STERLING SPENCER
A pro surfer and his filmer cousin roast, worship, and deconstruct surf culture with friends and legends from the industry.
This is an insider's comedy show about the absurdities of professional surfing, disguised as a typical podcast. The hosts leverage their deep connections and shared history to create conversations that feel like eavesdropping on surf-world veterans reminiscing and roasting each other. It's less about technical surf analysis and more about the rivalries, personalities, and untold stories behind the glossy image of the sport.
“The hosts' genuine insider status and their willingness to roast anyone—including themselves and the sport's biggest legends like Kelly Slater—sets this show apart. The format is uniquely chaotic, with studio interviews that can spontaneously turn into on-location surf trips, and a reliance on personal photo archives to trigger stories.”
Who hosts this show
Pinch My Salt is hosted by professional surfer Sterling Spencer and his cousin, filmer Ryan Spencer. Sterling, son of Gulf Coast surf pioneer Yancy Spencer III, had a successful amateur career before shifting his focus to media and comedy. The show evolved from his absurdist surf blog, PinchMySalt.com, which launched in 2008 and gained notoriety for its comedic mockery of the surf industry.
Credentials & credits
- Professional Surfer
- Four-time NSSA East Coast champion
- Filmmaker (mockumentary 'Gold')
- Blogger (PinchMySalt.com, Surfer magazine's 2011 'Battle of the Blogs' winner)
Other ventures
- PinchMySalt.com (blog)
- Surf Madness (film)
- Gold (film)
What kind of podcast
- Country
- United States
- Region
- usa
When new episodes drop
- 01Early O’s Surfing was GNARLY!!! #pinchmysaltJun 26, 2026 · 33s
- 02What’s it like inside Kelly Slater’s inner circle?! #kellyslaterJun 25, 2026 · 34s
- 03Morgan Maassen Tells the Untold Jeremy Flores Story | Pinch My Salt | #131Jun 23, 2026 · 1h 21m
- 04
- 05We Were told NOT to Post this Surf Trip | Pinch My Salt | #129Jun 9, 2026 · 1h 17m
- 06The WSL is Being Sold - Here's Who Might Buy it | Pinch My Salt | #128Jun 2, 2026 · 1h 10m
- 07Tom Carroll on Surfing's BIGGEST Shift Coming | Pinch My Salt | #127May 26, 2026 · 1h 19m
- 08This Happened Behind the Scenes at the WSL | Pinch My Salt | #126May 19, 2026 · 1h 11m
Notable episodes
- 01We Were told NOT to Post this Surf Trip | #129
Features guest Marshall Alberga recounting his victory over Kelly Slater and the hosts spontaneously leaving the studio mid-episode to go on a surf trip.
- 02Morgan Maassen Tells the Untold Jeremy Flores Story | #131
A classic example of the show's style, using a slideshow of old photos with photographer Morgan Maassen to prompt wild, untold stories from surfing's recent past.
- 03The WSL is Being Sold - Here's Who Might Buy it | #128
Showcases the hosts' insider commentary on the business and politics of pro surfing, discussing rumors about the sale of the World Surf League.
What you'll be asked on this show
Sterling's interview style is less of a formal Q&A and more of a collaborative storytelling session fueled by provocation and shared history. He often opens with a blunt, humorous, and sometimes risqué question about a sensitive topic or a famous rival to set a casual, unguarded tone. Instead of traditional follow-up questions, he and Ryan use old photographs and personal memories as prompts, asking 'What's this photo?' or 'Remember that time?' to get the guest to share unfiltered anecdotes. The goal isn't to extract a clean answer, but to spark a funny, nostalgic, or wild story that only old friends could tell each other.
Co-hosted by Sterling Spencer and his cousin Ryan, the format is a loose, chaotic mix of studio banter, guest interviews, and comedic analysis of viral surf clips. Episodes often feel like a casual hangout that happens to be recorded, with conversations flowing organically and sometimes breaking format entirely, as seen when the hosts left mid-episode for a surf trip.
Questions the host keeps coming back to
10 cataloguedIf you're going on this show as a guest, expect some version of each of these. Each note explains when the host reaches for it.
personal
3- Q.01
“Are you Eskimo brothers with Kelly Slater?”
A provocative, humorous opening question used to immediately break down formalities and get into personal, often gossipy, territory.
- Q.02
“How did you lose the weight and keep it off?”
A blunt, personal question framed comedically to inquire about a guest's physical transformation.
- Q.03
“Did your mom feed you too good?”
A humorous follow-up to probe into a guest's upbringing and family dynamics for comedic effect.
controversy
1- Q.01
“What was Kelly Slater's reaction after you beat him in that final?”
Used to dig into the details of a significant career moment, focusing on the personal and psychological aftermath of a professional rivalry.
relationships
1- Q.01
“Has your relationship with Kelly been weird since you beat him?”
A follow-up that probes the long-term personal fallout from a professional victory.
backstory
1- Q.01
“What's your take on those old 'Pro-Ho' videos you made?”
Asks guests to reflect on their own past, sometimes cringey, creative work for a comedic and nostalgic story.
origin
1- Q.01
“Did I make you?”
A joking question Sterling asks to humorously take credit for a guest's career success, reinforcing their long history.
industry
1- Q.01
“How do you feel about the East Coast Hall of Fame and who gets in?”
This question gauges a guest's opinion on industry politics and recognition, often surfacing unfiltered views.
storytelling
2- Q.01
“What's this photo about, Morgan?”
The hosts frequently use a slideshow of old, personal photos to prompt specific, untold stories from the guest's past.
- Q.02
“Is this real?”
Asked when looking at a seemingly unbelievable photo (like one with Fabio) to confirm the authenticity of a wild celebrity encounter.
Signature segments
- · Pinch My Salt
- · You Know Da Rulez
- · Pinch My Clips
- · Referring to the audience as 'Pinchers'
Topics covered repeatedly
Who gets booked here
Guests are typically longtime friends from the surf world—pro surfers, photographers, and industry figures like Morgan Maassen and Marshall Alberga—who share a deep history with the hosts. This enables a high degree of mutual roasting and inside jokes that a standard interview show couldn't achieve.
- Morgan Maassenon Morgan Maassen Tells the Untold Jeremy Flores Story | Pinch My Salt | #131
- Blair Conklinon Blair Conklin Takes Us Behind the Scenes on the Biggest Swell in Decades | Pinch My Salt | #130
- Marshall Albergaon We Were told NOT to Post this Surf Trip | Pinch My Salt | #129
- Tom Carrollon Tom Carroll on Surfing's BIGGEST Shift Coming | Pinch My Salt | #127
- Luke Cedermanon This Happened Behind the Scenes at the WSL | Pinch My Salt | #126
Where to find this show
Audience & reach
Based on observed product placements (hoodies, hats), the sponsor angle is estimated to be for surf-endemic brands that want to reach a core, engaged audience that rejects polished, mainstream marketing. The show's irreverent and authentic tone would appeal to brands focused on credibility within the culture.
Subscriber and view counts are pulled live from YouTube and re-verified on a 30-day cycle. Listener estimates for the RSS feed aren't published here unless they're host-verified.
Pitch this show
People also ask
- What are the hosts' real names?
- The hosts are professional surfer Sterling Spencer and his cousin, Ryan Spencer.
- What is the podcast's format?
- It's a comedy podcast with a mix of formats: co-host banter, analysis of surf clips, and long-form interviews with guests from the surf industry. Interviews are highly informal and conversational.
- Is the Pinch My Salt podcast still running?
- Yes, the podcast releases new episodes on a weekly basis.
- What is 'Pinch My Salt'?
- The name originated with Sterling Spencer's comedic surf blog, launched in 2008, which mocked the surf industry and won Surfer magazine's 'Battle of the Blogs' in 2011. It is now the name of his podcast.
- Who are the guests on the show?
- Guests are typically pro surfers, photographers, and other figures from the surf world who have a long personal history with the hosts, such as Marshall Alberga and Morgan Maassen.
Built from the show's public RSS feed, YouTube, the host's own websites, and the cited sources below. Computed and AI-extracted fields are labelled. Facts only — no private info, no fabrication, no transcripts republished.
Sources & how this page was built
This page is AI-assisted, grounded in the public sources cited below, and host-verifiable. We publish facts only; we do not republish transcripts. If anything here is wrong, the host can claim and correct the page above.Model: gemini-2.5-pro · high confidence
- [01]STERLING SPENCER - YouTube Channelyoutube.com
- [02]Pinch My Salt - Official Website (Buzzsprout)pinchmysalt.buzzsprout.com
- [03]Sterling Spencer - Genealogygeni.com
- [04]Sterling Spencer - Bio, Wiki, Facts and Familybuzzshock.com
- [05]PINCH MY SALT - Apple Podcastspodcasts.apple.com
- [06]How Sterling Spencer Fell Back in Love With Surfing - The Surfer's Journalsurfersjournal.com
- [07]No. 1 Surfer In The World: Sterling Spencer - Surf Splendorsurfsplendorpodcast.com
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