Hunter Williams: Shapes + Templates

Hunter Williams: Shapes + Templates

Author: Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich - surf stories & ocean adventures July 21, 2025 Duration: 1:01:47

Who's your youngest friend? 

We just met one of ours: 11-year-old surfer, shaper and filmmaker Hunter Williams

This year, Hunter won the grom shorts category at the Noosa International Surf Film Festival with his movie Heirloom

Informing an impressive depth of knowledge about surfboard building and design, is Hunter’s spectral surfing skill – he talks us through peak moments of tube time and critical hang tens. 

We meander with Hunter through the way he gathers inspiration from the living world, his startling phone call with George Greenough, and what it meant to meet Jack Mccoy at the last film screening of Jack's life. 

When was the last time you had your mind blown by a young person's refreshing take on life? 

Hunter’s infectious wonder and curiosity are a potent reminder of the importance of intergenerational relationships in all of our lives, for all of our lives. 

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This episode is made possible by our generous partners:

Patagonia is in business to save our home planet. 

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Primal Water, by Alkaway, is an at-home water filter that mimics nature and is boosted with molecular hydrogen. 

Head to Alkaway.com and use the code waterpeople for $50 off your first purchase. 

 

Send us Fan Mail

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Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich

Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander

Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll

Additional music by Kai Mcgilvray   + Ben J Alexander

Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast 

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Thanks to our generous sponsors this season:

Patagonia Australia 

Alkaway

The Sunglass Fix

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There’s a particular kind of life shaped by time spent in and around the ocean, one that blends saltwater with a deeper perspective. Hosted by lifelong surfers and storytellers Lauren L. Hill and Dave Rastovich, the Waterpeople Podcast explores exactly that. Each conversation is less an interview and more a shared dive with guides who know the water intimately-from scientists and activists to adventurers and artists. You’ll hear firsthand accounts that stretch beyond simple adventure tales, touching on how a connection to the sea informs everything from ecological stewardship and community building to the pure, playful joy of a wave. This podcast serves as a meeting point for a far-flung tribe, weaving together themes of inclusivity, humour, and what it means to live thoughtfully along the coast. It’s about the stories that emerge when people are truly at home in the aquatic world, offering listeners a sense of place and connection within a global ocean community. Tune in for genuine, meandering talks that feel like sitting around after a long day in the swell, where the topics are as vast and shifting as the sea itself.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 133

Waterpeople Podcast
Podcast Episodes
Cyrus Sutton: Perceiving Pattern [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:44:31
How do we apply pattern literacy learned from ocean life to the land? What have we learned from our historically colonial approach to surf culture? How do we move ourselves and our culture forward in regenerative ways th…
Welcome to Season Three [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:48
Listen with Lauren L. Hill, Dave Rastovich and Waterpeople's sound engineer/ in-house musician Shannon Sol Carroll as they sit down to recalibrate for another 21 episodes of conversation with some of the world's most ade…
Mary Setterholm: So Then I Prayed [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:06:37
One year after founding the Women's International Surfing Association in 1975, Mary Setterholm bought a bus ticket and left surfing behind -- her community and the culture she was helping to shape. Mary is a graduate of…
Thomas Campbell: Chasing Sensation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:23:55
Artists take us to other worlds; they reflect or refract the beauty in ours, or not. They transport us and stretch us and dream for those of us who have forgotten. We are the artful animal -- and perhaps we need art more…
Jaimal Yogis: Inner Ocean [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:12:15
How do we navigate our own inner ocean -- the fear and anxiety and unhelpful fixations ? Student of Zen Buddhism, and surfer, Jaimal Yogis shares some of his learnings from a life committed to riding waves and cultivatin…
Cetacean Culture with Dr. Liz Hawkins [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:14:02
Dr. Liz Hawkins is a marine ecologist who has spent more than 20 years researching cetaceans. Liz is the founder and CEO of Dolphin Research Australia, where she heads up research and education about the social systems,…
Tory Strange: A Place to Stay [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:58
At least once a day for 36 years, Tory Strange has provided a surf report for waterfolk in his hometown of St. Augustine, Fl. Waking most days to see the sunrise for the dawn patrol report, Tory has developed an especial…
Seaweedy Solutions with marine ecologist Dr. Pia Winberg [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:01
Dr. Pia Winberg is marine ecologist and entrepreneur. A fascination with the scientific properties of seaweed led her to a decades long career in both researching and implementing sustainable marine food production syste…
Paige Alms: Unfurling Fate [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:47
Two Time Big Wave World Champion Paige Alms was born in Canada. At age 7, a life-altering trip completely changed the course for her family and set Paige on the path toward shaping modern big wave surfing. Paige is a co-…
Doing Death Well with Zenith Virago [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09:59
Zenith Virago is founder of the Natural Death Care Centre, where she guides folks through the process of dying, death and bereavement. As Waterpeople, most of us dance the line with risk regularly, and we know how alive…