INFO : WORDS FROM L'OURS !!!

Hello Ten years ago I relaunched GONG in complete autonomy, in my workshop in Bastia, in front of the island of Elba, with my tools and only the rats to keep me company:? 
I could have felt very lonely at the top of this hill strewn with lemon trees. Yet we already made our connection.

The SUP was launched, largely thanks to GONG during the Magic Surf era. The appetites of the competition were ruthless. And I had to start from scratch, with 10,000 euros. 
It was precisely this return to the tiny, artisanal, lonely world, combined with the methods of the majors I had worked and learned from, that gave GONG its work tempo. Because on September 28, 2009 I knew that we would be what we are this December 31, 2019.
I didn’t know how, nor the path, but I knew why!!!

I don’t envy anyone, but I want everything. I don’t want to do like the others, but I want to do everything. GONG is this chance for me, the ultimate freedom.
To be free, to feel free, to live everything you want to live, what a chance !!!

In this complex journey, I hope to have shared this value of freedom with my family, my friends, my team and my clients.

We sometimes live to feed our egos. This is often the case in the water. Yet the only value that matters is freedom. This is what the ocean teaches us. GONG does not feed the egos; GONG offers you a form of freedom. The freedom to live and dream of intense moments.

In ten years, we have gone from the darkness into light. Yet all I retain from it is the freedom to choose my life.
I never thought it would be possible to live in such personal and professional comfort. Yet I do not make it a goal or a social marker. 
First of all, because I find the excesses of luxury make me feel absolutely ridiculous.
Secondly, because the real luxury I enjoy is simply surfing whenever I want and with my loved ones.
And finally because it is the work and energy that brought us here, and we have to measure the price.

How many were we in 2009? How many of us believed in it so strongly? A very small group, who shared really intense things at that time.
Life takes us apart sometimes, but I am eternally grateful to those close and not so close from that time.

In 2019, I appreciate never feeling alone again. Paradoxically for a Bear (L’Ours), it’s a real comfort. Sometimes it’s limiting when the MPs get too many, sometimes it’s a bit weird to be recognized because people are often more uncomfortable than I am… hahaha. But 99.9% of the time it’s really cool and I appreciate the value of these exchanges. 
I like to believe that we form a community where everyone has their place, more or less close to the village center, where we all share the same desire.
This GONG DNA that connects us is based on positive values : 
– The love of nature.
– Sharing in the respect of all good souls.
– The passion for our sports, our boards, work well done.

My friends have contributed so much to GONG that I could never fully thank them. The GONGists, the Corsicans, the Baulois, the elders, the sponsors, the confidants, the communicators, the bad attitudes, the adventurers and all those I think of.

Women also have a decisive role that the masculine expression of giving thanks may apear to hide. Mine own, in the first place, our friends and ambassadors who have given us a sporting and sparkling image, and our employees who are the real pillars of our success. In an often macho world, GONG sees its future with a greater feminine input.

And what can we say about these thousands of sessions, these thousands of shapes, except that they write our history. This permanent discussion between the medium and the support punctuates our daily life and will distinguish the lines of tomorrow. 
What about the birth of the foil for everyone? What about the wing? What about the constant improvement of our means of expression at sea?
All that choppy water, duck-dive after duck-dive, wetsuit after wetsuit it’s all about taking steps towards tomorrow, towards this freedom to write future history.

I am thinking of all of you. To the infinite freedom I owe you. My efforts seem so small compared to what you’re giving me. And yet, I think the richest thing I have to offer you is my eagerness and desire. I share it in every moment of my relationship with you.

2020 is going to be a very exciting time. Humanly, naturally, we will go further. 

And in ten years? Since everything that goes up ends up coming down, I have no illusions. The only regret I may have is that I didn’t do everything. Then we will do more and more, and always better, so when the end eventually comes, then I will be able to retire to ride those long blue lines, and hopefully in your company.

Thank you very much and happy new year. Shaper : Patrice Guénolé, his GONG staff and GONG-GALAXY.