Your cart is empty !
It's flat around here...
INTERVIEW : Neal Gent, UK SUP surf 08 Champion !!!
Congratulations Neal, you won the SUP surf UK title 08. What was the key of this 08 tour?
Unfortunately we had four events at great beaches but no decent surf!! all the contests were in small waves. To win the heats you had to really know how to work the board and use the paddle to make turns and generate speed-so although we would have loved to perform in big surf in a way we had to prove how versatile SUP really is!!
How do you feel the level on SUP? Is it improving fast in UK?
There are four or five guys who’ve come from a surfing background who were always gonna be in the finals. It’s really interesting to see the contrasting styles of the ‘longboarders’ and the ‘shortboarders’, but we’ve all had to adapt our style to SUP. Since the start of the year the level has come on loads-pretty much everyone is making big turns, starting to noseride, and some of us are trying to match Patrice’s 360s!
At my local beaches we now have a core of six or seven riders who are out whenever there’s waves trying new stuff, and there seem to be more people out every time! How do you feel this activity in UK? Is it still growing fast or not? The events had the same core of people, but free-surfing there are loads more than even a couple of months ago, and a lot of my friends who laughed when we started are now trying to buy boards and get into SUP!! What was the spirit during all these events in UK? We had a really relaxed, fun vibe at all the events. i love the fact there’s no hassle or arguments. It’s really just a bunch of friends surfing! What is the spirit around SUP in UK? we’ve had a little trouble from shortboarders at the busy breaks, but they are starting to recognise SUP potential when it’s smaller or a little windy, and as long as we don’t take all the waves everything’s pretty relaxed. The great thing about SUP is it’s so new here whenever you paddle out and see someone else out there it’s cool to go join them for some waves. we’ve started to explore some of the waves we never bothered to paddle to before on shortboards cos it’s too far-with the paddle it’s just a cruise and then you get to surf a brand new wave with only a couple of people!! We know you as a real waterman, doing as many sports as you can. Is it a critical point to perform on a SUP? Hey i just love to be on the water doing whatever’s good that day!! SUP is doing amazing things for my fitness, and i reckon it’s improving my surfing anyway cos i get so many waves i seem to learn something every session. For SUP i just want to get out into bigger waves, and try to get barrelled-we have to wait til winter where i live to get that kind of surf so we should have some pics soon!! What are your favourite tricks on freeride and on events? In events you kinda have to concentrate on moves you can guarantee so loads of turns and some footwork only. Freeriding i love trying to get the board on the same places i would ride a shortboard-hitting sections and busting fins out-i’m still learning to deal with the big board on the way back down again!! you can get worked on an SUP in the heavy stuff!! I am working on 360’s particularly off-the-lip. A word to the surf community? i’ve been surfing for 25 years on just about every type of board and i never told anyone to f*$* off cos of what they were riding- anyone dropping in and stealing all the sets is a cook and can go somewhere else, but just cos we’re standing up doesn’t mean we’re not surfing-just enjoy the surf-you’re only ruining your own session getting annoyed with SUP riders! SUPer : Neal Gent on GONG, Fat Face, 2xs.
Source : Team GONG SUP, 08 stand up paddlesurf UK champion !!!
At my local beaches we now have a core of six or seven riders who are out whenever there’s waves trying new stuff, and there seem to be more people out every time! How do you feel this activity in UK? Is it still growing fast or not? The events had the same core of people, but free-surfing there are loads more than even a couple of months ago, and a lot of my friends who laughed when we started are now trying to buy boards and get into SUP!! What was the spirit during all these events in UK? We had a really relaxed, fun vibe at all the events. i love the fact there’s no hassle or arguments. It’s really just a bunch of friends surfing! What is the spirit around SUP in UK? we’ve had a little trouble from shortboarders at the busy breaks, but they are starting to recognise SUP potential when it’s smaller or a little windy, and as long as we don’t take all the waves everything’s pretty relaxed. The great thing about SUP is it’s so new here whenever you paddle out and see someone else out there it’s cool to go join them for some waves. we’ve started to explore some of the waves we never bothered to paddle to before on shortboards cos it’s too far-with the paddle it’s just a cruise and then you get to surf a brand new wave with only a couple of people!! We know you as a real waterman, doing as many sports as you can. Is it a critical point to perform on a SUP? Hey i just love to be on the water doing whatever’s good that day!! SUP is doing amazing things for my fitness, and i reckon it’s improving my surfing anyway cos i get so many waves i seem to learn something every session. For SUP i just want to get out into bigger waves, and try to get barrelled-we have to wait til winter where i live to get that kind of surf so we should have some pics soon!! What are your favourite tricks on freeride and on events? In events you kinda have to concentrate on moves you can guarantee so loads of turns and some footwork only. Freeriding i love trying to get the board on the same places i would ride a shortboard-hitting sections and busting fins out-i’m still learning to deal with the big board on the way back down again!! you can get worked on an SUP in the heavy stuff!! I am working on 360’s particularly off-the-lip. A word to the surf community? i’ve been surfing for 25 years on just about every type of board and i never told anyone to f*$* off cos of what they were riding- anyone dropping in and stealing all the sets is a cook and can go somewhere else, but just cos we’re standing up doesn’t mean we’re not surfing-just enjoy the surf-you’re only ruining your own session getting annoyed with SUP riders! SUPer : Neal Gent on GONG, Fat Face, 2xs.
Source : Team GONG SUP, 08 stand up paddlesurf UK champion !!!
