Show notes
The Wedge got so big surfers pulled out 9-foot guns—and Blair Conklin says it was some of the biggest surf he has seen there in his lifetime. In this episode of the Pinch My Salt podcast, Blair breaks down the historic Wedge swell at Newport Beach, why it may have been the biggest in over a decade, and how it compared to Hurricane Marie.Blair takes Sterling Spencer and Cousin Ryan inside the chaos: two waves colliding, unpredictable takeoff zones, massive shorebreak, Hawaiian chargers, Koa Rothman, a bodyboarder throwing a double backflip, and the split-second positioning needed to catch one of California’s most dangerous waves.The three-time United Skim Tour World Champion and legendary Vic winner also talks about growing up skimboarding in Laguna Beach and helping push skimboarding into the viral era. The conversation gets into Tfue’s skimboarding roots, Bill Bryan’s influence, monkey crawling, surfers versus skimmers, why unfinished skimboard waves still count, novelty waves, wave pools, and whether skimboarding might actually be harder than surfing. This is a full breakdown of The Wedge, modern skimboarding, surf culture, and the strange world where shorebreak specialists become some of the most entertaining athletes in action sports.Blair also reveals what makes The Wedge so difficult when it gets this big, who dominated the historic swell, and why positioning at the exact point where two waves collide can be both terrifying and nearly impossible.PLUS:Laird Hamilton’s legendary Malibu Pier shootTfue before he became a gaming superstarThe truth about surfers versus skimboardersWhy skimboarding clips go viralBill Bryan’s influence on modern skimboardingThe monkey crawl comebackBig-wave boards at The WedgeKoa Rothman charging CaliforniaThe future of skimboarding and novelty wavesWhy skimmers apparently don’t have to land anythingWas this the biggest Wedge swell since Hurricane Marie? Let us know in the comments.LIKE, COMMENT and SUBSCRIBE to become a certified Pincher.Pinch My Salt is a comedy surf podcast hosted by professional surfer Sterling Spencer and Cousin Ryan, covering surfing, skimboarding, surf culture, professional surfers, viral surf clips and everything happening in the strange world of action sports.#BlairConklin #TheWedge #SkimboardingBlair Conklin interview, Blair Conklin podcast, historic Wedge swell, biggest Wedge waves, The Wedge Newport Beach, Hurricane Marie swell, skimboarding podcast, surf podcast, Pinch My Salt, Sterling Spencer, Cousin Ryan, Tfue skimboarding, Bill Bryan skimboarder, Koa Rothman, Laguna Beach skimboarding, United Skim Tour, Vic skimboarding contest, California surfing, shorebreak surfing, big wave surfing