At 8 a.m. every Sunday on XTRA Sports 1360, Surfer Magazine Online Editor Scott Bass and co-worker Marty Thomas, a former World Championship Tour surfer, broadcast the “Down the Line” surf talk radio show, which they brand as “an irreverent and sometimes irrelevant look into the world of surfing each week.”

Broadcast from San Diego County, the show streams nationwide and is podcast, attracting a niche following locally and abroad.

“We cover anything and everything that has to do with surfing,” Bass said. “We don't limit ourselves. We cover plenty of World Tour stuff. Environmental issues, shark attacks, Bird Rock Bandits, surfboard design, everything.”

They do it well. The temptation here would be to produce a show that played on surfing stereotypes, punctuated with gratuitous use of the word “sick” and breathless prattling on about what “gnarly” things their “bros” had done. Or, to otherwise fashion themselves as a surfing version of the two-sided talking-headness that seems to pass for sports commentary these days.

Instead, Bass and Thomas form an articulate, insightful team. The middle-aged tandem packs the show's hour with commentary and analysis of the week's surf headlines in an accessible format that serves to extend the issues they cover.

While neither has extensive broadcasting experience, and the missed cues and technical gliches evident in the early podcasts indicate that the team is still finding its feet in radio, Bass says he and Thomas never want for things to talk about.

“Surfing is such a huge part of San Diego culture,” Bass said, “and because surfing really isn't a sport, it's a lifestyle, we have a lot more options than other shows. Our feeling is, we are surfers talking about stuff. We surf, therefore we are.”

All that might come off as just another glib comment from the next would-be member of the local “Morning Zoo” show, except that at the heart of Bass' comment lies a truth about surfers – that part of the surf experience is the extensive conversations had in the lineups and parking lots in any surf community.

Bass insists, however, that his show appeals to more than just a surf audience.

“You'd think we are broadcasting to surfers, but really we are broadcasting to anybody that likes insightful, entertaining, informative banter,” he said. “It's mostly about surfing, but we'll also venture out of that territory and really make fools of ourselves. I'm a sports junkie, and most surfers are. Believe me, we talk Padres and Chargers between waves.”

Still, the show's primary focus is surfing. It's in this sense, Bass says, that they find their niche in a media lineup centered on more mainstream sports, though he doesn't fool himself about his place in that lineup. Bass knows he's fighting an uphill battle in marketing to a broader audience, but warns against those who would dismiss him out of hand.

“There are 10 different stations programming washed-up jocks telling you the nuances of a 3-4 defense,” he said. “Have you ever heard washed-up surfers discuss the 3-4 defense? No. Exactly. Try it sometime.”

The show draws heavily from the extensive surfing backgrounds of its hosts. Thomas was a professional surfer in the late 1980s and early '90s. Bass has been a fixture in local lineups since his days at Torrey Pines High.

Both successful professionals in the surf industry, the two often feature the world's best surfers on their program. Past guests include Rob Machado, Pat O'Connell, Greg Long and Nat Young.

Still, the show doesn't lose its San Diego connection; it will broadcast, for instance, from the San Diego County Fair on June 29.

As the surf world grows and the world of media continues to fragment further into niche markets, it's likely there will only be more surf-themed radio and television shows. Until that time, “Down the Line” is a welcome foot in the door.

Brad Melekian can be reached by e-mailing him at sports@uniontrib.com