Today, I got to sit down for a chat with Faye Brennan. Faye is from the East coast of the USA, a super talented writer and as an official day job she is a director at one of the biggest female magazines on the planet. It’s the kind of high profile job a lot of women would die for with loads of perks and famous and interesting people to meet. In fact, Faye has interviewed celebrities such as world such as Chris Pratt, Lenny Kravitz and Ryan Reynolds, so I was truly humbled when she accepted to be interviewed by me to talk about her Instagram blog : Après Surf.
Faye has a really interesting story and a very strong connection to the ocean that she explains in this conversation. We discover what ignited the spark to start Après Surf and where Faye is intending to go with this innovative project.
“I attended an Instagram seminar lead by Instagram and obviously it’s a platform that everybody is on. They lead a fascinating seminar about the future of Instagram and the future of how people are going to consume it and I’ve already seen some of the features they were talking about roll out.
Their whole belief, which I think is right, is that Gen Z and everybody who is growing up now, is not going to want to leave the platform Instagram. That’s where these generations are getting all their information, so Instagram and brands and companies are coming up with ways to keep them there.
It was kind of a lightning bolt moment for me. That is the platform I should be using to publish because it’s where all the eyeballs are, it’s where all this community is connecting anyway, and so that was where the idea for the Instagram blog was born.” — Faye Brennan, Après Surf Co
I also ask Faye if working in such a huge magazine is just like the film the Devil Wears Prada, and how she felt when she landed the job. We talk about what she feels like being at the top of the journalistic pyramid:
“I think sharing other people’s stories and also being able to interview the top experts in the country or the world, is such a huge responsibility but also a great opportunity to make sure that you’re giving the right advice and that it’s reaching as many people as possible and that at the end of the day it’s inspiring positive change in somebody’s personal life. That to me is the whole reason I do what I do. It’s the whole reason I believed in Après Surf and why I started that.” — Faye Brennan, Après Surf Co
In fact, we also talk about how she sees the future of print magazines and Faye has some really good advice for anybody who is trying to create or develop a print magazine. I know that a lot are popping up all over the place, especially in surfing, and I know how hard it is to find companies to back your projects.
“What we see with millennials and Gen Zs, they will buy into a certain thing they are obsessed with. So if it is surfing culture and it’s something that is narrowly focused as opposed to a brand huge generic women’s title that’s talking to absolutely everybody and has multiple areas and angles that it hits. That’s harder because you can get that on the internet, you can get that literally anywhere else. Whereas these niche, expertise publications that are devoted to one specific group…our research has showed us, that Millennials and Gen Zs will pay for that. So it’s definitely very encouraging finding or data point. People will spend money for that. So I think that’s what we’re all seing more of now, and in a way it’s almost bette. you feel like you’re being personally talked to and that is a physical tangible thing that’s enforcing your love for whatever that hobby or that passion is.
I say to those people thought going after it, I say keep going, you can do it.” — Faye Brennan, Après Surf
Of course, we talk about Apres Surf, which is a platform celebrating female wave chasers, beach style, after-sun fun, a deep love for the ocean — and conserving it.
I really love the way that despite her top status in a very influential position, she’s started her side hustle from scratch in such a humble way. Her Instagram blog is a joy to read and you will find all sorts of really cool tips for female surfers around the world.
If you are curious about which surfing magazine Faye worked for in Montauk, it’s actually Whalebone.
As Faye said in the episode, she would be stoked if you reached out to her and feature in Apres Surf. So to get hold of her, you can find the Après Surf Instagram account at @Apres_surf_co and on apressurf.co or send her an email to apressurfco@gmail.com
Thank you Faye for being such a terrific guest and thank you for listening.
Until next episode, take care, have fun and enjoy the waves!
Ciao
Imi
The Oceanriders Podcast is a weekly podcast and I would like to thank you all for being more and more every week. If you enjoy listening, I would be really stoked if you could give me a few stars or a review on your podcast platform, you can also help by telling your friends, your family or any fellow surfers. I you would like to join me for an episode, or if you know anyone who would like to share their story please reach out to me on Instagram @theoceariderspodcast or via email at hello@theoceanriderspodcast.com. To get in touch with me, one link paves to all the rest: http://www.linktr.ee/theoceanriderspodcast
This week, I got to sit down for a chat with Lilly Woodbury who is and environmentalist and a media specialist making waves within the non profit organisation Surfrider in Tofino, which is off the West Coast of Vancouver Island, Canada.
Sheddy is from Australia. She is what you could call a wild or an adventure vet as she has been travelling the world saving wild animals in refuges and sanctuaries. I was blown away by her story.
First of all, she had the guts to sell up all her belongings in Australia and move onto a sailboat called Chuffed in Panama. She has spent the last 2 years, saving some of the weirdest and cutest animals in Central America and learning on her own how to repair and keep her boat afloat. Lately she rediscovered surfing in the bucket list spot of Pavones Costa Rica. You could say that Sheddy is definitely creating her dream job on the go.
Today’s conversation is taking us to Hawaii, on the island of Maui, where my guest was up before the chickens to talk to me, her name is Jenn Biestman.
Jenn’s story is truly uplifting.
At the age of 27, Jenn suffered a severe back injury that left her immobilized and in pain with no real prospect of recovery. Basically, the doctors had made it clear that her life as an adventurous human being was doomed…
In the turmoil of having to face this life-shattering news, she hobbled to the airport, and took off to Maui to try to figure things out.
Donations will be used to pay for equipment, podcast editor and promotion of the podcast on social networks. The Oceanriders Podcast is a member of One Percent for The Planet, 1% of your proceeds will be donated to Surfrider Europe.
