Show Notes
Dave Galvin (@daveinflux) is a passionate waterman, foil frother, and competitive downwind foil racer. He began his career as a UCI professional cyclist, racing for BMC Racing Team in the U.S. and Europe, and also worked as a mountain guide.
Currently, he is a partner at Three Fish Capital, which he co-founded in 2014 to invest in early to growth-stage technology companies. He was previously CEO of UniqueSoft and UncommonX and held multiple roles at IBM focused on M&A, venture investing, and AI strategy. Dave holds an MBA from Kellogg and a dual degrees in Physics and Economics from the University of Virginia.
He lives, landlocked, outside Charlottesville, VA with his wife and three children, and spends most of his time dreaming about downwinding...and some time actually downwinding.
More from The Progression Project
Edo Tanas joins the show after an incredible Hawaiian race season capped by his third straight Molokai 2 Oahu victory. We dig into the training, mindset and equipment development behind his season, including his move to Slingshot, how his approach to fitness and recovery has evolved, and the changing technique and gear at the highest level of downwind racing. Edo also tells the wild story of his Hawaiian island-chain project—foiling from the Big Island to Maui, Maui to Oahu and Oahu to Kauai on back-to-back days, including a seven-hour stretch on foil and some genuinely sketchy moments alone in the open ocean. Then we break down this year’s brutal M2O, where Edo struggled to even get on foil at the start, watched the field disappear, and methodically worked his way back through the pack to take the win. It’s a great conversation about racing, risk, efficiency, confidence, and just how quickly downwind foiling continues to evolve.
Zeke Lau joins the Progression Project fresh off completing Hawaii's full downwind race circuit, recounting the brutal, glassy-conditions M2O where he battled cramps and serious doubt before fighting through to the finish; the conversation ranges from channel-crossing safety and gear choices to how returning to "beginner" status in foiling has reshaped his perspective on ego, fear, and joy in the water.
On this episode of the Progression Project, I sit down with Olympic BMX racer and Subi Riders founder Mark Willers (subiriders) Mark's journey took him from representing New Zealand at two Olympic Games to reimagining what foiling could become by combining it with the sport he knows best—BMX. We dive into the highs and lows of chasing an Olympic dream, the mindset required to perform at the highest level, and how that same obsession with progression led him to invent an entirely new way to ride on foil. It's a conversation about creativity, innovation, resilience, and what happens when you stop asking what exists and start building what doesn't.
Greg Drexler from Boardriding Maui joins the show for a deep dive into style, simplicity, and the evolution of wind-powered foiling. We get into Greg’s roots in windsurfing and kiting, the design philosophy behind BRM, the early days of parawings, why the new S3 became the benchmark, and how stripping gear down to its essence can unlock more freedom on the water. This one is a great look inside the mind of a designer who has helped shape kites, wings, and now parawings with a focus on feel, function, and keeping the stoke alive.
In this episode of the Progression Project, I sit down with Guillaume Collin (@gcolin.impact), an adaptive surfer, wing foiler, and engineer from the south of France. After a glider accident in 2015 left him paraplegic, Guillaume shares his journey of recovery, acceptance, and rebuilding his life around what’s still possible. We talk about how surfing and foiling brought him back to flow, freedom, and joy, along with the challenges and creativity behind adapting gear to ride at a high level. This is a conversation about resilience, perspective, and finding a new path forward.