A conversation with the only man to win four championships at Jaws Welcome to Episode Ten of Season Three of Late Drop – The Big Wave podcast. The series was created to showcase conversations with some of the best big-wave surfers in the world — hosted by one of the best big-wave surfers in the world. New episodes will drop on Surfline every other week — Stay tuned here for more Late Drop episodes. Professional big-wave surfers are humans of another ilk. And even among that elite group, there ar...
Nov 16, 2021•1 hr 13 min
The hard-charging big-wave world champion from Kauai that goes by the name of KK. Presented by http://futuresfins.com “I was pretty much raised by savage wolves,” said 2018 Womens Big Wave World Champion, Keala Kennelly, “But it turned me into a warrior.” Those wolves? Kauai boys. The Irons. The Alexanders. Heavys like that. And warrior, indeed. Unapologetically herself—and a rad one, at that—Keala’s actions have always spoken louder than words. From a successful career on the CT, to breaking gl...
Oct 11, 2021•1 hr 4 min
The San Diego big-wave icon and author articulating the realities of head trauma Welcome to Episode Six of Season Three of Late Drop – The Big Wave podcast. The series was created to showcase conversations with some of the best big-wave surfers in the world — hosted by one of the best big-wave surfers in the world. New episodes will drop on Surfline every other week — Stay tuned here for more Late Drop episodes. In big-wave surfing — much like normal-wave surfing — the audience usually sees two ...
Sep 14, 2021•1 hr 23 min
The Aussie big-wave surfer-shaper that’s packed bombs with the best of them. The surfer-shaper is truly a special kind of surfer. They know what works, what doesn’t, and all the nuance in between because they’ve had their paws on every curve and concave of the craft, over and over and over again. But the big-wave surfer shaper? Like Dylan Longbottom? That’s another kind of responsibility. A guy like Dyl—who has packed bombs from Teahupoo to Shippies—he knows the level of quality a board in that ...
Aug 18, 2021•1 hr 12 min
It ain’t easy on a kid moving over to the North Shore of Maui from the Mainland — let alone another country. Sardinia’s Francisco Porcella, however, is cut from a different cloth. And even though he learned to surf off of a large island in the Mediterranean Sea, the dashing Italian stepped up to the plate very quickly as a teenager on Maui — and joined the league of gentlemen and women at Jaws that led the paddle-in new era. Eventually, after about a decade of working at the big-wave game, Franc...
Aug 04, 2021•53 min
from Pico Alto to Puerto Escondido—the Peruvian King holds court… Welcome to Episode XX of Season Three of Late Drop – The Big Wave podcast. The series was created to showcase conversations with some of the best big-wave surfers in the world — hosted by one of the best big-wave surfers in the world. New episodes will drop on Surfline every other week — upcoming guests include, XXXX and others. Stay tuned here for more. Being a professional surfer—let alone professional big-wave surfer—is no easy...
Jul 28, 2021•1 hr 8 min
Class is in session with the Maverick’s Mathematician Welcome to Episode XX of Season Three of Late Drop – The Big Wave podcast. The series was created to showcase conversations with some of the best big-wave surfers in the world — hosted by one of the best big-wave surfers in the world. New episodes will drop on Surfline every other week — upcoming guests include, XXXX and others. Stay tuned here for more. It's funny how things are a thing—until they’re simply not. “There’s no such thing as a p...
Jun 28, 2021•1 hr 33 min
Late Drop Big Wave Podcast with Carlos Burle Brazil’s godfather of big-wave surfing Presented by http://futuresfins.com Throughout the course of history, what were once deemed “absolute truths,” are often no so absolute anymore. Stuff like: The world is flat. How certain peoples don’t have the capacity to vote. An electric car will never have the power of a gas-fueled one. Brazilians aren’t a threat in big waves. Then someone comes along and shatters that entire way of thinking. For that last on...
May 25, 2021•1 hr 13 min
If it’s heaving, you just know Laurie’s gonna go. PRESENTED BY https://futuresfins.com When Billabong sent 19-year-old Laurie Towner to one of the scariest waves on the planet during a massive swell with top-shelf pros Andy Irons and Joel Parkinson in 2006, few expected the Angourie hell boy to actually step up to the plate — much less rule the whole field. While most of the crew spent the day getting towed into terrifying kegs at Shipstern’s Bluff, Laurie casually paddled into the bomb of the d...
May 04, 2021•1 hr 15 min
When the big-wave GOAT speaks — we listen. Jamie Mitchell's Late Drop Big Wave Podcast with Shane Dorian. Season 3 Episode 1 Presented by Futures Fins. Every so often, in certain eras across certain disciplines, an athlete doesn’t just change the way we look at a team — he or she changes the way we look at the sport itself. A little over a decade ago, Shane Dorian did that with big-wave surfing out at Jaws. He raised the bar out there in XXL paddle-surfing, setting a precedent for all others to ...
Apr 07, 2021•1 hr 36 min
There’s a lot of surfers out there trying to live their best version of the movie “North Shore.” Spoiler alert: It ain’t that easy. Getting good waves at places like Pipeline, let alone Jaws, require years of beatdowns, humblings, moments of glory, and respect to pay off. Nobody knows this more than Hawaii Island’s Mikey “Redd” O’Shaughnessy, who, for over a decade, started from the bottom of the pack to become a yearly standout on the North Shore. (He’s won the coveted WOTW, mind you.) Of cours...
Mar 10, 2021•1 hr 3 min
If they made a Mt. Rushmore of influential Californian big-wave surfers, a couple names would probably come to mind off the bat. Peter Mel. Greg Long. Of course, four spots just isn’t fair, but the footprints of a lean, former pro surfer turned big-wave specialist from Laguna Beach nicknamed Snips loom large, indeed. From pivotal sessions at Todos Santos and Mav’s, to exploring and bagging world records at Cortes Bank, to barrels at Jaws…Snips has seen some things. In the newest episode of the L...
Feb 03, 2021•1 hr 15 min
Back in the ’70s, when a pro surfer would sign a contract for wax, two t-shirts and a surfboard (that was Buzzy’s first sponsorship with Local Motion), pros would do other bizarre feats. One of the original godfathers of big wave tow-surfing, Buzzy Kerbox, for example, took a zodiac out with Laird Hamilton and Darrick Doerner to outer reefs on Oahu…really, just to get away from the crowds. After a more lucrative contract modeling for Ralph Lauren, Buzzy got his kicks while in Europe paddling acr...
Jan 21, 2021•1 hr 15 min
Jamie Mitchell, Pete Mel, Kai Lenny and Twiggy Baker: Mav’s, slabs, outer boils and bean burritos. Call it a debriefing. They’re normally required by military soldiers or spies after a completed mission — and any big-wave surfer surely knows that some sessions can feel like a war zone. That swell of the decade a couple weeks ago at Maverick’s? Yeah, that deserved a debrief. So in this very special episode of the Late Drop, Jamie Mitchell patched in Peter Mel, Kai Lenny and Grant Twiggy Baker to ...
Dec 29, 2020•1 hr 20 min
the vet that just can’t keep out of the danger zone… Welcome to Episode Six of Season Two of Late Drop – The Big Wave podcast. The series was created to showcase conversations with some of the best big-wave surfers in the world — hosted by one of the best big-wave surfers in the world. New episodes will drop on Surfline every other week — upcoming guests include, Bob Pearson, Buzzy Kerbox and others. Stay tuned here for more. Speakin’ of Mav’s….Why not drop an episode of Jamie Mitchell (who rece...
Dec 29, 2020•1 hr 6 min
The thing about Kai Lenny, one of the greatest watermen the world has ever known, is that Kai is unapologetically…Kai. He’ll tell you that he wants catch the biggest wave ever surfed on the planet, and in the same breath, tell you that he’d like to surf Shipstern’s Bluff specifically so he could try a chop-hop down that infamous Shipstern’s step. No shame in Kai’s game. With a first name that literally means “ocean” in Hawaiian, and Waterman as his middle (it’s actually an old German family name...
Dec 01, 2020•1 hr 40 min
It would be easy to assume that most big-wave surfers have Nazaré-sized egos. And maybe, some very well do. One of the most revered, influential, and unassuming modern big-wave greats named, Nathan Fletcher, however, surely does not. “Out there…you can’t really have your ego up,” says Nathan. “You have to lose your culture, all your history, everything that you bring to the table has to be left on the beach because you’re dealing with you, and the ocean…” Preach. From pretty much giving up surfi...
Nov 12, 2020•1 hr 19 min
Late Drop - The Big Wave Podcast: Jamie Mitchell Interviews Ireland’s Keen Tow Team Conor Maguire surfs, Barry Mottershead drives, Finn Mullen keeps everyone safe. In this latest episode of Late Drop, Jamie Mitchell shines a light on exactly how much hard work, intense preparation, adamantine teamwork, local communication and mental toughness goes into tackling an XXL swell at Mullaghmore — and that’s before you even hit the water — by interviewing the tow team heard around the world: Conor Magu...
Nov 07, 2020•1 hr 52 min
Papa Moniz drops that local BW knowledge Welcome to episode 2 of season 2 of Late Drop – The Big Wave podcast Presented by Futures Fins. The series was created to showcase conversations with some of the best big-wave surfers in the world — hosted by one of the best big-wave surfers in the world. New episodes will drop on Surfline each week — upcoming guests include Nathan Fletcher, Bob Pearson and others. Stay tuned here for more. Sure, with enough discipline and mental fortitude, you can learn ...
Oct 22, 2020•1 hr 20 min
Catching up with the Notorious RCJ Welcome to episode 1 of season 2 of Late Drop – The Big Wave podcast. The series was created to showcase conversations with some of the best big-wave surfers in the world — hosted by one of the best big-wave surfers in the world. New episodes will drop on Surfline every other week — upcoming guests include Nathan Fletcher, Tony Moniz and others. Stay tuned here for more. Big-wave visionary? Middle-aged grom? Good Time Charlie? Screw loose? For one of the big-wa...
Oct 09, 2020•1 hr 21 min
The Girl Wonder from West Oz Welcome to the 13th installment of the Late Drop – The Big Wave podcast. The series was created to showcase conversations with some of the best big-wave surfers in the world — hosted by one of the best big-wave surfers in the world. New episodes will drop on Surfline each week — upcoming guests include Ross Clarke-Jones and others. Stay tuned here for more. Five years ago, a young woman from Perth, who was becoming disillusioned with the waves on the women’s world to...
Oct 07, 2020•1 hr 1 min
If you’re a big-wave surfer — and, a big-wave surfer from Cape Town, South Africa — it’s not about quantity; it’s about quality. Because, when it takes something, like, 50 hours to get to a place where the swell’s going to flex, be it Jaws, Nias, or Mullaghmore…yeah, you’ve got to be discerning. Precise. Surgical. Meet Cape Town’s Matt Bromley. He’s the guy that shows up on his own after a 3-day flight and bags the wave of the day, chipping in from some lineup spot 10 yards deeper than the pack....
Sep 24, 2020•1 hr 27 min
Charge…swim…bike…run…repeat. When one’s world gets thrown upside down, often folks play the blame-game, or just plain wallow. Yeah, that’s never been Clint Kimmins’ M.O., the hard-charging grom to follow Mick, Parko and Dingo’s generation on the Gold Coast in the mid-2000’s. A kid who was getting multiple magazine covers from his North Shore exploits, on his way to potentially qualifying…his path was accidentally waylaid. So whattya do when life gives you lemons? Clint made triathlons. Actually,...
Aug 28, 2020•1 hr 6 min
Back in the late ‘80s, there was a classic TV commercial running a lot about the anti-balding Hair Club for Men product. The big reveal at the end? The owner goes: “I’m not just the president of Hair Club for Men…I’m a client!” And in an odd way, this reminds us of Santa Cruz, California’s finest: Peter Mel. For some years, Peter Mel was not only the Commissioner of the WSL Big Wave World Tour…he was also a former BWWT world champion, Maverick’s event champion, “The Kill” Generation super-star…t...
Aug 21, 2020•1 hr 35 min
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamiemitcho.substack.com
Aug 14, 2020•1 hr 21 min
Much like druids, dervishes, and the secret castes of ancient alchemists…a man from Santa Cruz, California can be hard to pin down. The Fleas and Skindogs and keepers of the Lane often defy reason; are often unknowable. The Westside’s young Nic Lamb, a 2X Punta Galea winner and Mav’s event champion is bred in the same vein, but lucky for us, Jamie Mitchell pulled the stories and tales out of the man like a podcast sorcerer. “At the end of the day I’m just being me,” said Nic. “I’m doing me, I li...
Aug 03, 2020•56 min
Question: Can you still really be considered “underground” when you’ve won a Guinness Book of World Records record for your efforts? Mmm, maybe if it’s “Smallest Watercolor Painting,” but if it was for “Largest Wave Ever Paddled Into Pe’ahi (Jaws)”…yeah, in the surf world, you’re gonna blast through Ground Zero. Big Island-born, North Shore of Oahu-raised Aaron Gold, actually won that record in 2016 for a 63-foot-tall Jaws drainer. Of course, for anyone in Hawaii, that might not be a surprise. A...
Jul 27, 2020•1 hr 4 min
Ever done the big wave trifecta? Jojo Roper has. Welcome to the sixth installment of the Late Drop Big Wave podcast. The series was created to showcase conversations with some of the best big-wave surfers in the world — hosted by one of the best big-wave surfers in the world. New episodes will drop on Surfline each week — upcoming guests include Brian Keaulana, Peter Mel, Nic Lamb and others. Stay tuned here for more. Groomed on the shallow reef breaks and fickle slabs of La Jolla, San Diego -- ...
Jul 17, 2020•1 hr 13 min
The things this man has seen… Welcome to the fifth installment of Late Drop - The Big Wave podcast. The series was created to showcase conversations with some of the best big-wave surfers in the world — hosted by one of the best big-wave surfers in the world. New episodes will drop on Surfline each week — upcoming guests include Aaron Gold, Nic Lamb, Brian Keaulana and others. Stay tuned here for more. When you talk about those rare humans so innately skilled at survival that you could drop them...
Jul 17, 2020•1 hr 30 min
When it comes to big-wave personalities, there’s certainly all types, but traditionally, these personalities have been, well…big. There’s the “Are you not impressed?” chest beaters. There’s the incorrigible closeout-slab-hunting hellmen (and women). There’s the egomaniacs. The wanna-be Lairds. The actual Laird. And then there’s a rare gem like San Clemente’s Rusty Long. The quiet-type. The epitome of anti-ego. A guy who’s been rushing in extremely heavy water since his teens (often, with younger...
Jul 08, 2020•1 hr 10 min
