Riding my 7'2" Haut at Cowells circa 1991 My Journey to Becoming A Surf Coach Part 1 Happy Friday. First, as always, thanks for being here. If you're new, welcome. This week, with a few new supporters thanks to me actually figuring out how to link discount codes, I thought I'd share my progression as a surf coach. Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start (fun fact: I watched The Sound of Music at least twice a week from 1981-1994): I learned to swim at 5 months old. You...
11 days ago • 16 min read
Finding Flow: Family, Money, and the Perfect Board Krishna and Fialka at Private Beach Family, Politics, and Finding Common Ground Closing out my third week in Costa Rica on a high note. I'm back at the Rancho. My dad and I decided to put away our political differences and both acknowledged our part in the fight we got into in the first week (I am sure that deep down each one thinks he's still on the side of truth). I have some key takeaways for anyone currently dealing with this...
19 days ago • 14 min read
Surfing & Stress Part II + Go Full Sloth Mode Fialka at "Private Beach" staring down the line of two perfect baby rights! Real talk this week: my HRV scores continue tanking. We're talking a drop from the 80s down to the 40s thanks to some intense family stuff that I won't get into here (let's just say I needed a little space from my Trump supporting father). My nervous system is basically screaming at me through the data. But here's what's fascinating: I'm still having some of the best surf...
26 days ago • 7 min read
Surfing & Stress + Pop Up Masterclass Live from Costa Rica!!! Hard to believe it’s only been one full week since the semester ended. The Whoop results of my May don’t lie — I have been stressed out: It’s been a very yellow month. One full sleep at Rancho Diandrew? I’m back to green. I think that’s a sign for everyone to go on a trip to a relaxing tropical climate. But don’t stress out about how you’re going to make it happen! I know, easier said than done, like so much else in life. I was...
about 1 month ago • 10 min read
End of Semester Thoughts, How to Hit the Lip Backside, Tofu Saag Hello! The semester is over! Wow that was intense. I knew it was going to be a lot of work, but I wasn’t totally prepared for how much work it really ended up being. Three classes. Tuesdays and Thursdays. 75 minutes apiece. SUNY Suffolk Grant Campus in Brentwood, NY. That’s a 70 minute morning commute both from Manhattan and Rockaway Beach and a 90 minute commute back to either location, for a grand total of 320 minutes (5.3...
about 1 month ago • 11 min read
Habit: The Antidote to Anxiety + Taking Surf Coaching to the Next Level Hello! This week we're starting with a very fresh What Surfing Really Looks Like from my fog session in Rockaway Beach yesterday, May 15th. I tried to make a little something for everyone in this video. If you are a beginner, look for pop ups, paddling, and eyes down the line. If you are an intermediate or advanced intermediate look for how to get suuuuupper small, duckdiving from the sand assist, and end section closer....
about 2 months ago • 20 min read
WSL’s Big Changes, Women’s Heat Review, Essay On Anxiety Pt 2 As promised, here’s an analysis of women’s heat from the Bonsoy Gold Coast Pro. The event should finish up tonight, so be sure to clear your schedule, make some popcorn (without oil or butter, but with double nutritional yeast), and tune in. It is absolutely wild that the exact day I published the last zine the WSL came out with sweeping changes for their 2026 tour, many of which are in line with my critique of the current system...
about 2 months ago • 21 min read
WSL Waiting Periods, Explained + Kierkegaard & Heidegger On Anxiety and Despair Pt 1 Just a perfect wave for you to mindsurf. Barbados 2025. Salve amici! First off, big thanks to Katie Treuer for reaching out in response to the last zine. She told me that she liked the contest analysis, and asked whether I might do the same for a women’s heat and a longboarding event. She then inquired in a parenthetical remark: “Not sure if longboarding gets the same exposure on TV? I suspect short boarding...
2 months ago • 28 min read
Personal Reset Results + W.S.R.L.L. Surf Contests + Bonus Pics The reset is complete. It was an incredible experience. I detail some of the highlights in the video. It’s just a talking head video, so if you want more detailed images see below. I have long believed that I should probably figure out how to enter the podcasting space. From what I see, however, all the podcasters are now filming their pods and posting them to YouTube. So videos like this one are an attempt to do something of that...
2 months ago • 9 min read