 38 years and coaching for nearly two decades. Our conversation goes deep on what actually holds surfers back from becoming independent in the water. Alex breaks down why fear never fully disappears but can be worked through, how smart positioning beats hard paddling every time, why your pop-up habit will either cost or save you hundreds of waves, and why paddle fitness is less about catching waves and more about surviving the ones that hold you down. Beyond the technical side, Alex also shares a perspective that's hard to find; someone who has nearly drowned twice, rebuilt his confidence, and used that experience to shape how he coaches others through the same thing. 

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Chapters
2:33 Alex's Background & 38 Years of Surfing in El Salvador
3:48 Still Surfing 8 Hours a Day at 50 - The Secret to Longevity
5:22 The Reverse Liters Strategy: Staying in Shape as You Age
6:36 Surfboard Evolution: From Boogie Boards to Shortboards to Longboards
9:28 Does Board Sequencing Matter for Learning?
11:34 Embracing Being a "Kook" - Why Starting Over is Valuable
12:59 How Trying New Boards Keeps the Love for Surfing Alive
16:36 Why the Program Is Called "Surfing Your Fears"
20:21 How Alex Defines a Beginner Surfer
26:39 Overcoming Fear: Internalizing What You're Actually Afraid Of
31:21 Wave Positioning Tips for Independent Surfers
36:02 Reading the Ocean: Sets, Intervals, and Wave Size
39:42 Time in the Water Is Everything - Why Fitness Matters
47:10 Alex's Near-Drowning Experience & How It Shapes His Coaching
57:34 Pop-Up Technique: Why Getting It Right from Day One Is Critical

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://surfbasis.com/pages/trainingplan

Stab in the Dark X winner and the shaper behind Kelly Slater's boards, Dan Mann joins the Basis Surf podcast. We get into whether Kelly actually knew which board was his during the event, what Dane Reynolds and Zeke Lau noticed when he was riding it, and why Dan sees the whole thing as bittersweet despite coming out on top. From there we dig into the design differences between the DRK and FRK, what changed and why, and how those decisions translate for everyday surfers, not just Kelly. Dan also breaks down his approach to fins and why keeping one constant across every board you ride matters. We also discuss Dan’s different models and I share why the Dominator Pro has genuinely changed my surfing.

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Chapters
0:01:46 Welcome & Stab in the Dark X Introduction 
0:02:10 Was Winning Bittersweet? Dan's Honest Take 
0:03:44 Stab as Entertainment vs. Competition
0:05:43 Did the Show Manufacture the Drama? 
0:07:18 Watching Kelly Surf Other Shapers' Boards 
0:08:25 Kelly's Competitive Mind & the "What If" Factor 
0:10:20 The FRK's Origin Story & Kelly's Loyalty Since 2017 
0:12:15 Did Kelly Know Which Board Was His? 
0:12:47 DRK vs FRK: What Actually Changed 
0:22:41 Breaking Down the Full FRK Lineup 
0:26:16 What Makes Dan Mann Boards Distinct 
0:38:01 Fins & How to Tune the DRK 
0:44:45 DRK vs Dominator Pro: Which Board is for You? 
0:55:48 The Dominator Pro's Impact on Everyday Surfing 
0:59:03 What's Next: Spun Honey Groveler & Materials Innovation

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://surfbasis.com/pages/trainingplan

Adam Sime is a 51-year-old nurse, father of three, and lifelong surfer who drives 12+ hours to chase swells across the UK and beyond. In this episode, he opens up about what it actually feels like to blow a hard-earned surf trip because your body gives out after an hour, and what he did about it. We get into the moment that broke him at a firing point break in the Hebrides, his honest skepticism when he first came across the Basis Paddle Trainer, and how his results went from done-after-4-waves to back-to-back-4-hour-sessions in solid Southwest Cornwall swell. He also breaks down how relearning his paddle technique from scratch changed everything, and how getting fit enough to drop board volume opened up a completely different level of surfing for him. 

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Chapters
02:34 Welcome & Introduction to Adam Sime
02:48 Adam's Life: Family, Work, and Surfing in Seaford
04:30 Chasing Waves Across Europe with a Motorhome
06:10 Growing Up Surfing in Western Australia
08:22 Charging Big Waves in Morocco
09:26 Why Adam Started Thinking About Paddle Training
11:29 The Wake-Up Call: Getting Fit After a Wipeout
12:40 The Hebrides Trip That Broke Him
13:14 Discovering the Basis Paddle Trainer
15:00 Early Struggles with the Trainer
17:10 Was He Skeptical at First?
19:23 The Results: Four-Hour Sessions in Cornwall
23:07 Quadrupling Wave Count in the Pool
28:12 How Technique Changed His Paddling
32:14 Going Down in Board Volume and Surfing Better

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://surfbasis.com/pages/trainingplan

Lucas Hildreth (@lucashildreth5692) is a second-year E.R. resident and aspiring big wave surfer from New York who has somehow managed to surf Mavericks, Iceland, Chile, and Portugal in between brutal stretches of 80-hour work weeks. In this episode, we get into how he stays strategic with his limited time off, how he approaches improving his surfing technically; from dialing in his cutback to breaking down the mechanics of a proper snap, and what it actually takes to prepare for big surf when you don’t live by the ocean. Beyond the technical stuff, we also talk about crowd navigation, adventure surfing in cold and remote locations, and the mindset that drives someone to chase serious waves while wearing scrubs five days a week. 

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Chapters
0:02:06 Introducing Lucas: ER Resident & Big Wave Surfer
0:02:52 ER Doctors and Extreme Sports
0:03:31 Growing Up Surfing in New York
0:05:34 Getting Serious: Driving to Montauk
0:07:36 Choosing College Away from the Coast
0:09:29 Learning Without Coaching: Uncle's One Rule
0:11:25 Watching Surf Clips to Improve
0:14:07 How Filming Himself Transformed His Surfing
0:18:33 Going Vertical: The Hardest Skill in Surfing
0:25:06 Life as an ER Resident: The Real Schedule
0:27:18 Surfing the World Between Shifts
0:33:14 Paddle Training: What Actually Works
0:41:32 Navigating Crowds in Santa Cruz
0:50:40 Adventure Surfing: Iceland, Chile & Beyond
0:59:49 Rapid Fire: Advice, Intentions & Deserted Island Board

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://surfbasis.com/pages/trainingplan

Taylor Jensen (@taylorjensentj) is a four-time World Longboard Champion who is equally comfortable noseriding as he is throwing down powerful carves. He also collaborates with Firewire Surfboards, making longboards, and more recently, alternative twinzer models. In this episode, we get into what makes a good turn on a longer board, why elite athletes never stop training fundamentals, and how land training can benefit your surfing in ways that surfing alone cannot. We discuss paddling, which Taylor considers one of the most important pillars of surfing, and why neglecting it can stifle your progression. He also gives a detailed breakdown of the twinzer model, why it sits in its own category between a twin and a quad, and what makes it such a fun setup coming off a longboard. 

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Chapters
01:23 Welcome & Intro to Taylor Jensen 
02:05 The Secret to Throwing Buckets (Dad Bod & Big Feet) 
02:49 Longboard Philosophy & Rail Surfing 
04:28 Traditional vs. High Performance Longboarding 
06:34 What Makes High Performance Longboarding Look Great 
08:39 How to Carve on Longer Boards: Patience, Placement & Rails 
11:03 Reading Waves on Mid-Lengths & Longboards 
13:31 The Internal Battle: Switching Between Traditional & HP Longboarding 
15:58 Training for World Titles: Physical & Mental Game 
17:38 Drilling Fundamentals on Dry Land (Cross-Stepping & Footwork) 
22:58 Why Paddle Power is Non-Negotiable 
28:06 How Longboarding Changes the Way You Read Waves 
32:42 The Twinzer Explained 
37:27 Board Design Deep Dive: TJ Pro Mid vs. Twinzer Mid-Length 
41:44 Closing Advice: Diversify Your Equipment & Surf with Intention

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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