028: BARRY GREEN - Surf Coach
Show Notes:
What if your greatest surfing breakthrough isn’t about technique—but about how deeply you connect with the ocean, and yourself?
Many surfers chase the next turn, board, or breakthrough without realizing that the biggest improvements come not from doing more, but from becoming more aware—of our bodies, our thoughts, and our connection with the ocean. In this episode, surf and wellness coach Barry Green shares how self-awareness and intention can unlock next-level performance and fulfillment in surfing and life.
Discover how slowing dwn and letting go of tension can radically improve your wave-riding and presence.
Learn why matching your surfing skill with your intention is key to progression and deeper satisfaction.
Explore surfing as a mirror for personal growth, from overcoming fear to cultivating grace under pressure.
Tune in now to discover how greater self-awareness and ocean connection can transform not only your surfing—but your life.
Barry brings a calm, intelligent and poetic perspective to the world of surf coaching, helping us to question our relationship to surfing, ourselves and the ocean. Making the Drop (now Centered Surfing) founder Barry Green has been surfing for 30 years and coaching surfing professionally since 1998. His vision for a technical & holistic approach to surf coaching grew while working with clients who were at a crossroads in their lives, using surfing as a practice to rediscover purpose and passion in life. He completed the Professional Coaching Course in Integral Coaching from New Ventures West in 2008, adding life coaching skills to an extensive background working with youth and adults as a counsellor, coach and experiential educator. He is blessed with three amazing daughters, and continues to find passion and purpose in helping all levels of surfers ride waves with style, grace and gratitude.
Barry’s website: https://centeredsurfing.com
Key Points
Barry shared his perspective on why he surfs - it's a practice for better knowing himself, connecting with the world around him, and responding with grace and poise in any situation.
Barry discussed the role of a surf coach as a guide to help people push past their edges and limitations, both in surfing and in life.
Michael and Barry talked about the importance of being relaxed and present in the moments between the big moves while surfing.
They discussed how self-awareness and connecting intention with skill is crucial for progressing as a surfer.
Barry shared his journey of getting into surf coaching, starting from working at a surf school and realizing his passion for helping people connect with surfing on a deeper level.
They talked about the common mistakes surf coaches see, such as surfers being tense and not occupying their full body awareness.
Barry mentioned an upcoming surf coaching trip he and Michael are organizing to Central America, aimed at helping serious surfers improve their skills and mindset.
Barry emphasized the importance of acknowledging and appreciating other surfers in the lineup to foster a positive surf culture.
Outline
Surfing as Self-Knowledge and Connection
Surfing is viewed as a practice for better self-knowledge, understanding the world, and connecting with energy that flows through and around oneself.
It allows individuals to respond with more grace and poise in various situations.
The fundamental appeal of surfing lies in how good it feels.
Importance of Being Present
Being present in the moment while surfing is emphasized as crucial.
Touching the water and getting on the board brings full presence, leaving behind daily worries.
Surfing reminds people of their origins, true nature, and the insignificance of many concerns.
Interconnectedness with Nature
Surfing taps into and plays with the energy of the water, reminding people of their interconnectedness with nature.
This activity counters the illusion of separateness prevalent in human society.
Appreciation and playful interaction with this interconnectedness are key aspects of surfing.
Self-Imposed Limitations
Limitations in surfing are largely seen as self-imposed, stemming from fear, unfamiliarity with surroundings, and the ocean's vastness.
These mental barriers arise from a need for control and safety, along with acquired personality traits and life preferences.
Role as a Coach
Guiding people around their edges and encouraging them to push slightly beyond comfort zones is a primary coaching approach.
This method helps surfers glimpse new levels of potential and gain momentum in progression.
Parallels with Life
Limitations in surfing are paralleled with other areas of life, such as business and relationships.
Reducing fear and anxiety in any relationship allows for deeper connections with the ocean, other people, or various life aspects.
Connection to Ocean Rhythm
Being connected to the rhythm of the ocean and the wave itself is significant while surfing.
A relaxed, non-anxious approach under pressure within the dynamic surfing environment is strived for.
Manifestation Among Good Surfers
Good surfers exhibit a ubiquitous connection, manifesting as a relaxed, non-anxious look even at high performance levels.
Increased self-awareness and mindfulness practices both in and out of the water develop this connection.
Surfing as a Laboratory
Surfing serves as a laboratory for building self-awareness, controlling fear, and deepening connections.
Lessons learned are applied to other life aspects, such as parenting, partnerships, and business.
Path to Becoming a Surf Coach
Experiences at a summer camp in the mountains influenced the path to becoming a surf coach, teaching about pushing limits and feeling supported in nature.
Working in social work with homeless families preceded transitioning to teaching surfing as a temporary job.
An aptitude for private lessons was discovered, helping genuinely interested individuals improve their surfing.
Client Feedback and Coaching Career
Client feedback indicating surf lessons replaced therapy sessions planted the seed for a coaching career.
Pursuing life coaching training led to establishing a surf coaching business, combining passion for surfing with a desire to help others.
Issue of Tension Among Surfers
Overly tense behavior is identified as a universal issue among surfers.
Relaxation, slowing down, and realizing there is more time than thought are advised for better decision-making and improved technique.
Full-Body Awareness
Awareness of the entire body while surfing, from fingertips to toes, is emphasized.
Full-body awareness enables better wave feeling and more intuitive surfing.
Moving Away from Consumptive Mindset
Surfers are encouraged to move away from a consumptive mindset and focus on being present.
Appreciating the entire surfing experience, including smaller moments between waves, is highlighted.
Guidance as a Coach
Attention is guided to where it needs to be, supporting surfers in pushing past comfort zones.
Matching skills with intentions is an essential part of coaching.
Acknowledging Achievements
Acknowledging and witnessing others' achievements is important, both as a coach and fellow surfer.
Recognition can significantly impact someone's surfing experience and overall day.
Surfing Journal Project
Developing a surfing journal project for clients aims to chronicle sessions, noting mindset before and after.
Encouraging awareness of nature and other people in the lineup is part of the project.
Favorite Surfboard
Current favorite surfboard is a 7-foot round nose, pintail quad with a progressive shortboard rocker.
Versatility across various surf conditions is valued.
Final Advice to Surfing Community
Surfers are encouraged to acknowledge themselves and others, both in and out of the water.
Cheering others on and smiling more fosters a positive and supportive surfing culture.
Transcription
Surfing is a practice for better knowing myself, knowing the world around me better, connecting with that
Michael Frampton
Welcome back to the Surf Mastery Podcast. Today's episode is with Barry Green. Barry is from Santa Cruz. He works as a surf coach and wellness coach in the Santa Cruz area, as well as doing surf trips and retreats. I'm excited to announce that Barry and myself will be hosting a surf coaching trip later on this year. Those that are interested to find out more, I'll talk more about the trip after the interview. For now, meet Barry. Why surfing? Why do you surf?
Barry Green
At this stage in the game, 30 plus years into it, I feel surfing is a practice for better knowing myself, knowing the world around me better, connecting with that, connecting with the energy that runs through me, through the, you know, around me, with other people, and just a practice of responding better with more grace and poise in whatever situation happens. But that's built on top of it just feels good, you know, and I never stop. When I do have intro clients or somebody that hasn't surfed before, you know, they can't even put it into words. I just had this kid from Haiti. One of my clients adopted a boy from Haiti recently, and that's what he, all he kept saying in French is like, it's just so good. And sometimes I think that just, it just distills down to that. Just feels good.
Michael Frampton
Yeah, I like that word connection. Yeah. How does that fit in with the ocean and your relationship with surfing and the ocean?
Barry Green
Well, I feel like my connection with the ocean is just beginning in a lot of ways, you know, but that connection on a deeper level with not just playing with a wave on the surface and getting something out of it is just beginning on these deeper layers. But I, you know, if you're going into a session and you might be wound up about something in your day, in your life, and, you know, as soon as that water touches your skin and your feet leave the ground, you're on your board, I mean, you're present. And I think for a lot of people that may be the only, if you're not meditating or practicing other kind of mindfulness, be here now, be like the water. It's just reminding you where you came from, who you are, how insignificant everything you're worried about is. But then that act of tapping into the energy, into the water, and playing with it and having it, you know, push you and play with you and pull you under, whatever it does, it just, yeah, I think you've, as on a human level, we seem like these separate indistinct individuals that are separate, you know, we're separate and perhaps going against nature in so many ways, but that water just reminds you of how really interconnected we are and to appreciate that and just to play with it.
Michael Frampton
What is it that limits the depth of your connection?
Barry Green
I think limitations are largely self-imposed. What's possible? What do you want to do? I think some people, I know when I first got in the water, no one in my family surfed, nobody, I had no introduction as a young kid, but something about it grabbed me and just I had to keep going it. And that took me so far and my limitations came more to like, well, what am I afraid of or what do I think I'm afraid of? You know, whatever the unknown is. In the ocean, the unknown is right looking you back in the face every moment, you know, but I, and there's, so I think with the people that I'm working with a lot of the time, their limitations are, you know, some type of fear, some type of unfamiliarity with their surroundings, with what this water is, you know, with what the ocean is. It's so big. It's so, you're not in control. You're surrendering, you're vulnerable. As soon as you're out there, you're vulnerable on levels that you don't, we're always vulnerable on land, but out there it's just palpable. So I feel like that, you know, that fear and self-imposed limitations, I can do that, I can't do that, or I shouldn't do that, I can't do that, I need to stay safe, those type of filters. And it gets into just real primitive stuff and then just acquired, you know, acquired personality stuff and preferences in life, you know, how much we want to be in control or not in control, you know, those are ultimately what I view as the limitations. And as a coach, that's what I feel like I'm guiding people around their edges and maybe sticking one foot over the edge a little bit, pushing a little bit farther than they would to get that glimpse of that new level, that new potential, a new appreciation for that process, you know, and then hopefully you just start gaining momentum. But yeah, limitations I feel are largely self-imposed.
Michael Frampton
Yeah, I agree. It's sort of, it seems like the depth of your connection is limited by your fear and anxiety. Right. Not just in terms of surfing, but in business relationships, all relationships. Yeah. Not just your relationship to the ocean. Right. So the less fear and anxiety around any relationship allows you to connect more deeply with the other party, whether that be the ocean, another person, a business, etc.
Barry Green
Right. Yeah, the more present you can be, the more you can receive and be aware of reading waves, reading people, reading the room. Right. It's situational awareness of different sorts. And it's just endless open-minded. I love that Jerry Lopez quote of, you know, the first 20 years of surfing are just to see if you're interested and the real journey doesn't begin until the second 20, you know.
Michael Frampton
Yeah, I like that one.
Barry Green
Yeah, that's a good one. It takes a while to be present, to be connected, and to have that poise that comes with the clarity of who you are, what you want, the path you're choosing, not a path that's been handed to you or marketed to you, but your authentic path. That's ultimately what that connection can, deeper connection leads you to that authentic path that I feel like everyone has the potential to travel, although few of us, you know. Yeah. There's always some kind of limitation beyond ourselves, I guess.
Michael Frampton
So, I've had the opportunity to surf with you a couple of times and you surf very smoothly and I think it's actually a great way to describe your surfing is you look very connected to the rhythm of the ocean and to the wave itself. And your body is very relaxed. You sort of, there's no fear or anxiety or there's no preciousness around the wave. Is that something that's always come naturally to you or have you had to develop that in your surfing?
Barry Green
Well, first off, I would say, you know, I would probably be really critical if we've, you know, when I see myself, I'm critical of it, but I feel at this stage of life as, you know, 48 years old, surfing as long as I have, being, coaching people day in, day out, and helping people in their journeys that I've, you know, gotten clearer about that, the importance of that connection and being present and being aware of, you know, where am I holding the tension or where is the tension from other parts of my life coming into this? And being in the water is the time for me to express, tap into what's most pure and authentic about myself, and express that in some way. And so, you know, whether it's Steeze or however you want to play it, you know, and I, yeah, I was a disciple of Kern in the 80s when I started surfing. And, you know, you admire, we all admire that flow and rhythm and timing and grace under pressure, you know, within such a dynamic, seemingly chaotic scene. I mean, it's just, if you can demonstrate that, I mean, that's where you really tap into the source of self and see and your soul in a way, you know. So I think I consciously work on it and I think that's the open-ended invitation is to keep going that way, you know. Keep what is that smooth, authentic expression, where can you go with that? How far can you take it? And then it's what feels right when you're up and standing, not trying to mimic something or create something, but just be yourself on a wave. What does that look like? So it's interesting. Thank you for the feedback. I, you know, I don't, I should probably film myself more often, but my practice, my personal surfing and progression is trying to be, model the people that I look up to as surfers. They're poised, always.
Michael Frampton
Well, it's one thing that's ubiquitous. All good surfers, that connection is ubiquitous. That the relaxed, non-anxious look on their face is ubiquitous. Even if it's a surfer who's surfing twice as fast as anyone else, it's almost like he's twice as relaxed.
Barry Green
Right.
Michael Frampton
And he's twice as connected kind of thing. Yeah. So how have you developed that? Like, I'm just wondering your own, I know you're a coach, but your own personal surfing journey was like, was there a time when you felt like you weren't as connected as you could be? And how did you progress your surfing personally?
Barry Green
Yeah, that's a great question. I, where I'm going with that right now is when I competed as an amateur, you know, in my late teens, early twenties, and noticing the competitive pressure and how that, the stress of that would affect my body. And how I would often not surf what I felt surf to my potential. And then immediately after, usually a comp surf is as smooth and as relaxed as I can. But I think I've trained recently.
Barry Green
More.
Barry Green
Like I feel in a way I'm surfing as better as I have ever. And that smoothness I practice, it relates to my, you know, when I'm driving in my car, just my awareness, my personal awareness, my practice of awareness. What am I, what quality of thought am I letting persist? You know, that's, it gets into that mindfulness practice of like, you know, just thoughts can be just like clouds floating through the sky. What am I going to grab and hold on to, you know, or am I holding onto something I don't want to do? And when I get on a wave, you know, can I let go of everything I'm worried, you know, whether I'm worried about somebody else or the technical nature of the wave situation I'm in, you know, when a perfect wave comes to you amidst a crowd, you know, you can build up that, like, I better not blow it. You know, this is coming, but I just, the maturity at this stage of my life, I feel is like the big, and just the practice of awareness is really what's brought me. It's probably reflected in my physical presence out there, I would imagine. And being on the right kind of board, being on a board that feels like the right tool for me to express myself or paddles well, fits me, you know, taps into that energy source the way I want to, you know, like getting really clear about that, putting all those pieces together. But I'm just, I'm trying to flow through life. If I'm in my car driving through traffic, you know, get whatever it is. Okay, it's flow. Let go. You know, don't press, don't push. Tap into the flow of that moment. Be aware of what's around you, know what you control, be clear about what you can control, what you can't control. Don't try to push, press. And I think that fits well with surfing too.
Michael Frampton
So do you think that the, let's say the most, the surfers who are the most connected, are they the ones that are the most self-aware? Is there a kind of proportionate relationship there?
Barry Green
I think you could make the argument, but self-awareness is an interesting thing.
Barry Green
Maybe someone's.
Barry Green
I think that argument holds true, most self-aware in the water or most self-aware on the wave, right? Because that self-awareness may not translate into life on land, right?
Michael Frampton
Yes, of course.
Barry Green
Just like all the athletes or performers we admire, right? When they're on stage, when they are in their element, you know, they are that few can, you know, they're in their, they're in the zone, they're in the flow and we admire that.
Barry Green
Performing things.
Barry Green
But that doesn't necessarily translate to all aspects of their lives. But I think, yeah, in the water, surfer, good, you know, you watch Slater, John, all the best of the best, even Fleet. Whatever they're doing, you know, when we, whoever gets our attention, it's because they are self-aware like no other on a wave. Right?
Michael Frampton
Yeah. But it sounds like you're like surfing is somewhat of a laboratory for you to build that self-awareness, to build that control of your fear and to build that or deepen that connection. And then you're taking that into other aspects of your life as well.
Barry Green
Yeah. Like driving. Well, yeah. I mean, just simple things like parenting, partnership, business. Yeah. I mean, I think it all applies, you know, I mean, all applies. But I, surfing is certainly my primary, when all else fails, you know, when we start philosophizing and digging into the textures and layers of life and existence and get all esoteric, you know, you got to shut down or politics, whatever it is, you get overwhelmed. You just got to go surf, you know, like it is this practice for self-awareness. And I, and I'm personally drawn to that interconnected relationship between and using surfing as a practice. And that's pretty much what I present and offer to clients is the same thing. You know what, there's a Zen, some type of Zen proverb or quote of like, you know, what is wisdom? And, you know, a student asks, well, what is enlightenment? What is wisdom? And then the teacher responds, what is an appropriate response? You know, they didn't respond with the answer, respond with another question. And in all the teachers I've had, that's been the same thing. I think the ocean, you know, the ocean just gives you more questions than answers, but we keep going after it. And back to that quote is an appropriate response. I mean, the ocean, it's just, it's always what's, how do I respond to this situation? You know? And so I love that. I love making that connection.
Michael Frampton
Okay. So if the ocean could speak, what words would it use to ask that question?
Barry Green
That's a good one. What would the ocean speak about how to respond or how?
Michael Frampton
For me, I think it would be like when I see a wave coming, it's kind of like the wave is sort of saying, how do you want to play with me? Like this is play. Surfing is just play, playfulness. Yes. In its purest form. And maybe that's the question of a wave. How do you want to play with this? How do you want to play here?
Barry Green
Yeah. You play at the flip side of play might be paint me like, here's this canvas, you know, here to express yourself, know yourself through this interaction with the, with me. Right? Yeah. I mean, do you feel, I would say it's fair and I'll ask it to you. Like, do you feel, you know, yourself best as a surfer, like in the water when you're surfing, you feel most connected with you as a person or.
Michael Frampton
I would say yes.
Barry Green
Most alive. A lot of people are playing that. I feel most alive out there.
Michael Frampton
Right? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that would probably be true with most people. Most people listening to this because they identify themselves as surfers. Yeah. You know, obviously we're, you know, employees and employers and other things, but, you know, surfing's that, like you said, where you feel the most you. Right.
Barry Green
Yeah. It's.
Michael Frampton
Kind of like the ocean asks you questions, but it doesn't care about the answer. No, it just accepts you for who you are, whether you bog rail or whether you do an air, the ocean doesn't care that. Right. That wave is still going to do its thing. Right. And it's always going to be there.
Barry Green
Yeah. And I loved, in your interview with John Demartini, when he talked about the, you know, the wave energy of relating to kind of cosmic forces, you know, influencing atmospheric pressures, which, you know, just that interconnectedness extrapolated outwards as far as we can, you know, that ties into this too, you know, I love trying to reach any conclusions.
Barry Green
Not.
Barry Green
But I love making that, connecting those dots and then, yeah, feeling like when around the wave that's kind of a, just this ending point or this arrival. And that's a way of just knowing ourselves, experiencing ourselves and in a way that's playful. It doesn't have a purpose or meaning in terms of productivity and all these human societal cultural constructs. It's just do it for the dance itself. Right. Yeah. And that's maybe good enough, or maybe that's the highest or deepest. I don't know. But.
Michael Frampton
Yeah. I mean, obviously, you know, if you're pushing the boundaries of your surfing, then it's sometimes it's less playful and it's more challenging. Yeah. Or testing. So it's a true test of your character. Definitely. You know that you're going to come up, but can you remain calm? Yeah. Yeah. And a lot of people.
Barry Green
Can't. No, but you can continue to revisit. As long as you keep surfing, you're going to be revisiting your edges. And along with just the visceral aliveness feeling in the moment of just riding a wave, I think those challenges and chipping away at our edges and flirting with what we know of what's possible, self-imposed limitations, fears, et cetera. You know, there's real meaning and value in that. And that's, you know, leaving the water feeling good is one thing. And then realize, you know, having transformative experiences around something like I survived something I didn't think I did, or I pulled something off, and in my mind, it was inconceivable, dangerous, whatever. And it just peels away these layers of that, you know, allow you to have a, just be a better version of yourself, which I think translates and has a better effect on all those around you. But yeah, along with that, doing something well, just bringing it back to a smaller scale, like the technical aspect, you know, ripping, just ripping or shredding. That's something I've been thinking of lately, like the origin, where did this rip, shred, like, where did those terms come from? You know, because they're very like, tear it open. I, you know, I've always understood it on the surface level, but I've almost thought of, you know, they're analogous or metaphors for peeling back those layers and getting deeper. Not only, you know, when we watch good surfing, you're, you know, you're ripping, shredding, and they're just very similar terms from, I think, pretty much derived from surfing. Yeah. What do you say? I mean, are those ubiquitous in parts of the world, you know, down?
Michael Frampton
Yeah. Definitely. It's an interesting question. Like, I don't know where the, I should look that up, but it's, they, it's interesting that those have landed as kind of universal surf terms for good surfing, for flow, you know, people in rhythm, people with that awareness on a wave, and we're talking, it's ripping, shredding are these common terms.
Barry Green
Yeah.
Michael Frampton
Yeah. I guess, you know, literally you're ripping and tearing the fabric of the wave, you know, ripping into the water, you're shredding the water apart. Sometimes it doesn't feel like that though. Yeah. It's not like, that's often how it's described by the onlooker, but the surfer that's doing that is saying, I felt like I was flowing or I was powerful or I was going fast. They never really, yeah, I was shredding it. I was ripping it up out there. It's not what you.
Barry Green
Other people ascribe it. Yeah. If you're self-aware on land, you're probably not gonna say I was ripping, shredding. You're like, that's.
Michael Frampton
Yeah. But although I think sometimes that might be a goal of a surfer. I want to learn how to rip or I want to learn how to shred. But now that we say it out loud, I think it's not necessarily a bad goal, but it could certainly be worded better. Yeah. I want to learn how to harness the power of the wave. Right. And when you lock into that feeling, someone else is watching you, you're shredding.
Barry Green
Yeah. Kind of thing.
Michael Frampton
Yeah. I mean, I think that's, that, you know, it serves a purpose. It's whatever motivates you to do better. Having a goal doesn't, yeah, it doesn't have to have a deep, it doesn't always have to have a deep meaning or a deeper purpose. I want to just do a wrap-around rebound that flows and feel what that feels like. Not just, I know what it feels like, but I can't do it. You know, helping people through that journey is really enjoyable. And have you seen some clients go from, have you seen any stark contrasts in surfing ability with any clients or any stories around that concept?
Barry Green
Yeah, of course. I mean, I'm always in process with various people and I can think of one. I had a woman, she's coming to mind. She had never surfed and actually found her way to this, to the Santa Cruz area just for a medical, for treatment, for a medical condition that was, you know, potentially terminal. And that brought her to this area and she received the treatment and got better. And then the doctor was a surfer and she was near the waves. And so, and she had been, you know, pro athlete in the army, just a very accomplished person on a lot of levels and jumped into surfing. And surfing, you know, went from, but it, that vulnerability and, you know, something that hadn't experienced in the water, you know, brought up a lot of stuff. And guiding, just being the trusted guide in that process and teacher to all the potential and talent was there, but to work, slowly work through the basics, the fundamentals. And to get the point where you're getting the board on rail, riding bigger waves and being able to express yourself as you, to match your skills with your intention. Yeah, that was something we were able to accomplish in a couple of years. And then the interesting thing about her was that she eventually, you know, she moved back inland, back, I think, back to Canada, not near the water in a way where she can surf every day. But, you know, that was just a chapter in her life where that came together on the deeper levels, on the technical levels, and get somebody just to be able to catch and read a wave on a very fundamental, a very primitive level, and then get them to turning, carving, you know, making their statement on a given wave. And then for that particular person, it was enough. You know, it was interesting. It's interesting to notice how people come into surfing or whether they come to me, you know, mid a lifetime of surfing or a young person that's competing it. You're always helping them themselves somewhat differently through their performance. And the way they connect with themselves and the ocean, you know, I mean, we're ultimately, it's us.
Michael Frampton
The way they connect. Yeah, the ocean.
Barry Green
That's that bridge between, you know, how well you're connected with, you know, the ocean. And then, you know, how well you're connected with your intention. Like, how do you want to express yourself? And then all the little things you have to do to, we, in between the big moments, you know, the big technical parts of some kind of turn, you know, there's all the little micro movements, micro awareness. When you were speaking to me about, you know, field of vision and just, you know, all those little things in between add up. And it's fun to guide people's attention to where they're blind or missing something and see how it connects. And all of a sudden, the performance unfolds, you know?
Michael Frampton
So you're kind of like, well, the surf coach is like the third element. You've got the surfer and the ocean. So what is the role or what do you see the role of the surf coach? Yeah. Or maybe, or how do you personally see your role as a surf coach?
Barry Green
You know, as a guide, as almost a guide to guiding people's attention to where, you know, first off, it's just my job is to assess, you know, okay, where's this person coming from? What are they bringing to the table? And where do they want to go or where do they think they want to go? Right. So presenting issue. And it could be, I'm not winning anymore or as a competitive surfer, it could be, I'm, you know, I've been living my life a certain way and I've always wanted to surf. I want to surf, you know, whatever it is, or, yeah, I can't get my cutback, but guiding, assessing where someone's at, then using my own, you know, analytical skills as a surfer and trying to determine, you know, what's going on. Where the blind spots are, how to guide their attention in a way that makes sense to them, you know, and, it's easy to do on the early stages. Someone that's very beginner, easy to do. Easy technically to do at a higher level, just when you're refining things where I think it tends to be more mental and just having the right systems in place and training and, but. The job is just as a guide to support and a guide to guide people's awareness, where it needs to be to support people and being at their edge, you know, smoothing out those edges where their comfort zone is, whatever their limitation is. And I feel like, you know, my role is just to help them, help push them compassionately past an edge. And then, you know, I'm a give them the technical steps on how to do that in the water, in their other training, in their life, you know, and really just talk about it clearly and get them to really tap into what, you know, what is it you want here? Why are you here? What do you want? Why do you surf?
Michael Frampton
That's probably a big part of it is helping them to understand the why and where it's and where they want to go with it. Right. Like matching, what was your words? The skill with the intention.
Barry Green
Yeah. I mean, I, as a human being, I think that just feels good in whatever it is, right. You're matching. Sometimes you're just following along and maybe doing something skillful, but it may not be. You see that in the pro ranks, like guys that strike out on tour and they're following the prevailing, you know, as a, since a Grom and just, you're going through the competitive machine and then you arrive on the pro stage and you're kind of like, I don't. I, this isn't in maybe a certain maturity, a certain point in life where you're like, well, what, who am I? Is this what I am or not? You know, and surfing obviously has those roots in kind of being rebel or counterculture. But, and I think that's always drawn a lot of people to, I mean, that's in the DNA of this sport, you know, like counter to the prevailing winds of life and existence. Right. You're going to rip and shred away at that, but, that's an interesting process for people.
Michael Frampton
Yeah. It's quite a good way to describe, well, there's a big mismatch between intention and skill in the surfing world. I think, you know, most surfers might have the intention of doing a reentry. You know, it feels great.
Barry Green
And.
Michael Frampton
You know, an average or even a poor reentry feels amazing, but that surfer might think they've done an amazing reentry. But if you've never seen yourself on film, that skill and intention, they're so far apart.
Barry Green
Right. Like so.
Michael Frampton
Far apart. So self-awareness, I think if you've never seen yourself surf on film, then you probably have no idea. Yeah. What you're doing.
Barry Green
Right. Yeah. Blue pill, red pill. Yeah. I don't want to know.
Michael Frampton
Yeah. Most.
Barry Green
And that's fine as well.
Michael Frampton
People don't. Just let me think I'm a legend in my own mind. It's good.
Barry Green
Yeah.
Michael Frampton
Right. But if you're serious about, if you're serious, if you want to learn how to surf bigger waves or heavier waves or go on a trip, then, you know, I think that's the first step is. Okay. Where am I at?
Barry Green
Yeah.
Michael Frampton
And most people don't know. Most people's skill and intentions are so far apart that, you know, they think they're good, but they're not. Right. So yeah, that's an interesting way to put it. And I like that. Skill and intention. That's.
Barry Green
The role of a coach. Absolutely. You know, and if someone's coming to you, they're having that, they're committed and they care enough to like, okay, just give it to me straight. Yeah. And let's do this.
Michael Frampton
Yeah. Usually some people start that way and, no.
Michael Frampton
Yeah. It's strange how most people will happily go in and spend $700 on a new board, but go and spend $700 with a coach. Your surfing is, you know, eight sessions with a coach and that's far better than buying a new board for your surfing. Probably.
Barry Green
Probably.
Michael Frampton
More than probably. I can speak from experience on both sides. Yeah. Having been a coach or having, you know, I am a coach and having been coached myself. Right. You know, this, I wish I had spent more time on surf coaching earlier. Right. In my surfing life.
Barry Green
Yeah, no, for sure. It's a catalyst and, you can, it's really, that point gets really driven when you just, yeah, tell someone, when as a coach, you tell something, somebody that's something really simple and just connects the dots that makes a connection in the circuitry that hasn't been there for like maybe a long time.
Barry Green
But, yeah, I, skill, intention, being able to perform and match those. I mean, yeah, what, not much else feels better than that, but then pushing, you know, then like, it's, we were talking earlier about life and just keep learning, you know, don't stay there in that realm of competence or mastery, you know, keep pushing. I mean, the surfers I look up to are, you know, are pushing the limits for themselves, you know, because they know you don't—awareness in the ocean or mastery of the ocean is not a static destination. There's always more to learn and experience, whether it's, yeah, critical big waves, barreling waves, or whether it's taking the fins off your board or trying some different design or surf switch for a week. Yeah. Surf one way. Give yourself a week where you're going to go out in the water, spend like at least an hour in the water, but you get only one wave. And then go through the process of like, which wave is the one that I want? Like, make it really worth it. Those are the kind of practices that I'm starting to present to clients, you know, just to get, just tweak things a little bit, you know, surf switch all week. Only allow yourself one wave, you know, and different ways of just mixing it up that make it interesting and keep you moving and appreciating this process, that open invitation from the ocean to like, hey, come. Come play, come paint.
Michael Frampton
How did you get into surf coaching?
Barry Green
Story is, starts probably with the, somewhat with a summer camp in the mountains, far from the ocean, but steeped in grandeur and natural beauty where I went. It was the only place I would leave the coast for as a young person. And they basically take you out in nature, climb mountains, raft rivers in the wilderness and push your limits and then feel the support and the love around you, feel that guidance, right? Both from your peers and counselors slash coaches around you, and connecting with that bigger resource that's around you all the time. So that experience had a profound impact on me as a person, where I started to understand myself better. But surfing was my one true love as a sport, the thing that had grounded me, that I'd put more time and energy into than anything. And the circumstances of my childhood were such that once I found it, I was able to, you know, put myself into it as much as I wanted. So then later on in adulthood, I was working with homeless kids and families. My background was in social work. When I had my twin daughters, just kind of overwhelmed energetically and needed a little break, and thought teaching surfing might be a fun little in-between feeder job until I figure out the next thing. And I ended up working for one of the local surf schools for like almost three years in a semi full-time, about as full-time as you could hope to. And the real key, the real—a lot of surf classes, a lot of pushing people into waves and just learning that whole—it takes a lot of skill to do that the right way and keep people safe and work with people that aren't necessarily in their bodies that much. But then I got to do private lessons with people that were, you know, that cared about their learning and were actually trying to get into it. And it was those experiences where I thrived and where the feedback I got from people was really positive. Like this one client said, "I don't go to my therapist the weeks I have surf lessons with you." And that planted the seed.
Michael Frampton
It's powerful.
Barry Green
Yeah. I was like, and that connected the dot with the camp experience. And then kind of connected it out with like the places and positions that I'd been in my life so far where I felt most alive and most of value and most contributing as a person, as a being for life made the most sense. I found the most flow, or at least kind of helping positions. And so then 10 years later, when I was going through some big life changes and divorce and stuff, and kind of reevaluating how I was making decisions and navigating through life, I'm like, well, all right, let's recalibrate and let's maybe bring this vision that you had of that seed that person planted about, you know, helping, connecting surfing and your past, your passion and path, and that to something. And so I went through a life coaching program because I felt that would give me some skills, some people skills and further people skills, and just put it out there, make a website, and little by little, it started going along. But you have to really love that interaction and really be able to not worry about how much free surfing you're missing, how many good waves you're missing. You know, you have to really enjoy that interaction, I think, to do it well. But it felt really empowering to be doing something that combined what I felt was kind of my calling in life, so to speak. You know, you arrive in that place when you connect with that, and it's empowering.
Michael Frampton
So obviously your clients are learning from you. Yeah. What are you learning from them?
Barry Green
Excellent question. And I think coaching, teaching, counseling, it's always a two-way street to a certain extent. It should be, right? Of course, I'm learning, always learning kind of patience and humility and how to, you know, the flow of life. I mean, the rhythm of a surf coach and running a business, you know, reflects the nature of the ocean itself. You know, there's waves coming, there's waves not, and life, people, you're always juggling and flowing with what's coming and what's not coming, what you can control, what you can't control. But I think what I find most valuable with people, because I'm really passionate about being a coach and realizing coaching is an open-ended, you know, proposition as well. Like I'm never going to be like, I'm a master coach. It's like, there's more learning. So just when I'm grappling with how to communicate some concept to somebody and, you know, I'm usually trying to find an analogy to some other sport or activity or skill that they have and trying to find some parallels like that. And then, you know, in that process, I'll stumble upon a way that I've articulated something that's new. And it'll help me like, that's a good thing for coaching. And whoa, maybe actually that's going to help me when I'm watching like John, you know, when I'm watching a Kelly or whoever at Chopu or some, you know, paddling under the lip in a heaving, you know, some situation where I'm feeling very tense and uncertain when I'm watching that, and just how to be relaxed. You know, a similar—some little nugget of wisdom or something that just helps me in my own surfing be smoother and more poised and present comes through that interaction. And so it's just, it's a constant flow. Those are fun when you get those nuggets of wisdom, but it's just a steady flow of appreciation and reminding myself to be grateful. You know, coaching is a practice of—I'm very fortunate to be doing what I'm doing. So there's, you know, learning. They're teaching me about myself and about life and about how to improve my surfing. Maybe not as much as I am them, but in a way, I mean, I'm definitely getting something out of that interaction.
Michael Frampton
A question I always ask surf coaches is, what's the most common mistake you see in the general population of surfers?
Barry Green
Yeah, probably the one piece of advice that fits every layer, every level of surfer is that—being relaxed a little bit more, you know, being that awareness. You know, you're pressing, you're pushing for whatever. And there are different reasons. But I feel that's almost a universal one, like slow it down a little bit, you know, because that just relates to whenever we're at our edge, whenever we're not executing or doing—like, if you're just a little more relaxed, a little more fluid, where's that tension that doesn't need to be there? Reduce the tension in your body that doesn't need to be there. Slow it down. You have more time than you think, right? This is what relates to how we evaluate a situation. And at a certain point, we cut off from the situation and start being proactive about responding to what we feel is about to happen. And that's not always what is happening. Right. So I think if you can be more relaxed, patient, poised, you're going to make better decisions and have better technique through the transitions. Because there's so many transitions in surfing—from paddling into a wave. Like, I think in surfing every wave we surf, we're on our—I'm getting into another point, but every wave we surf, you know, we're prone paddling into the wave, and there's input we're giving into the board and reading the wave from when you start that initial trajectory into the wave prone. And that's underappreciated. It's not like I'm just paddling to catch the wave and then I jump on my feet and then I'm surfing or then I'm giving the board feet, then I'm driving. It's like, no. These are just transitions. And then you're choosing—you know, the steering wheel's in your hand, and now it's in your feet, but the driving, you know, you're driving, you're surfing the whole way. So I think I learned it from Michael Gervais, who you had as a guest, which is like, mastery comes through those—the moments in between the big moments, the spaces in between. And I love that. Right. Like, two masters of craft, whatever it is, it's all the little things that are not so noticeable to the untrained eye—even the trained eye. Right. And all those little movements, the little awarenesses, the decisions, you know, then those big moments where we're ripping, shredding, performing, feel good. The results come. So I think the biggest things in surfing, as a coach, that I correct are just being relaxed enough to find the room to improve on those little moments and just being relaxed enough to respond better. And I think a lot of people in our culture—we're so—what I learned in the life coaching program was, Western culture, we're a lot in our heads and our hearts. So if you kind of hold your hands on your body, your abdomen—we're not connected to our center so much. Even though, core muscular, we might be, but kind of kinesthetically, maybe not so much. And then you get down into your lower body, and a lot of people aren't there. And I think that's a big one as well, just on a pure physiological level. Like, you know, are you occupying your entire body from fingertip to the top of your head to the tips of your toes? You know, is there a circuit running back and forth through there? Because when it comes to surfing, if you're not, you know—
Michael Frampton
You're missing out.
Barry Green
And you can't use that tool, the instrument. You can't feel the wave. You know, you're gonna—and so then you'll start pressing in certain ways that you think are the right way. Right. I want to do a floater. I'm going to do a floater now. Or I'm going to—you can't feel it. You can't allow the space to feel it or see it. It's hard to connect.
Michael Frampton
Yeah. I like that you said you have more time than you think.
Barry Green
Yeah.
Michael Frampton
So true. What do you think gets in the way of awareness of those moments in between? Like, why are people being so uptight?
Barry Green
Consumptive mindset. Right? We're always consuming. Right? And I think a lot of times you can approach your surfing that way. I'm out there to get this. I'm out there to get the wave, and I'm in that so that I can perform and do X, Y, Z, and then I'll feel good. Right. And that's very surface layer. Or—repeat the question. Say, what gets in the way of those little moments? Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, like I can—that's all I'm saying. Like a consumptive mindset. Like, we're just—we're so chasing after whatever or acquiring something. And we might even—I think that's a phase in surfing, you know, or a phase in a session, if you're trying to practice awareness through surfing. But if you're trying to get something from it and not—like, when I was a Grom, I mean, that's all—I’m just out there to get what I get and compete and try to prove myself to the guys and do whatever. And then later you're like, okay, yeah. Wow. Look at—there's a sea otter, and look at this kelp, and look around me. I'm out in nature, you know? So I think it's the awareness. If you don't have that awareness, I don't think you're paying attention to the bigger moments. Right. If you're just consuming, taking, and you're missing the little things. It's like, it's a kind of a smell the roses, stop and smell the roses kind of mindset almost. Right. Yeah. So.
Michael Frampton
Just—yeah. There's a—yeah, that reminds me of a quote. There's—I mean, be here now. Yeah. That's so cliché and it's everywhere now, but actually, it's not good enough. You need to be in the center of now. So that's where the detail comes in. Right. And that's when you get in the zone and time slows down and you can—you know what you're doing and you're in control of those smaller moments, the details. Right. And then you feel like you have more time because—well, you do have more time. Right. It's like we can all watch—we can all stand on the beach and watch a wave roll through and watch a good surfer surf it. And you're like, yeah, there's a nice rhythm. That's not too fast, not too slow. I could probably do that. And you get out there, and next thing you know, all you've done is two pumps and you've driven down the line and the wave's finished. And you're like, wow, why did that happen so fast? Right. And it's—I think a lot of it's got to do with the preciousness of the wave. And I guess that comes back to what you said. You know, you're not—you're looking down the line, or you want to know what it feels like to do that turn. Right. But why don't you just want to know what it feels like to paddle into a wave or—Right. Or to pop up at the perfect time or to scratch into that wave in the perfect position and make the drop?
Barry Green
See. And that's—it's hard because the, you know, wave is a precious thing. It's a scarce, it's a, you know, a scarce commodity out there. You know, there's only so many coming through and we're all out there trying to get it. So yeah, you don't want to waste it, but then yeah. That's a hard point I have to drive with clients is like, hey, we don't need to go. You know, every other sport we can get the ball machine out or shoot some baskets or do some drills and break it down. Surfing—since the game and the terrain are always—it's always presenting that, it's always that invitation, right, to play and to perform. It's hard to—now we're just going to go closeouts and work on your awareness in the moment from transitioning to your feet and whatever, because I feel that's best for you. No, I'm not a professional. Yeah, no, I gotta get, I want to make it down the line, you know. It's counterintuitive, but yeah. I think the more you can—I think longboarding, all I did was shortboard the first 15 plus years I surfed, and then getting on a longboard where you're generally going slower, riding slower waves. Generally. I mean, you can do a lot of things on a longboard, but I love it. Because of—yeah, like, I'm going to pet the kitty, that little whitewater when I'm right in the pocket and it's breaking right and it's slowing down and you're just so much more aware of different parts of the wave face. And because I'm not trying to rip or shred in a shortboard way or utilize the whitewater for a rebound or a floater or whatever, which is all good.
Michael Frampton
Or.
Barry Green
Like, it's all good, but it's—yeah. I like that slowing down and appreciating. And then, yeah, to help other people kind of—it's almost a—I'm not trying to help people hack the learning curve because I think it's valuable. You know, in terms of like that Jerry Lopez quote, like, you just got to put in your time, got to pay your dues. But I am trying to help people maximize their opportunities given the time. Because few people are making it a full-on lifestyle where they're going to pull out and surf multiple hours every day. It's just not realistic for a majority of people. So if you can help them slow down and pay attention to those things, it's quite helpful.
Michael Frampton
Yeah. Well, it's helpful for the surfing community, you know? Yeah. Surfers that are better surfers are more aware and they're more respectful.
Barry Green
Exactly.
Michael Frampton
And that helps the culture of the lineup.
Barry Green
It does. That's a hard argument to get across to certain people too, as well, you know, because it's—the mainstreamness and masses of surfers out there now are, you know, quite distressing to some people. And I never experienced kind of quote-unquote prejudice as a white male on the West Coast until I was a surf coach. You know, people pointing the finger at you and getting in your face occasionally because they just view you as part of the cause, part of the problem. When if you're doing your job right, you're helping a more conscious integration and it—and that's a service. That's a help. It is a help. That's a help all around.
Michael Frampton
Yeah. Yeah. I guess the young surfers are always looking into the future. It's like, okay, I'm going to race. I'm going to race down to that section and do an air. Yeah. They're always looking at the future. And then the old surfers always—back in my day, there were only three of us on the water.
Barry Green
Right.
Michael Frampton
Living in the past.
Barry Green
Yeah.
Michael Frampton
And, you know, surf coach is helping to bring us all—surfers—back to the present moment.
Barry Green
Yeah. Or just—you can help everyone better appreciate each other. That's one of my practices for clients as well. I've been working on this journal, a surfing journal project, that I want to present to my clients, you know, where they can chronicle sessions and make note of their mindset before and after. But in there is a little coach's checklist on like, you know, did you notice some nature around you? Did you acknowledge other people in the lineup? You know, just tackling awareness from different things. I mean, I think that's important, you know, at this stage in the game. Like, hey, it's not adversarial out there. And it's hard for sometimes me to even maintain that, you know, even when the surfing we've done out the last couple of days here, you know, wasn't super crowded, but you kind of—it's really easy as a longtime surfer to kind of fall back into like previous patterns. I'm like, I'm going to go get—I wasn't doing it too much, but, you know, you’ve got to catch yourself, just detach. That's another skill set as a good coach, you know—detach from just the up-close, you know, being right in the moment. It's good to be in the moment, but sometimes you've got to detach, get perspective, recalibrate, get back in. But yeah, there's a lot of work to be done, and I'm studying surf culture. I know what the local surf culture here—I have a pretty good handle on, but it's a very tribal thing in a lot of ways. So there's always work to be done just to help. The one thing as a coach, because you are—this is a really powerful thing that I've realized—just acknowledging somebody else, being witness to somebody else. Like all my clients—just like, hey, you did that. I saw that. You know, just like when we're little kids, you know, like, he did that. You know, it's like that recognition, just that appreciation, acknowledgement in the moment, it goes a long way. And on the water, yeah, a little—you can turn someone's whole day around, give them a little hoot, little holler. Even if they're—they'd normally be someone—they're not doing anything, they're not ripping or shredding, but they're at their level, they're pushing their limitations or boundaries, you know?
Michael Frampton
Yeah. And you can usually see that on their face too.
Barry Green
Yeah, exactly. So the more of that we do, I think the better off—or, and—or I think it's just, I think it's great that people go off and they go offshore. You know, listening to a Dave Parmenter and just, you know, the near shore surfing and he's moving more offshore—surfing practices. And there's all kinds of—I mean, the ocean is limitless out there, you know, foiling, all these different ways to interact with that wave energy that take us out of the lineups that are getting congested. Like, there's room.
Michael Frampton
Right? Yeah. Interesting. Yeah.
Barry Green
There's room. We'll go to some big wave spot, you can find solitude. Yes. It's just harder.
Michael Frampton
Yeah. You mentioned Tom Curren. Is he your favorite surfer?
Barry Green
Growing up, he was, just because he—but I, you know, he was bringing something different style-wise that I think caught everyone's attention. That same type of poise and grace and style that, you know, weaving big moments, doing all the little things in between, you know, there was a mastery there that just caught everyone's attention. And then later, probably now I'm just on the Slater bandwagon as an older guy, just loving how he's pushing his limits. You know, in the pro world tour scene, I just love seeing those—he's just breaking down a lot of limitations, you know, on a lot of different levels and just what he's doing as a businessman and entrepreneur and all these different levels, which a lot of people have a problem with. But I mean, you have to, you know—looking at his path of self-expression and, you know, the life coaching program again I went to left me with a question of, you know, what if you're fortunate enough to live a life where you can design your own life, so to speak, or ask the questions, what do I want to do? What do I want to be? Well, a good question is, you know, what can you create utilizing your own gifts and talents that would only exist if you create it? You know, like that's the kind of question along those lines to get you kind of connected with your—with an authentic path, you know, and that's—everyone has the potential to do that. But it's fun to see someone like a Kelly Slater, given his fame and performance feats, and then he's trying to take—he's not afraid to fail and try things that are controversial and do other things. I admire him as a person and as a surfer. But I mean, of course, seeing Filipe Toledo do two alley-oops on a wave at J-Bay and things like that and just—or even around here, you know. See, I don't have a favorite, you know, but I love seeing good surfing. I love seeing people authentically express themselves on a wave, whether they're some pro or some lady that rides—there's a woman down on our local breaks that she rides a Wavestorm and she rides every wave on her knees, and she knows how to catch waves. She can read a wave good and do whatever. And she's just doing her thing. And she does. And she's happy and doesn't care. And it's cool. That's inspiring to me. Or guys that have gone through several rounds of chemo and they just keep surfing, and that community of people keep bringing them back, you know, keep—to push through and thrive and survive things. I love that. That type of stuff's just as inspiring. Obviously, it's not always on a performance level, but it's like a life performance level. And they're engaging with surfing in a deep way, whether they know it or not. You know, those people aren't always what I'd call self-aware people, but they're just—they're authentically connected, you know. I love observing that. You know, the coach, that's what I—that's what I'm doing. I'm observing and—
Michael Frampton
Awareness through surfing. Yeah. Something you said before that stuck with me. Yeah. It was a good term.
Barry Green
Yeah. Board awareness, body awareness, wave awareness, ocean awareness, self, surroundings. You know, I don't know what it means. It seems to mean everything. Like, it seems to mean enough to keep, you know, moving forward and evolving as a coach and person. I'm just—yeah, I'm really fortunate.
Michael Frampton
Yeah. Okay. So what's currently your favorite surfboard?
Barry Green
Yeah, that's—like, I—Would say right now my—my favorite board is actually a seven-foot round-nose pintail quad that—it's kind of like a little—it's a little mini longboard, but it has kind of a progressive shortboard kind of rocker, and like two and five-eighths thick, 21 and a half wide, you know, 17 and a half nose, and probably like a 14 tail. And just like, if I had one board that I had to bring with me anywhere in the world, you know, I could probably have fun connecting with that wave energy in any size surf on something like that. There's probably a lot more iterations to go, but right now that's my favorite.
Michael Frampton
Awesome. Any final words for the surfing community?
Barry Green
Nah. I'm not—just been a pleasure to meet you and pleasure to get to process and express thoughts and inspirations on things. You know, there's just—every conversation, every interaction is an opportunity for me to learn and get more clear about what I want to do. But yeah, I mean, maybe surfing community—I just feel like let's, you know, just acknowledge each other, you know, as much as you can. I think that's—just acknowledge yourself, you know. Acknowledge yourself in your own path and don't get in your own way, and acknowledge others in that same process. And there is that affinity. You know, surfers out of the water, there's like an affinity, but in the water I'm thinking more like acknowledge people in the water more. You know, cheer, hoot somebody on, and it feels good. Yeah. And just smile a little bit more.
Michael Frampton
Great. And where can people find out more about you? Social media, website, etc.?
Barry Green
I'm Instagram @makingthedrop. Makingthedrop.com is my website. And those are the two primary ways to reach me.
Michael Frampton
Great. So I encourage people to—questions, comments—go to Instagram and interact. Acknowledge.
Barry Green
Yeah. Love.
Michael Frampton
It. Thank you for your time, Barry. Really appreciate it. All right. Thank you. All right. I hope you guys enjoyed that. If you did, please let us know. Connect, engage, questions, queries—please go to Instagram, go to Facebook. Let us know. Now, as I mentioned at the beginning, Barry and I are organizing a trip to Central America later this year. So it's probably going to be towards the end of June, maybe July. We haven't confirmed dates yet, nor have we confirmed venue. So it's a little bit up in the air, but it's diff—The place we're looking at has a really fun, rippable right-hander and it gets a lot of swell. And the facility is perfect. Those that are seriously interested, please write us an email explaining why you want to come on the trip. Barry and I want to put together a group of people that are serious about putting their time, their money, and their energy into focusing on just getting better at surfing over seven days. And I'm not just talking from a technique perspective. As you heard Barry in the interview, there's more to it than just having good technique. If the sound of that excites you, please write Barry and I an email. So in the "to" column, put Barry and myself. So that's mike@surfmastery.com and barry@makingthedrop.com. Both email addresses will be on the show notes to this episode at surfmastery.com/podcast. And we will reply with more details. Those that have already emailed me with interest in attending the Surf Mastery trip, you will have first right of refusal for the trip. So thanks to those that have already emailed their interest, as I have mentioned this before. And this will be the first of many trips, by the way. If June, July this year is not a great time for you guys, just hang in there. There'll be more trips coming up. I'd be really interested to hear if you guys have any questions. Is there anyone—Is there someone out there you'd like me to interview? Do you have any specific questions for previous guests or myself? Please engage on Instagram or Facebook. I think that's the best way. If you want to engage in a longer-form way, please email me at mike@surfmastery.com. Or there's a Contact Me page on my website as well at surfmastery.com. Again, thanks for tuning in. Get in the water.
28 Barry Green - Surf Coach, Life Coach
For the passionate surfer—whether you're a weekend warrior, a surf dad, or an older surfer—this podcast is all about better surfing and deeper stoke. With expert surf coaching, surf training, and surfing tips, we’ll help you catch more waves, refine your paddling technique, and perfect your pop up on a surfboard. From surf workouts to handling wipeouts, chasing bigger waves, and mastering surf technique, we’re here to make sure you not only improve but truly enjoy surfing more—so you can get more out of every session and become a wiser surfer. Go from Beginner or intermediate Surfer to advanced.