This one is a field trip. Brent and Rob recorded it on location at Surf Synergy, a surf camp in Jacó, Costa Rica, where they brought their own families along with a group of friends and theirs, ages ranging from 3 to 55, for a week of surfing, yoga, and a lot of healthy eating. Recorded outside on a deck in the rainforest, the conversation explores the experiences of the week through the lens of the five rings of midlife: adventure, purpose, finance, relationships, and health. Rob makes the case for treating a trip like this as an investment rather than an expense, and both Brent and Rob get into what changed over a week when everyone disconnected from their lives back at home.
Links, resources, books mentioned:
Surf Synergy (surfsynergy.com) — the all-inclusive surf and wellness retreat in Jacó, Costa Rica where this episode was recorded. Surf Synergy is offering Midlife Circus listeners 10% off with the code “circus” when you book your trip. Book by the end of August 2026; your trip can be scheduled for any available dates after that.
Topics we are covering in this episode:
Recording an episode outside in the rainforest between surf sessions
Learning to surf in your 50s, and what five days in the water actually teaches you
A reminder on the regenerative power of slowing down
Reframing an expensive trip as an investment in your family
A week of healthy meals where three-year-olds and fifty-year-olds ate together
Cold plunges, breath work, and holding your breath longer than you thought you could
What happens to a group when nobody picks up their phone for a week