James Jenkins showed up at my local once and threw a casual backflip in the middle of a prone session like it was nothing. since then I’ve given up thinking I’m good at anything!
Seriously tho you should thrown together some podcast interviews with the crew up there! Y’all have such a unique scene and challenges it would be great to hear from y’all for that REGULAR FOILER context. Wing crew was strong and Ryan at Black point has tons of ideas and would be killer! Also, your surf scene seems chill enough that some crossover would be fun to hear about.
The Lewis Samuels progression episode was one of my favourites. Thoughtful reflections on the power rankings series and interesting to get his perspective after a year in foiling, with his surfing background. And the very heavy near drowning story is a useful reminder to do a first aid/CPR refresher.
I enjoyed it too, particularly the points about scarcity leading to a need to establish seniority through conformity, and how you kids don’t see what you’re doing on your phone and it leaves them out. Kinda brought it home for me. The bit about Eric feeling pressure to do “rad” stuff vs following psych made me think about all the posts from female athletes, who are all better than me, doing glamour/swimsuit shots with a foil next to them on the beach, so it’s “foiling related”. I feel guilty and icky for every moment the algorithm records me lingering. I try to go to other posts of actual foiling and like them instead.
I’m about halfway through it and enjoying myself quite a bit. My main question is, does he give his forum username? Or am I going to have to go through every post to find out who he is?
I enjoyed this FTW podcast as a follow on from the Lewis Samuels episode along the thread of core surfers turned foilers.
I also enjoyed re listening to this Progression episode, I think a format not mentioned above but probably really valuable is two experts discussing one topic in depth.
Freddie does get a fair bit of bashing if he goes too rabid on Axis.
But what’s interesting is getting a sellers eye view on what people buy and what they then complain about.
Especially given that axis basically has some kind of foil completion going on with gong for who can make the most different wings (and name them completely differently too)
When I found the Progression Project pod, I was so stoked with the depth of interviews, and the invaluable tech tips and knowledge. Then I listened to the Generic AND Mediocre, and felt like it was like going from the adult table at dinner to the kids table. A few laughs but on a whole different (and lower) level.
That said, I keep listening to them ALL, like a true addict, and to be fair…There are useful, and humorous moments in all of them.
My wish list:
A good interview with Gwen on his sup DW journey to present.
More DW content from non-pro/progressing riders in less “famous” locations
Progression Project is on a level of its own, I’ve nearly made it through the entire back catalogue.
Generic Foiling Podcast is ok… they are getting decent guests but it can be frustrating with Freddie always cutting them off to “dumb it down”, we get it you’re the colour guy but we’re listening to a foiling podcast for the foiling content
Dave Wests Another Foiling Podcast is also definitely worth a listen, he doesn’t have a huge catalogue but the ones he has released are a nice easy listen
Not foiling related (unless you count Scott falling in love with foiling) but Spit Surf podcast is a weekly listen for me as is the grit but they are both surf podcasts
Freddie dumbing down the conversation with Kane was disheartening to me. I understand he wants to make it funny/accessible, but it is wasting a high quality/rare conversation, for relatively low quality humor. Kane (and others) are incredibly valuable to the sport and kind enough to do podcasts. You would think letting interviewees express themselves is the easiest thing one interviewer can do, yet no one does that, ego is in the way.
It’s a real (and somewhat rare) skill, and when you are in an interview, best laid plans and intentions can get lost…can be ego, can be excitement, can be a bunch of things that make someone jump in when it would really be best if they stayed quiet…I have lots of respect for people that do this well (and lots of frustration when listening when they don’t)
Thank God someone else feels the same way about the Generic podcast. I tolerated Freddy for a while as the audio was so bad I couldn’t hear most of what he rambled on about. They have some really great guests & I feel they do them a disservice by asking stupid questions as we are listening to hear about what they know.
I haven’t finished listening to a complete podcast from them for the last 4 or so sessions.
On the other hand I’m loving the Voyager series. It is such a positive vibe & the interaction, respect & stoke between the host & guests is infectious. I always feel like I’ve had a great chat to other foilers after listening to them.
Dave West is great. He needs to get a few more guests in esp a recap with Jeremy Wilmotte - they’re so funny.
The most recent Progression Podcast with Army Armstrong was great. In the intro, Erik speaks directly to the fact that he has not been as outspoken about other brands and testing outside of UNI for quite a while. Good episode I appreciate Erik for his self reflection and integrity. We all know the Progression Foils are great and it’s nice to hear about other gear from other brands like the recent interview with Omen and Armstrong again.
Same page as everyone else here. I save Progression Project podcasts for long drives (to the gorge) and sometimes listen twice to make sure I didn’t miss anything. Look forward to them a ton and am always eager for the next one to be released. And I, too, have listened less to some of the other podcasts because I’m more interested in learning than being entertained.
However, I’ve struggled with podcasts about DW races, race recaps, etc. Been trying to figure out what I should be listening for, caring about, and learning from on these podcasts. If anyone has any advice as to how I can more effectively enjoy the race recap podcasts, I’m all ears!
That’s happened to me a bunch too…and it basically tells me that I’m just not a part of that world at this point…it can be a lot like eavesdropping on the conversation at the booth next to me at a restaurant…not much that is relevant to me and my life…even if its James Casey and I’d like to think that whatever he says is worth listening to.
BUT, you can just decide to become a fan/student of DW racing and soak it in.
I’d rather spend my time on things that more directly impact my life/riding/interests…
