Looking Sideways: 10 Things
Here are this week's ten things I thought were worth sharing.
1. Thanks so much to everybody who has been in touch and even signed up as a paid subscriber after I ‘officially’ went paid last week!
It’s been a really heartening demonstration of the Looking Sideways community in action, and the positive response has really taken me by surprise and surpassed my expectations. And if you recently signed up as a free subscriber, welcome!
If you’ve yet to listen to the special HouseKeeping Corner episode, or read the blog in which I talk about why I’ve decided to make this change, you can do so here.
If you want to test the waters before committing, try these special offers:
2. Infuriating news (to put it mildly) from England, where the right to wild camp has been legally compromised after a court ruled in favour of landowner, hedge fund manager (and Conservative party donor) Alexander Darwall, who argued that the right to wild camp on our moors never existed.
Coincidentally, I’ve just recorded a new episode of my Patagonia Type 2 podcast with Nick Hayes, an artist, author, illustrator, activist and driving force behind the Right 2 Roam campaign, during which we discussed the Darwall case and its implications in some detail. We also explored the ways Nick’s work asks a simple, vital question: who is this place for? Don’t miss this one.
3. If you’ve been enjoying my Substack, you’ll probably also enjoy
, a regular series of interviews by my pal that explores ‘how the environmental crisis is shaping our experience of the sports we love’. I really enjoyed her recent interview with three Just Stop Oil activists who held up a FIS event in Norway. Click the links to read and subscribe.
4. SW friends! Very happy to say I’ll be hosting a live conversation with legendary British surf photographer Alex Williams for my friends at Outside Devon this coming Thursday February 16th.
Find out more here. I have two tickets to give away to paid subscribers - comment or hit me back if you want to claim them. First come first served.
5. One for the ‘heads - Andy Votel’s wonderful tribute mix to legendary German band Can has been soundtracking the last few days. Warning: contains some of the most challenging yet creatively brilliant music ever recorded.
6. In the 18 years since I founded my company
, I've worked with a lot of brands (we've spent the last ten years helping to establish Arc'teryx as one of the world's biggest outdoor brands, for example, and are currently doing the same with Yeti across Europe), and have witnessed countless attempts to market to our communities from pretty much every company in the game.So I feel pretty confident in saying: my friends at Db are as progressive as any brand out there right now, both in terms of product and messaging.
Sure, I'm biased because I've been working on different projects with them through Looking Sideways and ACM. But it is true. And they’re currently looking for somebody to join them and help shape the skateboarding side of their business - a proper plum gig in the current industry climate. Find out more and apply to join the best team in the business here.
7. New Ken Burns documentary alert! Burns is one of THE great documentarians of our time, and everything he releases is (to me anyway) appointment viewing. This harrowing yet essential look at America’s relationship to the holocaust is no exception. It’s on iPlayer in the UK and PBS in the States - seek it out.
8. My friend Jamie Brisick has a new season of his Surfer’s Journal podcast Soundings on the way, and the new guest list looks amazing. Plus, he’s scooped everybody (I’ve been trying to arrange this myself for at least five years) by scoring an interview with Yvon! Do not miss.
9. I’ve been enjoying the latest episodes of How to Invent a Country, in which Misha Glenney explores the history of Russia in light of the invasion of Ukraine with his usual mix of erudition and levity. Listen above.
10. When soccer moms go rogue: how the Reyna/Berhalter family feud derailed the USMNT’s World Cup campaign, a story that has since gone mortifyingly mainstream. I forgot to post this the other week, but it’s such a deliciously wild story it’s worth going back to.
Contains levels of tone-deaf, cringe-making entitlement that makes the current Harry/Meghan-versus-the-Windsors saga seem positively restrained. Grab the popcorn and have a read.
Hope you enjoyed this week’s dispatch. If you got any feedback or thoughts on the stories I shared this week, let’s hear ‘em in the comments: