Andy King Edit
Sun, 8/1 8:19AM • 39:54
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
surfing, people, athletes, sport, coach, world, life, explore, coaching, ocean, talk, reading, walk, respect, surfer, hear, transferable, bit, long, space
SPEAKERS
Paul Barnett, Andy King
Paul Barnett 00:00
Eddie King. Good afternoon and welcome to the great coaches podcast.
Andy King 00:04
Thank you. Thanks for having us. Hi, guys. I'm in different time zones, different worlds, but I'm glad we coordinated my we caught up.
Paul Barnett 00:11
Well, you're living in paradise. So can we just start by getting you to tell me where you are in the world and what you've been up to today.
Andy King 00:18
Right now I'm in currumbin Valley on the Gold Coast. I just came back from New South, I had a job up there working with Kelly Andrews, who's a world tour athlete Women's World Tour, sort of under pretty shocking circumstances. While we weren't on the Gold Coast has pretty much the world was saying earlier, somebody got taken at greenmount. So I had to shift because I closed the beaches here on the Gold Coast, I had to shift my training up to new sites. So I've just gotten back from New so I left it three o'clock this morning and picked up one of my mates who just got out of isolation to pick him up on the way through the minute he got out of ISO. So yeah, it's a crazy time. We're crossing borders, and everything's pretty crazy. Eddie, I've
Paul Barnett 00:58
been so excited to interview you since I started reading up on your backstory in your life. And I can't wait to sort of work through that with you today. So thanks for making the time. I'd like to just start by winding the clock back a little bit if I could, because you've had firsthand experiences some pretty great coaches and teachers through your career. Gary green, Andy Walsh, and you talk about Clancy Dawson. So can I just start by start by asking you what do you think the great coaches do differently?
Andy King 01:28
I think the great coaches, I think it's just a natural attire. Now if it can be taught, I think it's a natural sort of empathetic space where they walk in whatever their client's shoes and again, trust super quick like and that authenticity. And I just think you hear it as buzzwords. But it's something that can't be said it happens without any interaction that you have with the person what you read their body language in humans pick up on that and coming from somebody that's Deaf by reading facial expressions, and you can't sum it up in one thing on an all great coaches that I know, don't do that as a job like it, they're naturally that person might we will always in that space, even for became any chance to make money out of it. [PB1] We just did that, especially in our surf culture. Like our surf culture, there's always at all is that pass that on to us. And there's an element for me, there's an element of guilt where my stomach and my heart and my head aren't connected, because I charge money for it now. So I've actually, I'm trying to offset that guilt by contributing back to development because I feel guilty because so many more forefathers gave that for free. And those forefathers just didn't like seeing that they just didn't naturally, and we kind of turned it into, we turned it into career and into money. So I'm not real proud of that. Like, I'm not proud that I get paid. Because people do that for free in the past. And that was part of our culture. I don't want that to be lost at all. I want to be responsible for that. So there's an element of responsibility now that I'll make a career out of it. It's bought me a lot of shiny sheets on corner to be quite honest, I'm a bit of war with myself, because probably do a bit deeper into that. But yeah, I honestly feel that way. So I think now at that stage, it's easy to say and it's easy for me to say because we're rich, white, middle aged people now. And it's great. But I'd like to have gotten there. But right now I want to I want to actually really test out skilled coaching to do it with people are uncomfortable with people that don't like me, can I gain that trust and cannot? Are they skills transferable and people are straight up already. Trust you a lot, they've already got doubt. I think that for me to explore that space in coaching as well, one sort of move to to see whether this skills are valuable other than just when you gain a respect or a name for yourself as a coach, people come to you, but you're just surrounded by people that believe what you say. So you kind of inhale in your own exhaust fumes, so to speak, I want to test that more on level with especially indigenous people in our country at the time and multicultural place. Right through that I like to do that. I like to test that.
Paul Barnett 03:57
What are you finding then as you test yourself in that space? Are you learning more about your own abilities and your own outlook on life?
Andy King 04:04
Yeah, I think definitely that it's also just to be challenged. Again, like I said, I was really fortunate situation like, after the accident happened. The people that I competed against basically created a role for me and the trust was already there. I was so blessed, they basically gave me an opportunity already had those relationships. So I was really lucky. And then now I'm sort of challenging whether it was just the fact that I already had those relationships that I was valued. And that was kind of just not really influential people. So that kind of just filtered down and I took a job on with a Russian lady last year at the time. Her name is Angelica. She won gold in London Olympics for synchronized swimming 11 world titles, so she spent most of her life suspended in water. And for me, it was fascinating to start on that journey to see whether I could match that from the beginner surf school to the elite. So I didn't ever do anything in that mid ground or worked in karnala as a beginner surf coach from 1994 until 2000 For one, I fractured my skull at beginner surf school. So and then I went straight from that, because I was competing during that time to the elite level, which was World Tour. So I never got that middle ground. And I had opportunity with this Russian lady Angelica to do that. And that kind of sparked me on this journey and this trajectory of fine discomfort and how quickly you can earn interest because even obviously, with the Russians is that East versus West, there's already all those that's kind of that demographic wall on our history, just even the way that the movies and the government's and everyone though, basically, the enemy capitalism and communism, and to get into that, and to gain that trust, and I mean, I'm really lucky, the ocean kind of brings that together because the ocean so on predictable, and you get yourself, we get a client in really big waves. And you know that it's control, because we've got the expertise, to some extent to control that. But you can gain trust really well when people are in that flight or fright or the life and death situation. So I kind of knew how to break that. And then obviously use the Australian thing that we are part of the Empire anymore, we will convicts not to different yourself. So we're not with Alliance, America, or we're basically convicts we were sent here or sent from the motherland. And so it kind of broke up with that pretty quickly. And then to see that and to have a really good relationship with the Russians. So that kind of sent me on that journey. And for me, it was really stimulating was probably the most enjoyable coaching and the hardest at that time. Same time, it was the hardest, but the most enjoyable to see that the skills and everything you have lvg you can really help someone Angelica now is she
Paul Barnett 06:35
her goal was to get to the Olympics, is that going to happen for her?
Andy King 06:39
Well, we're on that we're trying to explore dry land exercises, they're going to keep up that skill set that she learned. But I was shocked by how incredible that woman was. Now, I've never seen anyone with work ethic like what she had in his skills, like because awareness is been suspended in water, since she was about 12 years old. So she came out to Australia. And to be quite honest, I started the experience, I wasn't going to be a high performance project, it was just going to be a cultural exchange and an experience. So I asked her to come and track mount one for us. It's mostly point Australia where you can see the sunrise. And she's like, I can't walk out like he can't walk and she's like, I can't hike or do this climbs. And I'm What do you mean like and she's like, I've been suspended in water for so long that the pressure of gravity against her spine because she was training so hard in the pool. Yeah, she can't run or walk or because it's like she's been an embryo for 17 years of the life like the training that they do was training seven days a week, 12 hours a day in the pool, it was fascinating work. So it ended up with that as the benefit that her awareness, aka spatial awareness in the sensation that she would have. And the control that she had over her body was just phenomenal. If she got in trouble, if a sec came in, I could take me to quite big waves and talking about eight to 10 feet, she could just sit out the set because hold the breath for like four minutes. I'm like if you get in trouble, just go to the bottom and hold on like the settled pass in 45 seconds. 45 seconds for was given even needed. I've so much respect for and turning to turn into a relationship where I To be quite honest, it was prickly, and there was so many, you couldn't have got more opposite person, someone from Moscow that barely served. At first it was raining and there's no way I expected the relationship to go. I really miss her and friends and I really enjoyed working with the Russians because it's not like Americans or Australians where there's so much bullshit I can conversation, you know that you really got to dig deep to find out what they mean because there's so much surface stuff, fully transactional relationship with them. It's just like, I don't like you. I don't like what we did. I don't want anything to do with you. It's so honest. So it was a really easy place to work. And I really enjoyed it and I look forward to the world over not when I can reconnect with them again. Edie,
Paul Barnett 08:59
I want to talk about how you started your coaching journey because you talked about a little bit then you went over to the Red Bull program in America. And within four years, you've had five surfers qualify for the World Tour. And you said that results came when you took care of their health and well being so I'd like to ask you in a sport like surfing what is the role of the
Andy King 09:17
coach there's a lot of hats as most coaches but we're not separated like we don't have a lot of staff like we don't have physios and sports sites that travel with your you don't have a team so your shoulder to shoulder with your athletes. So that's what I mean like that's genuine like you can't live and go on a three month tour and put a mask on because you don't switch off. We're sharing the dinner table, you share a breakfast table together cells, you get exposed really quick on trying to size like you can't just sign off at the end of the day and go we're going to do a six hour session and then you go back to your room and you have your own dinner and you can debrief and turn into somebody else like you leave on your shoulders shoulder. So it's like that, like I said you can kind of get exposed so you have to care have never never heard why she bought or coaching with the somebody that you can work with that you don't care for their family and their well being[PB2] . And the like, amount of time that you spend on the radar tool is now on an offseason. That tour is like your art from March until December and then you're back like the offseason might be those sort of, you might you might get a couple of weeks out of a Christmas before you get back into it. Yeah, so you basically the it's your life, and our families are included, you know, that was in our children's life. It's not around for a job. It's not sort of tied or you live in any you've talked about
Paul Barnett 10:36
your upbringing, and the fact that you didn't have great role model and your father, I don't mean to put words in your mouth. But that's what we've talked about him. So how did you develop this? empathy, this authenticity, this connection that is so important to your coaching style, where did it come from?
Andy King 10:53
It definitely came, like I said, to my mom, and from women, like always, say when you meet your wife, like always, and I don't know if that was natural, like you know, you've got a masculine and a feminine side, her side, ob six foot three and walk us down, but quite a tall guy, so on. And like I said, it's through the violence and through that with my father. And the way that our beaches were set up and structured, it was a lot, it was more gangs, it was segregated. And night, I always sort of had that respect that I could explore those other things, I was never trying to be tough, I didn't need to beat anybody up. Because they saw what I lived in they they already respected that my father was so dominant and violent in that area, as well that are just underneath him. So I've got to explore those things because I was never threatened by anyone else other than my own father. So anything that I did outside, or what else copying at home, the rest of the world was a safe place where I kind of got to explore that because it was actually to get the fuck outta home was the safest thing. Like I talked about, slept with a knife underneath my bed. And my father was just extremely violent, he come home drunk with boxing gloves on, and we fight every night. So I was quiet, pretty capable of looking after myself that was like, that wasn't even a concern. For me, the concern was just stayed away from my father lock my door down and make sure when he come home is drunk that if I survive that night, then the rest of the world was kind of a safe place where I could explore empathy and those other things because it was like, I didn't want to go down that pathway. I knew that reactiveness and in the way that he had, the way that my father was there was I didn't want to live like that. Like it was such a fucking terrible space to be constantly in that fight mode or flight, or those two options. And, and just to be wide like that, from such a young age, I just didn't want to stay in that space. So I think more repeat that I didn't want to influence anyone down that journey. I don't know where I just came purely out of being that uncomfortable. And that fucking scared that I didn't want to put anyone else through that. And I'll do more with thanks for sharing that. And yeah,
Paul Barnett 12:48
I can appreciate it. This is a quote from you. And that says, I never really learned to hear until I was rendered completely deaf. And I'd like to ask, what did you learn from that experience that horrible night in coronella, when you're working here, that has influenced your own coaching philosophy and the style and the way you interact with people today.
Andy King 13:07
I think with ego with titles with flight being an athlete, I was forced into it basically, like I was forced to either continue in that path. And we spoke a little bit earlier about just as mates, we spoke about breaking cycles. And I as much as I was that empathetic person towards women and explore that space. Or still, it was a pretty boring place. And I still felt like there was ego there, there was my town and I was a young athlete. And I still had that alpha kind of dominance in us just hard to break out when you live without everyday life when you're grown up. So always young and ego was a huge part of it. So been stripped of that and was my equilibrium in being Hospital in that deafness, like I said, because when you couldn't read, I had doctors and facial expressions that they had, I had one doctor and every time he walked in the room, because at the time I had an air bubble on the carotid pulse phase of blood to the brain. So that was way more of a threat than my deafness or my eyes leading out to the pressure if that part didn't know bled out. So that was hanging over my head. So I had this one doctor that walk in the room and just naturally face or whatever was going on at home you just always look like he was shocked and worried. So as we're in people's faces, I couldn't hear and the Excel couldn't see what I was saying. I had one of those squeegee boards where people were trying to write things down. So I was just like reading people's faces and this guy walked in every time and I was petrified. I'm like I'm gonna fucking die every time I looked at this guy because he's faceless, like, he just naturally would work minimally. I just want so much with that on the way that people were as well. And I'll learn about the professional added 15 referrals before I found Dr. Chang field changes and like I've said another face is probably the most one of most influential men in my life and is a freaking genius. I just I'm so grateful for him because every other doctor has basically wanted to give me a disabled sticker. Take away my license because I've got no equilibrium. I don't completely deaf, they just wanted to basically take it and I had to really dig deep and understand that and respect the doctors that have gone insurances as well. So as I said, I might go get back any emotion, and I drowned, I could see that how they would trace that back to responsibility. So while reading that, I just really had to be empathetic and think about how they come up with a summary that I was completely screwed. They didn't give me any hope, because I could have just been on disability for the rest of my life, and rightfully so for them. Because if they told you to get it out, and you're going to rehab past their grounds and public hospital system, where they just have walkers, you know, to hang on to the size and stabilize yourself, then they could be held accountable with our system on what it's like in Europe. But here is just so much so many rules and so many regulations that I can't encourage you to go back to that. So they basically treated me like a 90 year old stroke victim, who knows 27 year old athletes. So I was reading their faces and realizing what structures and what boundaries people work in that influence my coaching because you have to understand where people came from and what you where you can take them. So yes, that's how they enforced. And in surfing, you can be
Paul Barnett 16:09
very vocal about surfers losing their creativity, and they flay and you've worked really hard to try and introduce this and bring this artistic element back to surfing. Can you talk a little bit about how you, you coach them to unlock that more creative part of their expression?
Andy King 16:25
I think it definitely comes from teenagers, it comes from youth, if you get it early enough. Like if you get in there, we're naturally men and women through that age group. They like to experiment, they drive fast, they drink too much. They excite you know, they take too much quantity of whatever it is that they're doing. They do that. So it's like, why would you ask them to complete something to try and get a score when that's when they're out there most creative and their most risk taking is at that age. So it was actually why by the time if they got to me if I got to an athlete, and I tried to have to teach them about breaking up with with completion structure past about 18 or 19. It was such a long road to do to get them back to that creative space. So it was like trying to tap back into to what else if with those older people, like we have to get them early. Like basically what I'm trying to say is like if you can get that teenager and give them permission to push the limits and stuff in the ocean or whatever sport they're doing, you're going to have huge gains like that's that area where you can definitely do it. But as they got older, I had to look externally like outside of the sport because they've been in the system for so long. They've already been rewarded for things and mediocrity sometimes especially with the way the system you have an event every weekend they don't have space to explore an experiment because I've got a contest coming in the reward for mediocrity basically completing waves. So it was looking at other sports, what were their other passions? Was it skateboarding was it dance, was it music and trying to really find out where their other passions were to unlock that creativity and then transfer that back to surfing. [PB3] For anyone that was over that teenage makes me want to
Paul Barnett 18:05
explore my creative side a little bit more than just listening to you realize how much when you get older,
Andy King 18:10
you just let it go. So true. Like it's so true. And he said I wouldn't have been on that journey over the come down that path. If it hadn't been for that. That accident when I had to basically I was born right back to being a toddler a lot learning to walk again, no equilibrium, couldn't leave my bed had nurses wiping my ass It was like, so I was basically at 27 I had to relearn all that again. So I kind of got to relive Second Life. So there's no way I'll be having this conversation for how to remain an athlete and hadn't explored that personally myself like that regrowth and it's only it's to an unfortunate situation, but at the same time learning those things again, this level. Okay, this is rock bottom on start again. What do I do wrong in the first life? I got a second chance. Figure it out. So yeah, like I said, I've got no education made. It's not rocket science. It's just you fucked it up the first time. So you've got another chance. Don't do it again.
Paul Barnett 19:06
Good philosophy for life was really fascinating. When you said this was quite interesting. Most world champions and gold medalists are troubled humans, to some extent, there's something burning in them to prove something greater than themselves. Can you talk a little bit more about why you believe this?
Andy King 19:23
But you seem to be that singly obsessed? You know, like if you notice on spectrum or globally of autism and stuff, like if you're on the spectrum, I believe that it can be incredible first board because you don't worry about anything else. There's nothing else that's getting in your head other than that laser focus of whatever you're good at, or whatever you actually focus on[PB4] . So I reckon there's a huge space. I'd love to explore that with people that are on the spectrum. I think, having said that, like that. I've just seen it and I think that's just so focused. They don't, they don't take in anything else that's sort of happening around them. I rarely see it any if they do. It's real, real learning to make those skills transferable in the normal life is a really weird space. [PB5] It's an old space especially that happens in youth by young people. I think a really good example is Hollywood see many childhood stars coming out the other in a stable, successful human. It's like, once you've got adults actually serving a kid that are outside the family, like the whole thing gets flipped on its head is just the kids aren't meant to do that. And that happens in our sport as sport so much about potential youth, let's invest in youth. Let's invest in this and then we've got people from the brands and stuff grown man that actually serve and a child has to soul twisted to. Yes, I haven't said that. It's like, it's really hard to make it transferable because their life so different, they're treated so different in the I just saw it, like I said, then that again, can lead to either being troubled or the other thing is, you're so hell bent on proving to make yourself relevant that you're that obsessed with to get that good. There's an element of obsession, and I just don't think it's healthy. But having said that, actually, this is a really good mate. And he just blew my mind His name's talk. He's a Japanese guy. That's an aluminized. Pepperdine University in America. And I flew over the states. Last year, I finished my contract with Julian and I started this contract with experience with Angelica. And I flew over there, because I had the Oracle concept, which was trying to update the format to meet the way that kids talk now sounds more like an online style event that was going to be talent on day and now we're going to be able to express themselves and and try and give them people skills and skills that on how they can articulate and present themselves to brands that were non generic inside surfing. So how they could reach the masses instead of using cultural words. And just a sport was quite insulated within the site. Anyway, I went over and I met with talk and I spoke the talk. And I was trying to, I was trying to sell him this Oracle program. And he blew my mind. He said one thing that just stuck with me and he's like, Why? Why do you just have to be good white boys focus on being great surfer. Like why can't at that same time? Why couldn't you at the same time study business or look towards being president united states in running something parallel? So looking at all these other skills that are transferable, and I always believed in that, but but he just shut me down and open my eyes like I've got this Korean snowboarder here. And I think she's going to be the first president of the united states that was actually born in America. And she was just like, ah, I just got Trump like I was just thought well, because I'd explored those things. But I didn't realize what he was doing. So obviously, in California, and Pepperdine University in Malibu, so his network is just phenomenal like is getting an eye when the world opens back up, I really want to go spend some more time at that union and try and get I'd really love to get kids from Australia into that program, because I've set up a university stall. So I think what they do with the NBA and the baseball, so they've set that up that sort of thing. But he just does more tell him he wants people that are thinking in an articulate enough to move into different worlds. And he's actually taking action about it's all well and good to talk about the theory but Tucker's taking action. And I just, like I said, I flew over the states over the weekend when my wife and I left the kids here. And it was just made with targeting in I was so proud of this concept that was just about an hour ago, which was about surfing. And I'll walk out of there with me tell what's going my legs on what what he
Paul Barnett 23:31
said he famously cationic Fanny, and you helped him to win some World Championships, he won three, of course, he's a great ambassador for Australia, because he hit that shark. And it makes us all look great in from a halo effect. But before you coached him, your good mates, you said about him, the way he lives has shaped the way that I act and the things I do without that I'm not sure where I'd be in. Great quiet. So I want to ask you, what of the surface that you've coached taught you because I get the impression talking to you and listening to that everyone you meet, leaves a little thumbprint leaves a little fingerprint, and you embrace that and you take that and then you play that back to other people. You're like this conduit for energy and information. I don't know whether that's true or not. But
Andy King 24:18
I've actually never heard somebody articulate it that way. But that what you just said then was exactly what it is. It's like those and that's where when there is an ego involved and a dictator, which again wrongly gets involved with titles you have a real issue with titles You call yourself a coach. So you think that you know everything and you have to deliver everything and that is completely wrong. It's exactly what you just said it's the energy and the experience that those athletes have that you shape create that trust together and it's a two way street. It's absolute two way street.[PB6] So there's not that that's the biggest issue. I think it just exposed that like Buddha summarize this whole conversation. It's just you think like if you're trying to project that on someone, that's what active listening is. That's what I was taught. Talking about where you don't actually listen to us death and feel that out. It's like when you go read that and realize that you really have to listen, because a lot of times, people will talk and solve the problems for themselves. If you add body in and interrupt with an answer, because you're a fucking expert, then people talk themselves around. Like, it's just that they need a sounding board. And that's sad. So it's like that hearing them and hearing the way that they get themselves to this solution is effective, and that to get just as much out of that by active listening, and then being an expert and giving them an answer.[PB7]
Paul Barnett 25:33
So let's talk about the two way street, then, because you're taking energy you're taking learning from them, and you're playing it back. But one of your athletes face this horrible situation where they were attacked in a life and death situation when they're doing something they loved. And on. There's been many interviews with Mick, where people ask him, how did he cope and stuff but what I would really like to know is how did you return the favor? afterwards? What did you do in him to help him through that situation?
Andy King 26:00
It's just consistency in communication, contact, we work out, I still speak to make him know, I speak to him just about every day If he doesn't, by talking, it's by text. It's just you just care. It's just like, just now that that always even when and that was the scariest part was that isolation piece when he wasn't communicating on that was really scary. It's kind of scary. And we will all consider this to be quite honest, sad, like he expressed that yet, like just basically just think, just tell him how you felt when you went through it. You saw that I guess by owning up as well just sign off sitting there with my wife, and crime eyes out.
Paul Barnett 26:40
I think we were all it's funny. I'm gonna tell you, I can't even surf any I'd love to learn. I grew up in land in our in Gravity, we need to beat everyone you speak to and you know, I live in Prague. So I'm everyone you speak to everyone saw that footage. And everyone's fascinated by not just me, but Australians and how you can go out and do a sport that we're famous for and that we love. And still risk something like that happening and doing that knowing you've got a family and people that rely on you and stuff.
Andy King 27:10
And you're exactly right. And that's the reality of it all that what you're saying is exactly right. Like it is it's like there is that element. And when it happens that close to home. And those things are sort of heightened, it brings it forward. And it's like, do you love it that much in you keep going in your love sport that much that you have to choose whether that especially now and in this current situation, like even more so you know, like I still want my son, or what? What has been Sydney exactly that same spot where the guy got taken at greenmount. Like, that's exactly where I go cuz snap is a pretty territorial place. So right out the top of that headline is controlled by the best scholars in the world and pack. So it's kind of like there's an etiquette thing. So you move down the point, the lesser surfy, you are really what you should do. That's the cat. So right where that guy got takens, where I take my son, and my godson, and my my wife and her friends is exactly where he was sitting. So it's like having said that, it's like it was a greater purpose. You want to live like that and not have surfing in the ocean in your life, or what is the greater good. And in fact, this is it. I'll be out there on weekend with my son. And spending this much time in the ocean, you do pick up cues, you see the birds feeding and you see how close to sea life is coming to shore whales coming that close with their calf, so people can take photos on them. They're not there to entertain us. They're doing that to try and protect them. So when you see them, and they're not 10 kilometers out to sea, and they're moving in, something's threatened. And so you do pick up these cues from the ocean where Oh, but also, I'll be aware that I just won't race out and spend 15 minutes from high point engaging Is there any schools of fish exists and birds is one of the whales doing is one of the dolphins you can really tell why by the animal's behavior on what's what's happening. And yeah, we're just so grateful that he's still with us. And he has a nice fulfilling that greater purpose, you know, what make us realize that there's a hollowness and those trophies are shiny, and once they've used down and you've got them on the shelf, he recognizes the power of his influence through sport to do greater good and why he is here and that center just couldn't be more proud or couldn't have a better role model than that, man.[PB8]
Paul Barnett 29:30
I agree. Totally agree. Just going back to the accident. You described it as forced meditation, and you ended up just running over so many stories in your head. And I was curious to ask you so from that experience, have you developed any ways of helping athletes deal with their own inner critic,
Andy King 29:46
that voice again? It's such a good point, that inner critic like he was saying, like I, for me, it's a bit of a buzzword and meditation and that right now has become pretty valuable, but I personally an unbelieving that I believe in action. So I believe if you've got that in critical, there's something in there go and you don't meditate and try and get rid of it through breath, you get rid of it, and channeled through through action. I'm fascinated For more on the other part, like, if you've got that inner critic in it and creates that tension or anxiety in this, this was he more fascinating from again, log, when you get to talk about the animal world, it's like if it be, somebody gets hit by a lion, they don't sit there and see you over what you watch them, they'll Twitch and shake it off. And they'll go back and feed on that same field. So there's just, there's an expansion of energy that has to get out when those feelings are there. So instead of sitting in and then trying to figure it out for breath, I'm more curious about them doing something active to get rid of that, that feeling or to get rid of it. So Well, like I said, whether it would be another sport or a be contact sport, if it's, if it's frustration, or there's something in there that they just have to, I have to expand. So like even if it's a boxing bag, or something like that, always encourage movement over sitting there because that inner critic and I said, Well, I think with anxiety when you you wake up at three in the morning, you got to fall on your mind, if you don't get that out. It just it's like a rat in a wheel just keeps spinning, you just you just give different versions of itself. So I think meditation can work for some people, but have found action more productive. Meditation is always encouraging to move to get to something that's gonna explain that. It's not a helpful thought.[PB9]
Paul Barnett 31:28
I've also read where you said, sometimes you can be too brutal with the truth. I'm interested to know, do you have any routines or ways of delivering feedback to athletes that you found to be particularly good?
Andy King 31:39
My advice still, like Les Paul, when working with heels, sometimes, like I've been sacked a bunch of times from the athlete like, because I have delivered it, I will never do it in public. It's always personal, like I'll never do in front of anyone, or there's no reactiveness I'll try and figure it out. And it's a brilliant question. Because that's the thing is like, How long before something's forgotten? Or how long is that emotion? You know, whether it's emotional, or that can be irrational. But what is that? That key moment if you leave it too long, 24 hours? And finally, I think I'll maybe should leave it a little longer than what I do. As long as it's like, that's something I'm gonna work on my there's something I definitely I stuffed that up. And that's, I need to, I need to figure that out. I'm too honest, too quick, I need to figure out what that time is when they move on from emotional and then it's not too long. It's forgotten. So I'm way more too far the other way where it's just come straight out. Do you ever work on?
Paul Barnett 32:41
things to work on? If that's your only when you're doing okay, could you tell us a little bit I was just reading about the sky to create aerial surf training facility that you set up. And it just sounded really quite innovative. Could you tell us a little bit about that, and how you've used it to help improve the surface.
Andy King 32:55
Oh, for sure. Like, that's a personal journey. I was obsessed with adult counts the boys and I build a halfpipe in my own backyard when I was a young kid. And I just for me, it was like it was a hard surface it was it was hard involved in anything I did on the rear was transferable to the ocean because you were going to learn in water, which was a lot safer, you're moving slower in the ocean. So it had the height a lot they've got the ramps are like 12 and solid like big ramp. So it was like if you could transfer that even as a kid like you hit the ground, just to summarize it really simply is that you hit the ground, ramps hard oceans as soft side as like if you master that first and that skate side and the ocean comes easy, everything slowed down. And then again, obviously it's gone towards you know, your surfing like for all the right reasons, entertainment and everyone can kind of understand. I can't understand the intricacies of rail work unless you're actually true surface. So where the tool was going, I love that cross pollination. I had an incredible opportunity to do that with Red Bull. That was my first job and I never realized how lucky I actually was again Mick kind of gave me that role like making a golf swing with at the time and maca. MC got a Mac of the job was luminaire Mac we always travel together but we've got this squad that just continually re employs each other. And that's how Air Max is up here right now because they started bolted together. So we've got this really tight crew that did that. So Red Bull gave me that opportunity of cross pollination. And like I said, we'll find any other athlete that loves your sport. So there's some brewing guys like snowboarders, Robbie Madison from motocross, he's a brilliant surfer is Australian guy from nera, you will have seen his our shop seals jump on us even Robbie's nuts, man, the guy's got like frickin Tourette's. He shakes when he gets nervous and he's sitting there twitching and he hits 110 foot jump. So just transfer those things and back across to surfing. Sharing that like I just done was fascinated so that's where this guy thing came from like I have so much respect in plus really really was obsessed with skating and in our worlds are so intertwined snowboarding, skating and surfing like that's the whole reason that Dogtown z boys was there was a flat summer and they they went and found pools because there was no waves. So and then skaters just took it to a new level. So for me, it wasn't really rocket science. It was just flippin at skating went so far ahead, snow walling went there. And then it was just trying to bring that back to the ocean. So it was that was what was a birth on it.
Paul Barnett 35:34
And during this whole lockdown, period, I mean, you sound like you're a real student of hungry to learn from anybody or anything. But is there in the last six months when everything's been locked down? Has there been any resources, books, TV shows, anything you've engaged with that you found quite interesting from a coaching point of view?
Andy King 35:50
That's really good question, why? participants what you want to get out of the coaching thing, like I said, there's so many hats like, I've been really obsessed more so now because our surf industry is nowhere near as strong as what it used to be. So I tried to look at external brands and models that are interested in it. So I've been right into the music thing that cultural like I'm the Defiant Ones, say Jimmy ludivine. And Dr. Dre like how they create a markets and they recognize talent and produce that but creative markets, because I think that's where a sport has to go now like the world's changed shop like shoppings change, and that surf shops in and out where they've got that interaction giving score on wind. So I was on fascinated with looking at ways because because I can't catch it. I don't have anywhere to semi athletes. That's my biggest fear right now outside of invar. So if a parent was to ask me, where are you taking my daughter? Where are you taking my son. And that's that uncertainty. So I almost feel like I have to create a market. So I can read coaching and guidance somewhere, if that makes sense. Because right now, it's like I don't know where I'm sending it or not taking money, because there's a lot of uncertainty. So I'm kind of exploring people that have created industries and models and trying to figure out who in our sport is interested in what we have that is relevant is going to be relevant in the future. For me, there's no coaching, I'm not looking towards other coaches, I'm looking to cultural leaders, really, you're looking at sort of one on one. So that would be my recommendations, like you're looking externally for things outside of it just outside of what your rooms like they're always trying to move into different worlds.[PB10]
Paul Barnett 37:30
And you've been so generous with your time just gonna hear the kids wanting your attention in the backyard. So I'll just ask you one last.
Andy King 37:39
Sorry. Sorry, one second, Florence. She's about to turn on Alexa, she plays, she plays the music, you'll probably rainbows lollipops in a few hours. Long,
Paul Barnett 37:51
it'd be a perfect way to finish I've got no problem with the kids going in. My daughters are going to school Otherwise, I'd need to. Usually my wife likes to come in and say hello as well. So she must be busy. But question I wanted ask you is, I know you're not finished. As a coach, you've got a lot of business still ahead of you. And especially now that Surfing is in the Olympics, I think that's going to become a bigger and bigger, drive the sport and really build awareness. But what's the legacy that you hope to leave as a coach with your athletes
Andy King 38:18
that want to really, really want to be our culture, I don't want it to be forgotten. Like, I think my professionalism takes over. Like I want to know where things came from our industry was formed like we work our culture, and it's been forgotten through professionalism, especially. Now, when the Olympics Come on, in, you basically have to sign your life away for everything, like you have to sign like you can't interact, you can't do this, you can't say that you can't, I don't want us to lose our voice. So I want them to make sure that I respect their forefathers and, or something like especially for the Hawaiians. [PB11] And we have an indigenous community here that Rhys call is my cultural compass, everything in every decision I make, I make sure that it's like involves sitting down with human a table, always imagine that he's beside me. And I don't want to lose that culture. That's what scares me. I don't want to become a rich sport, that the beauty of the ocean is that you can leave away and escape later than Leave, leave another world and go into another world and everyone should have the ability to do they shouldn't be rich, or tennis or Formula One where you have to earn and pay for a drive and come from that well. So I don't want our call to be forgotten. So that legacy is like every one of my athletes. If they want to work with us, they have to respect and value that and bring that into their their interviews and make sure that they're still worth what a wonderful answer.
Paul Barnett 39:41
And on that note, I'm gonna say, King, thank you so much for your time. It's been an absolute pleasure and a privilege to chat with you and I look forward to seeing all your service particularly Angelica carry on into the future.