For as many years as we’ve been dreaming about empty line-ups around the world, Sean Murphy has run Waterways Travel, a surf travel company, to accommodate our disposable income and our lust for adventure and perfection. He’s had a few adventures of his own, and on this episode, we get to hear a couple stories that will serve your commute well. Enjoy our chat with veteran traveler/dream-maker, Sean Murphy.
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From the northwest of Ireland, Richie Fitzgerald’s debut memoir, Cold Water Eden, has received incredible reviews and covers his history in big waves; Surfworld, the first surf shop in town; and endless anecdotes of visiting surfers dawning his door. From Tom Curren to Kelly Slater, Malloy brothers to Brad Gerlach, the characters and set-ups in Bundoran are world class, and so is the narrative, expertly woven with a pub-like feel, full of Richie’s epic charm and wit. This is the story behind his phenomenal book, the likes of which we haven’t seen since Barbarian Days, A Surfing Life from William Finnegan. Enjoy where ever you listen to podcasts.
When John Milius’s masterpiece, Big Wednesday, toured through Italy in the late 70’s, the local watermen responded by removing the mast and sails from their windsurf boards and birthing Italian surf culture. Fast forward to the early 80’s, and a nine year-old Emi Cataldi has a similar experience when a family windsurfing vacation is nearly ruined by a glassy windless day of one to two foot waves. At his fathers urging, Emi yanks the mast and sail off his board and never looked back. Emi discusses his surfing origins, extensive travel adventures with SurfExplore, and a harrowing kidnapping in Gabon that includes a threat to call Barack Obama! Enjoy where ever you listen to podcasts.
As we move through the tenth year of the Florida Surf Film Festival, we are proud to announce the second quarter programming coming up June 16th and 17th (Father’s Day Weekend) at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Passes are now available and don’t forget to check out our annual Green Room Membership, which is the only way to roll if you want VIP treatment with reserved seats, meals and drinks included.
Kicking off Friday night, we are stoked to announce “An Evening with Taylor Steele” following the week-long filmmaking residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts. We will be showcasing some of Taylor’s work (announcement to come shortly) along with Q & A with Taylor and special guests. Enjoy an extended Q and A session with Taylor as well and come prepared with some deep dive topics.
Saturday night, June 17th, will start with Turbulences, a new short film from festival veteran Morgan Maassen, Let me Live, Keith Malloy’s in depth look into the life of British charger Tom Lowe, and Yama, a short film by Maddie Meddings following Australian Lucy Small as she travels to Ghana to link up with a pioneering group of female surfers and skaters. Stoker Machine, a short film by Darieus Legg will round out the first set with Darieus in attendance for a Q & A afterwards.
The night will close out with the second set beginning with Malia, a short bio piece on Hawaiian Malia Manuel by Morgan Maassen. Our feature documentary of the night will be Are You Serious by David Malcolm featuring Florida’s own Sterling Spencer. The film takes us alongside Sterling’s recovery journey as he navigates life and surfing with a traumatic brain injury.
Here’s the anticipated schedule for the night:
June 16th, 2023:
5:00 PM – Doors Open
6:30 PM –
June 17th, 2023:
5:00 PM – Doors Open
6:30 PM –
8:30 PM –
We are proud to have Monster Energy serve as our presenting sponsor again for this year’s festival, providing travel and lodging for the filmmakers who attend the festival.
Podcast Sponsor: Surfing’s Evolution and Preservation Foundation
Principal Sponsors: State of Florida Division of Arts and Culture, Volusia County, Roark, YETI, Sun Bum, Wagner Vasileros – aka The Lawyer Dude, Cap’n Lu’s – A Health Food Store for Pets, Anson Stoner, Globe Brand Footwear, and Atlantic Center for the Arts.
Major Sponsors: Persimmon Hollow, Cronin Surfboards, Florida Virtual School, Brian Layman Wealth Management, Red Dog Surf Shop, Kembali Board Shack, Café Verde, and Clancy’s Cantina
NSB Sponsors: Flaunt Electric Bicycles, Scott Yurchison Real Estate, Daytona Climbing Company, Dragon Alliance, LunDev Homes, Nixon, Mangrove Bay Design, Biological Consulting Services, Dr. Phil Stephens at MyEyeDr, Funxion IT, Pura Vida Bracelets, Beachside Tavern, Solento Organic Tequila, and Surfrider Foundation Flagler/Volusia.
Media Partnerships include: Surfline, The Surfer’s Journal, Surf Splendor Podcast Network, Beach Grit, The SurfNetwork, The Inertia, and Encyclopedia of Surfing.
Encyclopedia of Surfing provides our historical and archival needs.
Photos are up from February 4th! Click HERE!
Entry fee is $5.00.
Submissions for the 2023 festival are open via our website here.
Florida Surf Film Festival Mission:
Florida Surf Film Festival is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, public charity, invigorating surf culture and artistic appreciation by exhibiting contemporary documentary films with surfing as a focus from artist far and wide while also producing a story-driven podcast, literary group discussions, and artistic workshops.
Kevin grabs an old central Florida friend for this episode, Erik Gunderson. They met in high school and began surfing together around 1986, mostly willed by Kevin’s successful attempt to befriend this Dean Moriarty-type character. Erik lived, surfed, partied, and worked harder than the rest, which set the stage for some good times, friendship, and plenty of Floridian surf stories. Enjoy.
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Shoulder season generally implies smaller, playful waves and a generally mellow vibe… In this episode, we chat with Eden Saul of Dead Kooks Surfboards about a different, more horrific meaning. Listen in as Eden recounts the unthinkable disaster in paradise…twice! We delve into his early days of shaping influences, his direct to consumer business model, and his global shaping/travel schedule. Enjoy.
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A self-taught filmmaker, Nathan Oldfield has always embraced surfing’s DIY culture—fixing dings at age 10 and shaping his own boards at 14. Photography and then video became his focus; he and friends would take turns, resisting the urge to leave the lens and paddle back out. Coupled with his teaching degree to pay the bills, making his evocative, beautiful films gave him an outlet to share his friends’ stories and surfing. In this episode, we chat with Nathan about his beginnings of falling in love with the ocean, and it’s surrounding imagery, the joys of passing on the stoke to his son, and the beauty of the everyday things in life. Enjoy.
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If you’re one of the growing number of surfers enjoying your mid-length lately, you can and should thank Devon Howard for his contribution in creating one of the worlds best riding boards. We discuss his role in developing the Channel Islands Mid, his East Coast roots, and how some backyard farming funded his first ever barrel at Pipeline. Enjoy!
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Sterling Spencer is the undisputed No. 1 surfer in the world, but he took time off his schedule to visit with us sincerely about his migration from early blogger to the very funny Instagram producer and personality that he is today. We discuss brain injuries, Jeremy Flores, Kelly Slater, being chosen as a subject for parody, and more. Enjoy.
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Shannon “Hopper” Eichstaedt has an addiction; it’s a healthy one. Big barrels provide the spike in adrenaline necessary to flood endorphins and face-numbing tingles…. We truly enjoyed capturing this super-stoked human to share some stories about his wild times with Andy Irons and many more memories throughout his career as a fully-accredited charger. Enjoy.
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