Thomas Campbell: Chasing Sensation

Thomas Campbell: Chasing Sensation

Author: Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich - surf stories & ocean adventures November 24, 2020 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 now than ever.

For more than two decades, Thomas Campbell has  shown us a quirkier and more open minded culture of surfing via sculpture, painting, photography and film. In watery circles, he's best known for his trio of analog surf films, including the seedling sprout, and the present, all of which instructively inspired surf culture to broaden its design horizons -- and take itself a little less seriously.

We queried  Thomas about what he finds compelling in certain ways of wave riding, the blossoming inclusivity of surf culture, front footed vs. back footed approaches and the surf film he's currently working on.
.....

Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich

More about Thomas

Sound Engineer & Music By: Shannon Sol Carroll 

Join the conversation: Waterpeoplepodcast.com

@Waterpeoplepodcast 


Photo Credit: Monster Children

Send us Fan Mail

...

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 

...

Thanks to our generous sponsors this season:

Patagonia Australia 

Alkaway

The Sunglass Fix

...

Get monthly musings and behind the scenes content from the podcast by subscribing to our newsletter.

You'll get water-centric reading and listening recommendations, questions worth asking, and ways to take action for the wellbeing of Planet Ocean delivered straight to your inbox.

You can stream every Waterpeople episode from your desk.


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
Layne Beachley + Tess Brouwer: Mental Fitness [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:33
Two friends chart a path from pain to agency: Layne Beachley examines the drive behind seven world titles and finds a search for self-worth, while Tess Brouwer turns a hidden spinal injury and a hospital-bed reckoning in…
Brenden 'Margo' Margieson: Renaissance Man [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:13:43
Every mid-aged Aussie bloke's favourite surfer? That's Margo. Widely recognised as the first paid freesurfer - Brenden 'Margo' Margieson is famed almost as much for his gentle demeanour as his explosive power surfing. We…
Theory of Change (pt. 1): Waterwomen Camp Out [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:28
How does change happen when we, and the world, seem stuck in our ways? We’re curious about how change happens – and what people are doing on the ground, in our community, to create the causal pathways to shift social and…
Holly Beck: Simplicity + Therapy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:29:49
Is there a particular fear that's still holding you back? Holistic surf therapist and coach Holly Beck talks us through the way she sees terrestrial life play out in the water - in terms of how we behave and how we engag…
Hunter Williams: Shapes + Templates [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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 H…
Arne Rubinstein: Rites of Passage [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:02
Rites of passage, once central to marking life’s transitions, have faded in modernity. As we navigate rising anxiety, social fragmentation, and a world where technology permeates nearly all aspects of our shared human ex…
Dylan Graves: The Levity Effect [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:55:16
How much has your homebreak shaped you - your life, livelihood, the person you've become? The quirkiness of Dylan Graves' Puerto Rican homebreak shaped a lifelong obsession, and subsequent career in chasing, riding, and…
Bonnie Tsui: On Muscle + Movement [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:19:43
What moves you through the world? In the most literal sense, it's the same answer for all of us: muscle. In On Muscle, Bonnie Tsui brings her signature blend of science, culture, immersive reporting, and personal narrati…
Sarah Gerhardt: Unstable Bonds [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:54
Besides being a professor of chemistry, Dr. Sarah Gerhardt was the first woman to ride one of the world’s most feared waves, Mavericks in icy Northern California. She is a mother of two and acknowledged as the first fema…
Kiana Weltzien: More with Less [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:40
When was the last time you followed a spark of curiosity all the way to some distant shoreline? Kiana Weltzien's ocean adventures began in 2016 when she left her real estate career in Miami for a year of travel. Along th…