Episode 056: Shambles McGoldrick - Mysterious Currents

Full episode info and Show Notes: www.wearelookingsideways.com

It was back to Ireland for episode 056, as I visited Strandhill in Sligo for a few days and grabbed legendary local bodyboarder Seamus ‘Shambles’ McGoldrick for a chat while I was at it.

Although he’s too modest to admit it, Shambles first made his name as part of the local crew of surfers and bodyboarders who pioneered the mean array of ugly, evil-looking slabs that the west coast is now famous for. With peers such as Fergal Smith and Mickey Smith, Shambles explored places like Riley's and Aileen's and helped redefine Irish surfing and bodyboarding in the process.

He’s also, as I discovered, a deeply original thinker with a quicksilver mind, somebody who is attuned to life’s mysterious currents and has a completely infectious worldview.

In this atmospheric chat, recorded on an autumnal evening on the shores of the Atlantic, we chatted about Shambles’ life as a bodyboarder in Ireland, and got heavily into the details of the life-changing wipeout he suffered at Riley’s.

Its a lovely, reflective conversation from a true one-off and one of the warmest and most generous characters I’ve yet had on the show. I was also lucky enough to get Shambles to play me a couple of tunes at the end of the show, so make sure you keep listening for that.

Big thanks to Owen Tozer for coming with me and taking the amazing pics that accompany the episode. And thanks to Matt Ward as ever for theme tune.

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