Surfing Hawaii, writing Hawaii: A conversation with Noah Evslin (NCIS: Hawai‘i, Rescue: HI-Surf)

This Wipeout Weekly podcast episode transcript was abbreviated to a blog post format by my good friend Chad (ChatGPT). It makes me sound waaaay more eloquent. You will find the full transcript below it. Host: Zuz Wilson | Guest: Noah Evslin

Zuz: Welcome to The Wipeout Weekly, the daily podcast for beginners, wannabe surfers, and seasoned wipeout enthusiasts. No hype. No filler. Just the highs, lows, and honest truth about learning to surf and finding your place in surf culture. I’m your host, Zuz Wilson. Let’s go out.

Zuz: You grew up in Hawaii. You were born there, right?

Noah: Yeah, I’m originally from Hawaii. My parents moved to Kauai when I was a toddler, and I spent most of my life there. Then I moved away for school, worked as a music producer and DJ for a while, and later moved to LA for 15 years to work in film and TV. Now I’m back in Hawaii.

Zuz: Do you remember your first time surfing?

Noah: Not really—I was a kid. In the late ’70s and early ’80s, surfing was what everyone did. There wasn’t much else besides the ocean. I think I was about 10 when I first got on a surfboard. Before that, it was all boogie boarding.

Zuz: So were you surfing every day?

Noah: When we could. I played a lot of soccer and tennis, too. We’d spend hours between the tennis courts and the beach. We even sold coconuts to tourists for lunch money—three bucks a coconut, even though they were just lying on the ground.

Zuz: What kind of boards were you surfing back then?

Noah: Everything was handmade. No pop-outs, no machine-shaped boards. I had a Local Motion board, maybe a Town & Country at some point. Boards were one-offs. You hoped it worked. We didn’t longboard—we went straight from boogie board to shortboard.

Zuz: What size board were you riding?

Noah: My shortboard in high school was around 6’4″, sometimes a 6’6″. Back then, a lot of boards were thin, narrow, and had a ton of rocker—designed like elf shoes. Hard to surf unless you were Kelly Slater.

Zuz: And you stopped surfing for a long time, right?

Noah: Yeah, in my early 20s, I had a bad sunstroke paddling on the Wailua River. I blacked out, fell in, and after that, I’d get panic attacks in the water. I’d feel super thirsty and trapped. I quit surfing for 15 years, maybe more.

Zuz: What brought you back?

Noah: COVID. We moved back to Kauai and I thought, I can’t live in Hawaii and not surf. I started on a foamie, then a longboard, then slowly worked my way back to shortboards. Now I surf four times a week.

Zuz: Do you longboard or shortboard now?

Noah: Mostly shortboards. I went through every size from 9’6″ to a 5’6″. I was curious about design, twin fins, mids, everything. Marketplace was my best friend. I’d try a board, sell it, try something else. Now I’m mostly on a 5’6″ twin.

Zuz: So… that Threads post. You said most people only surf for 60–90 seconds in a 90-minute session?

Noah: Yeah. I said most of us catch maybe 10 waves per session. Each wave lasts 3–15 seconds. That’s a couple minutes of actual riding time. People lost their minds.

Zuz: And you stand by that?

Noah: 100%. Unless you’re surfing empty, perfect waves somewhere remote, like Northern Oregon or Skeleton Bay, you’re not getting 50 waves a session. Most sessions? You’re lucky with 20.

Zuz: Ever had a day where you caught nothing?

Noah: Maybe one or two waves, but never zero. Even on bad days, you get something. On the really crowded days, you fight for your spot and eventually the ocean rewards you. Worst case, you paddle in. But you usually get at least a few.

Zuz: That’s reassuring. So when you’re not surfing, what are you up to?

Noah: Writing for TV, mostly. I’ve worked on NCIS: Hawai’i and Rescue: HI-Surf. I’m big on representing real Hawaii—like proper okina use, no shoes in the house, and accurate local culture. Not that generic paradise stuff.

Zuz: Did you work on every single show filmed in Hawaii? Because that’s what your IMDb looks like—Hawaii Five-0, NCIS: Hawai’i, Rescue: HI-Surf…

Noah: Not quite! I was up for Doogie Kamealoha and Magnum P.I., but didn’t get those. There are only a handful of working TV writers from Hawaii—maybe six or seven of us. A few live in LA, some are based here. A bunch of us surf together and talk stories and scripts in the lineup.

Zuz: And Hawaii Five-0 was your first big Hawaii-related show?

Noah: Yep. But the writers’ room was actually in LA, not Hawaii. I was the only writer from Hawaii. That show had been running for 10 years without a local writer! So I became the unofficial fact-checker.

Zuz: I’ve been rewatching NCIS: Hawai’i, and it just feels more grounded in Hawaiian culture than Five-0.

Noah: That’s intentional. NCIS: Hawai’i brought on Hawaii-based writers from day one. I wrote the paniolo episode—about Hawaiian cowboys—which was fun. Funny thing is, the last episode I wrote for Five-0 was also about paniolos.

Zuz: A signature theme!

Noah: Haha, apparently. But yeah, NCIS: Hawai’i had Hawaiian cultural advisors and writers from the islands. One of our showrunners, Matt Bosack, even learned ‘ōlelo Hawai’i. He’s why we used the correct okina in “Hawai’i.”

Zuz: It’s small, but powerful.

Noah: It matters. Even things like characters taking off their shoes indoors—basic, everyday stuff for locals—weren’t shown before. It’s about showing respect.

Zuz: What about pidgin or Hawaiian in the scripts? How do you decide what makes it in?

Noah: Each writer handles their own script, but we review every draft. If something feels off or overdone, we flag it. Pidgin has to be used carefully—it can confuse audiences. And with Hawaiian, we make sure words are authentic and culturally appropriate.

Zuz: I noticed Rescue: HI-Surf took things even further.

Noah: Totally. That show had more Native Hawaiian crew and writers. Our showrunner, Matt Kester, is from here. We tried hard to get it right, and we had cultural consultants helping every step of the way.

Zuz: And the debates?

Noah: Oh yeah—like how to spell Molokai. With or without the okina? Even locals disagreed! It’s a balancing act. We just try to show Hawaii with respect, complexity, and care.

Zuz: Thanks for all the work you’re doing to tell Hawaii’s stories the right way.

Noah: Appreciate that. Just trying to be a small part of something bigger.

Zuz: Where can people find you?

Noah: Instagram @noahevslin.

Zuz: Last question—do you think about storylines when you’re out surfing?

Noah: All the time. It’s the best place to think. No phone, no distractions. Just me and my thoughts. Sometimes I come up with whole scenes out in the lineup. I just hope I remember them by the time I paddle in.

Zuz: Honestly, same. Surfing is creative clarity.

Noah: Totally. It’s where I get unstuck. Surfing clears space in my head that I didn’t even know was clogged.

Zuz: That’s all for today. Check out The Wipeout Weekly newsletter for more stories and ways to connect. Thanks for listening—and we’ll see you tomorrow.