Episode 095: Nick Hounsfield - The Man Behind The Wave

Full episode info and Show Notes - www.wearelookingsideways.com I’m back! After an unscheduled few weeks off. And I got right back into it with a visit to Bristol, where I was shown around the new Wave site by Nick Hounsfield, the man behind the entire project. Like most British surfers I’ve been following the story of the Wave for a good few years now, and I’ve long been intrigued by Nick’s role in the whole escapade. Sure, it’s about building the facility itself. But on another level, it’s a classic ‘if you build it, they will come’ story of one man and his unlikely vision. Rich territory for a podcast conversation indeed, so with the project close to completion and the first waves about to flow, I headed down to Bristol to meet Nick and dig into his whole story. The result is a conversation that covers a lot of diverse, emotional ground. Because the Wave is much more than a story about - well - a wave. There’s a deeper purpose at play, and a wider community vision for which surfing is the vehicle. And there’s another level to this, too - the implications of such developments for surfing as a whole, and what it will mean for our oldest and most jealously protected sideways culture. So yeah, a lovely weighty chat this, conducted on site a few weeks before UK surf culture changes for good. Hope you can forgive the background noise, and enjoy this unique insight into the man behind the Wave. Thanks to Matt Ward for the theme tune, and to my editor Fina Charleson.