Basis Surf Podcast

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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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Chapters01:07 Welcome & Meet Matt Grainger02:32 Coaching Nathan Hedge's Comeback04:53 Hedge’s Winning Trials & Facing Kelly Slater06:51 Teahupo'o 2014: Facing Adriano de Souza10:06 The Perfect Barrel & Board Rescue Drama15:18 Reading Athletes: Mindset vs. Technique16:46 Margaret River Prep & Wave Selection21:01 Foot Pressure & Rail Engagement Explained26:32 How John John Florence Redefined Surfing33:49 Style, Personality & "Surfing Is Dancing"40:12 Teaching Progression: Why Less Is More47:12 Prepping for Teahupo’o & the Power of Paddling59:47 Rapid Fire: Favorite Surfers, Fins & Boards1:13:46 Land Training Tiers & Where to Find Matt
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Robbie Rickard is an Australian free surfer known for his style and incredible power surfing. We start with his early years of competitive surfing, what it was like going up against names like Soli Bailey and Mikey Wright. He breaks down what he looks for in carves, and explains why timing often matters more than raw strength when it comes to powerful turns. We also spoke about the benefits of surfing longer boards, and how it helped him smooth out his own surfing. We discuss his relationship with SYSTM Surfboards, and the process behind creating his own model, the 6’5” Rob. Lastly, we discuss the shaping machines that he and his dad built for some of the biggest brands in the surfing industry (@surf.shaper).  
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Chapters02:07 Growing Up in Fingal Head03:23 First Heat Against Soli Bailey08:41 Mentors: Jay Phillips & Poncho Sullivan09:15 Riding a 6'3" for 3 Months Straight13:02 Grinding Through the QS17:25 Meeting Chippa Wilson at Caba18:33 The Secret to a Good Carve23:26 Experimenting with Panda Surfboards27:57 Designing the 6'5" Rob Model with Kobe33:12 Sizing Longer Boards & Tail Shapes40:17 Building Machines with Surf Shaper49:23 Rapid Fire: Favorite Surfer & Fin Setups51:22 Tier List: Magic Boards & Training
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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Hayden Cox (@haydenshapes) is an Australian surfboard shaper, founder of Haydenshapes Surfboards, and the man behind the winning board in the most recent Stab in the Dark. Hayden walks us through exactly what he built for the contest, and what separated his board from other shapers when it came down to the final surf. We also dive deep into the design theory behind his rocker line for the DarkNoiz model, unpack his development of FutureFlex construction technology, and breakdown the shape and story behind the Psychedelic Germ. We close this episode with a rapid-fire round where Hayden builds his favourite surfer, ranks fin setups, rates the best ways to improve your surfing outside of the water, and tiers every method of sizing a board, including a very honest take on the under-arm test.
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Chapters02:15 Introduction to Hayden Cox02:24 Short Notice Before Stab in the Dark04:12 From Taj's Board to Ethan's DarkNoize06:09 Rocker Line & FutureFlex Feel10:45 What Sets Hayden's Boards Apart13:35 Center Line vs Rail Line Rocker17:35 Subtle Millimeters & the F1 Analogy20:00 Watching Ethan's Winning Waves24:50 Construction: The Featherlight Poly Build27:13 The Call That Changed Everything32:40 Origins of FutureFlex Technology46:11 Building the Perfect 3-Board Quiver & the Psychedelic Germ54:28 Rapid Fire: Favorite Surfer & Fin Setups57:54 Tier List: Magic Boards & Training
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
In Part 2 of this series, Van Vu breaks down why some surfers seem to level up so much faster than others. He digs into the compounding relationship between paddle power and wave-reading ability, showing how catching more waves builds a mental "memory bank" that changes what you perceive as a makeable wave. Using a side-by-side comparison of two surfers with different conversion ratios, he reveals how that gap widens dramatically over just a few weeks, and explains the key shift in strategy every surfer needs to make as they progress. If you've ever watched a more advanced surfer effortlessly find speed and power on waves you'd have let pass by, this video explains exactly why, and what to focus on to close that gap yourself.
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Chapters0:00 Recap & Building on Part One0:39 Why Pros Look Like They're Playing a Different Sport1:24 The Limited Opportunity Problem in Surfing (vs. Basketball)2:03 How the Skill Gap Compounds Over Time2:39 Building Your Wave-Reading Memory Bank3:21 Surfer A: Taking Waves & Expanding Opportunity3:56 Surfer B: Tentative Choices, Slower Growth4:45 The Compounding Results After Weeks of Training5:37 Beginners: Why You Should Prioritize Wave Count6:17 Advanced Surfers: Shifting From Quantity to Quality
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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Central Coast shaper Shea Somma (@sheasomma) is known for surfboards that make the most out of whatever the ocean throws at you. In this episode, we get into the DNA behind his designs like the Mini Super, a Mini Simmons inspired groveler built around an optimal length-to-width ratio that he reverse-engineered into a unique user-friendly board. He also breaks down how he won Best in Show at the 2023 Boardroom with his Bonzer-based Panza shape. We also talk about the most common mistakes surfers make when buying boards, and why the current obsession with surfboard volume might be one of the most misleading trends in the industry right now.
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Chapters00:00 Intro02:13 Shea's Central Coast Waves & Shaping Origins04:13 Sharks, Colors, and Surfboard Superstitions05:59 The Mini Super: A Mini Simmons Evolution12:26 Fins, Concaves, and Hydrodynamics Explained16:35 How the Simmons Design Spread Across Surfing19:21 Winning Best in Show with a Bonzer25:04 Building the Panza: Groveler to Step-Up30:10 Twin vs. Twinzer: What It Actually Feels Like36:19 Ocean Beach Guns: The OBG and the Judah40:02 Biggest Mistakes Surfers Make Buying Boards44:21 The Truth About Volume47:04 Good and Bad Trends in Surfboard Design48:59 Shea's Current Quiver, Board by Board54:38 Upcoming Film Project and France Art Show
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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Ever wonder why some surfers seem to improve twice as fast as everyone else, even with the same amount of time in the water? In this video, Basis Surf founder Van Vu breaks down the "surf progression funnel" — the step-by-step system that determines how many real reps you actually get on a wave, from spotting it to completing a turn. Using a simple side-by-side comparison, Van reveals how one overlooked, land-trainable skill can snowball into a dramatically higher wave count per session, per day, and per weekend, explaining why elite surfers like Laird Hamilton and Billy Kemper quietly train this exact thing behind the scenes. 
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Chapters00:00 How to 10X your surf progression00:45 Elite pros secretly train their paddling01:30 The surf progression funnel explained02:13 Ocean knowledge & reading waves02:50 Paddling: the highest-leverage skill03:32 Why paddling is trainable on land04:11 Pop-up: train it before you need it04:49 Speed, line, and the turn05:33 Surfer A vs. Surfer B: the numbers behind 10X07:54 The Shohei Ohtani lesson: master the fundamentals
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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Moose Huerta is a longboarder from the Northeast who took a 4-month break from surfing before heading to the Mentawais. He still managed to surf 3-7 hours a day for 10 days straight all thanks to a month of paddle training beforehand. In this episode, we get into surf trip preparations, what keeps him out of the water in winter, what made him skeptical about the Basis Paddle Trainer at first, and what changed his mind. We also talk about how his longtime surf travel partner quietly got a paddle trainer without being asked, and why Moose believes that identifying the surfer you want to be in 10 years is key. 
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Chapters2:01 Meet Moose Huerta — Northeast longboarder2:11 Growing up surfing in Pensacola and Jacksonville, Florida3:21 Competitive surfing through the ESA and living 100 yards from the break4:25 Flagler College, the surf team, and surfing on a budget5:18 Traveling the contest circuit and life as a semi-pro surfer7:36 Moving to California, Nixon Watches, and the film Sprout8:46 Discovering the Northeast and landing in New York City11:04 Traditional vs. high-performance longboarding and the Sprout era13:09 CJ Nelson, gliders, and evolving surf style with age14:17 Plateaus, equipment access, and lessons from competing young17:53 Gliders, pigs, and the 6'8" egg — finding the right board21:52 Why Moose got the paddle trainer before the Mentawais trip27:55 First impressions of the trainer — skeptic to believer38:29 The Mentawais trip — 10 days of 3–7 hours of surfing a day46:27 Advice for surfers on aging gracefully and keeping the stoke
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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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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Chapters2:33 Alex's Background & 38 Years of Surfing in El Salvador3:48 Still Surfing 8 Hours a Day at 50 - The Secret to Longevity5:22 The Reverse Liters Strategy: Staying in Shape as You Age6:36 Surfboard Evolution: From Boogie Boards to Shortboards to Longboards9:28 Does Board Sequencing Matter for Learning?11:34 Embracing Being a "Kook" - Why Starting Over is Valuable12:59 How Trying New Boards Keeps the Love for Surfing Alive16:36 Why the Program Is Called "Surfing Your Fears"20:21 How Alex Defines a Beginner Surfer26:39 Overcoming Fear: Internalizing What You're Actually Afraid Of31:21 Wave Positioning Tips for Independent Surfers36:02 Reading the Ocean: Sets, Intervals, and Wave Size39:42 Time in the Water Is Everything - Why Fitness Matters47:10 Alex's Near-Drowning Experience & How It Shapes His Coaching57:34 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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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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Chapters0:01:46 Welcome & Stab in the Dark X Introduction 0:02:10 Was Winning Bittersweet? Dan's Honest Take 0:03:44 Stab as Entertainment vs. Competition0:05:43 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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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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Chapters02:34 Welcome & Introduction to Adam Sime02:48 Adam's Life: Family, Work, and Surfing in Seaford04:30 Chasing Waves Across Europe with a Motorhome06:10 Growing Up Surfing in Western Australia08:22 Charging Big Waves in Morocco09:26 Why Adam Started Thinking About Paddle Training11:29 The Wake-Up Call: Getting Fit After a Wipeout12:40 The Hebrides Trip That Broke Him13:14 Discovering the Basis Paddle Trainer15:00 Early Struggles with the Trainer17:10 Was He Skeptical at First?19:23 The Results: Four-Hour Sessions in Cornwall23:07 Quadrupling Wave Count in the Pool28:12 How Technique Changed His Paddling32:14 Going Down in Board Volume and Surfing Better
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