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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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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

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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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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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