There aren’t many people who can connect Andy and Bruce Irons, Paul Simon, bull riding, and an animated surfing penguin in one conversation. Selema Masekela is one of them.

On Episode 23 of the Cold Beer Surf Club with Conner Coffin, Selema pulls up a chair for a wide-ranging conversation about surfing, music, broadcasting, taking risks, eating rejection, and staying true to yourself through all of it.

Watch the episode below:

Going All In

Selema has built a career by following curiosity wherever it leads, and sometimes that means getting way outside his comfort zone.

He takes Conner back to his days working on Team Ignition, where the whole idea was to understand people who willingly put themselves in high-risk situations. But Selema wasn’t interested in watching safely from the sidelines. If he wanted to understand what made these people tick, he had to get in there himself.

That approach eventually put him on the back of a bull.

It’s a pretty good snapshot of the way Selema has moved through life: get close to the action, commit to the experience, and find out what’s waiting on the other side of fear.

Getting the Irons Brothers on Reebok

Long before surf brands and mainstream athletics crossed paths the way they do today, Selema saw an opportunity.

While working with Reebok, he became determined to bring Andy and Bruce Irons into the fold. Getting there wasn’t exactly a straight line. Selema tells Conner about the lengths he went to make the connection happen and why he believed the brothers belonged with the brand.

It’s part surf history, part hustle, and a reminder that sometimes the best opportunities start with somebody being willing to hear “no” a few times and keep going anyway.

From Paul Simon to Surf’s Up

Selema’s relationship with music runs deep. His father, legendary musician Hugh Masekela, gave him a front-row seat to a world few people ever experience. Selema shares stories about his heroes and mentors, touring with Paul Simon, and the complicated relationship with his father that helped shape the person he became.

He’s candid about the friction between them, the lessons that came with it, and what it means to eventually find your own identity when you grow up alongside a larger-than-life figure.

That willingness to carve his own path carried into broadcasting and entertainment, too.

After years of adversity and rejection, Selema found success behind the microphone, and in one particularly memorable case, behind the microphone as an animated penguin.

He tells Conner how he landed the role of the announcer in Surf’s Up, adding another unexpected chapter to a career that’s been full of them.

Keep Going

Underneath all the stories is something familiar to anyone who’s spent enough time in the ocean: you don’t get to control every wave that comes your way.

Selema and Conner dig into rejection, persistence, personal growth, and the difference between chasing somebody else’s version of success and building a life that actually feels like your own.

Through music, sports, broadcasting, film, and every questionable idea that put him directly in harm’s way, surfing has remained a constant for Selema—a place to reset, reconnect, and remember what matters.

Grab a cold one and settle in for Episode 23 of the 805 Beer Cold Beer Surf Club with Conner Coffin. It’s a conversation about taking chances, finding your people, staying curious, and having the guts to be unapologetically yourself.

Watch EP 23: Selema Masekela and join the Cold Beer Surf Club.

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