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Surfer, academic, writer, mother: the great Easkey Britton is one of surfing’s most influential voices and most beloved figures.
She first came to prominence as a member of Ireland’s first family of surfing, before making a name for herself at the west coast’s iconic big waves, notably Mullaghmore.
In tandem, she established a career for herself as an academic, and one of surfing’s most original thinkers about our relationship with water and the natural world. Her latest book, Ebb and Flow, is a brilliant distillation of the themes that have guided and preoccupied Easkey through her entire life and career.
In this week’s Open Thread, open to free and paid subscribers, Easkey has generously agreed to answer questions about her new book and anything else you want to ask her about surfing, our relationship to water, the climate crisis, activism, and environmentalism. Easkey will be looking at these questions on Tuesday 6th and Wednesday 7th of June - which gives you a couple of days to get your questions in.
Plus! Some brilliant prizes for paid subscribers this. My friends at Finisterre have offered one of their sweet Tego change robes as a prize for brand for the best question in the comments! And we’ll also be choosing a winner who will receive a copy of Easkey’s new book Ebb and Flow!
(This contest is only open to paid subscribers, as are all Open Thread contests featuring prizes from my pals at Yeti, Danner, Db, Patagonia, Finisterre and Goodrays)
Hey Easkey! Thanks so much for doing this. I’ll start us off this week.
At the end of the episode I had a bit of a rant about the poor turnout at the recent SAS paddle out protest from local swimmers and surfers. Who, given how directly they affected they are, you’d think would be engaged in the issue.
So how can we turn this widespread passion for ‘individual’ blue health into a wider passion to improve the situation for everybody?
I love your books and poetry a huge amount but have taken longer to listen to EBB & FLOW , as I mainly listen whilst driving and one of the exercises was to close my eyes so decided to wait until safely at my destination.
You work so hard to ensure an inclusive experience and environment for how you approach blue space therapy but we are seeing an increasing inequality to those able to access these spaces and practices. How can we help to ensure “blue spaces” aren’t just another white middle class pastime and so many are actually being systematically excluded??
Also - the sea suit project is such a great project, did you anticipate the outcomes of being more than just a cultural need but also those with body image issues?
Thank you for being such an inspiration on many levels!
I wondered how being a mum of twins has altered the questions and topics you're interested in exploring? Also, how do you carve out the time for your academia and creative projects, and surfing?
Looking forward to reading Ebb & Flow this summer x
Hey Easkey I'm so looking forward to getting into Ebb & Flow - it's next up on my reading list in fact. In the mean time I'd love to know a little more about your approach to the creative process. In writing your latest book, was it full, deep immersion or a little and often; do you have a dedicated time and space or do you enjoy writing more on the fly? Writing itself can be quite solitary and singular but writing a book is a much more collaborative effort with input from editors, agents, publishers etc - do you enjoy that transition between the two states?
I’d love to follow up on Demi’s question on how you do it with twins? I’d love to know whether you have managed to carve a writing ritual or it’s more just that you do it when you can? Thanks, always inspiring, Becs x
I loved all the indigenous environmental wisdom you cited in Ebb & Flow. Which of the thinkers in that space do you find yourself reflecting on the most in your daily life? I keep thinking about Cliff Kapono and the idea that as surfers we share our biomes with whales!
And completely unrelatedly, if you could choose to have been coming up as a woman pro surfer when you were getting into the sport or now, which would you rather and why?
I'd love to hear about how you prepare to surf Mullaghmore and how it feels to be out there. Are you the only woman out there when you surf? And assuming there a point when you're surfing scary waves that the health can become affected by the danger, how do you recognise, manage and reconcile the danger with the health benefits? (sorry loads of questions!) Owen :)
I really likes listening to the podcast episode and I am looking forward to reading Ebb and Flow. I love the ideas you talk about that being to life the way us humans are shaped by being part of nature and I think about this often. The way the water shapes the land and the land shapes me in more ways than just psychological. I have been playing with the idea that this kind of shaping gives us each a style of movement via the way our fascial tissue responds to life and how this style of moving becomes a really important thing in sports like surfing and snowboarding but thinking about a different view or use of style as a concept, where instead of style being framed as individualistic, it is framed as collective or a kind of collaboration with nature. I think we once chatted about connected ideas a few years ago and I wanted to ask if you might have any more thoughts on this from your research and the new book? I love that bones contain such a high percentage of water for example!
This is a great thread, loving the conversations. I’ve had a challenging year with the old mental health, and the ocean has been a major contributor to getting back into a positive groove. I’ve certainly bonded with my fellow morning dippers, but also hold a little bit of the special sauce back just for me, nourishment for the soul. When your writing is there a discipline in having to hold onto parts of the experience that are very special for you on an individual level, or do you feel that sharing is part of the overall experience.
Fascinating reading all the questions and then your comments. The next audiobook on my playlist for this week's travel.
I partially like your reply to Christin. There’s beauty in sharing our story to help people feel able or empowered to do the same, be it with a friend, a partner or a counsellor, or even with ourselves as we begin to be able to observe ourselves.
Iv been thinking there’s something about being surrounded by a body of water that helps me to become the observer to somewhat disconnect from the physical body and take myself out of my mind, as it were.
This thought came back to me on my first snorkel/Free Dive this year as I floated about and marvelled at the trophic cascade that is that underwater world. I got introduced to  the trophic cascade concept last year, and I’ve found it fascinating in all parts of my life.
A big takeaway from 2022 for me was Bering's introduction to qualitative research over quantitive.
No, I’m still to read the book, and I was wondering if there was any redding you might suggest on the  research, techniques or philosophy if that was something you scratch the surface of.
Bit of a random ramble there, but very inspired by your work along with Wallace J Nicole for me they’re great places to keep touching back on as I try to balance working as a commercial photographer and then delivering workshops with community groups and young creatives around are relationships of the ocean are creativity, and the way that we can intrinsically use all of these to help ourselves and others around us.
I'm a week behind so more reflection that question, around the discussion you had on nature being seen as serving us and whether we've lost our ability to tell myths/stories to look at our place in society,
I think it's worse than that, we're stuck telling stories that nature is there to serve us, anthropocentrism. Yuval Harari talks about this a lot in Sapiens & Homo Deus, and also reading the Ministry for the Future - that this has been so ever since monotheism took over from animism. Because in such religions humans are put in charge and set apart by their souls. Now the latest progression is what in a technical sense is our newest 'religion' of neoliberal capitalism & consumerism. A growing economy and owning stuff is what everything is all about.
This brings us to Kate Raworth (recently with the great episode on Leading recommended by Matt) trying to change the story we tell about our economy. The Less is More book has some great similar direction thoughts. But as seen with the podcast hosts, it seems to be stuck - seen as impossible. It seems that this is without the spiritual what's it all about story changing...
Nature connection seems a good part of the solution especially for reaching each individual, but it seems we need to come up with a new story for our entire worldview, just the small matter of redefining the meaning of life!
I'll put ebb and flow on my list, I'd love to hear any other read/listen recommendations or thoughts on achieving this and how the outdoors and action sports can tie in...!
Open Thread: big wave surfer and academic Easkey Britton answering questions about her new book Ebb and Flow, surfing, and our relationship to water.
Hey Easkey! Thanks so much for doing this. I’ll start us off this week.
At the end of the episode I had a bit of a rant about the poor turnout at the recent SAS paddle out protest from local swimmers and surfers. Who, given how directly they affected they are, you’d think would be engaged in the issue.
So how can we turn this widespread passion for ‘individual’ blue health into a wider passion to improve the situation for everybody?
Hey Easkey,
From an outsider, it is super hard to find the right reading about blue mind/blue health.
What readings would you suggest outside of your book to educate adults and kids about it. Both from a science and holistic approach?
Hi Easkey,
I love your books and poetry a huge amount but have taken longer to listen to EBB & FLOW , as I mainly listen whilst driving and one of the exercises was to close my eyes so decided to wait until safely at my destination.
You work so hard to ensure an inclusive experience and environment for how you approach blue space therapy but we are seeing an increasing inequality to those able to access these spaces and practices. How can we help to ensure “blue spaces” aren’t just another white middle class pastime and so many are actually being systematically excluded??
Also - the sea suit project is such a great project, did you anticipate the outcomes of being more than just a cultural need but also those with body image issues?
Sorry for the dual questions
Hey Easkey,
Thank you for being such an inspiration on many levels!
I wondered how being a mum of twins has altered the questions and topics you're interested in exploring? Also, how do you carve out the time for your academia and creative projects, and surfing?
Looking forward to reading Ebb & Flow this summer x
Hey Easkey I'm so looking forward to getting into Ebb & Flow - it's next up on my reading list in fact. In the mean time I'd love to know a little more about your approach to the creative process. In writing your latest book, was it full, deep immersion or a little and often; do you have a dedicated time and space or do you enjoy writing more on the fly? Writing itself can be quite solitary and singular but writing a book is a much more collaborative effort with input from editors, agents, publishers etc - do you enjoy that transition between the two states?
Hey Easkey
I’d love to follow up on Demi’s question on how you do it with twins? I’d love to know whether you have managed to carve a writing ritual or it’s more just that you do it when you can? Thanks, always inspiring, Becs x
Hey Easkey!
I loved all the indigenous environmental wisdom you cited in Ebb & Flow. Which of the thinkers in that space do you find yourself reflecting on the most in your daily life? I keep thinking about Cliff Kapono and the idea that as surfers we share our biomes with whales!
And completely unrelatedly, if you could choose to have been coming up as a woman pro surfer when you were getting into the sport or now, which would you rather and why?
Thanks & hope all good with the twins xx
Hey Easkey!
I'd love to hear about how you prepare to surf Mullaghmore and how it feels to be out there. Are you the only woman out there when you surf? And assuming there a point when you're surfing scary waves that the health can become affected by the danger, how do you recognise, manage and reconcile the danger with the health benefits? (sorry loads of questions!) Owen :)
Hi Easley,
I really likes listening to the podcast episode and I am looking forward to reading Ebb and Flow. I love the ideas you talk about that being to life the way us humans are shaped by being part of nature and I think about this often. The way the water shapes the land and the land shapes me in more ways than just psychological. I have been playing with the idea that this kind of shaping gives us each a style of movement via the way our fascial tissue responds to life and how this style of moving becomes a really important thing in sports like surfing and snowboarding but thinking about a different view or use of style as a concept, where instead of style being framed as individualistic, it is framed as collective or a kind of collaboration with nature. I think we once chatted about connected ideas a few years ago and I wanted to ask if you might have any more thoughts on this from your research and the new book? I love that bones contain such a high percentage of water for example!
Thanks Easley!
This is a great thread, loving the conversations. I’ve had a challenging year with the old mental health, and the ocean has been a major contributor to getting back into a positive groove. I’ve certainly bonded with my fellow morning dippers, but also hold a little bit of the special sauce back just for me, nourishment for the soul. When your writing is there a discipline in having to hold onto parts of the experience that are very special for you on an individual level, or do you feel that sharing is part of the overall experience.
Fascinating reading all the questions and then your comments. The next audiobook on my playlist for this week's travel.
I partially like your reply to Christin. There’s beauty in sharing our story to help people feel able or empowered to do the same, be it with a friend, a partner or a counsellor, or even with ourselves as we begin to be able to observe ourselves.
Iv been thinking there’s something about being surrounded by a body of water that helps me to become the observer to somewhat disconnect from the physical body and take myself out of my mind, as it were.
This thought came back to me on my first snorkel/Free Dive this year as I floated about and marvelled at the trophic cascade that is that underwater world. I got introduced to  the trophic cascade concept last year, and I’ve found it fascinating in all parts of my life.
A big takeaway from 2022 for me was Bering's introduction to qualitative research over quantitive.
No, I’m still to read the book, and I was wondering if there was any redding you might suggest on the  research, techniques or philosophy if that was something you scratch the surface of.
Bit of a random ramble there, but very inspired by your work along with Wallace J Nicole for me they’re great places to keep touching back on as I try to balance working as a commercial photographer and then delivering workshops with community groups and young creatives around are relationships of the ocean are creativity, and the way that we can intrinsically use all of these to help ourselves and others around us.
I'm a week behind so more reflection that question, around the discussion you had on nature being seen as serving us and whether we've lost our ability to tell myths/stories to look at our place in society,
I think it's worse than that, we're stuck telling stories that nature is there to serve us, anthropocentrism. Yuval Harari talks about this a lot in Sapiens & Homo Deus, and also reading the Ministry for the Future - that this has been so ever since monotheism took over from animism. Because in such religions humans are put in charge and set apart by their souls. Now the latest progression is what in a technical sense is our newest 'religion' of neoliberal capitalism & consumerism. A growing economy and owning stuff is what everything is all about.
This brings us to Kate Raworth (recently with the great episode on Leading recommended by Matt) trying to change the story we tell about our economy. The Less is More book has some great similar direction thoughts. But as seen with the podcast hosts, it seems to be stuck - seen as impossible. It seems that this is without the spiritual what's it all about story changing...
Nature connection seems a good part of the solution especially for reaching each individual, but it seems we need to come up with a new story for our entire worldview, just the small matter of redefining the meaning of life!
I'll put ebb and flow on my list, I'd love to hear any other read/listen recommendations or thoughts on achieving this and how the outdoors and action sports can tie in...!