Wing Foil Interviews

Episode 39 — Foil Drive: Paul Martin

The interview documents an in-depth conversation between Rob Stehlik and Paul Martin, the CEO and Co-founder of Foil Drive, at the AWSI show in Hood River 2024.

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Episode 38 — Robert Stehlik: founder interview

In a special episode of the Blue Planet Show, guest host Tyler Landon interviews Rob Stehlik, the founder of Blue Planet. The discussion focuses on Rob's extensive experience in the watersports industry, his journey from windsurfing to paddleboarding to foiling, and the release of his new book, Stand Up Paddleboarding for Dummies.

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Episode 37 — Aidan Nicholas: Armstrong Foils

Aidan Nicholas was at the Armstrong booth at the 2024 AWSI show in Hood River. We talk about the 2024 M2O race he won by a big margin, the Armstrong equipment he uses for racing and freestyle, wings, boards, foils, and riding in the Gorge the days before the show.

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Episode 36 — Dave Kalama

Dave Kalama is a pioneer in various water sports, including windsurfing, tow surfing, SUP, and now foiling. Dave's innovations have significantly influenced these sports, making them more accessible to the masses. He is currently at the forefront of designing advanced foiling boards widely used by athletes worldwide.

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Episode 35 — M2O foil edition 2024: Oahu crew

In this video our wing foil crew consisting of Derek, Matt, Kevin and Robert talk about our experience crossing the Ka'iwi channel between Molokai and Oahu in the 2024 M2O Foil edition race.

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Episode 34 — M2O 2024 race recap

Recapping the 25th edition of the Molokai to Oahu race. This episode features Robert Stehlik, who recently won the 14-foot stock stand-up paddleboard (SUP) division. Robert is excited about his accomplishment, sharing insights into his experience during the challenging race.

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Episode 33 — Maui to Molokai wing foiling adventure

Robert Stehlik and his friends from the O'ahu wing foiling crew share their incredible journey from Maui to Molokai and the subsequent Molokai Holokai race. The video captures stunning footage and provides insights into the experiences of the participants, making it a must-watch for foiling enthusiasts.

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Episode 32 — Robby Naish

Robby needs no introduction: 27-time windsurfing world champion and a pioneer in kite surfing, Stand Up Paddle boarding, foiling and wing foiling. The first time he became a windsurfing world champion was at only 13 years old, traveling by himself to the Bahamas. This interview gives you insight into how Robby Naish grew up and how he lives his life today, enjoy!

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Episode 31 — Jimmy Lewis: board building workshop tour

Jimmy Lewis gave us a full tour of his board building workshop in Maui and talks about his steps in building a board, including hot wire cutting the blank, installing foil boxes, glassing, how to get a sharp edge on a carbon layup and much more, thanks for sharing Jimmy!

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Episode 30 — The Spencer brothers

I've been trying for a long time to get the Spencer brothers to come on the show and I finally met up with them after the Molokai To Oahu race. Finn recently won the Maui to Molokai race and the Molokai to Oahu race, even though he had a major infection on his foot. They are both amazing athletes in wing foiling, downwind foiling, prone foiling, and surfing.

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Episode 29 — Molokai to Oahu race recap 2023

Today's show is not an interview, but rather a recap where I talk about my experience at the Molokai to Oahu race and what I heard from other competitors at the race.

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Episode 28 — Brian Tricario & Derek Hamasaki: Voyager X Wet Feet race

This Blue Planet Show is a recap of the Voyager X Wet Feet downwind race here on Oahu. It was probably the biggest foil race we've had here on Oahu. I'm talking with Brian Tricario and Derek Hamasaki who finished first and second in this race, in the wing foil division.

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Episode 27 — Olivia Piana

Olivia Piana is a world class athlete in many watersports. We talk about her journey, the M2O race next month and more...

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Episode 26 — Jimmy Lewis

Jimmy Lewis got started at a young age shaping surfboards and then moved to Maui where he got into making windsurf boards for some of the fastest sailors in the world at speed sailing events in the 1980s and 90s. Then he got into kite surfing and kite boards, then standup paddle boards, and now foil boards.

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Episode 25 — James Casey

Today's guest is James Casey, who also has a great podcast, the Casey Catchup. He's an amazing athlete, holds the record for the most kilometers foiled in one day and is the 2019 M2O champion (solo SUP). He's a great coach for anyone who wants to get into downwind foiling and he also invented the sport of winging upwind and then deflating and foiling downwind. We talk about his background, the Molokai to Oahu race to be held on July 30th, 2023, board and foil design, and more.

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Episode 24 — Ken Winner: Duotone

Ken Winner, wing foil designer extraordinaire talks about his background as a pro windsurfer and how he became a designer at Duotone and developed the first inflatable handheld wing for foiling. At first there was little interest in his invention but once a few people tried it, the sport of wing foiling really took off. Don't miss the last part of the interview where Ken screen shares his latest wing designs and goes into details you won't find elsewhere.

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Episode 23 — Mike Zajicek & Stefano Moris: Mike's Lab

Mike Zajicek and Stefano Moris make some of the world's fastest foils. When I researched their foils to use for wing foiling, I could not find much information online. After many months of waiting, they were finally able to make time for an interview. We talk about their background, how they started designing and making foils and go into detail on their foil design theories and construction. For more information on their foils, please visit: mikeslab.com

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Episode 22 — Jason Tangalin & Pono Matthews: Foil Fever

Jason Tangalin and Pono Matthews and the Foil Fever Ohana organized the Foilers of Aloha Classic foil contest on Kauai, held on Nov. 26th, 2022. The event was blessed with great conditions, a stoked community of foilers and next level performance in the waves.

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Episode 21 — Sam Loader: PPC return visit

Sam Loader is back for another interview and a lot has happened over the last year. We go into details on his foil board designs and construction, wings and soon to come: foils. We also discuss the foiling scene in New Zealand, COVID, his business and shop, and more. I have been testing the PPC Soar board and give my impressions as well. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did, Aloha!

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Episode 20 — Clifford Coetzer: Unifoil

In this conversation Clifford Coetzer, the founder and designer at Unifoil goes over tips for wing foil beginners, his background, how he started making foils and started Unifoil, foil design evolution, construction, stiffness, tradeoffs, testing prototypes, foil characteristics, and more. For more information on Unifoil, please visit: uni-foil.com

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Episode 19 — Adrian Roper: Axis Foils

Adrian Roper, the man behind AXIS foils. We get into some tips for beginners, talk about his background and how he got into watersports at a young age, and then we talk in detail about foil design, how to set up the foil properly, how different aspects of the foil setup affect how the foil performs, new designs he is working on, the mast, importance of stiffness, the fuselage, the angles of the foil. This Axis Foil brochure has the shim guide Adrian mentions on pages 41–42: axisfoils.com/current-brochure

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Episode 18 — Alan Cadiz: return visit

Alan Cadiz comes back to the Blue Planet Show for this interview where we start with very basic beginner tips, the top five tips for beginners, and then we get into more advanced technique, racing and equipment as well.

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Episode 17 — Wing foiling in onshore wind: Oahu crew

Welcome to the second season of the Blue Planet Show. In this episode, Eli, Derek, Koa, Lucas and Robert talk about wing handling in onshore waves, jumping off the lip and landing back in the wave, back loops, getting up on foil, equipment tips, and tips for beginners and those getting started. There are some great tips for all levels of wing foilers.

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Episode 16 — Armie Armstrong: Armstrong Foils

This interview is with none other than Armie Armstrong, the founder of Armstrong foils. It's amazing how he built a business in just a few years from a few prototypes to one of the biggest manufacturers in the world of foiling and wing foiling equipment.

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Episode 15 — Alex Aguera: GoFoil

Alex is nutty about wing foiling. He's coming out with GoFoil Wing foil boards and wings. And of course he plays such an important role in the development of the sport. He basically invented the foil that allowed Kai Lenny to do downwinders on a big long board. And basically kick-started this whole sport of foiling in the surf and now with wings.

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Episode 14 — Kevin & Kaden Pritchard

Kevin Pritchard is a multiple time wind surf world champion. His brother Matt Pritchard's son, Kaden is 12 years old and he's only been winging for about a year. And he's already doing crazy moves: back flips and he's working on forward flips and he breaks down technique for me on the Flaka, which really helped me out too.

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Episode 13 — Damien Leroy & Gwen Le Tutour

Damien Leroy and Gwen Le Tutour have been on a roll, posting two great instructional videos per week and helping lots of people getting started in the sport. They are humble but are clearly exceptional humans and motivated by a desire to help people.

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Episode 12 — Titouan Galea

This interview is with the very first wing foil world champion, Titouan Galea from New Caledonia. Titouan breaks down some of the most advanced moves for us step by step. We also talk about his background, how he grew up in New Caledonia and now lives in France, and about his board, foils, wings and what the future holds for him.

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Episode 11 — Talking story with the Oahu crew

Video voiceover of some recent wing foil drone footage by our local crew of wing foilers: Jason, Daniel, Jeff, Jed and Robert. The drone footage is from three different wing foil surfing sessions in May and June 2021 here on Oahu.

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Episode 10 — Mark Raaphorst: Flying Dutchman

Mark Raaphorst knows how to make boards that are both light and strong. After building SIC into an internationally known brand, he simplified his life and now runs a one man operation building high quality foil boards under his Flying Dutchman label. oneflyingdutchman.com

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Episode 9 — Gunnar Biniasch

Today's guest is Gunnar Biniasch who lives in Fuerteventura on the Canary islands, which are part of Spain, even though they're off the coast of Africa. He's been creating YouTube videos for many years. He teaches wing foiling and runs the North Shore surf shop in Fuerteventura.

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Episode 8 — Glennel Jordan

Whether it's swimming with sharks, wing foiling in big waves a day before giving birth, or "toiling" on smooth North Shore walls with her smooth and flowy foil surfing style, Glennel Jordan lives a full life and openly shares about her background, surf foil and wing foil technique and equipment, her Macaw, her husband Zack and baby Raven, adventures, stories and how she keeps a positive outlook.

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Episode 7 — Kane De Wilde

Kane De Wilde is on the leading edge of wing foiling as both athlete and designer. Listen, learn, and apply it on the water!

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Episode 6 — Sam Loader: PPC

Sam Loader is the owner of the Pacific Paddle company in Auckland New Zealand and the designer of the PPC wing, currently my favorite wing.

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Episode 5 — Rob Whittall: Ozone & Armstrong

Rob Whittall is co founder and head designer at Ozone and a partner at Armstrong. He talks about his background, the Wasp V2 design, the Armstrong A+ system, and how to live a good life, enjoy!

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Episode 4 — Annie Reickert

Welcome to the Blue Planet Wing Foil show, episode 4 with Annie Reickert, a talented young water woman from Maui. Annie excels at surfing, big wave riding, foiling, and wing foiling.

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Episode 3 — Alan Cadiz

Alan Cadiz has been a pioneer of the young sport of wing foiling and has some great stories to tell. Watch and listen to the third episode of the Blue Planet Show to find out how his neighbor Ken Winner developed an inflatable wing for downwind foiling. He talks about the latest Duotone Slick wing that will be available soon. Also lots of great technique and gear tips for experts, beginners and everyone in between.

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Episode 2 — Balz Müller

I speak with Wing Foil expert Balz Müller at his home in Switzerland by zoom call. Balz talks about his background, different sports, the evolution of wing foiling, competing in Brazil, technique, the future of the sport, gear and more.

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Episode 1 — Zane Schweitzer

This long form interview with Zane Kekoa Schweitzer is the first episode of the Blue Planet Show where I interview athletes, designers and thought leaders on the cutting edge of Wing Foiling. The interviews are recorded on Zoom with screen shared videos to go along with the conversation.

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