HAPPY 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY SIMON/SUPFM PODCAST

Simon celebrating 10 years of SUPfm Podcast

I have been tuning into episodes of the SUPfm Podcast for many years, going back in time to listen to classics and more recently newer guests, all of whom are incredibly interesting and often have a great backstory. It’s been inspiring to say the least.  

Talking of back stories, I recently had the joy of discovering Simon and SUPfm’s beginning, middle and end whilst he celebrates Ten Years of fascinating podcasts. It was a real honour to turn the tables and be the ‘interviewer’ – it was such great fun, and I hope I did it justice - here is Simon’s view of the experience! 

The tables are turned!

What Happens When the Interviewer Gets Interviewed? 

By Simon, SUPfm Podcast 

I've been doing this for ten years. Ten years of researching guests, crafting questions, pressing record and trying to make people feel comfortable enough to share their stories honestly. I like to think I've got reasonably good at it. What I was not fully practiced for, was having it done to me. 

When I decided that the 10th Anniversary Episode of the podcast deserved something different, there was really only one person I wanted in that chair. Sarah Thornely has been part of the SUPfm story for a good while now … as a guest, as a co-commentator on the mic at SUP Twelve, and as someone who not only gets this sport on a level that's hard to put into words but is enthusiastic, perceptive, and - as I already knew - asks very good questions.

I'll be honest: sitting on the other side of the microphone was more unsettling than I expected. You'd think that after hundreds of hours of conversation, I'd be perfectly comfortable talking about myself. But there's something about being asked to reflect on a decade of work, in one sitting, with someone who actually knows enough to catch you out, which focuses the mind rather sharply. 

What struck me most, going through it all with Sarah, was how much of the journey I'd simply forgotten. The early episodes … recorded in a room that sounded like a bathroom, with kit that should probably have been thrown away … feel like a different era. Our first proper guest was a Canadian living in Honduras, teaching SUP between stretches in a hammock – very niche! The 17-minute (including intro and outro) SUP yoga interview that ground to a halt because we hadn't done our homework. The learning curve was steep, and it felt very public. 

But the thing about doing something over a ten-year period is that you eventually stop noticing how much you've changed. Sarah made me notice. 

She asked me about the guests who had stayed with me. The ones where, as I put it during the recording, my jaw dropped to the point where I forgot I was supposed to be interviewing someone. Rylee Walker was the first name that came to mind - a young woman living with cystic fibrosis who paddles and advocates with a ferocity and grace that is genuinely humbling. Listening back to that conversation still stops me in my tracks. There have been plenty of others: adventurers who've crossed oceans, athletes who've competed blind, paddlers who've found the water on the other side of extraordinary hardship. These are the episodes that remind me why the show exists. 

Sarah also pushed me on things I find genuinely difficult to talk about … like what I think the show's legacy might be. I'm not great with that question. I haven't split the atom. But I do think there's value in showing people the full picture of what a standup paddleboard can unlock … the racing, the adventure, the community, the mental health benefits, the environmental responsibility. The human stories behind all of it. If someone has listened to the show and tried something they wouldn't otherwise have tried or felt a little less alone in their experience and frustrations of learning this sport, then that's more than enough legacy. 

There was one moment in the recording that was a huge call back. We were talking about the aloha spirit, the idea of inclusivity that I've tried to thread through the show since the very beginning. The notion that the water doesn't care what board you're on or how many races you've won. That we're all united in that experience, and all equally challenged by it. I've always believed that. Saying it out loud, after ten years, in a conversation that I wasn't leading for once … it landed differently. 

Sarah, thank you for doing this so thoughtfully and so well. You were a brilliant host, and a far more generous one than I probably deserved. Listeners are in for a treat. 

I’d like to thank all the sponsors for their support and the fascinating guests that I’ve had the privilege of speaking to. 

And to everyone who has listened over the years… thank you. Genuinely. None of this works or means anything without you.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going paddling… and I hope I’ll see you on the water! 

THANK YOU so much Simon for all that you do to bring our SUP community together, with your professionalism, knowledge and fun – and some cracking guests! The 10th Anniversary Edition of the SUPfm Podcast is available now. Find it wherever you listen to podcasts or directly here: https://www.supfmpodcast.com/episode/ten-years/

We'll see you on the water!