In chapter one of the foiling pioneers history, Olivia Piana of Brittany, France is right there with legendary watermen Dave Kalama and Laid Hamilton. A three-time SUP world champion and Wingfoiling race world champion, iQ Olympic Windsurf foiling, Olivia has broken new ground in the mind-bending new endurance discipline of downwind foiling and in 2023 set the benchmark record for the longest downwind foil run ever at an exhausting 287.4 km in 14 hours and 36 minutes along the rugged west coast of Portugal, her adopted country.

Dodging orcas and left alone miles out to sea, Olivia documented her record run in the soon-to-be-released film, "Chasing Horizons." She fell in love with the people of a coast that is covered in vast stretches by flowing beach grasses, jagged cliffs and endless ocean swell that collides relentlessly against its shore. Her film is an attempt to help bring atttention to efforts aiming to prtotect this environmentally sensitive shoreline from over development.

In this episode, we get into the mind of this endurance athlete as she describes overcoming anxieties on her way to completing her record-setting run, the future of downwind foiling all over the planet (she's a SUP Foiling world champion winning her class in the Molokai to Oahu channel crossing), the possibilites of electric, foil-assisted flying with FoilDrive and navigating her evolving life as a pioneer in oean watersports.

Olivia's smile and dreams are infectious and her stories and the deep feelings she expresses for her sport and life give rich insight into living a purposeful, driven life on the sea. We're soooo stoked to have you listen to her story!