Beau Nixon on SUP Surf Progression: Volume, Wave Awareness, Coaching, and Commentary. On this episode we welcome elite SUP surfing coach, former pro competitor, and APP commentator Beau Nixon, who discusses his path from Australian longboarding to winning Australia’s SUP national title in 2012, competing on the Stand Up World Tour/APP from 2013–2015, and shifting toward coaching as sponsorship and events declined. Nixon explains how he began commentating for the APP after a UK race event and later expanded to ISA events, emphasizing preparation, athlete research, and play-by-play craft. Coaching-wise, he argues board volume is “your friend,” warning against equating lower volume with progress and stressing stability to improve footwork, timing, and awareness. He highlights wave selection, positioning, reading changing conditions, and back-foot placement as key levers for improvement, and shares practical cueing methods. Nixon also outlines Travel With A Paddle retreats (begun 2018), mainly in the Maldives, plus UK clinics and an upcoming wave pool clinic.
Episode Links
00:00 Meet Beau Nixon
02:32 Podcasting
04:26 APP World Tour Commentating
09:40 Competitive Fire
10:17 World Tour Backstory
13:34 Early SUP Days and Growth
17:18 Why Volume Helps Learners
22:08 Coaching Philosophy
25:55 Staying Focused in the Water
29:21 Mental Training Tactics
30:21 Reading Waves Like the Pros
33:29 Coaching Wave Selection
36:08 Fixing Foot Placement
38:35 The Future of SUP
41:46 Linking Maneuvers With Speed
43:30 Backside Pumping and Bottom Turns
50:20 Travel With A Paddle Retreats
54:24 Wrap
26/10/01
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You moved from Australia to UK ???? :)