INTERVIEW: FROM SUP TO SUP FOIL !!!

GONG has many ambassadors who relay the development of our products locally. Thanks to their contribution, we benefit from excellent feedback straight from the spots. 

  On their home spot, it is the possibility for other practitioners to get to know our products in action. Romain Jean, ambassador in the south of France, gives us the pleasure to share his experience, especially on his transition from SUP to SUP foil.

Hello Romain, thank you for sharing your experience. Can you start by explaining to us in what conditions you surf?

“My playground is the south of France, the Mediterranean and the Etang de Thau. The swell is clearly not as powerful as on the Atlantic side but there is still plenty of fun!

What board sports do you practice?

I have always tried to adapt my watersport practices to the environment in which I could evolve without driving too far from home. So, for lack of waves, I preferred kitesurfing to surfing for many years. And then GONG came into my life. Back then it was hard to find surfboards with volume. GONG arrived like an alien by offering surf / SUP boards made for ordinary people in standard conditions. My first purchase was the famous “Incredible Ten” longboard and then very quickly a “Greedy” SUP. A real revelation for me. A lot more sessions, a lot more waves per session. By switching to a board (SUP and surf) whose volume was in line with local conditions, the increase in the number of minutes spent surfing was radical! I started to progress very quickly and to reach a level sufficient to access smaller and more manageable boards while keeping this precious ratio of waves per session.

Can you tell us about your role as ambassador?

I was so happy to finally be able to use the waves properly that I was already giving all my GONG gear to anyone who wanted to get out of the preformatted model of low volume boards. Anyway, I was having so much fun on the water that people naturally came to ask me the brand of my gear. It was a period where I made and shared a lot of images of myself (Narcissus comes out of his body!). Becoming an official GONG ambassador was obvious. It allowed me to spend even more time on the water!

You regularly share SUP sessions on social networks. How did SUP take this place of choice in your practice?

In SUP as in surfing I have one goal: to make the most of a day of waves. When many stay on the beach waiting for perfect conditions, I have a blast on the water. SUP allows me to take more waves than surfing. It’s undeniable. But it is also back problems that push me to gradually abandon the paddling on my belly in favor of the paddling on my 2 feet.

With what type of board did you discover the foil?

I have always loved foil on all types of boards. A little over 10 years ago, we were able to test a lot of homemade foils with a friend who is an expert in composite. I kept a little kite video from that time by the way: https://vimeo.com/14454744. The SUP foil came as soon as I was able to get my hands on front wings with enough lift. At the beginning, I added a tuttle box on my old SUP boards (with a One and then with a Curve). It worked not too badly as you can see on this photo in Hendaye:

Then a Mob2taste 7.2 with a trip to Guadeloupe with a wave where I really revealed myself in foil:

Then a Zuma in 6.3 for 95 L and now the Flint 5.6 still in 95 L.

What is the interest of foiling in SUP for you?

There are so many interests that I could only list some of them: The possibility of surfing the swell and no longer just the wave. Tons of new playgrounds that were out of reach before. The sensation of speed and power of a head-high wave when it is not higher than my knee. A perfect glide with incredible curves. To be very clear, I haven’t been doing classic SUP for almost 2 years now!

You have a great experience in SUP that you practice for a very long time. How did it help you when you started out in SUP foil?

It’s a huge advantage to have so much experience in classic SUP. There are many advantages, such as reading the waves and positioning on the spot in general. There is also the ability to row (manage the row-effect) and balance on the small boards.

Can you tell us about the SUP foil equipment you use? Why this choice ?

My last board is the Flint 5.6 in 95 liters. For my 72 kg and my current physical condition, this is the smallest board I can use in my wave conditions without too much difficulty with balance and no increased fatigue. I also do wing with this board which remains a real Swiss army knife for me. I would like it much shorter, but it is not reasonable and I would lose a lot of sessions (when there is too much choppy water).

How is the cohabitation on the spot with other practitioners?

Very well ! (in my region anyway). Thanks to the foil and the paddle of the SUP, I can go looking for waves where I am practically alone most of the time. It is clear that it helps for cohabitation! And it must be said that without SUP foil, more than 75% of my sessions in the Mediterranean are impossible. An example of such a session a little over 2 years ago:

What advice would you give to all those who want to SUP foil?

It is not easy to start directly with the SUP foil without surfing experience. As a result, the advice depends a bit on the person’s background. But in any case, do not hesitate to take more volume and length than what you see in the photos of the pros! You have to look for comfort above all to maximize the number of sessions and waves. The practice of the wing foil is also an undeniable asset for the handling of the foil. It is certainly the easiest way to fly on a foil.

One last word ?

The foil is an incredible opportunity. It allows access to playgrounds and unsuspected pleasures. Whether it’s on a SUP foil, surf foil, kite foil or wing foil, you have a huge choice to find the right gear for you. You will then be able to exploit the slightest swell, the slightest gust. Enjoy it!!!”