INTERVIEW: TITOUAN PAJOT, PASSIONATE WATERMAN AND NEW GONG TEAM RIDER

At 17, Titouan Pajot is already a boardsports expert : surfing, SUPing, bodyboarding, bodysurfing, wing foiling, kite foiling… the Montois is a jack of all trades. He has just joined our Team Pro and talks, for the occasion, about his passions and ambitions ??.

SUPer : Titouan, GONG team rider, with the Alley 7’4 FSP Pro

“Can you introduce yourself?

I come from Saint-Jean-de-Monts, in Vendée. My home spot is L’Estacade. Most of my training is done down here even if I also go further south in La Sauzaie or in La Tranche-sur-Mer. Even if I only go there when the conditions are really good because it’s a long way.

Tell us your story from your very first time on a board, we want to know everything!

I was about 6. I had a bodyboard that I took to go to the beach with my grandma. I was standing on it and I immediately liked it. And then, I signed up for a nautical base in my home town because my mother was working there.

I first did a lot of surfing, mainly shortboard but also longboard. At the beginning, I was in a surf section during my four years of college in Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie and then in Les Sables-d’Olonne. Then, later, I started taking bodyboarding seriously. I signed up for the pôle France in Biarritz for two years, in 2020 and 2021. I also did a lot of bodysurfing in those last years.

Then in June, a friend of mine asked me if I was interested in doing tryouts in SUP. So, basically, I started SUP surfing three months ago, I had never tried it before! The only reference I had in this activity was the long edition of the Vendée Glisse in SUP racing.

After that, I’ve been surfing for 13 or 14 years, including 10 years of competition. So, I already have every notions of placement in the water, wave reading and heat management.

“I have the Alley 7’4 FSP Pro. It’s ultra radical! I’ve never seen a SUP that turns better than this one.”

What is your training schedule?

I will be working on the SUP in the next few months. I am very happy with my performances with only three short months of training. So with more volume, it can only be better.

Otherwise, I do a lot of physical training, sometimes at home with burpees, lunges, but also outside doing triathlon. I have practiced it for eight years when I was a kid, it gave me versatility. Now, I go back to it, it is the perfect training for a good shape : complete and good for cardio.

It is really important to be in shape when you compete all the time. Otherwise, you get tired quickly and never recover. I started with the competition in Denmark late August, then I took part in the French SUP championship in Montalivet. After that, I went to Royan, on the beach of Tremblade for a bodyboarding French open. I had to finish this chain of events in Vendée, with the Bud Contest, but it was postponed for a week to enjoy better conditions.

What kind of rider are you?

The kind that stays in the water all day ? If there are waves in the morning, I will go surfing. If the afternoon is windy, I’ll go wing foiling, kite foiling or will go for a catamaran session. Otherwise, since I am young and I like the competition, I have a rather radical style, focused on performance. But I also love surfing with a fishboard, noseriding…

That versatility helped you with the SUP too, didn’t it?

Definitely! I have been working on it since I went in the water for the first time. As soon as I can try a new board, a new set-up, I do it. Bodysurfing has allowed me to progress a lot in my wave reading. Longboarding helps me to glide with style… Everything is related, these sports are not that different.

A quick update about your quiver?

I have the Alley 7’4 FSP PRO. It is ultra radical! I have never seen a SUP that runs better than this one. Moreover, the difference is quite noticeable for my size between the 75L (7’4) and the 90L (7’6). I started with the 90L and signed a good result with it in Denmark. Since then, I have changed to the 75L and it is even better for my profile in terms of radicalism. Otherwise, I also have the Karmen 7’3 FSP PRO. It is very quick and take-offs are really easy. It is so good!

How have you heard about GONG?

Thanks to Malo. I know him well, we competed in events together. When I first saw his boards, they immediately interested me!

A word to finish?

From now on, I will focus my efforts on two activities : SUP surfing and longboarding. For SUP, I want to put more volume in my training to see how far I can go. For longboarding, I want to take it seriously by doing competitions, because I know I have potential. Besides, longboard events are held on the same weekends as for SUP, it is really functional.”