Sterling Spencer: Fan of the Universe

At age 8, Sterling Spencer was signed to surf sponsorship and then had a successful amateur career before chasing the Pro Tour.

He was an early internet adopter who found his stride not in competitive surfing, but in making good fun of an earnest surf industry and culture.

Sterling is a pro surfer and media maker from Florida’s Gulf Coast known for blending high performance surfing with comedic skits in films like GOLD and Surf Madness. He is the host of Pinch My Salt, a mashup surf and comedy podcast “where surf culture gets roasted, worshipped, and flipped upside down.”

Sterling was the subject of the 2024 film Are You Serious? That traces his diagnosis and recovery from Traumatic Brain Injury.

We go deep on the invisible chaos of concussion—why scans can miss it, how symptoms creep, and what happens when COVID and old infections complicate healing. Surfing becomes both mirror and medicine, not a performance, but a practice that quiets the noise and rebuilds trust in body and mind. Along the way, Sterling opens up about his upbringing, the relief of humor, and the early internet era when he roasted the surf industry and found sudden notoriety.

There are stories you’ll replay: Kelly Slater’s psychological heat tactics, centaur sightings that became an icebreaker, and the hard-earned lesson that being a nobody can feel like freedom.

We talk parenting and breaking cycles, why algorithms flatten originality, the comedic brain, crisis as creative fuel, and making surfing his own again.

Send us a text

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Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich

Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander

Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll

Additional music by Kai Mcgilvray + Ben J Alexander

Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast

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Thanks to our generous sponsors this season:

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