The Kyle Thiermann Show

Chris Keener is a master storyteller who helps brands translate their objectives into entertainment. Former Creative Director of MUD\WTR and Producer for outfits like National Geographic, Discovery Channel, PBS, ESPN, and the Travel Channel, Chris' film accolades span far deeper than this little bio has room for. But the dude knows his shit. Chris is also the founder of Goldenair Breathwork, which facilitates transformative experiences by connecting people to the power of their breath. He conducts workshops for clients like Salesforce, Soho House, Alo Yoga, and Penn University, while also working in prisons and with the underserved. This was Chris' fourth time on the podcast, so it was more of a friendly catch-up. We talked in detail about his home-purchase-from-hell, and how to emotionally handle the massive stressors that can come with buying a home that started to crumble the moment he signed on the dotted line. Go to Goldenair to breathe. If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on A

For over a decade, Kiana Reeves has been working at the intersection of love, embodiment, relationships, sex, & spirituality. She is a Certified Somatic Sex Educator & Sexological Bodyworker, Certified Embodiment and Intimacy Teacher, Certified STREAM Pelvic Health Practitioner, Full Spectrum Doula, mother of two delightful and wild humans, and wife to one of my best friends (and frequent guest on the podcast), Chris Keener. In this conversation, we cover a lot of territory about sex, relationships, feedback, maturity, and (ahem) penis size. Kiana is a bridger of worlds and a destroyer of shame. This was a fun one, and like many of my podcasts, NSFW. If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. I read them all. You can watch this podcast on my YouTube channel and join my newsletter on Substack. It’s glorious. Get full access to Kyle Thiermann at thie

Chris Douglas is an endurance athlete, podcast host, and founder of Presidio Management. In 2023, Chris started his performance coaching practice and works with knowledge workers, executives, attorneys, students, entrepreneurs, and athletes on their performance and well-being. Chris has a long endurance resume and found Swimrun in 2018 and has been hooked ever since. The Löw Tide Böyz Podcast launched in 2020 with his race partner Chipper Nicodemus.(P.S. If you listen to this intro, you’ll notice that we’re promoting our friend Soraya Simi’s new film, Row of Life, happening at 5 pm on Friday, June 27 in LA. Click this link to learn more.)If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. I read them all. You can watch this podcast on my YouTube channel and join my newsletter on Substack. It’s glorious. Get full access to Kyle Thiermann at thiermann.substack.com/su

Chris Burkard (@ChrisBurkard) is an acclaimed American photographer, filmmaker, and storyteller known for his breathtaking landscape photography. Born in San Luis Obispo, California, Burkard rose to prominence through his striking surf photography in remote and often icy locations like Iceland, Norway, and Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. His work captures the raw beauty of nature, often blending elements of human exploration and environmental grandeur. Burkard’s style is marked by expansive compositions, ethereal light, and a reverence for the wild. Beyond photography, he is also a sought-after speaker, author of several books, and director of award-winning documentaries, including Under an Arctic Sky. A passionate advocate for environmental preservation and outdoor adventure, Burkard uses his platform to inspire others to seek meaningful connections with the natural world. His work has been featured by National Geographic, The New Yorker, Apple, and Patagonia, among others. Whether hanging from a cliff face or

When I started this podcast more than 7 years ago, I listed Derek Sivers as my dream guest (sorry Kelly Slater). Sivers’ gift, I believe, is the willingness to question the premise of all things, delightfully, humorously, and give anyone in his orbit the choice to follow a more original path. An author of philosophy and entrepreneurship, he’s known for his surprising quotable insights, pithy succinct writing style, and commitment to minimalism. (He currently lives in a 4x8 meter house in New Zealand and is building it out slowly, room by room, just to see what he needs.) Formerly a musician, programmer, TED speaker, and circus clown, he sold his first company for $22 million and gave all the money to charity. Sivers' books (Useful, Not True, How to Live, Hell Yeah or No, Your Music and People, Anything You Want) and newest projects are at his website: sive.rs. He loves hearing from strangers and will reply to every email, so if you enjoyed this podcast, shoot him an email and let him know. If you dig this pod

Hailing from Half Moon Bay, California, August Howell grew up surfing up and down the state’s northern coast. He studied journalism at the University of Oregon and was a reporter for his hometown newspaper, the Half Moon Bay Review, for nearly five years. But he was raised on a diet of surf magazines, and surfing (and writing about it) remains his passion. He has written about teenagers at Maverick’s, shark researchers in the Farallon Islands, the nuances of big-wave guns, and is a staff writer for SURFER Magazine. In this podcast, we talk about the importance of physical magazines to consume information and preserve surf culture. If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. I read them all. You can watch this podcast on my YouTube channel and join my newsletter on Substack. It’s glorious. Get full access to Kyle Thiermann at thiermann.substack.com/subscribe

Chas Smith (@BeachGrit) is a luminous figure in surfing, an adept journalist, and author. Born in San Jose, California in 1976, Smith’s family uprooted and landed in Coos Bay, Oregon where he learned to surf. After studying intercultural studies in undergrad, Smith graduated with a master’s in linguistics, going on to study in Egypt and at Oxford. Following a story he published in Australia Surfing Life about surfing in Yemen in the wake of 9/11, Smith went on to report in Lebanon, Somalia, Israel-Palestine, and wound up a captive of Hezbollah reporting for Current TV. In the early-aughts, Smith worked for Vice. Soon, he joined Stab magazine at the behest of Derek Rielly, then editor-in-chief, and they set in on an unparalleled era in surf journalism. Some of Stab’s more controversial content garnered unsavory public spats that earned Smith some anti-Semitic epithets, and then in 2014, Smith and Reilly began Beach Grit—a deep well of incendiary, tongue-in-cheek honesty drenched in satire, sans filter. He’s no

Robin Greenfield (@RobinGreenfield) is an American environmental activist, adventurer, and humanitarian known for his bold, experiential campaigns that challenge consumerism and promote sustainable living. He has become widely recognized for living in radical simplicity to inspire others toward sustainability, self-sufficiency, and ecological awareness. Greenfield’s work has included biking across the United States on a bamboo bicycle while living off the grid, creating public displays from edible food found in dumpsters to expose food waste, and famously wearing every piece of trash he generated for 30 days to visually demonstrate consumer impact. In 2018, he undertook a yearlong project in Florida, during which he ate only what he grew or foraged himself—an effort to show what's possible outside industrial food systems. Rejecting modern excess, Greenfield has lived without a personal car, phone, or permanent home. He owns fewer than 50 possessions and donates 100% of his media income to grassroots causes. H

Captain Liz Clark (@CaptainLizClark) spent her youth dreaming of traveling the world by sailboat and surfing remote waves. At the age of 22, she met a mentor who helped turn her desire into reality. Embarking on an adventure that most only fantasize about, she set sail from Santa Barbara, California, as captain of her 40-foot sailboat, Swell, headed south in search of surf and self. Liz captured her voyage in her memoir, Swell, sharing tales of sailing in high seas, of solitude and surprises. During this podcast, we explored Liz’s relationship to God, her experience setting down roots in Tahiti, and her daily habits that led to her completed memoir. If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. I read them all. You can watch this podcast on my YouTube channel and join my newsletter on Substack. It’s glorious.This is a reader-supported publication. To receive n

Kate Williams is CEO of 1% for the Planet, a global organization that holds businesses accountable to donate 1% of their annual sales to environmental causes. In 2002, Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, and Craig Mathews, founder of Blue Ribbon Flies, created 1% for the Planet and started a global movement. Today, the network of 4,800+ business members have given more than $700 million in certified donations to vetted environmental organizations. Simply put, businesses commit, give and get certified. It’s low lift for them and high impact for the environmental partners. In this conversation, Kate and I explored the psychology of giving, egregious examples of greenwashing, and how we can change philanthropy norms among the super-rich in the years ahead. If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. I read them all. You can watch this podcast on my YouTube ch

Every plastic bag has a silver lining, and Ethan Estees has made a career out of finding it. The marine biologist and artist specializes in turning ocean trash—from plastic bottles to discarded fishing rope—into spectacular art pieces. His seascapes give a second life to the otherwise mundane material, offering an attractive introduction to the often depressing topic of ocean pollution. In this conversation, Ethan and I explored his process as an artist and spent a good chunk of time talking about the state of MPAs in California. Despite dedicating his career to environmental protection, Ethan has stuck his neck out for fishing communities over the past two years, calling out the misbegotten proposals by some environmental groups to close large swaths of California’s fisheries. It takes courage not to blindly join a tribe in 2025, but some could argue this quality is requisite to make great art.If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and m

Devin O’Dea grew up backpacking and fishing the Trinity Alps and Sierra Nevada Mountain ranges of Northern California and has been abalone diving, spearfishing and foraging in the Pacific Ocean for several decades. After getting a degree in Political Science from UC Santa Barbara, he worked in the environmental consulting industry and as a marketing manager for a carbon fiber division of Mitsubishi, but the allure of the backcountry, bowhunting, and a love for wild places and wild food brought him to his current role as the Western Policy & Conservation Manager for Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA), a non-profit dedicated to wild public lands, waters and wildlife. Follow Devin on The Gram, he’s got some great adventure posts. If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. I read them all. You can watch this podcast on my YouTube channel and join my ne

Foster Huntington is a photographer and filmmaker from Skamania, Washington. In 2011, he left his fashion job in New York City and moved into a camper van. For the next three years, he traveled around North America, driving some 120,000 miles, surfing and camping. He began the popular Tumblr account and hashtag, #Vanlife and self-published a book, “Home Is Where You Park It,” with photos from his time on the road. He now lives in a treehouse in the Columbia River Gorge and works on short films and photo projects in his studio. Follow Foster on his Substack.If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. I read them all. You can watch this podcast on my YouTube channel and join my newsletter on Substack. It’s glorious.Kyle Thiermann is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full

I first saw Brent Pella perform standup at MUD\WTR: Gather for an LA fires benefit show. The dude set the place on fi—. Though his comedic talents span the range of current events across the political spectrum—from Rogan impersonations to Kamala’s impressive assortment of accents (depending on where she was campaigning)—he hit the cultural version of a nuclear reactor when he started writing jokes about new age spirituality, conspiracy theories, and human optimization. His videos have gained 500M+ views online and he was recently named a "Creator to Watch" by the New York Comedy Festival. His debut comedy special, “Conscious Bro” is live on YouTube now. In this conversation we dove into Brent’s past. He told the story of his first open mic, rapping at UC Santa Barbara, and why, despite the devil on his shoulder, he feels politically homeless. If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg har

Amy Baldwin (@amyshamelesssex) is a Somatic Sex and Relationship Coach (trained in the Somatica® Method), Certified Sex Educator, and host of the Shameless Sex podcast. Amy has a passion for promoting shame-free, pleasure-focused sexuality education while emphasizing the deep emotional and energetic forces behind great sex and intimate connection, offering everything from how-to workshops to erotic empowerment retreats. This was Amy’s fifth or sixth time on the show, so if you’re not sick of us yammering, feel free to scroll through the archives to keep the party going.If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. I read them all. You can watch this podcast on my YouTube channel and join my newsletter on Substack. It’s glorious. Get full access to Kyle Thiermann at thiermann.substack.com/subscribe

Adam Skolnick (@adamskolnick) is an award-winning independent journalist and author covering adventure sports, environmental issues, travel and human rights for The New York Times, Outside, Playboy and Lonely Planet. He is the author of One Breath: Freediving, Death and the Quest to Shatter Human Limits, the ghost writer and narrator of David Goggins’ smash hit memoir and audiobook Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds, and he is a co-host on the Rich Roll Podcast. Adam and I do ocean swims together. Sometimes I let him win.If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. I read them all. You can watch this podcast on my YouTube channel and join my newsletter on Substack. It’s glorious. Get full access to Kyle Thiermann at thiermann.substack.com/subscribe

Nina Simon has worn many hats in her career: slam poet, NASA engineer, game designer, and museum director at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History. If that didn’t make her busy enough, she went ahead and wrote two nonfiction books: The Participatory Museum and The Art of Relevance. In 2020, Nina’s mom was diagnosed with advanced cancer, so Nina quit her job to help care for her. The two had always enjoyed reading mysteries, so they started imagining one that featured characters a bit like them—hardworking California women trying to balance professional ambition and motherhood. She wrote, her mom read, and the creative process helped them heal and grow closer. Today, Nina’s mom is doing well, and Mother-Daughter Murder Night is a New York Times Bestseller. (Talk about turning lemons into lemonade.) If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. I read them al

Soraya Simi is the director of the new documentary, ROW OF LIFE, which follows renowned Paralympian and Marine Veteran Angela Madsen on her solo row across the Pacific Ocean. The film quite simply rocks, if I do say so myself. It's on a nationwide tour now; see dates here. In this podcast, I grilled Soraya about the art and craft of documentary filmmaking. How to get funding with a sizzle, A plot and B plot, truth as subtraction, and much more. Soraya is a damn good filmmaker. If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. I read them all. You can watch this podcast on my YouTube channel and join my newsletter on Substack. It’s glorious.Kyle Thiermann is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Kyle Thiermann at thiermann.substack.com/subscribe

In 2017, Wilem Banks (@Wilembanks) made headlines when he suffered a horrific fall at Mavericks and won WSL’s Wipeout of the Year (the most embarrassing award in surfing). The award seemed to put a chip on Wilem’s shoulder, and since then, he’s set out to prove that he can do more than paddle into gigantic waves—he can make them, too! This year, the humble warrior took his first trip to Jaws on Maui and bagged what some say was the biggest wave ever completed at the spot. In this episode, Wilem recounts the story in detail. Beyond the ocean, he is a hunter, carpenter, and co-owner of Banks&Banks Saunas, a custom-built sauna service he runs with his brother.If you dig this podcast, will you please leave a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and makes a difference when I drop to my knees and beg hard-to-get guests on the show. I read them all. You can watch this podcast on my Youtube channel and join my newsletter on Substack. It’s glorious.Kyle Thiermann is a reader-supported pub

Arthur (@arthurbourbon) was born and raised on a small French Caribbean island called Guadeloupe. He started surfing at a very young age with his parents, and competitions led him to move to France as a teenager. After graduating from high school, Arthur began a professional surfing career, competing on the European Pro Junior and QS circuits for a few years before switching to a free surf career. While traveling to the world’s most beautiful surf spots, he discovered a new passion that would also become a profession: filmmaking. Since then, Arthur has divided his time between surfing and filmmaking. Primarily focused on documentary films, he seeks to tell surf-related stories that go beyond the sport itself, often addressing broader themes like environmental or social impact. In 2020, he released the critically acclaimed documentary “Water Get No Enemy” about the Liberian surfing community. Last year, Arthur had the chance to return to Liberia to continue documenting their story. A new film titled “We The Su