Looking Sideways Action Sports Podcast

Full episode info and Show Notes: www.wearelookingsideways.comClimber Matt Helliker is widely regarded as one of the UK’s top alpinists. But I have a feeling he’d prefer to be known as an all-round mountain athlete, as comfortable taking on a peak like Citadel in the Alaskan wilderness as he is exploring the sea cliffs of his native south west, or the Scottish winter climbing he considers to be the best in the world. Intriguingly, as I discovered during the conversation we had at the Outdoor Show in June 2018, he is also at an interesting point, mulling over what the future holds as he approaches 40, and wondering if he’s fulfilled his potential during a career spanning two decades. The result is a conversation covering themes we can all relate to, whatever our athletic level. Can you ever really find happiness from the things that drive you, or are you doomed to keep repeating the same cycles of feast and famine? Is self-esteem linked to work ethic and performance? During a hugely entertaining chat we cover all this and more, as Matt takes me through his physical and mental processes with total honesty, and explains how a skinny kid from Somerset became one of the UK’s most talented climbers. Matt is a hugely appealing character, self-deprecating and with the same passion for climbing and the lifestyle he’s worked so hard to achieve since the start. I really enjoyed this one, so massive thanks to Matt for coming on the show and getting right into it. Thanks as usual to Matt Ward (www.linguistine.com) for the theme tune. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wearelookingsideways.com/subscribe

Imagine training your whole life for the biggest event of your life, only to find that on that day the event you’d expected would show the best of your sport is about to become a very public fiasco. Worse, conditions are so bad that for most competitors the day turns into a straight battle for survival - with the entire thing played out front of a global audience. It sounds dramatic, but that’s essentially what happen to snowboarder Spencer O’Brien and the rest of the women’s snowboarding field during the Slopestyle event at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang. As has been well documented, the weather was so bad that none of the competitors wanted to ride - but the contest went ahead anyway. The result was a travesty of a slopestyle contest that let the competitors and snowboarding in general down. Why is this important? Its no secret that action sports have a thorny relationship with the Olympics, and the 2018 women’s slopestyle seemed to confirm concerns that have been voiced for decades. This is a story about what happens when action sports culture gets subsumed by the mainstream, and how it affects our unique culture in the process. The fallout rumbled on for weeks, and Spencer herself was so incensed that she was wrote an open letter giving a competitor’s perspective on the farrago. As somebody who has been at the forefront of women’s snowboarding for a decade, Spencer is somebody able to offer a unique perspective on the whole messy issue. The result is a completely frank conversation with one of the biggest presences in women’s snowboarding that covers the Olympics, Spencer’s own take, what it means for snowboarding and her own career, and also doesn’t shy away from the tough questions that come with this perennial Olympic snowboarding debate. Honest, thoughtful and with the same graceful, progressive approach she has brought to her entire career, the result is one of my most honest and revealing competitions yet. Don’t miss it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wearelookingsideways.com/subscribe

Full episode info and Show Notes: www.wearelookingsideways.comLike most people, I got my first introduction to Skateistan back in 2010 following the release of To Live And Die in Kabul, Orlando von Eisendel’s documentary about the early years of the charity. So what is Skateistan? Set up by Aussie skater Oliver Percovich, Skateistan is an international non-profit organisation providing programmes that use skateboarding to provide education and safe spaces for kids from low-income backgrounds in Afghanistan, Cambodia and South Africa. When Ollie first established the charity back in 2008, it was a true outlier, an eccentric idea dreamed up by a diehard skater keen to explore just how, as he puts it, ‘skateboarding could be more broadly utilised’. Today, Skateistan is one of the most high-profile action sports charities in the world. It counts legends like Tony Hawk and Jamie Thomas as supporters, and has pioneered the idea of using activities like skateboarding as a transformative force, and a metaphor through which to engage with at-risk communities. So how exactly did Ollie do it? How did he use skateboarding to create such a visionary, positive organisation? That exactly what I wanted to find out when I sat down with him at the recent Pushing Boarders event in London, and our conversation covers all this, and plenty more. Sure, we dig into the history of Skateistan. But we also explore big themes, about finding a sense of purpose, the importance of community in an increasingly globalised world, how individuals can find their own place in the world with meaning, and the universality of human experience. It is inspiring stuff, and the other thing that becomes clear is that Ollie Percovich is a man of action, somebody who dreams big and has channelled his own ‘nervous energy’ and desire to make a difference into one of the most positive movements in skateboarding. Dig in for an essential conversation with one of the most inspirational figures in modern action sports.Thanks as usual to Matt Ward (www.linguistine.com) for the theme tune. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wearelookingsideways.com/subscribe

Andrew Cotton bonus episode! At the end of May 2017 I was in Croyde for a few days so met up with Cotty to find out how he’s been getting on since his life changed back in November 2017 following the accident at Nazare that saw him break his back and get plastered across front pages and social feeds across the world. He gave me the lowdown on how he’s coped with the toughest six months of his life: the injury itself, how the slam went down, how he’s been rehabbing, the power of a positive mental attitude and exactly how it felt to win that bittersweet XXL Award for Best Wipeout. There are no Show Notes for this bonus episode, so if you want to find out more about any of the things we discuss, check out my Instagram (@WeLookSideways), Twitter (@WeLookSideways) and Facebook (@wearelookingsideways). Nice one. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wearelookingsideways.com/subscribe

One thing I’ve learned since doing this podcast - you never know how these conversations are going to go. But my favourite Looking Sideways chats are the ones that take on a life of their own, following their own conversational ebbs and flows. And episode 45, my conversation with ultra runner Ryan Sandes, is definitely one of those chats, For the uninitiated, Ryan is an ultra runner but you could also describe him as an adventure runner. He made his name on events such as the Four Deserts Series, in which competitors race 255 miles over seven days in separate races across the Sahara, Gobi, Atacama and Last Desert in Antarctica. He followed this by clocking wins in prestigious endurance events such as the Western States 100, and undertaking a succession of phenomenal endurance running feats that culminated in a Fastest Known Time (FKT in the parlance) attempt on a version of the Great Himalayan Trail with compatriot Ryno Griesel. That effort saw them race 1500km across the length of Nepal km in a time of 25 days, 4 hours and 24 minutes, battling frostbite, starvation, injury and harrowing mental challenges along the way. I was keen to find out the details of these feats, of course. But what I really wanted to explore was Ryan’s intimate knowledge of the relationship between physical pain and mental fortitude, and how athletes like this deal with the inevitable pain and hardships along the way. Ryan was as keen to talk about this as I was, and the result is a classic chat in the best Looking Sideways tradition, in which we delve into the specifics of an extraordinary way of life, and find out the reality of what it takes to operate at such a level. Massive thanks to Ryan for coming on the show and sharing his story so openly. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wearelookingsideways.com/subscribe

Full episode info and Show Notes: www.wearelookingsideways.comImagine reaching the very top of one sporting discipline - and then switching codes and repeating the feat in your new discipline. Then imagine sustaining this over two decades, all while representing your sport with erudition, passion and grace.That's basically what UK mountain biker Tracy Moseley achieved during one of the most celebrated careers in mountain bike racing. Her achievements are too long to list in full here, but include three World Enduro titles, one World Downhill title, seven British DH titles, 16 World Cup DH wins, 15 Enduro World Cup wins, the first World Cup win on British soil - and on it goes.Quite a CV, and one of the reasons why she is spoken of with such reverence by her peers and those in the mountain bike community. Indeed, although she would probably wince at the words, there's a fair case to be made for Tracy as one of the UK's greatest ever professional athletes on two wheels.Today, Tracy is tackling motherhood and the third distinct phase of her riding career. I met up with her in London in May 2018 to look back over at her career and find out her plans for the future. Tracy is almost as renowned for her warmth and erudition as she is for her riding, and so it proved as we cast a reflective eye back over her extraordinary riding life.One thing became clear as we spoke - her constantly evolving relationship with her bike has always been at the centre of her career, and that continues to be the case today. It was a total privilege to sit down with one of the UK's most legendary mountain bikers, and I hope you enjoy it. Big thanks to Tracy for coming on the show, and to my friend Emma Bebb at Heaven Publicity for her help in pulling this one together.As usual, thanks to Matt Ward (www.linguistine.com) for the theme tune. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wearelookingsideways.com/subscribe

Full episode info and Show Notes: www.wearelookingsideways.comHow do you recognise when to jump at those key opportunities? How do you handle those defining turning points that can set the tone for the rest of your life - when you can't see them coming? Today's conversation with Patrick 'Brusti' 'Armbruster is full of moments like these. You may not know the name, but over the last twenty years Brusti has had one of the most quietly influential careers in European snowboarding, whether as a photographer at the cutting edge of the scene, or through his role as one of the people behind Absinthe Films. It’s a career arc that means he’s had a ringside seat at most of the key developments in European snowboarding throughout that time, helping shape the stories that have defined the last two decades of snowboarding history. Rice, de Marchi, Muller; Brusti has worked with them all and has the stories and scars to prove it. He’s been one of European snowboarding’s key tastemakers for two decades now, with an unerring eye for talent and the platform to help that talent perform to their fullest potential. As you’ll hear, Brusti is also a serial entrepreneur who has thrown himself into a hugely diverse number of projects in an effort to chase the lifestyle that captivated him as a young skate rat in Zurich back in the day. We caught up in Zurich in April 2018 for a hugely enjoyable conversation that took in his entire hugely varied career. Big thanks to Brusti for coming on the show and sharing his story.As usual, thanks to Matt Ward (www.linguistine.com) for the theme tune. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wearelookingsideways.com/subscribe

Full episode info and Show Notes: www.wearelookingsideways.comIf you were to sit down to try and devise a way of creating the perfect snowboarder, you’d do worse than use Stale’s Sandbech’s upbringing as a template. Take one stoked kid living near an easily accessible local hill. Mix with three equally hyped friends who live and breath snowboarding. Add one older brother photographer who shoots with the best of the world, offering easy access to an incredible array of role models. Marinate in the world’s most influential snowboarding culture, one that has always valued individual style and heritage. The result? One of the world’s great snowboarding stylists, who is today of the most popular riders on the planet.I remember when Transworld Snowboarding asked me to write Stale’s first check out back in around 2011. Here was a 14 year-old kid who could ride it all and appeared to arrive on the scene perfectly formed. Plus, he seemed to already have an enviably stable head on this shoulders. Since then, Stale’s has evolved into one of the defining riders of the last decade, as comfortable on the Olympic podium as he is lapping the park in Laax with his RK1 mates, Which is exactly where I bumped into him, back in April 2018, arranging to meet him that evening and sit down to go over his life and career. As you’ll discover, Stale cuts the same impressive figure off the hill as he does on it, and it was a real pleasure to sit down and catch up on the ins and outs of his snowboarding life. Big thanks for coming on the show. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wearelookingsideways.com/subscribe

Full episode info and Show Notes: www.wearelookingsideways.comHow do you get to the top of your sport? Sure, you need incredible focus, steely ambition and exceptional physical talent. But you also need a particular mindset - an ability to deal with setbacks and injuries; to turn setbacks into positives, and to continually readjust your goals as circumstances dictate. And that’s the main takeaway from my conversation with climber Shauna Coxsey. Shauna is a two-time ISCF World Cup bouldering champion who in 2016 was awarded an OBE for her services to climbing. She is also one of the highest-profile climbers in the world, who is set to be the focus of global attention when climbing makes its debut at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. I caught up with Shauna in London at the end of April 2018 for a hugely enjoyable conversation about her life and career so far. It’s an-depth and involved chat that covers in detail exactly how Shauna, who first discovered climbing as a four year old in Runcorn, made it to the top of her sport - and the incredible physical and mental focus it takes to stays there. We discuss the way Shauna compartmentalise her achievements and moves on quickly to her next goal, an approach that leads us nicely to the looming occasion of the 2020 Olympics, and how Shauna plans to tackle the biggest occasion of her career. As you’ll hear, Shauna is great company; completely unpretentious and a fantastic, articulate role model for climbing and women in sport. Her story is one of utmost dedication, and it was brilliant to get the opportunity to sit down with her and go over her life and career in such detail. Huge thanks to Jenny at Band of Birds for the help in setting this one up, and to Shauna for coming on the show. It’s a good one.As usual, thanks to Matt Ward (www.linguistine.com) for the theme tune. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wearelookingsideways.com/subscribe

Bonus Fire Food book launch episode! For this one I headed along to London to catch up with my old friend DJ BBQ, aka Christian Stevenson, on the occasion of the book launch for his new book Fire Food. I grabbed Christian for half an hour just before the party kicked off and have a fairly chaotic chinwag about the book and plenty more. It’s rough and ready this one, with interruptions, digressions and swearwords aplenty. If you enjoyed my first episode with DJ BBQ, you’ll dig this one, which is a similarly roving and free-associating chat between two old friends letting the tape roll for half an hour. No Show Notes for this one, so if you want to find out more about any of the things we discuss, check out my Instagram (@WeLookSideways), Twitter (@WeLookSideways) and Facebook (@wearelookingsideways) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wearelookingsideways.com/subscribe