Santa Cruz can feel like a cheat code when you’re surrounded by waves, boards, and creative people, and that’s the energy we bring to this reboot from Sunny California Podcast Studios. We start with a real catch-up: Nelly talks through the emotional punch of selling a long-time Santa Cruz home, packing up life, and committing to the North Shore of Oahu while still flying back to shoot, work, and stay connected to the lane and the crew.

Then we sit down with our guest, David McIntosh, the founder of Sunny California. David takes us back to gritty Baltimore and the unlikely path that led him into surf culture and entrepreneurship. He shares how booking shows for his own band at 16 turned into a full-on concert promoter mindset, and why “creating the platform” is often the fastest way to find your people. If you’re into creative careers, brand building, or community-driven business, this part hits hard.

From there we zoom out into surfing as an industry: why sponsorship money dried up for regional pros, why the ocean isn’t an arena, and why surfing is harder to turn into mainstream “ticketed sport” economics than basketball or soccer. We also get specific about Santa Cruz’s waves of talent, the gaps between generations, and the resurgence of up-and-comers. We close with what Sunny California is becoming now: a surf and moto shop, coffee bar, in-house apparel making, events, a coworking surf club with showers and board storage, and a place built for real connection in a too-online world.

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The room hums with old stories and new nerve. We sit with Adam Ripogle, Chris “Bear” Green, and Craig Young—three Santa Cruz originals whose lives trace the arc from a golden era of surf and skate to sobriety, mentorship, and a creative second wind. The first act is pure place: Capitola as a melting pot, surf movies at the Civic that packed the town, river mouth bars that made heroes, and the shortboard and skate booms documented in grainy photos and backyard ramps. It’s loud, funny, and vivid; parties rolled from Day’s Market to the sand, and if you were there, you remember the nicknames.

Then the tide turns. We dig into what happens after the legend years, when the dimmer switch of substance use lowers the volume on connection and the ocean grows distant. Craig walks us through a 27-year tattoo run, world travel, and the moment he and Bear picked a date and stopped for good. No platitudes—just the quiet shock of clarity, the return of salt and sunlight, and the simple rituals that rebuild a life: daily cold dips, long bike rides, boards and art taking shape by hand. The creativity didn’t vanish; it was waiting under the noise.

We also talk identity and expression as Craig’s headdress, feathers, and handmade jewelry spark questions and conversations. What looks like provocation is actually presence: collecting, crafting, meeting strangers, and choosing love and humility while listening to concerns. The deeper thread is agency. If money, politics, and power are human-made narratives, so is the story you choose to live. Sobriety can be a fresh draft. Mentorship can be a plot twist that helps a kid paddle out—not just for waves, but for a voice. The ocean still heals. The town still breathes. And the best time isn’t only behind us; it’s wherever we start turning the dial back up.

Listen for history, stay for heart, and share it with someone who needs a nudge back to the water. If this resonated, follow the show, leave a review, and send it to a friend who could use a reset.

This one with Femme Futures founder Kyra Joseph isn’t just about surfing — it’s about what happens when women build the stage themselves.

Kyra came up in the WindanSea scene, found grit in rodeo, found her voice in music, and found clarity when she paddled back out in Cayucos and realized just how many women were ready to compete — if someone just opened the door.

What started as a small local surf contest became something bigger — The Diva Cup Surf Invitational, a collision of surf, sound, mentorship, and women’s health that’s as irreverent as it is important.

We talk about what equity actually looks like in the water — pro/semi-pro log divisions to balance experience, round-robin heats so everyone gets real time in the lineup, and the infamous “Men in Heat” event that flips old prize structures with humor and intent.

Kyra breaks down how Diva Cup connects newcomers with mentors, how check-ins turn into coaching sessions, and how normalizing conversations about periods and birth control side effects builds stronger, smarter athletes. The sponsors — Mamala Wetsuits, Keep A Breast, Mad Hippie — aren’t just slapping logos on banners. They’re in the lineup, helping fund product drives for women facing homelessness and backing safer surf culture from the inside out.

What comes through is more than a contest. It’s a blueprint for change — book more women on stage and behind the mic, make safety and recovery part of the stoke, and invite allies to help carry the load.

If you care about women’s surf, inclusive competition, or just real talk that moves culture forward — this one’s worth a listen.

Hit play, follow the links, sign up, volunteer, or donate — whatever keeps the wave moving.

And if this one hits home, share it, tag a friend, and drop a review telling us what your local lineup needs next.