Erik Antonson brought immense stoke to the sport of SUP surfing ca. 2010. He lived in Costa Rica, coached and ran the Blue Zone SUP Surf Camp for a number of years, hosted the Paddle Woo podcast , made SUP films, ran video contests, and designed boards. Since that time he moved back to Florida and began a similar deep dive into the world of foiling. In this episode Antonson reflects on why SUP surfing was the perfect tool for accessing uncrowded reef breaks, how it broadened his view of ocean sports, and why he believes SUP’s popularity peaked around 2014–2015 amid lineup scarcity, stigma, and shifting industry support. He discusses why he started podcasting to learn directly from top performers and to find community, then shares practical SUP tips: get comfortable moving around the board, find the right center of gravity, improve rail-to-rail footwork, cross-train (skate/snow/wake), and use inside-paddle “slingshot” turns to force proper shoulder rotation, while developing style by removing excess movement.
Episode Links
00:00 Meet Erik Antonson
01:35 Costa Rica SUP Origins
02:55 Foil Brain Takes Over
05:29 The Stigma Of SUP
09:12 Infinite Lines
12:07 Where Did Paddle Woo Go?
13:45 SUP Video Contests
20:53 Raising A WaterKid
23:06 Paddlwoo Podcasting
24:18 Finding Your Tribe
26:55 Learning Through Conversations
30:01 Flow States
35:08 Slingshot Cutback Explained
38:11 Intermediate SUP Progression
42:38 Board Design Step Decks
45:18 Falling For Stability
47:37 Style as Minimalism
26/09/03
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