{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Craft with May Globus","title":"[ep 103] Braden Parker on Possibility, Reinvention & the Revival of a Legacy","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3679,"description":"Braden Parker—the new CEO of Westbeach—grew up in Cochrane, Alberta—a small town of fewer than ten thousand—obsessed with the Titanic and dinosaurs, building lemonade stands with his siblings, and raised by two teachers who believed deeply in curiosity and going after what you want.His dad was offered a sabbatical at Stanford university, moving the family from the Prairies to Silicon Valley, where Braden’s world opened wide: multicultural families, friends whose parents were shaping the future at places like Netflix, and an early sense that you could design your own path if you were willing to build it.That instinct became a lifelong throughline, from being a snowboard coach for kids to becoming a UBC Sauder School of Business student. Then a door-design entrepreneur, followed by a career in real estate. He experimented with selling cricket pasta and conjured up concepts for a luxury toothbrush before landing on Casca—the footwear brand he co-founded with Kevin Reed at 26. He’d work his day job and fly to China for Casca on vacation days, walked factory floors, learned cross-cultural communication, and tried to create the perfect everyday shoe. Seven years later, he exited at 32, stepping into an identity shift that backpacking through East Africa helped reorient.And now, he’s in his next era, reviving Westbeach—an iconic Canadian surf, skate, and snow brand steeped in community, quality, and technical culture. A third space, a mini skate pipe, a coffee shop, and a small, tight team building its next chapter with intention and care. It’s a return to levity, craftsmanship, and the spirit of a legacy that shaped generations.This is a conversation about possibility, reinvention, realism, and knowing when a door is no longer the right door. About building what feels true. And about the courage it takes to begin again—especially when the legacy is bigger than you.[TIMESTAMPS]5:12 – Childhood & early influences 13:39 – University years and formative experiences 17:11 –...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/8tu7hXSm3PFXYi4Py1buMVA-8SkFhDmkfS_Zn30YrGY/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzE3Nzc2LzE2MTEz/NDAyNDgtYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}