As you’ll know if you’ve followed Looking Sideways for a while, I’m a huge admirer of the work Sally McGee and Tom Bing (above, with Billy) are doing through Yonder Surf. Click here to listen to my 2021 chat with Sal.
Yonder Surf is a family, a community, and the embodiment of a different vision of what surfing and a healthy and progressive surf community can look like in the 21st century. A case in point is their brilliant new release Out of Step. Watch the trailer below, and the full film here.
Now, in this week’s Open Thread, open to free and paid subscribers, Sally and Tom are going to answer your questions about Yonder, parenthood, creating a life that fulfils you, running a purpose-led business, and anything else you want to ask them. Hit the button below to get cracking:
Plus! My pals at Finisterre have dished up a Yulex wetsuit as prize for the best question in the comments! Me, Sal and Tom will pick a winner once the Thread is finished. (This contest is only open to paid subscribers, as are all Open Thread contests featuring prizes from my pals at Stance, Db, Patagonia, Danner and Goodrays).
My Cornish pals have also joined HKC Discount Club, where I’m offering my Looking Sideways family exclusive discounts on the best brands in our little corner of the world. Click below to peep the offer:
Thanks for taking the time to do this, was very inspired by the film.
My question is, for a family who might feel like they have slipped from their more adventurous past and become locked into the rigidity of school routines/clubs/work/standardised holidays, and lost a little of their old selves, and definitely any sense of freedom - how would you recommend breaking out of that mould and rediscover the old-self spirit and get more out-of-step again? (#askingforafriend)!
I am such a fan of you both and how you parent Billy and live your values. In fact a huge part of me is growing more desperate for some form of change and/or adventure with our two youngest but the fear of stepping away from the structures of life/education/work/societal expectations is one that I find hard to navigate. How do you reconcile those elements of logistics alongside your clear vision for new experiences especially as parents?
Do you actively try and stay out of step when you get home or are travel and home life very separate? And if so what are your top learnings from your travels that help you stay out of step when you return.
Thank you for sharing your film, message & spot of hope that we were delighted to share with our children, especially after crossing paths in Ireland. My question is more lighthearted in that how do you ensure equality & fairness when the surf is pumping & you both want to score the best tides/winds at your favorite break? Do you take turns? Play paper-rock-scissors? Or sneak out for a dawnie while your partner has to feed, dress & wrangle the children into the car solo? Thank you for contributing to my research. ❤️
Your film was magic! A warm reminder of what lays just around the corner for us now (UK) after such a wet winter.
I have a 2 year old daughter and I want her to experience all the incredible places that snowboarding and surfing has taken me around the world. I'm also now acutely aware of the cost to the environment that my travel may have come at, along with the countless thousands of miles travelled in vans and cars to get to breaking waves around Britain.
My question is; will global travel in pursuit of waves or snow be morally justified for our children when they are our age, in a travel system that is seemingly so resistant to change and a board-sports industry that is fast awakening to environmental impact mitigation? This is an affliction we Brits may face more so than other nations...
I feel like you're well placed to tackle this question, with Yonder Surf's identity firmly within the local community, but your own personal ambitions to travel the world and explore as a family.
Thank you for taking time to do this you have (Sally) been a massive influence to my wife starting to surf and really enjoying it!
My general question and maybe a little different to the others. Is what does a normal day look like to yourselves? Say when you are back in Newcastle and teaching/Billy at school. It would be interesting to hear your views on how people let screens teach their kids whilst prioritising house work etc? This may be a social media-ism but it appears you take billy straight outside and make the most of the weather (or lack there of) and imagine he is happy and tired when bed time comes around!
I would like to ask about the strategies you have used to finance your journey. How do you make a purposeful , inspired life financially viable? Said differently, how do you break away from the rat race that we have all been so heavily conditioned towards and do your own thing without putting your family in a financially vulnerable position.
How have you managed to write a new playbook on parenthood, activism, social enterprise and cold water surfing (women’s specifically) whilst balancing that with personal surfing/skating/riding/other project goals as well as family commitments/school and day to day life? I wouldn’t class you as typical ‘influencers’, far from it, but what does it feel like to build such an amazing community through promoting your lifestyle? Also - what do you feed Billy to make him so rad, and (more importantly) when’s tea time? X
My husband, 9-year-old son and I loved the film (thanks Matt for the recommendation). It resonated with us as a family living in the French Alps combining snowboarding and work. We'd like to do more low budget, low carbon adventuring. How do you go about choosing your adventures / itineraries so they work for the whole family?
First, I want to thank you for showing how as parents, we are not blocked by our kids and how cool it is to embrace adventure with them! It feels so good to see other parents doing it differently in this world.
In the film, you are pretty clear about how easier it was to do it while Billy was still young and how UK school system (Like France I guess) has mandatory school in primary school.
How do you envision your future freedom with that constraint? Will you homeschool or stay more in the UK and move during school holidays?
I like to think outside of the system but those constraints are things blocking us more and more recently. and I would have loved your thoughts on this!
Love your approach to surfing and parenting and all that you do! You highlighted recently that as many as 80% of women who surf in the UK are likely to be mothers, and yet we remain largely invisible. What can the surf community / surf industry do to better support and celebrate mothers who surf?
I like how you named the film and talk about being out of step. Sometimes I feel like people decide that we are out of line because we’ve taken a different path or a different step.
So I guess my question is, what else should we be doing out of step? For instance, we both met at the global wave conference in Portugal.
I didn’t hide my views on that and how I couldn’t really understand how this was having a positive effect. Be interested to hear your thoughts on this kind of event, and maybe looking at a bigger scale, something like the blue Earth summit.
I feel the need to ask questions, but often feel like I’m not allowed or it’s frowned upon.
OK, I will start us off this week. Sal I was really impressed about how honest you were about parenthood on a recent Insta post. Was showing your approach to parenthood in such an honest way important when it came to making Out of Step? It’s quite rare to see this online these days.
Hi Sally, Tom & Billy
Thanks for taking the time to do this, was very inspired by the film.
My question is, for a family who might feel like they have slipped from their more adventurous past and become locked into the rigidity of school routines/clubs/work/standardised holidays, and lost a little of their old selves, and definitely any sense of freedom - how would you recommend breaking out of that mould and rediscover the old-self spirit and get more out-of-step again? (#askingforafriend)!
Thanks again,
Jojo
I am such a fan of you both and how you parent Billy and live your values. In fact a huge part of me is growing more desperate for some form of change and/or adventure with our two youngest but the fear of stepping away from the structures of life/education/work/societal expectations is one that I find hard to navigate. How do you reconcile those elements of logistics alongside your clear vision for new experiences especially as parents?
(Hugs to you all)
Right good film, Sally, Tom and Billy.
Do you actively try and stay out of step when you get home or are travel and home life very separate? And if so what are your top learnings from your travels that help you stay out of step when you return.
Hi Sally, Tom & Billy:)
Thank you for sharing your film, message & spot of hope that we were delighted to share with our children, especially after crossing paths in Ireland. My question is more lighthearted in that how do you ensure equality & fairness when the surf is pumping & you both want to score the best tides/winds at your favorite break? Do you take turns? Play paper-rock-scissors? Or sneak out for a dawnie while your partner has to feed, dress & wrangle the children into the car solo? Thank you for contributing to my research. ❤️
Hi Sally and family,
Your film was magic! A warm reminder of what lays just around the corner for us now (UK) after such a wet winter.
I have a 2 year old daughter and I want her to experience all the incredible places that snowboarding and surfing has taken me around the world. I'm also now acutely aware of the cost to the environment that my travel may have come at, along with the countless thousands of miles travelled in vans and cars to get to breaking waves around Britain.
My question is; will global travel in pursuit of waves or snow be morally justified for our children when they are our age, in a travel system that is seemingly so resistant to change and a board-sports industry that is fast awakening to environmental impact mitigation? This is an affliction we Brits may face more so than other nations...
I feel like you're well placed to tackle this question, with Yonder Surf's identity firmly within the local community, but your own personal ambitions to travel the world and explore as a family.
Hi all!
Thank you for taking time to do this you have (Sally) been a massive influence to my wife starting to surf and really enjoying it!
My general question and maybe a little different to the others. Is what does a normal day look like to yourselves? Say when you are back in Newcastle and teaching/Billy at school. It would be interesting to hear your views on how people let screens teach their kids whilst prioritising house work etc? This may be a social media-ism but it appears you take billy straight outside and make the most of the weather (or lack there of) and imagine he is happy and tired when bed time comes around!
Thanks
Dan
Hi Sally and Tom,
Thanks so much for opening up this discussion.
I would like to ask about the strategies you have used to finance your journey. How do you make a purposeful , inspired life financially viable? Said differently, how do you break away from the rat race that we have all been so heavily conditioned towards and do your own thing without putting your family in a financially vulnerable position.
Thanks so much again!!
Evan
How have you managed to write a new playbook on parenthood, activism, social enterprise and cold water surfing (women’s specifically) whilst balancing that with personal surfing/skating/riding/other project goals as well as family commitments/school and day to day life? I wouldn’t class you as typical ‘influencers’, far from it, but what does it feel like to build such an amazing community through promoting your lifestyle? Also - what do you feed Billy to make him so rad, and (more importantly) when’s tea time? X
Hi Sally & Tom,
My husband, 9-year-old son and I loved the film (thanks Matt for the recommendation). It resonated with us as a family living in the French Alps combining snowboarding and work. We'd like to do more low budget, low carbon adventuring. How do you go about choosing your adventures / itineraries so they work for the whole family?
First, I want to thank you for showing how as parents, we are not blocked by our kids and how cool it is to embrace adventure with them! It feels so good to see other parents doing it differently in this world.
In the film, you are pretty clear about how easier it was to do it while Billy was still young and how UK school system (Like France I guess) has mandatory school in primary school.
How do you envision your future freedom with that constraint? Will you homeschool or stay more in the UK and move during school holidays?
I like to think outside of the system but those constraints are things blocking us more and more recently. and I would have loved your thoughts on this!
Love your approach to surfing and parenting and all that you do! You highlighted recently that as many as 80% of women who surf in the UK are likely to be mothers, and yet we remain largely invisible. What can the surf community / surf industry do to better support and celebrate mothers who surf?
I like how you named the film and talk about being out of step. Sometimes I feel like people decide that we are out of line because we’ve taken a different path or a different step.
So I guess my question is, what else should we be doing out of step? For instance, we both met at the global wave conference in Portugal.
I didn’t hide my views on that and how I couldn’t really understand how this was having a positive effect. Be interested to hear your thoughts on this kind of event, and maybe looking at a bigger scale, something like the blue Earth summit.
I feel the need to ask questions, but often feel like I’m not allowed or it’s frowned upon.
OK, I will start us off this week. Sal I was really impressed about how honest you were about parenthood on a recent Insta post. Was showing your approach to parenthood in such an honest way important when it came to making Out of Step? It’s quite rare to see this online these days.