Looking Sideways: 10 Things
Here are the ten things I thought were worth sharing this week
1. New Looking Sideways stuff: my latest episode with Australian surfer Lucy Small, who earlier this year found herself at the centre of an age-old debate about gender equity, and the value we place on the contribution of men and women in surfing, and indeed, society in general. If you follow surf media at all, you probably saw it.
Once the dust had settled I contacted Lucy to see if she’d be up for coming on the show to talk about her experience and explore the issues thrown up by this entire incident. Which she did and the result is a lengthy, thought-provoking and timely conversation about the effect this has on women and girls, and why this matters. Thank you Lucy for your honesty and eloquence - click this link to listen.
2. The England football team are in a major final for the first time in 55 years and the entire nation has had Three Lions on permanent loop for what seems like weeks - but what does it all mean? I enjoyed Tim and Gendle’s preview podcast, Russell Brand dissecting ‘It’s coming home’ in this IGTV video, the Guardian’s peerless Barney Ronay on the meaning of this historical cultural moment, and this earnest and at times unwittingly hilarious US hot take on the whole thing. Click the links to find out more.
3. Victor Daviet’s Grab, another welcome entry in the recent the ‘insanely talented snowboarders capturing the simple fun of it all’ film trend. Watch it above.
4. You may have noticed I have a book out. So when I saw that surf photographer Lewis Arnold was crowdfunding GLASS, a new work about the tight knit and unique North Sea surf scene, I dived right in and backed it. Watch the clip explaining the project above, and click here to back the project. And follow them on Instagram here for updates.
5. Boarders is a new documentary following the first GB Olympic skate team as they compete to qualify for Tokyo. Watch the trailer above, and follow the film here so you can watch the whole thing when it becomes available.
6. Even for me this is hopelessly niche, but I absolutely love it when friends put together hopelessly uncommercial projects driven by pure passion and creativity (hey, I just described my own podcast). My pal Jack Clayton just launched a new online cricket magazine called Stumps and it’s beautifully done. Click here to have a gander.
7. The shred biopic, a true rite of passage for any first-name-only pro. Snowboarder Anna Gasser is the latest to get the treatment with her forthcoming film The Spark Within - watch the latest teaser above.
8. Can reading make you happier? Apparently so, and it even has a name - bibliotherapy. Click here to read a fascinating New Yorker story on the topic, and here to see what I’ve been reading so far this year.
9. ‘Mourning Country’, surf film director Andrew Kaineder’s film about impact of the 19/20 NSW bushfires, is very affecting. Watch it above.
10. I’ve been asked to deliver a talk on how to interview people (yes, I do talks; get in touch if you have an idea), and have been enjoying dissecting the way I approach this whole business.