This episode is brought to you by Villa Carina Apartments in beautiful Bonaire.

In this special Christmas episode, we catch up with Maui-based Emmy-winning filmmaker and passionate waterman Stephan Boeker—recorded remotely from opposite sides of the world (Canada and Japan)

The old friends reminisce about their first meeting at the 2013 ALOHA Classic windsurfing event on Maui, where they teamed up to run the live stream (Stephan's first non-wedding webcast and Luc's intense introduction to pro windsurfing behind the camera).

We go deep on:

• Stephan's unlikely path: from teenage windsurf obsession on Long Island Sound, to ditching a "serious" post-college career for a one-way ticket to Maui 25 years ago
• Hustling early days—busboy to resort manager, moonlighting wedding gigs, restaurant photo sales, and creative side projects (including touring Europe with Olympic skier Julia Mancuso)
• Pioneering wedding webcasts in the dial-up era with car batteries and duplexed broadband, evolving into cinematic storytelling that captures raw love and emotion
• Showing up "zen" on wedding days—leaving baggage behind to truly see and preserve those fleeting signs of love
• The surprise Emmy win for his documentary "Trilogy: It’s in the Heart" (a 50th anniversary film for Maui's iconic sailing family), rejections turned validation, and the profound life lessons that followed
• Windsurfing as a lifelong passion: starting at 12, Ho'okipa shorebreak humility, mythic mystique of the spot, and that memorable pep talk helping Luc battle through pounding sets to finally ride waves
• Parallels between presence on the water (reading chop, feeling equipment) and presence in life/filmmaking—letting go, respect, and embracing conflict as the story's engine
• Future stoke: wing foil lessons at Kanaha harbor, summer uppers sessions, and why foiling's low-impact glide could be the perfect addition for wave-snobs

From raw beginnings in windsurfing and weddings to Emmy stages and near-misses, this heartfelt holiday chat celebrates love, presence, perseverance, and the unbreakable pull of the ocean.

If you've ever chased windy dreams, battled shorebreak, or wondered what goes into crafting timeless stories of love and adventure… this is it.

Follow Stephan Boeker → https://stephanboekerfilms.com/