Looking Sideways: 10 Things
This week's ten things I thought were worth sharing
Congratulations to listener and reader Danielle Wickham, who is the winner of a brand new Finisterre Yulex wetsuit! Her question was chosen by Chris Nelson and Lewis Arnold following the recent Open Thread q&a about their new documentary film The Big Sea. To catch up on that discussion, click here. Massive thanks to my friends at Finisterre.
My next Open Thread is with forthcoming Type 2 guest Nick Hayes about our conversation and the Right to Roam campaign. The thread will be open to everybody, but paid subscribers will have the chance to win a Yeti soft cooler for best question as chosen by Nick.
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1. Is Substack the future of media? It could be, according to this New Statesman piece.
2. Waimea lifeguard Luke Shephardson winning the Eddie while on his break is the perfect storyline for this most romantic of surf events. Looking Sideways alumna Christa Funk got the shot of the day, above.
3. The very definition of ‘doing the work’: when Wave Wahines founder Yvette Curtis (and previous Looking Sideways guest) realised there was a dearth of material on the subject of diversity in surfing, she decided to take matters into her own hands. The result is her new report Diversity in Surfing; download and read this important study here.
4. I didn't expect to be quite so gripped by this lengthy story about the (sorry, everyone) culture war currently centred around a venerable old Botanic Garden on the Isle of Wight. But, as this great piece spells out, this is as much about the way we view the value of our land, and who gets to control it, as it is about the fate of the garden itself.
5. Personally, I’m ambivalent the Warren Miller take on the ski/snowboard flick. But the news that parent company Outside has decided not to film a new WM movie this year (for the first time in 70-plus years), and has instead chosen to compile a new feature from existing footage, says much about the way the media landscape in the outdoor and action sports world continues to be hollowed out. Find out more on WM director Chris Patterson’s post, above, and remember to support the independent media that you cherish. We’ll miss it when it’s gone.
6. I loved this Adidas Terrex short about snowboard lifer Neil Campbell, and the power of an activity like snowboarding to change lives. Big up Chris Chatt and the rest of the team involved in this one.
7. RIP the great, curmudgeonly David Crosby. His If Only I Could Remember My Name is one of my all-time favourite records, and this uber-stoned early 70s live BBC performance with bandmate/sparring partner Graham Nash is a thing of real beauty.
8. Friend-of-the-pod John Rattray has been using his Why So Sad? concept to spread awareness about mental health issues for a few years now, and his latest collab with Jon Horner (above) is a moving, honest and impactful piece of work.
10. I enjoyed this Outsiders Project/Berghaus collab on how climber and activist Adam Raja ‘traded the block for the mountains’.
Hope you enjoyed this week’s selection. Leave a comment, or if you’re a paid subscriber who has any feedback or questions about this week’s episode, hit me up directly in the subscriber chat thread.
Doh. Luke 'Shephardson' obviously. Nowt like a glaring typo to keep you honest
I read the article on the botanical garden yesterday and I felt there was either probably a lot unsaid or there was some detail they hadn't got to the bottom of.