Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast - EP 185: Sam Hammer (Sea.Hear.Now Festival Ep)

Episode Date: August 16, 2022

We open with a special message from our hero: the man who taught us how to be men. Andy & Nick discuss inattentional blindness, higher beings(& their distinct absence from our lives), and the pessimism of the mundane... plus: appropriate sex toy size, and how tight weed is, naturally. Shifting focus onto something new and exciting: masterful artist of wave riding, Sam Hammer! This one is all about shredding that liquid gnar, my dudes and dudettes. Check out Sea.Hear.Now. Festival cuz dang;what a lineup! Lastly, life is short; don't let the haters getchya down, y'all. Follow us on Instagram @worldsavingpodcast For more information on Andy Frasco, the band and/or the blog, go to: AndyFrasco.com Check out Andy's new song, "Puff Break (Believe That)" on iTunes, Spotify  catch a wave with Sam at hammersurfschool.com Produced by Andy Frasco Joe Angelhow Chris Lorentz Audio mix by Chris Lorentz Featuring: Macho Man Randy Savage The U.N. Arno Bakker

Your middle name is Macho, but I'm wondering if you ever cry. Has Macho Man ever cried? Oh, yeah. Really? Uh-huh. It's okay for Macho Man to show every emotion available right there, you know, because I've cried a thousand times, I'm going to cry some more. But I've soared with the eagles and I've slithered with the snakes

and I've been everywhere in between, and I'm going to tell you something right now. There's one guarantee in life, and that there are no guarantees, yeah. And you've got to understand this. Nobody likes to quit. Nobody said life was easy. So if you get knocked down, take the standing eight count, get back up and fight again.

Well, the more and more I roll, the less and less I know about myself. I used to run without a hitch, now I'm in a sitch that's bringing me down. When I'm feeling blue, it's a hard pivot shoe, but this is what I do. It's a hard pivot shoe, but this is what I do I wrote a little song, wrapped with a message to say fuck you Don't let the haters get you down Let's talk for love Spread it around Don't let anyone

ruin all your fun Don't let anyone ruin all your fun. Don't let anyone ruin all your fun. All right, Nike, go. We should play Celebrity Network, too. And we're back. Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast.

I'm Andy Frasco. This is my co-host, Nicholas. What's your Aaron? My God. Nicholas Aaron Gordon. I think you're doing it on purpose. I don't. I'm really not.

Stewart. Nicholas Stewart. What? Oh, shit. He even boned us. We got Nick Gerlach as my co-host As always I flew back from my tour To be here

And boy are your arms tired He flew private You could have wore a different outfit For my entrance Nope Didn't want to How we doing? How's our heads? Are we staying out of trouble?

Are we not letting the demons get us? Just fuck us. Or let them get you sometimes. Have fun. This is a See Here Now installment, another installment from the festival, from Asbury Park. Wow.

I was thinking about that. Damn, everyone has these different lives. Yep. You know, to follow their dreams. And they're all not fun. Like, the path to get to your dream is a lot of work when you're following a dream. Yeah.

Even as a band. Shouting out to everyone following their dreams. That's basically the premise I was trying to do. No, what you just said is... We hear you. What you just said is recently you realized that other people have thoughts and lives of their own. No.

I feel like in your mind, as soon as someone isn't in your field of vision, they cease to exist. Sonder. It's called Sonder. Really? That's a word for when you realize everyone else is not just a background character in your life. It's like they have their own thoughts and

consciousness. I think you're right. Maybe I was just so self-absorbed my whole life. You're pretty self-absorbed. Yeah. But is it a harmful way? Am I harmful about my self-absorbed my whole life. You're pretty self-absorbed. Yeah. But is it a harmful way? Am I harmful about my self-absorbeness? I don't think so, but it doesn't make it any less true. Really?

Yeah. It doesn't matter. I know it doesn't. Nothing matters. There's no God. It doesn't matter. You can do whatever you want. I was trying to have a philosophical question,

and you go straight into the fucking pessimism of nothing matters. I'm not. Well, stuff matters, but I'm just saying I don't think you're that bad about it, but you are that you are self-involved. Okay. Anyway, dialed in gummies.

If you want to go deep in work, you really want to go self-involved into your thoughts. Go get some dialed in gummies. I've been mowing them lately. Oh, me too. Four a night. Yeah, it's summertime, so they glob up as one because I keep them in my backpack Like an idiot I'll have half of one

Like over the course of an hour I'll have a little I was on such a good routine When I was home Now I can't even live in my own house I only could rent it out When I do podcasts Denver

Even the people that own the home Can't afford to live in their homes here guys It's crazy That's how bad real estate is here It's so expensive He owns a house And he can't afford to live here I gotta rent it out to

Cougars And people Who are taking their kids to University of Denver. I don't know. I have a lot of old people who rent it, so I doubt they're fucking. Because they have their kids here. And my house is so open.

That's true. This isn't a good... I wouldn't go here for a couple's retreat. You know what I mean? When I know that they're fucking in the house is when there's only two people. I told you I found that they're fucking in the house is when there's only two people. Yeah. I told you I found that big old dildo. No, I don't remember this, actually.

Oh, my God. I didn't see it, but our old cleaning people was doing the turnover for the next house while I was on tour. Oh, the old two ladies you had? Yeah, the badasses. And they pulled up the drape or whatever like whatever

that thing is to hide the the lower part of the bed oh the yeah i don't know duvet or whatever no duvets on top anyway they found this fucking skirt serious dildo nine inches ten inches serious that's i mean so big so wide it cracked me up if you're gonna get a fake dildo you gotta get a big ass dildo what's the point we're gonna get a four fake dildo, you got to get a big ass dildo. What's the point? Are we going to get a four inch dildo? It's so stupid, right? Like, why would you get like something? It's like my husband's, but smaller. It's comfortable.

You know. Have you ever had a pocket pussy? No, I haven't. I've never tried that either. No, I don't. I don't. I'm not. I've never really been very adventurous in that world.

Maybe you just like use all your cum in high school. I hope so. I hope so. I'm just hoping I'm feral or whatever. Feral? Feral's like a stray cat. You are kind of feral too, though, actually. You're Will Feral.

Speaking of stray cats, sign up for Repsy.com. A band. If you don't have an agent, if you're a stray cat. Stray cat, baby. If you're a stray, if you're a stray cat. Stray cat, baby. If you're the stray cat of the music industry, why don't you signupforrepsy.com? Also, if you're a juggler,

what other things can you signupforrepsy.com? A magician. A magician. Independent promoter. No. Yeah. No, I don't know.

Independent promoter. Why not? They got to find bands. Yeah, exactly. There's got to be something on both sides. Wedding planner. Frat houses. Yo,etsi. They got to find bands. Yeah, exactly. There's got to be something on both sides. Wedding planner. Anyone.

Frat houses. Yo, frats. I know you're starting. I see a lot of people coming into the podcast. I'll come DJ your frat. From Athens, Georgia and shit. And we're getting a lot of like barstool podcast fans coming up. I'll come DJ your frat.

Yeah. Nick set up a page on Repsy.com. I'll come tell you guys to quit school, and I'll DJ your frat, and I'll pay you to drop out of school unless your parents are paying for it. So the only way to book Nick is on Repsy.com. So go sign your band up, sign everything.

Or if you're a promoter, I know there's a lot of agents on here. If you want to go have a middleman in the middle of the negotiations, go have Repsy help you. What you want is fewer people between you and your destination, which is money. Yes. So sign up for Repsy.com.

All right. All these people take their little cuddle on the way like little trolls by the bridge. You got an agent, a manager, merch people, you know. We're almost done with festival season. I can't believe it. Oh my God. I got secret dreams this weekend. You excited? Yeah, I'm fun. It's going to be fun, I think. Do you have I'm prepared. Yeah, it's going to be sick. I'm going to just rock. Do you

like do what the DJs do with their hands? No, it's not like that. It's not like party DJ shit. It's more of my, you know, stuff. You put your hand in your pocket while you're DJing. I should do that. Just like just do crowd work over it. I'm playing like 3 p.m. So there might be, you know, it might be ninety five with like three people there. So I should just do crowd work, but I was thinking of doing crowd work, but like, you know, I can't hear them right because there's a music thing. Yeah, that's the crowd work. Just me telling people I can't hear them. I can't hear you. No, what I can't. Where are you from? Yeah, where are you from? I can't hear you. What do you do for a living?

There's a sub. Hey, I got to promote some tickets. I got to promote some shows. This Wednesday, we're in Holyoke, Massachusetts. I don't even know where the fuck that is. Holyoke? Holyoke? Is that it? It's where Mount Holyoke College is, I bet. We're playing with Dempsey. Dempsey's

alien band's opening for us. Oh, no, that's not that version. Someone else is playing that. I think residual groove. Waterbury, Vermont. I don't even know. Where the fuck are we playing this week? Waterbury, Vermont.

Bongiorno, what the fuck are you doing, man? No, Bongiorno, his hands are tied because we played in every market. He's a Mets fan. He can take a joke. I know. Shout out to Bongiorno. He's a in every market. He's a Mets fan. He can take a joke. I know. Shout out to Bonjarno. He's a fucking man. Keeping me busy

when I've played every fucking city this year. Yeah, he's probably just trying to find a market you don't have a radius clause in. Yeah, that's what basically this is. You're playing farm towns. That's what this tour is.

New England. Friday, we're in Canada-ga, New York. What? Where the fuck are we going to be this week? Canada-ga. Canada-ga.

I think that's near Syracuse, right? In between Rochester and Syracuse. New York. Where the fuck are we going to be this week? Canandaigua. Canandaigua. I think that's near Syracuse, right? In between Rochester and Syracuse. Is it like a festival or something? It's like an outdoor thing, but I think we're the only band playing. Then we're playing in Baltimore. Can't wait for that hot August nights. Oh, God.

I love that festival. I love Baltimore. I went to a baseball game there once. It was sick. That's a festival. You don't have to buy tickets. Well, buy tickets. I don't want to say don't buy it, but that'll be a fun one.

You probably already bought tickets, Baltimore. August 21st, Dewey Beach, Delaware. I love Dewey Beach. You ever been there? That's kind of like a Charleston town. I've only ever played Wilmington. It's like a Charleston town. It's fucking badass.

We played Starboard. We've been playing there for like eight years. Fucking badass. And then Monday, we got a private party for Deep Eddie's. We're playing in Baltimore again. I probably shouldn't announce that, but fuck it. Shout out to Deep Eddie's. And then

August 24th, we're playing in Memphis. Lafayette's. Can't wait for that. Haven't been back since Mempho Fest. I love Memphis. Yeah, it's okay. That's where the original Gus's Fried Chicken is. I like Gus's Fried Chicken

at Central Barbecue. And then back to Arkansas, the 25th. Little Rock, we're playing the Rev Room. Oh, you're back in your fall tour circuit again. Shut up.

That's where we played in fall tour last year. I guess it's been a year. I'm just saying, it's like weird. It's been that long that you can play Red Room again.

I know. And then we're playing Chicago, Sacred Rose. And then we just got booked for opening for the Disco Biscuits in Cincinnati, Ohio. The fuck? They wanted me to open. I'm like, hell yeah. I was honored. Shout out to Brownie.

It's a funny pairing. It is. I'm already getting ripped on. Their fans don't really like me. Their fans don't like anyone but the Disco Biscuits. I know. I'm getting some shit on. I'm like, whatever. Fuck y'all. Because I'm still playing and I'm going to rock the fuck out of Cincinnati.

Let's go. What is it? Where at? It's some amphitheater. The Riverwalk thing? Yeah, Riverwalk. Is that cool? Is it big? I haven't played it. I wonder if Casey Schneider is involved in that.

Casey Schneider. Central Productions. He books, they do, they do Resonance Festival, but they're all like from Cincinnati. Oh, word.

Yeah. And then I'm going to Spain, baby. Spain. And Barcelona. Barcelona. Barcelona. No, it's a TH.

Shout out to Virgin Voyages. The C is a TH in Barcelona I've never been on an all adult cruise You've been on an all children's cruise? I mean mostly Besides Jam Cruise Well that's basically adult children On that festival

The richest children on earth I've only been on a couple of cruise But they always had kids And like fucking pissing in the pool and shit. Now we're going to have adults. Yeah, that sounds terrible. So come out, buy some tickets. And then, or don't and just come during the fall.

Just smoke crack in your basement. What I think. Yeah. Anyway, what a fucking opening. Smoke meth in your fucking basement instead. Have you ever smoked meth? No, I haven't. Have you?

Yeah. I snorted it in Germany. Doesn't count. Took two lines of it and was up for three days. Speed in Germany doesn't really count. Yeah, but they told me it was coke. Why do they like speed so much over there? I think because it's more legal. Oh yeah, you're coming to Europe with us.

Am I going to like German people? What do you mean? Am I going to like them? Yeah, Germans, they're totally you. Aren't they like a bunch of assholes? No, they're stern, but funny. Oh, they are funny. They're hilarious.

I can't name one German stand-up comedian. Oh, yeah, there's that one guy. What about the French I'm not into? They're all snobs. Also, they got us into Vietnam War. The French, I mean, I've only been to France once. Oh, my God. I don't think I told you this. I don't even know.

First Europe tour, I burned my hotel like flames. Dude, it was so fucked up. They have those lamps that just get really hot because it's old school. I was just so excited in my own room.

First ever Europe tour by myself. How long ago was this? I was in 2021. in my own room. First ever Europe tour. I'm by myself. How long ago was this? I was in 21. Oh, man. You went over there early. Mm-hmm. I got it.

We played the Paris European International Film Festival. Okay. And they hired me a Dutch band. That's how I met all those Dutch girls. Oh, okay. Okay. But I put a towel on that lamp and it burned it. Oh, no. And it was flames.

And then I was gone. I wasn't even in the room. That sucks. And the flames hit that, you know, those luggage, the wooden luggage. Yeah. And flames were, I guess, going up. And thank God, it was an old fucking hotel, but it was all concrete. I got so lucky.

I'm like, so the promoter came to the show and I opened the door and white flames was coming out of the door. I'm like, oh my God. And the promoter's like, what the fuck is that? I'm like, go, go, go over there. So I went back into the room and I dexter the fuck out of it. I cleaned up every piece of wood, every ash. No, I'm like, I don't know what happened. I blamed it on an electric fire.

I mean, it's a shitty old hotel. And I got a free breakfast. You got a free breakfast? All you had to do was burn down your hotel room? Let's fucking go. That'd be a great t-shirt. I was a good con artist back then. Yeah, unlike now.

Shut the fuck up. Now you're just a medium con artist everybody's seen the tricks already here what's that Red Room con I'm gonna take a year off

and do what the podcast only yeah that'd be sick I always wanted to do that but I can't afford that you could if you just

it would be worth it just to see Brian get mad about it should I just call him say I'm gonna take a year off do it right now no call him on speaker and tell him you wanna take a year off you're thinking about it. Should I just call him and say I want to take a year off? Do it right now. No. Call him on speaker and tell him you want to take a year off.

You're thinking about it. No. In 2023. No. You fucking pussy. No, he'll know because we kind of resolved our fight. We talked in the morning. Oh, you did? Yeah.

What was the resolution? Him telling me that record labels passed on me. Who passed on you? Five record labels passed on me. Who passed on you? Five record labels passed on me. Why? They just said they're not... They're Americana labels. And a couple of them were...

I think this is going to be a bad couple years in the music industry. I'm not saying my album, my new album, deserves... Come on. Nobody has any money. Yeah. I'm probably going to have to finance this record.

Record labels are already screwed anyway. They already were doing bad before this. Yeah, fuck all these record labels. They're all fucking pretentious. It's a stupid business model. Well, they want to hire bands. They're going to hire bands either who are a guarantee win or baby bands that they could take a huge percentage from.

But there's no such thing as a guaranteed win in this industry. Well, you could see... I mean, U2 or something, I guess. You know, there's some of these fucking sleepy

Americana bands who will always sell X amount of records. Yeah, I don't know about that world. Oh, yeah. I hate that music so I don't really know

anything about it. I'm not trying to talk shit. No, it's a thing, though. What's the deal with Americana? They just have their nose up. Well, because they don't want people to find out they did something fun or funny or cool.

They want to be like... Everyone's so fucking serious, dude. I'm like, come on. Because they're artists, bro. Artists have to be serious. No, what the fuck ever. We're artists, too. We can still talk about cum and beating off. Well, I'm saying artists are, you know, they think that artists need to be serious all the time. It's as stupid as...

Oh, my God. Stop with... Hey, here's my pep talk. Well, I don't like any of their music, so I don't really care. Here's my pep talk. Hey, stop with the pretentious bullshit, okay? Take a deep breath and realize you're human.

I learned that today. Everyone is human. Yep. Today, Andy realized that every other person has their own life And thoughts Fuck you Nick You're over exaggerating my thought

Well yep that's the point Stop being pretentious about your music Fucking stop being so serious I know a couple jam bands Who are just always so stern When they're walking Hey put a fucking smile on. Yeah.

You're just jamming. It's fine. Yeah. Everything is going to be fine. You play music for a living. You're not that cool, by the way. Chill the fuck out. You know?

And the songwriters in the Americana scene. Stop being so fucking pretentious. You're 43 years old. Don't take it so seriously. Write serious songs, but have fun with it. That's all I say to them. You're 43. You're 43.

You have three kids. You're not cool anymore. You can wear the hat. That's fine, but just relax. Come on. Let's stop taking everything so goddamn fucking seriously.

These people act like they're the first people to ever write a song about a girl breaking up with them or something. Like, you know? Well, no. It's the whole fucking

Newport Coaless thing everyone's got to be fucking serious yeah it's like the record label thing everyone all the people well our band's on whatever the fuck whatever record label well people i mean think of the kind of person that would work for a record label yeah they're kind of like yeah i get that you work for one you know what they are none of them are at music. It's always people that don't know one fucking thing about music running the music industry. How can that be good? Well, it's like if I started working for the Department of Education. Speaking of music, Fandium.com.

Fandium. Fandium.com. Do you want to say the pitch for Fandium? Sure. I can start it off. They're doing a Jerry Garcia contest right now. 80th birthday, Jerry Garcia. Hey, happy birthday, Jerry.

I saw something. I saw a funny-ass meme. I do, too. I saw a funny-ass meme. It was like, damn, Jerry Garcia didn't know what a white-clawed black cherry was. One thing about Jerry Garcia is I don't know if you've ever watched interviews with him back in the day. He's a very witty, funny guy. Didn't take himself too seriously.

See? See? Look where he got. He's a legend. Stop acting so fucking serious. Here's what they did. Hi! Oh, my God.

Look at the new... Oh, my God. This dog is so cute. Dude, I want one of these. This is Chip, everybody. He's six months old. He's really smart. Oh, my God. This dog is so cute. Dude, I want one of these. This is Chip, everybody. He's six months old. He's really smart. Oh, my God.

Okay, you do that. Fandium. Okay, talk about Fandium. Let me touch this dog. I don't know if you're familiar. Jerry Garcia had a lot of famous guitars. There was the Tiger one, I think. They made a remake of the dog guitar.

Oh, my God. A dog just walked into the podcast. That is weird. Isn't that crazy? He is very confused. He doesn't know what a That is weird. Isn't that crazy? He is very confused. He doesn't know what a podcast is. He doesn't know what a podcast is. So, it's a...

Come here. Oh, no, the dog guitar is a tribute to the wolf guitar. That's what it is. I was like, there was no guitar. Okay, so it's completely made plastic-free. You get an amp, a tube amp with it, too, and a case. Wow. All plastic-free.

It looks like a pretty sick guitar, actually. You get a complimentary case. What else do you get? I don't know if you're going to... They're going to unve plastic-free. It looks like a pretty sick guitar, actually. You get a complimentary case. What else do you get? I don't know if you're going to... They're going to unveil the guitar, it looks like. You get an amp, too. Oh, there he did. There he did.

Mahali showed it. You get an amp, too. You enter. You donate. The best thing is whatever you donate goes to a charity. Yeah. What? Oh, good.

Fuck up, Bo. We're trying to do an ad here, Bo, okay? Do my fucking pitch, Bo. I'm trying to get the ad right. All right. What's the right way to say this? What did I say wrong? What did I say wrong? You piece of shit.

Tell me. Hey, hey, hey. They're not going to renew our contract. Just get on the website and get in the contest. It's like a Jerry Garcia contest. You guys go crazy for that stuff, right? Yeah, they love Jerry. You should go to Fandium.com.

People like our reads because they're organic that stuff. Yeah, they love Jerry. You should go to Fandium.com. People like our reeds because they're organic and they're real and they're raw. And Mahali from Twiddle touched his guitar. He touched it with his bare hands. Oh my God. These Twiddle fans are going to be blowing loads ropes to get this fucking guitar.

This contest ends on October 8th. So you got a lot of time, but also go to frat. If you type in frasco 100 at checkout, you get 10 more entries for free. So it's like a dollar per entry, dollar per entry, maximum a hundred entries, maximum a hundred entries, right? Bo Nick, are you going to have a good week? Are you going to kill it?

Fucking correct me on this podcast again. Oh, you could, you could... I will fire you. Even... What? You could donate 500 bucks. Oh, you can donate more than that. Okay. Donate 100.

You get 10,000 entries. Okay. So it compounds the more you donate. Wow, this is a good business model. Especially since it's for charity. Yeah. I like this. So, okay.

I see what it is. I get what this is too. You get 100 for every $10. Okay. And look, it compounds as you go up. Once you get that, so I would start, what I would do

is I would donate at least $50 because that's when you get more. $1,000. You get $1,000 of them. That's pretty good. I like that.

You get double entries at $100. Damn, that's a good deal. So sign up for Fandium.com. If you win the guitar, What? You're a part of history, man.

Yeah. All right, we're going to have a great week. You want to give us some motivation today? You already did. You told everyone man. All right, we're going to have a great week. You want to give them some motivation today? You already did. You told everyone to stop being pretentious. Okay.

Is that motivation or is that just... No, I don't know. What are we going to motivate them to do? Do you think... What about we could motivate them to drink water? Drink water, people, because if you don't, you'll slowly die. Oh, man.

I didn't realize that back pain happens because you don't drink water. I mean, that can be part of it. Oh, man. There's a lot of reasons you can get back pain. You don't drink enough water for sure. I went to that bachelor party, and I was just playing with these buff-ass fucking dudes. I know. I noticed a lot of them were fucking hot.

They were hot, and they're all shirtless, and I was insecure, so I didn't want to wear my shirt. I wore my shirt everywhere. Are you not as hot as them? Fuck no. Usually you're the hot guy. Oh, not with these guys. All these guys are ex-baseball players. Baseball players are hot. But they're like, hey, let's take off our shirts and play basketball. I'm like, fuck. And then fuck each other. They're all like

pro athletes and you're like, I play the piano kind of. I stand on one. Well, the fun the funny thing was I was the best athlete basketball player. Right. When we were one. The funny thing was, I was the best athlete, basketball player when we were young. Now these guys just fucking kill me. Yeah, because they've been actually playing sports for the last 20 years and you've been taking drugs.

Anyway, don't do like I do. Stay fit. Drink water. Don't drink so much alcohol. Quit smoking cigarettes. I've been drinking less alcohol. Haven't I, Bo? No. Not really. I don't think you have, honestly. I think it's a lie. What about cigs?

No, I'm smoking a lot. I'm not smoking as much weed. Okay, that's the one thing that's not that bad for you, though. True. I'm just stressed out. I'm doing too much. Well, do less. No. Well, then don't complain about it.

Okay. Have a great day. Bye. All right. Next up on the interview hour, we have professional surfer Sam Hammer, New Jersey's own. Yes. This was a great conversation. The man's endorsed by Billabong.

He's got his own surf school. He's just, he's killing it. And he's going to be surfing at the See Here Now Festival in Asbury Park. So this is another installment of the See Here Now Festival. Ladies and gentlemen, you're going to love this interview. I've always wanted to interview a surfer. Those guys are are fearless and you're in the fucking water with sharks and shit it's fucking nuts and for them to just like to start just killing shit on waves not like animals but just like fucking killing it you know what i mean hope you enjoy sam hammer what's up sam

what's going on how you doing i'm good nice to meet you bro this is exciting i never get surfers on uh on the show this is great well thank you for so much for having me it's truly an honor and uh you know only my second podcast would be kind really all right cool let's go straight into the family issues um tell me how important new jersey is to you bud oh man um new jersey is you know it's where i'm from it's it's uh it's so important it's it's where my family is my friends uh new jersey you know i i feel like new jersey gets a really bad rap um you know as far as you know that obviously what you've seen on tv with with uh mtv you know that did a lot of damage but um yeah you know you got to take things in in turn and we get

a bad rap but it seems like there's Jersey people everywhere in the U S you know, they just kind of migrate from here to other places. And a lot of people end up back here and, and, you know, I think you get a really good, strong work ethic from the people here. So, you know, Jersey kind of brought me up that way. And, and, uh, I'm grateful for everything that I I've learned in the state. What did your, what'd your parents do my parents own a restaurant so my parents have had a restaurant in lavalette for 43 years um my dad's from pittsburgh and he uh he had a summer home here with his with his family and didn't like Pittsburgh. So the second he graduated high school, basically, he moved out here and then he went to West Virginia and would come back here every year.

And he was just trying to find his way to live here permanently. And then he met my mom, who's from Roselle Park, which is northern Jersey. And yeah, they just decided to move down here because they loved it so much. And they've had the restaurant for 43 years. You know, it was an old hotel in Lavalette. Yeah, a long time. It's been a staple in Lavalette forever.

And just kind of growing up and watching them and how they work and how dedicated they were to what they do uh teaches you a lot you know watching your parents you know through the restaurant industry i mean people know the restaurant like the restaurant industry is brutal you know and especially in a seasonal town going through recessions depressions all sorts of stuff you know in the 80s we had a lot of garbage issues on our beaches and um you know so you just watch all that stuff and and how it affects business and how they responded to it throughout

and how they deal with people it teaches you a lot that's awesome man who taught you about work ethic was it your dad was your mom or both of them yeah they both taught me about work ethic you know they just said my dad always said it doesn't matter what you want to be, you know, just be the, be the best at it, you know, and that's it. And it doesn't matter what it is in life. If you're going to, if you're going to take something head on, you know, be the best. And that's just kind of the way I was brought up. That's that New Jersey mentality.

That's that like fucking, you know, like, yeah, let's get this shit popping. If you're going to be good, if you're going to do something, do it with that like fucking you know like yeah let's get this shit popping if you're gonna be good if you're gonna do something do it with full intention you know do it with intent correct and that's you know it's a product product of where i am and you know growing up and surfing around here um you know you just get that it's not as it's not like it used to be like you know you hear about all these local localized places and stuff like that. And you can't really get away with that stuff anymore. But growing up, I mean, it was it was tough to go surf the pier, which, you know, really taught me how to compete in the ocean. That was like the focal point of surfing in New Jersey. And it was a mile from my house.

of surfing in New Jersey. And it was a mile from my house, so I'd surf there. And the older guys, they were hard-nosed people, you know? And you got to learn how to compete with them and get waves. And with respect, of course. Yeah, that's got to be wild where it's like you grew up in a town so close to, you know, surfing competition. When you told your parents that you're going to be a surfer, did they, were they worried at first or did they like, you know, like what, give me that

story. I mean, so, so in high school, um, you know, I'd compete in, in, let me, let me say this first. When I was 15, I started working at a surf school in california so i didn't have to be here during the flattest months of the year you know i'd go out there i'd compete in nationals um get my ass kicked but i'd how old were you when i wasn't what when i started when you were when you're living in california competing um well i used to so i used to teach at a surf school when i was out there i was about 15 um i taught there when I was 15, 16, 17. So I'd be out there, you know, pretty much on my own with, it was pretty unsupervised to be honest with you. Uh, but you know, so I started spending my time out there when I was 15. And then, um, yeah, I just, I, my parents coming out of high school, I didn't want to go to college. I wasn't ready. I wasn't mature enough. I hated school. Um, I, I did, I did all right in school. I could have done better if I actually applied myself. I just didn't apply

myself because I hated it so much. Um, so they gave me two years to make some money. And, uh, if I, if I can make enough money to live on for, you know, you know, after those two years of surfing, uh, they, they were supportive, but they gave me a two year grace period. There's, they were so supportive. I, you know, I had so much support from those two. It was incredible. And, and, you know, it really teaches you a lot because if you look at my family situation from, you know, my, my grandfather was a doctor and my dad

wanted to open up a restaurant and my, you know, my grandfather was like, that's not a good thing, but my dad, that's what he wanted to do. You know? So, so they were like, you know, that's what you want to do. Go do it. If it doesn't work out, you can always go back to school. So they were like, you know, that's what you want to do. Go do it. If it doesn't work out, you can always go back to school. And so they gave me that two year grace period. And after year one, I was making enough money to live on. And it just kind of snowballed from there. And then, you know, they were always supportive. There's so many people that are going through their daily, their friends and customers and clients. And they're like, oh, you're going to take the restaurant over. And I was like, yeah, I don't know about that. My parents never wavered. They just had full support the whole time in everything that I did.

And that goes a long way to have that backing and support. I wonder if your dad actually became a doctor or something he would that you would have different values of your philosophy of like okay if I my dad made me be a doctor I'm you're gonna be a doctor little Sam or because he said no and I'm gonna start a restaurant that built this like open-ended idea that actually it's okay to follow your dreams you know yeah i'm sure that that that has a lot to do with it you know he well so he was a school teacher his dad's like i'll go be a school teacher and he hated it so he did it for he did it for the first half of the year and never went back after christmas and um just like didn't show up and and he's if you know my dad he actually doesn't quit at anything um he's just a grinder and and he's still working he's 78 now and he's still go pops yeah and it keeps him young you know so so i'm all for it he still cuts every piece of fish and meat that goes through there he's in there every day looking at the numbers yeah but it keeps him young you

know so um yeah it's cool but i'm sure if he was a doctor it would be a totally different story yeah what did you learn in california that made you like fall in love with surfing well so i mean i surfed here when i was i started surfing here when i was nine and you know new jersey has incredible waves it's just incredible it's just it's not incredible all the time or a lot you know okay but when it's good it's it's world class you know we've had you you know, like when I say world class, I mean, we get like three or four days a year that you could put anywhere in the world and people would be freaking out. So growing up here, you know, I just I just fell in love with the ocean. I started boogie boarding when I was four or five.

And that's how I learned how to surf on a boogie board. I taught myself how to stand up on the boogie board and then when i went out there i was like you know i was 15 and you know california's when you're young you're like oh my god this is the the holy land you know and um so i went out there and i i surfed there's great waves and then I came home and I was like, man, our waves are better than I thought. And, you know, just being out there, it just, it shows you, you know, uh, I guess, you know, where I was at this place called San Clemente and there's a wave called lowers and, you know, you go there and you see the best of the best. So it was awesome doing that when I was 15 and then, you know,

coming home and, you know, thinking about what those guys were doing on those 15 and then you know coming home and you know thinking about what those guys were doing on those waves and then coming home and trying to apply it here you know it's just it i don't know just lucky i guess to be from here you know but surfing has always been uh my main focus and you know surfers are very selfish. Right. That's what I was saying. Like, is it competitive? Where, like, when you're in the water with these guys, it's like, they don't give a fuck. They'll just take everything, you know? They'll run your ass over.

Yeah, for sure. I mean, surfers are extreme selfish. It's competitive out in the water. You know, but it's good to be competitive. Nobody gets good at something by not being competitive you know and competition is healthy so um yeah out there it's super competitive people would run you over but it was the same thing as surfing you know my local break the pier those guys were competitive too you know it pushes you further and everybody wants the best way of the

day there's nobody out there that doesn't otherwise they wouldn't be out there yeah give me your story of like when like your first have you ever like your first loss in a competition and how it made my first contest i i surfed in i was i think i was nine i was nine fuck are you serious yeah yeah yeah i was nine nine you're surfing for like yeah i'd been surfing for you know a few months and um on a on a hardboard like i said i learned on boogie board so on a hardboard, like I said, I learned on boogie board. So on a hardboard, I started surfing when I was, I think it was nine or 10. So I surfed for like, I don't know, eight months. And I started surfing against the division I was in was 15 and 14 and under. So I was way young. And my first heat, I won my second heat.

And then I made it to the finals and i got third and i was like super pissed and angry and but what it did is it just lit a fire you know i don't i'm not a good loser um i know how to lose but i'm not a good loser you know i'll walk away and deal with it myself and i know how to lose gracefully in public but like it pisses me off um let's fucking go yeah not now but like i'm old so i it's not as i'm not as competitive but if the waves are really good i want the best wave of the day for sure so you're nine years old just fucking being competitive as fuck out there i love it i love it that's that's just my makeup. That's my mentality. I'm competitive.

I'm a competitive person. Yeah. In the surfing community, are there those crazy parents? There were those glamour or cheerleading parents. Was it that competitive with the parents too? Or was it all just, cause it's a very individual sport that I wonder like how competitive, like who teaches,

who teaches that, you know, like getting sponsorships for kids thinking about that. Like I want to get sponsored by so-and-so, or I want to win this and get on x games like what was like in your brain made you feel like success was around the corner well i mean surfing is when you're surfing events and i like so a little bit about me is when i was i competed a lot until i was like 23 and then i found a different way to make money in magazines and going on trips and shooting with different photographers.

And I'd still compete a few times a year, but it wasn't my main objective. My competition was to get more photos in the magazine than anybody else. That's what I wanted to do because it was less stressful. It wasn't less stressful i i kind of um it wasn't less stressful like i was very competitive with other people that were doing that you know when i was competing growing up i mean you know when you're talking about surfing it's so subjective to what the judges see right and and when you're young you know like our local contests around here, our regional contests, those judges could be like parents of the rivals that you're surfing against. Oh, fuck.

Or like, you know, or like a surf shop owner. His buddies are judging a final of a regional event. And event and you know he has kids in the event like that he sponsors so it's very subjective it's a little shady um you know but it's so you learn i don't know it's just a very subjective sport of who's judging i'd be so fucking pissed bro if like the judge's son won the fucking competition when you knew you had a better ride you know like it happens it happens if it happens and there's no doubt about it i mean it happens at all levels though like it's not there's always that sense where people feel ripped off in certain situations and sometimes it's warranted and other times it's not but it's just it's part of the sport you know it's kind of like boxing you know yeah who won

the round who didn't how many like professional like older professionals are there or is it a young man's sport it's surfing is definitely a young man's sport death without a doubt. Um, you know, every company is always looking for the next kid to come up and be the great superstar. With that being said, Kelly Slater has changed the whole thing. You know,

I know. That's what I was thinking. That's crazy. Yeah. He, I mean, what he's 50 and he's still on tour, still winning.

He still won an event this year, um, can win this week at Show Pooh for sure. And, you know, it's so he's kind of changed the whole outlook. There's a few guys that really changed the whole outlook as far as longevity goes in surfing. And Shane Dorian's done a brilliant job of that also. And he kind of, you know, went through phases where he was wct guy then a photo guy and then you know the biggest one of the best big wave surfers ever changed the whole sport you know so if you just reinvent yourself and do different things find different ways to um

to just you know kind of reinvent yourself and stay fresh uh you can last a lot longer now than in years past. Do you know Kelly at all? Yes. What's his regimen? Is he super thinks about diet or is he

super genes where he can do whatever the fuck he wants? It's like the founding youth. Yeah, he's, I don't know him like, I know him, like I'll talk to him on the phone and stuff. And I've gotten him actually to come out and surf New Jersey a few years ago. He was supposed to come out last year, but to go surf some other way. But he ended up skipping last minute. He's so engaged in surfing um

quick story one time he was in so there was a surf event in tahiti this week so years ago tahiti yeah there's a certain that tahiti like for the for the top you know 20 guys in the world and a few years ago it was like two weeks later i think it was it was it was almost closer to september it's probably five or six years ago and he we we had a hurricane in the ocean and there's a wave in up up in uh like north of us that's 10 miles off the coast and it's a really cool wave but but it's really spooky because there's no, there's no Island. It's just a rock that comes up. And, uh, he, and he knew we surfed it and he's like, Hey, is that thing?

I'm doing, I'm cleaning my yard. I'm literally mowing my lawn and my phone rings and it's him. And he's like, Hey, what do you think about this wave? I see this hurricane. And I'm looking at it and I'm like, man, you're surfing in the next heat and you're on the phone with me this is this car but he's just he's just so engaged with everything with all swells all over the world and he eats very clean i don't believe he drinks that much and you know really takes care of himself with his diet and you know that that really goes a long way and and kind of preserving your body you know if you eat proper um it's gonna it's gonna pay off and i'm a believer

that also but that's why you know i think he's still around and he does have freak genes like there's photos of him years ago not i don't think. I know he has some like body issues now too, of him bending backwards and his, his head's touching his heels just naturally. So he had like crazy flexibility. Yeah. That's fucking insane. Insane.

Do something. My earbuds are going to die out soon. All right. We'll do a couple more um i was wondering um have you ever had like any near-death experience um i hit my head a few times or you know that's about it but i hit my head at back door one time really good where i had to get rescued um you know it was it was pretty bad but you know stuff happened hit your head like on a coral or something yeah i hit my head on the bottom like i i was surfing and and i pulled in the tube and the tube i got pushed up into the ceiling of the wave and it caught my head and brought me straight

back and then my head just went snap like slapped on the back of my head back here. Did you get knocked out or what? Yeah, for a few seconds, not too long, luckily. I have a hard head, so I've never been knocked out like completely. But I was definitely out of it. And then I hit my shoulder. So I hit my, I don't remember hitting my head. But then I remember feeling my shoulder jar into the reef and that's kind of what brought me to and then i came up and

uh got a got a quick air breath of air and then it went over me i had to get uh it was pretty deep pretty you know about a about an eight inch gash in the back of my head, you know, I had to get a bunch of staples and stitches and that's part of it. You know, listen, you can't, you can't be in the ocean. No, these guys, what they're doing today is tremendous with, with, uh, the big wave stuff. It's so frightening. It's like, you know, they're, they're cut from a different cloth, but you know, if you surf long enough, if you do any activity, whether it's football, baseball, Tiger Woods with golf, you know, you're going to get hurt, you know if you surf long enough if you do any activity whether it's football baseball tiger woods with golf you know yeah you're gonna get hurt you know especially skateboarding

snowboarding like you're gonna get hurt there's always going to be those experiences where you know the lights go out and and maybe not golf as much unless you get hit um or chase with a golf club you know but it just seems like yeah whatever you do you're going to take your lumps and bruises and uh you know as far as drowning i've i've had a few scares but nothing that was the worst one you know that was by far the worst one i had a leash wrap around my neck and get stuffed in a cave once um but luckily the board broke so it wasn't pulling as tight so like you know it's yeah holy fuck sam are you serious yeah but every any good surfer is like anybody that's pushed themselves has had had these experiences you know what i mean you just don't shit's gonna happen

it's the ocean there's there's you know there's consequences what's your take on death uh i never thought about it that much i don't think about it that much um no i mean listen after i hit my head i started taking uh calculated chances as opposed to just chances you know that made me rethink and and it definitely slowed me down for sure like i was you know when you're young and you you you're brave you have as much confidence you know i was getting good waves i had confidence i i was you know growing into becoming more and more uh fearless on on bigger waves and then that happened that's definitely made me look at the ocean a little bit differently like you know you can get hurt out here and and instead of taking risk i took you know like i said calculated guesses

and and um you know no more injuries it's like that do you think that's why it's a young man's game because the younger we are the more fearless we are uh yes and no i i just think you know you you look at a lot of the big wave surfers today and they all have the same demeanor they're very calm and cool and collected um you know but they're they're they're they're psychopaths but they're calm psychopaths yeah they're like it's like like serial killers yeah they're the scariest kind the scariest kind. But they're all very composed. Not much rattles them. And then you have guys that are getting all fired up

to surf. When the waves are good, people get trying to pump themselves up. So there's two different breeds. Some that go at it very calculated. Some that are like, ah, let's go. But yeah, it is a young man's sport especially when you're when you're pushing like that you know once you have kids too like i have two daughters um it definitely makes you think of things differently

what do you um see when you see these young kids uh surfing with your with your surf school how do you know that they're do you how do you know that some have this natural instinct in the ocean that they're going to be professionals? Can you see that in the young age? Yes, I believe you can. It's more of a tenacity and a determination in the ocean.

You don't just go out there and understand understand the way the ocean works you can't just watch it from the beach and be like oh i know where to go you know you have to be out there put your time in learn the ocean the way it moves the way the water moves and you know when you see people that are have that determination that surf anything and everything which is you know few and far between a lot of people are like oh it's sideways rain the waves are good but i don't want to deal with it you know so whereas us like me and a few of my buddies we're like you know that we're professional surfers we see the sideways rain and we welcome it because it's less people

in the water so you know like there's certain waves i won't surf in the state unless it's sideways rain just because it gets too crowded and um you know you look for that kind of stuff to see how much grip people have and i feel like that determines a lot of uh people's determination and drive to get better it's fucking insane dude you're crazy this surfing is wild like did you ever want to be a big wave surfer like was that a thing for you or no no no i never wanted to be a big wave guy i don't like deep water yeah so i'd rather hit something i'd rather hit the bottom and bounce up than get drug underwater for 50 yards what about like sharks and shit bro i'm such a pussy i'm just like you're like whatever i'll tell you what there's there's a

few waves on the east coast right now i will not surf because of sharks like i will not go there i mean i haven't surfed florida since i was 17 fuck all that dude yeah there's two like shark florida in new sermon, there's so many sharks. There's been a lot of sharks this year. I haven't seen any. I've only seen two. For summertime, like last year, I saw about eight. This year, I saw two, so I haven't seen many.

Eight? Yeah. Yeah, you see them. Yeah, but most of the ones that we have here, they're not going to. We're lucky where we live. We don't have a lot of aggressive fish, you know? So there are, I mean, in saying that, I mean, are there great whites that pass by? Sure. You know? But we don't have like this crazy population of them, you know, not yet anyway, knock on wood, wherever it is, but you know,

there's places like Cape Cod, you know, yet anyway knock on wood wherever it is but you know there's places like cape cod you know with good waves but there's so many sharks i won't i won't surf there anymore that's so crazy i mean are there a lot are there more horror stories about shark attacks with surfers than um we see or is it reversed is there not a lot of shark attacks i don't think there's that many yeah there's not a ton of shark attacks but they're all you know i social media the news like they're just looking for anything to scare people right you know what i mean so hey you know like a lot of times you'll see on the news here oh there was a a 14 foot great white off the coast of new jersey okay but how far off the coast A lot of these sharks are like 80

miles out and that shark's not coming in, you know, but I mean, are there big fish that come by? Sure. You know, last year, last year I was in the ocean. I saw, um, are you familiar with basking sharks? Yeah. So I've never seen one before in my life. Yeah. I was doing a lesson. We had six clients in the water and and i'm looking and i'm like man all right there's a sunfish coming by because sunfish swim like this they're they flop right so their fin will come up and then it flops so a lot of times they're sideways i saw a sideways fin and i'm like oh it's a big sunfish whatever two minutes later my staff's like hey sam shark and i'm like all right cool look i'm looking i'm

looking sure enough i see the tail come behind it you know and it's it's a shark i'm like all right it's pretty good size you know but it's not moving fast so let's get out all right it's pretty good size no it's pretty good size and then and then in between waves it gets really calm like if a set comes in between the next the first wave and the second wave it flattens out and it like a second and it flattened out his dorsal was like four feet like holy shit that's a massive shark we get out and i thought it was i couldn't i didn't understand what it was because i'd never seen one before like this and i mean it was in between the tail and the dorsal was 12 to 15 feet so it's a massive shark and uh i don't know how big it was but it was a really big basking shark and i've never seen one that close to the

beach it was really cool it was really cool but um you know obviously stories get overblown and by i went from i drove 10 minutes after i left to go to a different location after the lesson. And by the time I got out of the car, like someone's like, Hey, I heard there was a big great white and it was a basking shark. It was really cool. Actually. No, those things could be, I think it could have been 80 years old. Yeah, dude. It's, it had to be, it had to be an old shark. What's protocol for that? Like if you, if there's a shark in the water and you're with a bunch be an old shark what's protocol for that like if you there's a

shark in the water and you're with a bunch of kids what's protocol for that depends on how big it is um you know if it's if it's a smaller shark you know and it's moving i'm really not going to say anything uh if it's a bigger fish that's moving aggressive i'm going to you know get out for sure and i what i mean smaller i mean like three feet okay you know a lot of if i see a five foot shark you know i'll kind of move move people in you know you just don't know what the intent is you know like i said we don't see that many we don't see that many they kind of stay out off the beach a little bit you know do they come in don't see that many we don't see that many they kind of stay out off the beach a little bit you know do they come in for sure but for the most part you don't see them

um i try not to tell people because everyone thinks if there's a shark in the ocean it's gonna rip your head off you know but it's not the case so i mean like i said they're definitely out there that we don't see. Don't worry about them. It's not like we have tiger sharks and bull sharks. Yeah. What about West Coast over East Coast? What are more predator-style fish? I think it's pretty balanced out. Up in New England right now, there's a lot of great lights.

Fuck all that, dude. Yeah, and like big ones. You ever look at the shark tracker? It's called O-Search Shark Tracker. It's really fascinating. So it's the Atlantic White Shark Conservatory. They do this. They tag sharks.

And you look at where they go and where they migrate, and you're just like, holy shit, these things are everywhere. So like don't worry about them and they tag different kinds they tag makos and whites and all that sort of stuff and it's um it's pretty cool it's really fascinating because i mean are they do you see tracks where they're you know pretty close to here one was actually in an inlet uh about you know two miles away from me like a big fish like a 14 15 foot gray white and it was in the inlet yeah that dude yeah but it's but nobody saw it you know what i mean so did it happen oh yeah it's like that if a tree falls in the forest

it wasn't on social media so it didn't happen yeah is that like is that what you like about surfing man it's like your getaway from the real world like it's so it seems like it'd be such a peaceful sport you know what do you like about it what do i like about surfing it's it's everyone like i said everyone sees the ocean differently for me the the ocean is, I want to say a safe haven. You know, it's like if I've ever had problems on the beach, I'd go surf and, you know, take care of it. You know, I just like the challenge. You know, I've always kind of viewed surfing as a chess match against the ocean. And, you know, you're just trying to set yourself up to win and it never happens.

Because once you get the best way of your life, you automatically, the next second, want a better one. You know what I mean? So there's no winning. It's just always kind of hunting down that next good wave. But I guess it's just a challenge, trying to achieve that, get the best way of your life. But like I said, the second you get it it you're going to want a better one instantly do you like do you remember the best way of your life or is your brain convincing you that there's a bit better way um i do not remember the best way of my life i have a few that were really good that i remember where were you uh hawaii indonesia here in new jersey

but i do remember a few waves that I didn't make that could have been the best wave of my life so that's I I always looked at the negatives and wanted to I always look at your competitive bro yeah I always looked at my failures and wanted to um do better you know like like there's a few ways that I think of that really stick out in my, in my head. And give me one, give me one story. Um, one was out in Hawaii at backdoor and, and, uh, this wasn't my fault, but I, I got, I got a really good wave, which is hard to do. You have to spend a lot of time and, and, you know, know who's who to catch that wave. So you're not fighting off the wrong people for the wave. And I finally got like a gem, like a really, really good backdoor wave.

And this guy just pushed this, this guy was like 30 feet down the line and he pushed the whole thing down on me. He was, he was starting to paddle in and just shut it down. And, um, it was literally someone paddled out and goes was that you on that wave it's like that thing was a 10 and just went all the way through perfect i go yeah it was me he's like man i'd kill that guy if i were you and i was like it's not my territory you know but i'll never forget that and that was one of the best waves and i have a few here that i i you know, didn't make that.

I remember on some bigger days that just kind of will always earth me to say the least, you know, but it's, it's part of it. It's part of it. You know, like I'm sure you've done things in your life that, that you learn and wish that you had that, that chance back that you never get that chance back. Are locals territorial with their waves their local waves yes locals are locals are um like it's warranted in some places and not warranted in others i don't believe that like a lot of someone yeah yeah like places like pipe you need some sort of hierarchy, I guess, to say the least. But then you have local beach breaks and the sand shifting where people can be dicks. And I don't think it's warranted at all places.

I don't think it's warranted at most places. I was never someone that lived by the my beach, my wave mentality. I was never someone that lived by the, my beach, my wave mentality. I always tried to branch out and surf other places because when people came to, when I surfed other places, I didn't want to be talked down to or disrespected. So I try not to do that, you know, at my local breaks, if someone's surfing there and they drop in on me I've, I've never gotten a confrontation in the water.

I've kicked one person out or two people and as they were leaving the ocean i actually said hey i'm sorry like go surf you know that's after someone hit me in the face and i had to go get stitches and get the fuck off my way get the fuck out of here now and the kids saw like and he was like a 25 year old kid and and i felt bad his froze his head he just started like walking his tail between his legs oh shit what did i just do hey i'm cool i'm cool we're cool and then he realizes you did do people recognize you like young surfers like oh shit that's sam hammer holy fuck oh i mean you know i catch my waves people are respectful yeah um

you know but as you know i don't know i felt so bad that one time i was i was going to get stitched up and i was like man i hope i see this guy again i never saw him again and i felt he probably just surfed this break one time you know and and then hit me in the nose split open stitches i'm just like jesus christ but it happens you know but i felt terrible like i don't think localism's uh good in a lot of cases but the problem i have is when you know people surfers are like minions so they go to places that they're comfortable with and they go, go to places where they see other people. And you know, you can have,

you know, like last winter we surfed this one break and, and there's, it's, it's miles of beach and me and two guys were surfing this one peak and we got a few good waves. Next thing you know, there's literally 25 guys and a 30 yard radius.

And it's like, what the fuck there's I'm looking, there's nobody surfing to my, to the North or South for miles. And you guys are all coming to this one spot. You just saw someone get a good wave. It's like, I'm watching waves spit down the beach. Go like, just go. This is a joke, you know? So now I have to walk my ass out of there.

Yeah. No, I got a you know i got a little i got a little old man grumpy uh that day you know i just started you know i don't talk in the water i try not to express my uh opinion just because it's not it's not my ocean um but that way that day was pretty aggravating because i'm literally looking 30 yards to the south and there's nobody for miles and then everyone's in this little tight ball you know so it happens it's all good did surfing make you more patient as a person um yes and no i think i think surfing does make you patient because you can't you know you can't impose your will on the ocean.

You can try to, but you're never going to. You can't just say, it's not my fingers. Hey, I want to wave, and there's the wave. So you have to take what the ocean gives you. And a lot of times, it's not what you're looking for. So it's just kind of, you know, golf makes you patient because you have to learn how to forget right you know damn sam this is amazing man i know you're busy so much yeah dude so i'm my band's playing uh it's the see here now festival and um i heard you you're gonna be surfing what's it what's

the scoop with all this what's the scoop with like uh surfers and music for this festival have you uh been to this festival before yes i've i've been to see here now uh every year it's been on i've been lucky to be a participant in the surf aspect of it um for the past for three years i guess they've had it and then it's incredible imagine doing your thing in front of live music and yeah 60 people you know what i mean yeah it's insane um you know and there's like one year blind melon was playing and that like one of my favorite songs from then that's when i was growing up that's where i grew up to 90s you know and uh they played the song change and and my buddy and i were in the heat surfing and we're just like dude this is a trip we're listening to you know this song blind melon

who's playing change and it's like it was sick man it was it was incredible and uh who else played uh every year it's just it's awesome it's awesome that's you know that's just listening to great music yeah it's it's awesome i mean you're listening to live music they're commentating on the surfing that's going on the bands are when they're in between songs and then there's you know 60 000 people watching you surf like where do you get that kind of audience you know what i mean so you're doing your thing you're trying to have a good time for for me i don't feel pressure in that just because you know it's it's a friendly competition it's not like i want to rip your heart out competition um so everyone's pretty respectful having a good time there's no hassling

it's like hey let's go surf let's go put on a show and do our thing, you know? So it's actually really cool and fun. It's incredible. Like I said, I mean, so, you know, so you're, you know, your band you've played in front of big crowds and feed off of it. Oh yeah. That's what I was going to say. Like do you like it better surfing with in front of a crowd or do you like it when no one's around? it better surfing with in front of a crowd do you like it when no one's around personally i kind of like surfing in front of a crowd oh yeah let's go you know it's yeah right

like i would do i surf so much by myself it's you know it feels good to do it in front of people you know it feels good to do you know what what you've been doing your do it in front of people, you know, it feels good to do, you know, what, what you've been doing your whole life in front of people, like, and, and, and there's a little bit of pressure, you know, from wanting to perform, you know, you want to do your best, you want to surf well. So that's fun. I like the way, you know, you gotta like the way. I think of your life as a younger kid before like getting married just you know just fucking surfing and getting pussy i just see the whole thing dude it's just fucking

wild you guys are you guys live this life it's amazing everyone is like real fit everyone's real cool everyone is competitive so like you still have that chase for something and you're not lazy that's why i don't understand fucking kids right now dude i'm maybe i'm just getting to that age where i just don't the work ethic thing i'm like damn that the whole that's the lifestyle is sounds like such a great lifestyle you know yeah on the beach every day being on the beach every day there's no place better and you know like our our waves are best in the winter around here so it's cold as hell but like in the summer yeah it's it's fun man it's it's it's chaos on the beach there's tons of people

on the beach most days and it's it's fun surfing with other people you know hold on you're surfing in the winter time yeah let's fucking go sam let's fucking go the winter time the winter time is when we have our best waves oh so you know you think about any any location that that's getting good waves during their season most of the time it's in the winter times you know what i mean so a lot of times people are like oh there's a hurricane coming you know those aren't our best swells they can be really good but nine times out of ten they're not our best swells our best swells come from it's gonna sound really terrible but when you see a lot of like chaos and tornadoes and stuff in the south those are generally our best swells um so yeah but it's yeah wintertime's the best man it's cold as shit but the ocean is a different element and it's it's raw you know and where we are we have one of the bigger water changes in the world so it'll go from

75 to 35 so 40 degree swing from you know yeah and even overnight like we get a lot of what's called upwelling where it gets cold overnight like so yesterday the water was in the like 60 it was 60 degrees and today it'll be 70 so it just bounces around um but no matter where you go in the world there's you're not going to find too much uh of a colder environment than than you actually see in here and in the northeast so surfed all over the globe like in in winter iceland in the middle winter and like the northern portion of norway in in winter and you know the water is just as cold here so we're like hypothermia or anything yeah that? You're good. Yeah, sometimes. I mean, you can't go from cold to hot. So the worst thing to do is jump in hot showers,

even though it's the one thing you want to do because your hands will get... You can't get hypothermia that way. But no, I mean, listen, if you're going to get hypothermia, you're going to get the hell out. You know what I mean? I'm not going through that much pain.

We good here. All right, Norway'll check out yeah i'll check out but there's been a few times where you know like i don't know i surfed in nova scotia years ago and it was basically like surfing in a frozen margarita it was just all slush and and uh it was sick it was cool that's so wild that is so fucking wild. And do you still enjoy it when it's that cold? Yeah. Yeah, I still enjoy it when it's that cold. I just don't surf as much when it's that cold. So if the waves aren't what I'm looking for, if it's a day like today where it's knee high to waist high, yeah, I'm not going in.

Yeah, fuck that. Fuck that, yeah. It's just too old. tie yeah i'm not going in yeah fuck that yeah fuck that yeah it's just too old you know but but i still i still you still have to maintain you know for when the waves are good you know so um you still have to maintain uh arms if you don't have paddling arms you're you're you're sol you know so there's not much you can do so you have to to be a professional of course i don't know i'm just thinking that was a stupid question but you have to be in there every fucking day to get good every day yeah when you're younger you have to be in there every day when you're when you're at the

top of your game like i'm i'm more of a brand ambassador now so i don't have much pressure um to perform so it's kind of cool but i still do like perform but uh yeah like my drive now comes from from those good days i want my arms to be ready i want to be ready for when it's good because i still want to you know try to mop up the younger generation yeah it's fucking amazing i'm gonna clap sam thank god people like you out there bro let's fucking go let's fucking go you know i don't want to get older i know what that's a thing you know it's like especially when you're when you try to be an athlete your whole life you know you see you you see yourself age sooner than a lot of people who just you know just do a you know desk job you feel your body aging

all the fucking time which is all nuts dude it's nuts you guys are crazy people no it's just like anything i don't know if you're passionate about if you're passionate about what you do um you're gonna do it you want you're gonna do anything you can to prolong it fucking easy what about well i got one more question what about the billabong thing when you first got your first do you remember your first big paycheck as a surfer um yeah sorry the one went out um my first big paycheck like my first contract that was pretty big yeah i do remember it it was uh it was probably probably when i was like 23 22 23 in that range i started making some good money and i was i was surfing for um i was surfing for billabong and then i was actually the first east

coast rider for red bull when they started getting into the action sports. So that was kind of like the year where, you know, I started making good money and it was just like, I can't believe I get to surf every day and make money. Like this is mind blowing to me. You know what I mean? Enough to make, you know, it bought me a house, um, which was always my dream, you know, to own my own house. You know, I was able to provide, you know, to, which was always my dream, to own my own house. I was able to live out my dream. It was from surfing, which just goes to show I didn't surf for four months every year when I was a kid going through high school just because I do other sports.

through high school um just because i do other sports and you know i guess i was just hungry and i was hungry and hungry and hungry and all i wanted to do was surf the second i graduated high school and um you know so yeah it's mind-blowing that i was able to provide a life like this through surfing through a sport that or your passion so it was actually easy to work because i wanted to work you know but but i also looked at you know getting on trips and getting on on you know getting more exposure i looked at it like a job i didn't look at it as my passion um and i think you have to separate the two because there's so many talented people and I wasn't, I was never somebody that was, that was uber talented. I just had the work ethic to, to impose, you know,

to force myself to get better. And that's kind of the way I, you know, someone with talent that has no work ethic is useless. And somebody with a great work ethic that has, you know, mediocre talent can overachieve. So that's kind of what I strive for. Yeah. And you think about like when you put that, you change the category of your passion into, you know, a job. I think it makes you work harder at it than just taking it for granted, right?

A hundred percent. I mean, if you don't, you know, yeah, it's surfing, but you have to separate it. You're getting paid. So technically it is your profession, right? So you have to look at it like that and go to, go to work every day with that mentality and, and whether it was surfing, communicating with, with different, you know, editors, photographers, you know, uh, uh, corporate people, you know, every day is a job, you know, there's no, there's no days off, especially in surfing. You never know in the way it's going to be good, especially on the East coast. You know, if you go flat for two weeks and then the next day it could be 10 feet.

So it's just, you got every day, day you know you look at it like work and and that's how i always approached it so um it paid off yeah let's fucking go sam that's what i'm talking about thank you that's what i'm fucking talking about clap it up for yourself you should be proud it's uh yeah it's good it's been it's been very productive and yeah i got to live out my dreams that i that i set forth well sam i'm ready to fucking see you shred the gnar baby let's fucking get it go get go get gnar'd out thanks for being on the show go do your thing go fuck the shred gnar go teach the youth about work ethic please i will and uh you know keep doing your thing and i can't wait to see you perform all

right buddy have a good one thank you later bye- bye you tuned in to the world's health podcast with andy fresco thank you for listening to this episode produced by andy fresco joe angelo and chris lawrence we need you to help us save the world and spread the word please subscribe rate the show give us those crazy stars itunes spotify wherever you're picking this shit up follow us on instagram at world saving podcast for more info and updates. Fresco's blogs and tour dates you'll find at andyfresco.com. And check our socials to see what's up next. Might be a video dance party, a showcase concert, that crazy shit show,

or whatever springs to Andy's wicked brain. And after a year of keeping clean and playing safe, the band is back on tour we thank our brand new talent book on mara davis we thank this week's guest our co-host and all the fringy frenzies that help make this show great thank you all and thank you for listening be your best be safe and we will be back next week no animals were harmed in the making of this podcast as far as we know any similarity instructional knowledge facts are fake is purely coincidental