Shaping Boards, Boats, Words, and Finding the Mysto Moments in Life with Christian Beamish.

Show Notes

Christian Beamish is surfer, shaper, boat builder, sailor, and writer. He shapes beautifully rippable surfboards under his Surfboards California label and is a regular contributor to The Surfer’s Journal. He’s also the author of the book, The Voyage of the Cormorant, a memoir that chronicles the building of a boat with his own hands, and sailing it down the Baja, Mexico coastline against sound advice in search of secluded surf, a deeper connection with himself and nature.

In this convo we talk about what it feels like to ride waves and Christian’s relentless approach to shaping boards that spans from rippable shortboards to more soulful “point-and-shoot” models. We discuss Christian’s concept of blood memory, his early exploits in coastal vastness and backpacking that catalyzed a life of chasing nature. And of course, we chat about many of the themes in his book, The Voyage of the Cormorant, like the generosity of people you meet in the wild, and moving at the pace of whales instead of digital clocks. Though we’ll always be working on this one, we attempt to figure out how to tap into the “Real Time” of nature, whether out on the open ocean, or stuck in what Christian calls the Technological Maw of modern life. This one will make you want to build things with your hands, follow your curiosity and create challenging life experiences that are both romantic and radical.