In this milestone 100th episode of the Surf Mastery Podcast, host Michael Frampton welcomes back the stylish surfer Devon Howard. Broadcasting from the Channel Islands office in Santa Barbara, Devon shares his insights on the elusive concept of style in surfing. The episode delves into the historical evolution of style, its significance in competitive surfing, and the subjective nature of defining style.

Devon emphasizes the importance of making difficult maneuvers look effortless and how personal demeanor often mirrors one's surfing style. He contrasts the stylistic approaches of surfers like Joel Parkinson and Kelly Slater with the more explosive style of Adriano de Souza. Listeners are encouraged to focus on form over presentation, maintain a relaxed and efficient approach, and view style as a natural extension of personal expression.

Episode Highlights:

Introduction to Devon Howard: Recap of Devon's previous appearances on episodes 41, 77, and 86.
Importance of Style in Surfing: Exploring the subjective nature of style and its impact on surfing performance and aesthetics.
Origins of the Word 'Style': Michael provides a brief etymology of the word 'style' and its various meanings throughout history.
Cultural Influence on Style: How different surf cultures and eras emphasize or de-emphasize style.
Effortless Style: The concept of making difficult maneuvers look easy and the importance of being relaxed and calm.
Influence of Personality on Style: How a surfer’s personality often reflects in their surfing style.
Contrived vs. Natural Style: The difference between genuinely stylish surfing and trying too hard to look stylish.
Technical Aspects of Style: Tips for improving style through form, patience, and not rushing maneuvers.
Style in Tube Riding: The inherent style in good tube riding and how it relates to other surfing maneuvers.
Practical Advice: Devon’s practical advice for surfers aiming to improve their style.

Key Quotes:

Devon Howard: “Style is oftentimes making the difficult look easy.”
Michael Frampton: “You can be quick without being rushed.”
Devon Howard: “Don’t try to contrive it. Don’t rush your surfing.”

Follow Devon Howard

Check out Devon’s surfing and updates on his Instagram.
Devon_howard
Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/in/devon-howard-a4b2a613/.

Connect with Surf Mastery:

Surf Mastery Website: Download the free PDF with the top five tips from the Surf Mastery Podcast at surfmastery.com.
Instagram: Surf Mastery

Full Show Transcript:

Devon Howard: When I. When I often think about style, there's always like there's two camps. There's the people that get it and and style is usually it's like you know it when you see it. I said, how do you know that something's pornographic versus art or beauty? And a lot of times the answer is, well, you know, when you see it, you know, something is gross or smut as opposed to art.

Michael Frampton: Welcome back to the Surf Mastery Podcast. I am your host, Michael Frampton, and this is episode 100 of the podcast. A little bit of a milestone. Special guest for this episode. And we've also revamped the website Surf Mastery. Com and on the front page of that website is a free PDF listing the top five tips from the Surf Mastery Podcast. So go to Surf mastery.com and you can download that PDF for free. Today's guest. Well, I was looking back through all the stats on this podcast and the the most downloaded episodes have been from Devon Howard, so it made sense to have him on episode 100. And so you can go back and listen to. He first appeared on the show, uh, episode 41, discussing longboarding and nose riding. Then it was back in, uh, episode 77 zero. Uh, we talked about Mid-lengths in episode 86. It was Twin fins. And today in episode 100, Devin Howard joins us again to discuss style. Style is something that is in it's fundamental. It's paramount for every type of surfing that is done, from traditional longboarding all the way through to high performance, short boarding. All of the greats, all of the most memorable surfers have good style. They are stylish. From Joel Tudor in traditional longboarding through to Joel Parkinson as a high performance, competitive short boarder Tom Curren. Uh, mid lengths and twin fins. You got Torin Martin.

Michael Frampton: And of course, Devon Howard himself is a very stylish surfer. He's very smooth, very graceful on a longboard, on a mid length and a twin fin. We've even seen some footage of him riding, uh, three thrusters out there on his Instagram. And his style, his technique, his gracefulness runs throughout his surfing. So a perfect topic for us to discuss in episode 100, so I would love to hear your feedback on the show in general. Last 100 episodes and of course this episode. Go ahead, send us an email Mike at Surf mastery.com. Or you can DM me on Instagram or leave a comment under the, uh, the visual for this episode. And of course, support Devin Howard, give his Instagram a follow. And of course, he's, uh, joining us from the Channel Islands office in Santa Barbara. Uh, Devin is currently working with Channel Islands, are working on some new surfboard models as well as he's you know, some of the most popular boards recently have been he's been a part of. So without further adieu, I shall fade in my conversation with Devon Howard. I actually see a lot of agreement between Brett and Chaz on this subject. Yeah, yeah, because there are there are thing right that you go to a Grateful Dead concert and you experience the show and the vibe, you don't really listen to them on Spotify.

Devon Howard: Yeah. It's it's something to be enjoyed live.

Michael Frampton: Yeah. There's a certain style and vibe to them I think that come across differently in person than it does. And also the audience they sort of draw in. Yeah. Rather to the music on Spotify right there.

Devon Howard: There are two bands that I think are better live as well, which I think Radiohead is better live. I like Radiohead, I think a lot of their albums are great. I've been to a few of their shows that I think, no, this is 10 or 15 years ago. I don't know if that's still the case, but at the time when they were really peaking, they were insane liv...

100 Devon Howard-Understanding the Connection Between Form and Style in Surfing