Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: If you consider yourself a bit of a techie, you love sunshine, fresh air, and shredding the waves, you are going to want to listen to today's episode.
Hi, I'm Sarah, and welcome back to the Midlife Happiness project. Today, I do not disappoint bringing another really interesting guest your way. His name is Jamie, and he does something. I got to tell you, as cool as surfing is, he's doing something now that makes surfing actually not so cool. This thing he's doing is crazy, and a lot of you probably have never even heard of it, but I will let him tell you all about that. Welcome, Jamie.
[00:00:57] Speaker B: Thank you. It's called efoily.
It kind of stands for electric hydrofoil boarding and something I had seen in 2017, but I had never, you know, I had never seen this before. And so I saw this thing, a video, and I'll probably link to it with your podcast and.
But the video was a people or a person writing something that looks something like this.
[00:01:26] Speaker A: And for those of you who are listening and not watching this on YouTube, let me just say, first of all, it looks like something from the future, but maybe there's a chance you've seen this. If you're driving along the coast and it kind of makes you do a double take, it looks like somebody is standing on a surfboard, but it's like levitating above the water, and it's crazy. It's kind of confusing. The first time I saw this, I wasn't even sure what I was looking at.
[00:01:59] Speaker B: So, so that's a great description. So I first saw a video of somebody doing, if you just google the words lift introduces, efoil, those three words, lift, lift introduces. And then the word efoil, e f o I l. You will see one of the video I first saw, which was in 2017, it was even before they came to market, they were kind of just showing a prototype, saying, this is what we're going to do. And I was like, enthralled. It's like, oh, that looks so cool. I want to do that. And in 2020, I saw, I had, like a saved search in eBay for efoil. And one came up. It was in Florida, and it was, it was a price, you know, like substantially less than new. And I was going, I think I'll take the plunge. And I didn't know how to do it. My wife said, I told my wife about it and she goes, well, can't you just do a lesson? And I said, I want to just get it and figure it out.
[00:02:54] Speaker A: So here's I love that you were all in from the beginning.
[00:02:57] Speaker B: Yeah. So there's basically like a front and back wing and a little electric motor and a propeller. And then there's a battery inside the case in, inside the board itself. And then there's a wireless hand controller. So it's a bluetooth connection. So I'm, like, wirelessly connected to the board, and it's controlled the speed and shows the battery level. Different stats like that.
[00:03:22] Speaker A: So I got to ask, though, is it the technology that kind of drew you to this? Is it the kind of the surfing kind of athletic part of it? Is it everything? Like, what is it about it that you thought? I. I've never even laid my hands on one, but I'm going to go ahead and buy one.
[00:03:43] Speaker B: Well, I think kind of, like, what you said is, like, when you see it, it kind of looks like the future and, like, magic, you know? And I get stopped all the time at the beach when people say, like, what is that? And, you know, like, I've had people say, like, I want to learn, like, teach me how to do, like, coming out of the water. Those I've seen right on the water, and they say, like, teach me how to do that. And I'll say, like, okay, we'll do that. Like, can we do it tomorrow or something? Because I'm coming out of the water now, but I've had people, like, almost tackle me coming out of the water going, that looks so cool. I want to learn how to do that.
So I think that was kind of my first experience was, that looks so cool, I want to learn how to do that. And they have some videos of how to efoil. And I watched them, and I was, like, terrible at it. They come in different sizes, and the bigger the board, the more flotation is afforded by the board. And I have a kind of small one. So the bigger the board, it's kind of like training wheel. So I have a small one without training wheels. And it was like trying to ride a two wheeler for the first time without training wheels. But for e foiler, a bigger board helps. And I've had a ton of people and I use a really big board to do that because it really helps them.
So what attracted me, what attracted me was, like, it's unusual. It looks interesting, futuristic. Like, how does that work? Just kind of like the physics of it all. And then I've, you know, I've geeked out about, like, you know, I have different wings, and I'm on the Facebook groups for the brands, you know, so I've written, you know, I've gone out of my way, like, to San Pedro one time. They had a demo for a brand I have never written before, and I just wanted to go like, well, try that one, you know, like, what's, what's it like to, you know, try, try a different brand that's not really available in our region or something like that, you know? So I've geeked out about, as I said, I'm kind of like, I started off as an engineering major, and I still have that. I never worked as an engineer, but I definitely like fixing things. I like knowing how things work. And this has really filled that interest in me of just, like, how does this thing work? And, you know, if something breaks, it's like, I get to fix it or find somebody knows how to fix it or, you know, ask for advice about this or that or be an advisor, too, you know? So all that stuff fills me up. And I know when we talk before this gathering today, I said, is this a happiness thing for me? And I find happiness is kind of like, that word is kind of like, I think of, like, happy birthday or something kind of fleeting. And for me, the parts about efoying that I really like are I have a buddy that I write. I know some people that defoil locally, and so I have a small community of people that do this, and I have one guy that I go out with primarily. And, you know, it's like we have, I typically go to his house, and we'll drive to the beach together. So we get some kind of before and after connection time, we get to be on the water together and kind of, you know, just kind of smile and have parallel play on the water. And then we get to debrief after we get to, you know, rinse off our gear and chat a little bit along the way. And, you know, part of it's like, how are you doing? And part of it just this sort of, I don't know, it's. I would say it's a, you know, it's a connection for the two of us. It's also like connecting with myself to be on the water.
My buddy calls beef whirling ocean yoga because you're kind of like, in a warrior pose. If you look back at this picture, it's like they're kind of like standing in a certain, you know, kind of like spread legs, and there's a lot of. There's a lot of adjusting and balancing going on. I wouldn't say it's definitely not a cardio thing.
But it's definitely like, it's the certain amount of lifting involved just to get the thing in and out of the water and in and out of the cars and stuff.
So what I like about e fourling is it's like I get to connect with my buddy. I get to go out in the water and I say, it's like I'm immersing myself in nature. I'm elevating myself above the water. Often we see wildlife. There could be a ton of diving pelicans, for example. And sometimes when the fish are around, there'd be literally hundreds of pelicans dive bombing and, like, oodles of dolphins. And it's just like, literally, just like there's a feeding frenzy and we're kind of near it. And sometimes they'll come, they'll surprise me. They'll come by me sometimes. One of my kids, I have three kids, and they all if taught them, or they've taught me in a way, you know, some of them are better than me, and I've taught their partners and their friends.
So I've taught a bunch of people. So what I like about you piling, again, is I like going out and just seeing our coast from the water. This is like the smallest watercraft, like, electrically powered watercraft. It weighs about 60 pounds when it's all assembled, so it's like. And when the battery is about half of that weight, so when the battery's out, it weighs about 30 pounds, and the board and everything else weighs about 30 pounds. So something I can put on the top of my car, put the battery inside my car and my gear and go out. And it's like the tiniest little personal watercraft. You know, it's very silent. Like, some people don't hear jet skis, like loud noises. Does it make awake? So there's no boats. They're going to say, you're making awake. You're going too fast. There's no wake. So it's very little noise. It's electric.
[00:08:59] Speaker A: I like what you're saying here. This is what appeals to me. Obviously, I've never tried e foiling. I think it's kind of scary. But what I like that you're saying is it's kind of this fusion for you, of excitement, but it's also about being very present. It has a meditative quality.
It's you with nature, you with yourself. And so it's combining these two things, I think, that's kind of unique. Normally, something is usually one or the other.
[00:09:33] Speaker B: I think all that's true. And you talked about surfing?
I have body surfed and boogie boarded. I've never been much of a surfer. One of my kids surfs quite a lot, and a typical surf wave in our region lasts seconds.
If you ride for a minute, it's a long ride. The e foil battery lasts for an hour and 15 minutes. So it's like I'm riding and surfing and carving hour and 15 minutes straight. But I think the part I like the best is like, every time I go out is different.
You know, it's like I'm not just sitting like, I just like going to the beach and sitting there. It's like I get to be on the water and active. I'm engaged.
It feels kind of like play for me.
[00:10:24] Speaker A: Jamie, are you doing this every day? I mean, your face lights up. I can't tell if you just came back from me foiling. Is this something you do every day?
[00:10:34] Speaker B: Probably like two or three times a week. But it's whether it's very windy or it's partly condition dependent, that's another thing, is some people will e foil in the morning when the wind is low, and then they'll use another kind of foil in the afternoon, like one that has a kite or a wing. There's wing foiling and kite foiling. So some people do kind of do different sports, depending on the condition. So, like, when there's low wind and, you know, it's a great time to go e foiling. And if the wind is up, you can still go e foiling. But if you have a wind version of a foil, which I have yet to try, I know some people that do both.
[00:11:11] Speaker A: What would you say to somebody listening to this today who was like, this is crazy. I think I might be on board with something like this. What advice would you give for somebody as a first step? Maybe. Maybe this person is not quite ready to go out and purchase one. What would be your advice for just first steps?
[00:11:33] Speaker B: Well, there are how to videos online. So just watching a how to video.
[00:11:37] Speaker A: You just say, like, are you talking YouTube?
[00:11:39] Speaker B: YouTube? Yeah.
[00:11:39] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:11:40] Speaker B: Like a YouTube video on how to efoil. You could get a sense of what's involved.
There are many affiliates for the different brands that do lessons. I do lessons here in Santa Barbara. If anybody wants to go out with me, that's an option. I do my lessons through something called friends with a. It's all one word. People that want to kind of rent can be renting equipment. It's like a person to purse or peer to peer rental. So I would say, like, if you just want to start, I'd say, watch some videos of people just doing it and having fun. And then you can say, like, and there are people of all sizes, like, some people that are quite heavy. Like, I think there's one video with three women on one e foil. On a big one. There's a video with a very large fellow. Like, he probably weighs close to 300 pounds on an e foil. There's kids, like, seven, eight years old e foiling. So. And people take their little kids, like, there'll be a little kid on the front of their board, and they're standing up behind them. So it can be for lots of people. I have a two year old grandson, and I'm looking forward to the day when he's old enough to be one of those little kids on the front of the board and then learn, learn himself someday. It's something I look forward to. You know, it's like, I don't predict. Like, typically, it's dependent on my buddy. He lives up, he lives really close to the coast. He kind of looks, says, like, what the conditions are like, and he likes to go when it's sunnier. I'm willing to go in pretty much any conditions. And so I kind of lean on him and say, like, oh, let me know when you're ready. And we'll go out together. And usually works out to about two or three times a week. And so it's kind of like the bat phone. He'll call me and say, time to go. And it's like, okay, I'll charge up and I'll be there in a couple hours.
[00:13:12] Speaker A: So this is great, you know, so there's definitely an excitement component. There's like a challenge. You like the technology behind it. I think that's this is all very relatable for people. What would your wife, if she was sitting here right now, is she aware of just how happy this makes you? Has she really seen a difference?
[00:13:35] Speaker B: I think she was. You know, she knows I'm into it. She knows I like to do it. She encourages me to go. She knows, like, if I'm doing it two or three times a week, I'm getting some physical activity in when I eat foil.
[00:13:47] Speaker A: I think what you're saying is kind of interesting, Jamie, because I think a lot of people agree that when I pose the question, which is kind of seemingly a pretty straight ahead question, which is, what makes you happy? Or what about a certain activity makes you happy, people often sort of panic a bit and say, oh, well, I don't know if this qualifies as happiness. People, it's hard for people to own that, hey, this makes me happy. Now, they may not know, they may not have given a lot of thought to how specifically it makes them happy, but I think at the end of the day, you alluded to this, you used a term earlier, which is, it lights you up, and I think that's. That kind of sums it up. Right. It motivates you. You say, you know that you're going to be e foiling later in the afternoon. This is something that you, like, really look forward to in your day, and you get excited about it. I mean, I think that, at its very core, is what happiness is.
It's distinctly different than being content.
Certainly in my mind, we all want certain things in our life, you know, a roof over our head, money in the bank. We like to go out for the occasional dinner or go on a vacation, and that's all fine, and, well, we can all relate to that. But in terms of, like, real happiness, I think at its foundation is just what you've said. You want something that lights you up.
[00:15:30] Speaker B: Yeah, it does light me up.
I think of, like I said, there's some things that I pick out that I like, and I think it's mostly like, it's a change of pace. It's never the same. I have gratitude for just being physically fit enough and having the opportunity. Living near the coast, people can do this in lakes and rivers. One of my kids lives in. Lives in Portland, and we did it in the Williamette river up there, you know, different lengths of the river, you know, so it can be used. We've been in Tahoe, done it in the Bay area, you know, so there's different places to do it. Pretty much any body of water that's at least 4ft deep could be an e foil location. So.
[00:16:08] Speaker A: And are you still. Are you sort of at this point where you're fully invested in efoil and you're going to take this as far as it can go? Or has e foiling inspired you to try new things, too?
[00:16:25] Speaker B: I would say I'm kind of curious about wing foiling. I know some people that do it, but I used to sail quite a lot. And for me, like, e foiling is kind of a.
Of all the foiling sports, it's the easiest one because you're only dealing with the motor and your balance, where when you put a kite on it or put a wing on it, you become like a sailing oiler. And I think that level of difficulty for transition is significant and I have yet to take it on. So it's kind of like a time investment too, and kind of, I imagine I'll be pretty bad at it. It's kind of like, how badly do I want to do it? I would say I'm curious, but I haven't taken the literal plunge in terms of branching out.
[00:17:13] Speaker A: I mean, how much does an e foil even cost?
[00:17:15] Speaker B: They're quite expensive, and that's like one of the things that kind of turns people off. When they ask me at the beach, they'll ask how much will the equilibrium cost? There's a chinese brand called Waydo and they're a little under $6,000. That's like the lowest price point. Lyft and flight are the two big brands. Lift has sold about 12,000 boards, Flyte sold about 10,000. And I think Waydo is kind of in the maybe 4000 board range. So there's maybe like 25,000 boards out there in cap America. And the cheapest flight is about $7,000. Cheapest lift is maybe in that range. But then they start, they do some things to make it less expensive. Like instead of being made of carbon fiber, it's made of fiberglass. Instead of having a carbon mast, it has an aluminum mast.
Those things add weight to the bottom line. So if you're carrying it in and out of the water when you turn, weight makes a big difference. So you could get kind of a high performance board. High performance flight is probably on the order of about $14,000 and kind of maybe like 12,000 for a lift. This is new. I bought mine for 8000 in 2020 and I see them for around 6000. So they're all expensive. But if people look at like the cost of like a jet skis, they're on that same price range. You know, a lot of people that you say, I used to have jet skis or I used to have a boat, they go, this is better than a boat. So these things are very simple. You know, there's a motor and a battery and a remote and that's kind of it. So it's like very simple. It's electric, you know, so there's like literally one moving part. It's like the propeller in the drive shaft, you know, and there's some bearings in there, but very, very simple.
[00:18:49] Speaker A: I love, love, love your enthusiasm. You light up when you're talking about this so much that, I mean, this is what this podcast is all about. It's just exploring the infinite number of things that anybody can try if they are curious and they want to challenge themselves and they know what they're getting themselves into and they just want to bring some excitement and for lack of a better way of putting it, some happy into their life. And that's, that's exactly what you're doing. Definitely when people see this, they will think, oh, that's great for 20 year olds that are ripping it up. But I mean, again, Jamie is in his very, very early sixties and he's carving it up in the water. So if you're interested, seriously, I mean, if you get a fraction of the excitement that you get out of it, it's well worth it, just giving it a try. Well, I think typically our audience is, you know, you're listening to this show because you want to get jazzed up, you want to get excited. You want to embrace whatever new challenge, new things are out there while we still can. And I think your story is a really great one. And thank you so much, Jamie, for joining us today. Really appreciate having you.
[00:20:21] Speaker B: Yeah, thank you for the opportunity. It was good to speak with you. And hopefully I'll inspire somebody, if not to eat foil, to do something else.
[00:20:27] Speaker A: That is what it's all about, something.
[00:20:30] Speaker B: That'S a bit of a stretch. Like I said, I bought the e foil not knowing how to do it and just said, I'm going to throw my hat over the fence and figure out how to do it right.
[00:20:39] Speaker A: Excellent. Well, thank you again. You've been a fabulous guest. And to all those listening, again, thank you for joining us. And please, please, please subscribe, subscribe and subscribe. We want to keep bringing you these shows, and we need you to subscribe to do that. And on that note, thank you again for joining us on the midlife Happiness project. We will see you again next time.
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