First an apology for the audio. It was my first in person interview using new equipment. I spoke too close to the microphone and kept clipping my audio and popping my p's. It is only slightly annoying and I did my best to reduce the clipping in post production, the audio improves towards the end. It is only my voice that is clipped, so all the ...…

This is the second part of my conversation with Thiago Lessa. Straight up in the middle of my conversation with Thiago (half way through) he drops the "I'm not racing in 2019". Literally dropping the mic. You can almost hear me thinking, did he just say "I'm not racing next year"? I think the lack of my response surprised Thiago, he mentions it ...…

Part one of my conversation with Brazilian skater Thiago Lessa. He is a two time downhill World Champion and owner of Cuei wheels. Thiago and I talk about everything from how he made one of the fasted downhill wheels on the market, how he became world champion, the iconic races that got him there and much more. Thiago story is inspirational, he ...…

Calvin Skinner has been involved in all aspects of the longboard industry from filmmaker, vlogger, brand ambassador, team manager and general stoker of the community. Why interview Calvin? In my opinion he is a longboard influencer. He might not have the mega subscribers or the million view videos, but he has a loyal following, and he is respec ...…

This is a short quick tip podcast. Something to chew on until the main meal (another big interview) gets released. Matteo came in to pick up a new board and I convince him to share how he was setting up his board. In particular how he uses a yoga mat and rubber offcuts to replace Loaded Poron and a Venom Torque block. Thanks for listening, like ...…

Mitch Thompson is one of the fastest downhill skateboarders in the world. Currently ranked 5th and finished the 2017 World Cup season 4th. Mitch lives and works in Bathurst, home of the IDF World Cup race Newtons. He travels the world, smashing hills and putting his body on the line for Australian downhill glory. That has caught up with him, as ...…

This episode is a departure from the usual. Instead of a long interview I'm doing a mini podcast, a tip of the hat to Michael Brooke and Concrete Wave. Michael Brooke announced a six weeks ago he was stepping down as Concrete Wave magazine editor and publisher, he had handed the reins of the magazine to Luis Bustamante and Meghan Guevarra. It i ...…

At the start of the 2018 Euro downhill season, I caught up with Harry Clarke for a wide ranging interview. The show notes are on the Hopkin Blog, links to products and video we mentioned in the podcast plus a few bonus links. Harry is a new breed of young skaters coming through the downhill skateboard racing scene. Harry is very candid, and the ...…

Brennan Bast, known as Bassi to skaters, is one of the fastest skaters in the world and the nicest bloke you will ever meet. Everyone's mate, a gentlemen to the core. I have been wanting to interview him for a long time, because he was in that legendary IDF World Cup final at Mt Keira in 2016. He was on the podium at Arirang Hill and Kozakov in ...…

I wont lie, Dan Pape is one of my favourite humans. His enthusiasm, his ideas, his non stop ADHD means conversations fly around and you can get lost down rabbit holes. He was suppose to be my podcast number one, I pitched my podcast idea with Dan last year when I was planning to go to Japan. I caught up with Dan, talked all day, had a blast exp ...…

This episode I tell my favourite Newtons stories. Newtons is the World Cup downhill event ASRA puts on each year on Mt Panorama in Bathurst Australia. The first one was in 2008, and we have done six races, the seventh will be this year on April 6th to 8th 2018. My ten Newton's stories revolve around these people... 10. Koma 9. Robbo 8. Mischo 7 ...…

This is the first episode of the Hop Podcast. It is an introduction of myself, James Hopkin, and the direction of future podcasts. The idea for this podcast came while I was organising the 2016 IDF World Cup Mt Keira Challenge. The first episode is really an interview I did with Max Ballesteros in the early hours of Monday morning after he had ...…

Emily Pross is the fastest women on a skateboard in the world. In a few years she has dominated the women's downhill racing scene, and in the last two years has ranked top ten in the Open category. In 2016 she ranked 7th out of 760 men and women worldwide. In 2017 she ranked 9th. It is hard to comprehend how amazing that actually is, she could ...…

Jeremy Bogan is the Chief Skateboarder at Jed Boards and launched his first electric skateboard at the end of 2017. He has pulled apart every major electric skateboard to see what works and what can be improved. His knowledge of electric boards is amazing. He is an Australian living and working in Singapore, and on his trips back home I'm usual ...…