Jack Galloway chats to Erik Antonson, the man behind the Progression Project Podcast; Erik used the podcast as a way to hack his learning experience on the foil!

Erik Antonson has what he likes to call ‘foilbrain’ (don’t we all!) and over the past few years has been recording The Progression Project podcast to not only help improve his own technique but share what he finds with the world. If you’re looking for detailed analysis on all things foiling from surfing to downwinders to wingsurfing there really is no better place to find it.

Erik surf foils at his home spot in Florida near enough everyday. He uses this deep foil knowledge and combines it with an interest in the act of learning to create fascinating interviews with a range of foiling legends. We recently caught up with Erik to find out more about him and his inspiring podcast.

Could you start by telling us a bit about your foiling journey? When did you first catch 'foil brain'?

I was a foil skeptic. And in retrospect, I'm not sure why. Probably beacuae I had sunk so much money into surfing and SUP surfing. I had just spent 5 years on a deep dive into SUP surfing and just gotten to a level I was happy with, couple that with the perceived risk of foiling and I didn't just go right in. I was first exposed to foiling by Dave Kalama when we filmed what turned out to be the Conversessions SUP movie, but his froth didn't sink in for a couple years. At that time I was living in Nosara, Costa Rica. About a year later we had to move back to Florida and surf depression set in big time. After about a year of banging my head against the wall, trying to surf in Florida, and another good friend diving in on the foil, I decided to give it a try. I didn't get foilbrained right away. I love a good challenge and it had that, but I also had a really scary fall early on, took the foil square to my helmet and that gave me pause. It was really after I decided to start on a SUP foil that it clicked. Foiling took over after my first frictionless fight. Such a unique feeling and I needed more. Pretty much never looked back after that.

You've been doing The Progression Project podcast for several years now, first in SUP surf, flow and more recently in foiling. What inspired you to start the podcast?

It's always been about hacking the learning curve. In both SUP and foiling the information I wanted wasn't out there, so by doing a podcast, you get an opportunity to talk to the best in the sport, learn from them, in a way that's beneficial for anyone who follows along. The conversations about flow are more about self-discovery. Ever since I can remember, all I've wanted to do is get those moments of flow. It started with having a go-kart when I was about 8. My dad raced cars and we'd work on lines together. I still love to drive. And surfing was the purist embodiment of that feeling. But foiling has taken that honour. It's flow on tap. I wish everyone could experience it.

You discuss 'Flow' regularly in the podcast. Could you give our readers a quick explanation of flow? When do you find yourself in that Flow State?

I think flow is an incredibly vague, overused term. Much like love. You love your mom and wife, your kids, your favourite locations, or a feeling, but those are different emotions. Flow is equally as difficult to define. When I refer to flow I'm talking about the vanishing of past and future and the narrowing of the aperture to what you're engaged in. When the situation is so demanding your brain has to shut off conscious processes to manage it. I look at my dog and think she gets to live in that space. I call it the vanishing when you drop into the state because everything drops away. In the deepest moments sometimes it takes me a few seconds to remember where I am. I specifically remember my first intense foil flight on a reef break in Costa Rica. It was probably 45 seconds total, but there's no sense of time or location. Just the experience. I believe these are our most real moments.

This might be a tricky one...who's been your favourite interviewee on the podcast?

Oh man... It would be really tough to pick one. What I love about the podcast is that you get to have a real conversation with someone for an hour plus. We don't do that in life much. In some ways I feel like I know some of the guests better than I know folks I've been friends with for years, and I try to elevate normal conversations to that level. Get past the bullshit. But some of my favourites are Josh Waitzkin, Tom Carroll, Dave Kalama and Chris Rasman. In all of those conversations we got down to the motivating factors of the lives we've chosen to live. All those guys have achieved an incredible level of success but have remained introspective and grounded. The highest compliment that I give folks is calling them a kid. What I mean is that they're stoked on life like a kid, they've navigated this life without losing the curiosity and excitement. I love that fire. It motivates me to go out and crush the day.

You often talk about 'shorerunners' at your home in Florida. Can you explain what a shorerunner is to our readers? What conditions are you looking for and what's the furthest distance you've gone? It sounds epic and not dissimilar to the downwinder wingsurf trips we do here in the UK.

Shorerunners are epic! We get a lot of days of junk surf when the wind is hard on from the North or South, basically straight sideshore. We found that those days create epic foil conditions. The surf gets very angled and you run the sand bank with the wind. When it’s really good you basically stay in the same spot relative to the sandbar and just surf down the beach. In Florida we really don't have any point breaks, but the shorerunner turns the backyard into an endless point. The other day I did a 1.6 mile one getup run, surfing the whole time. Over seven minutes on one run. Unreal!

It has been really interesting hearing about your surf foil progression on the podcast and seeing it on Instragram. What gear are you enjoying most at the moment and what are you working on in your surf foiling?

I love all gear. I either like it or I learn from it. All the v.3 foils are fire. It's an exciting time to be a foiler. The first out are the Takuma Kujira and the Signature Game Changer. Both have bridged the gap and I don't have to pick between pumping around efficiently and surfing at a decent level. In the next couple months we'll get the Lift Mid-Aspect Surf and the Uni Vyper (I think that's what they're gonna call it).

For training, I've been focused in stripping out unnecessary movement. Refining technique in pumping and turning. Trying to ride waves without pumping for speed, just turning to build momentum and finding the energy. And as that has become more natural, I'm trying to push harder in the pocket. In the last few weeks I've started trying to surf more vertically, using the glide to get farther out in front of the wave and attack harder.

It sounds like your son is absolutely ripping on the foil. It must be awesome to share that experience with him. Any tips for people looking to get their kids into watersports? My daughter is two so I'll be taking notes!

My favourite sessions are with my son, Damien. It's been tough lately as it’s cold here and he's a small dude still, 80 pounds. So he doesn't last very long in the cold water. I actually have a strange, probably frowned upon, parenting strategy that's worked now a ton of times. If my kids are on the fence about something I think they'd love but can't get over the beginning hurdle, whatever that is, I'll incentivise them. For Damo, when he was 6 years old he loved playing in the water but was a bit hesitant to get on a surfboard. We'd go out and swim the shorebreak and barrel-hunt, just trying to position ourselves under the lip to see the barrel, and after that we started to boogieboard the whitewater and stand up but didn't get the surf bug. So one day I offered him a quarter for any wave he stood up on on a surfboard and fifty cents for any wipeout where he had a good attitude. He crushed it and had so much fun he didn't want the money. Did the same thing with my daughter and snowboarding. She was scared of going past the green runs, and normally she's a charger, but had developed a block to it. And she was doing lessons, but she was good and I could tell she didn't need another $200 lesson. So I offered both kids 5 bucks for every blue run they could do in 2 hours. Get them working together. They did 10 and each pocketed $50, she got over her fear and the next day we crushed a black diamond together. And I saved $100. haha. Everybody won. Now we're all doing tree runs together.

But I wouldn't do that until you know they're ready for it. Comfort in the water is paramount. Start there.

Finally, like a lot of people right now I'm currently obsessed with wingfoiling. Will we see you out on the wing more often?

I'm diving in! Just got a sick Kalama board. I see it as a tool get on the water more days, get out to the wind bumps and fly. I don't think you'll see me doing flips, but I plan to cover a lot of miles with the wing in the next year.

Thanks so much Erik! We can’t wait to see how your foiling and podcast develop in the near future.

By Jack Galloway

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