The Flow State of Surfing & Debate
Bryson Santaguida grew up in El Paso, Texas, where he competed in Policy debate and Extemporaneous speaking at Irvin High School. “I also played sports, but was better at debate,” recalls Bryson.
Bryson studied philosophy and government at the University of Texas, and graduated from the University of Chicago Law School. “When I moved to Chicago from Texas, I felt that Chicago was very fast paced. When I moved to Silicon Valley for work, it felt even faster paced! I like to think that I still know how to slow down and take it easy now and again,” said Bryson.
Surfing is part of that intentional slowing down. Debating and surfing have something very profound in common for Bryson. They require an immersive flow state, a feeling of intensely focused clarity.
“The ocean is never giving the same waves to a surfer, and I don't think about anything else when I'm surfing. If I get distracted, I feel much less satisfied. For debate, I'm really competitive. I love having to mentally overcome the other side. When I debated on a team, the best moments were against teams that were just a little bit better than us, and our grit and creativity carried us to a win,” remembered Bryson.
Bryson recognizes the links between debate and his college studies in philosophy. Both taught him critical thinking and the importance of being able to look at a situation creatively from multiple angles.
“The public speaking aspect of debate taught me to go for it, and not worry too much about mistakes which are inevitable. If you hold back from fear, you're actually less persuasive and less effective. Both critical thinking and public speaking skills have been monumental in my life and career,” emphasized Bryson. “There is no such thing as perfect -- no perfect argument, and no perfect preparation. I learned to strive for perfection, and accept that my best is good enough. I spend most of my working hours speaking or writing persuasively to audiences ranging from one to hundreds, and sometimes even thousands of people! In my role at Google, I need to analyze problems quickly, exercise judgment, and be persuasive in offering solutions. So I'm basically debating all day long!”
Bryson, Senior Counsel at Google, serves as a lead advisor on platform and mobile services. He previously worked as a law clerk in the Northern District of California, and as a litigator on a wide range of topics.
The parallels in Bryson’s career and life are many. “The skills that are critical are marshaling evidence and theories to advocate for particular outcomes; analyzing the past to make judgments about what will happen in the future; and thinking fast on my feet. This includes being diligent in my preparation so that advocacy comes easily when the moment arrives to share my views. The confidence that I can analyze almost any problem and figure out a reasonable solution is something I learned from many debate rounds,” recalled Bryson.
A lover of surfing and California’s incredible diversity and beauty, both in geography and cultures, makes the Golden State a wonderful place for Bryson to call home.
Thank you for your years of dedicated service and support of SVUDL, Bryson. We’re honored to have you join the board of SVUDL!
