I have been communicating with a few of the Naish team regarding their journey and experiences with SUP foiling, and thought I'd share a more recent one I have had with Casper.


JB - "How hard is it? (I asked Bernd this question to start with also, it is a tricky one to describe, but see if you can use a reference to another sport of trick)".

Casper - "Foiling definitely is a pretty tricky and challenging beast! Although it looks similar to surfing in some ways it is actually requires a different approach. With just a bit of balance and a few hours of dedication you will get the hang of it. You will be flying before you know it "

JB - "Where do you see SUP Foiling going"?

Casper - "I think SUP foiling is already opening our minds to new experiences and possibilities. Waves that we usually disregarded as mushy or useless, suddenly stand in a different light. I now look at waves in my home area with a completely new perspective. I think we are still just seeing the beginning of foiling"!

JB - "Are you surfing, downwinding on the foil, and which do you prefer"?

Casper - "I feel I am still just getting to know the reins of my foil. After a session being towed behind a boat in flatwater I sort of got the hang of it and figured how to distribute my weight across the board. I then progressed to the waves and now I feel more and more confident there. Next frontier for me is the downwinds and it is here I think the full potential lies. Like Kai Lenny says "All of a sudden the whole ocean is a surf spot" . "

JB - "Anything you'd like to add"?

Casper - "Foiling makes me feel like a little grom again! It makes me extra excited and I can't wait for my next foil session"!!!

Thank you Casper for your insights and experience.

Everyone please be safe and careful experimenting with your SUP Foils. There is a lot of torque and pressure going on over a large leveraged foil. Stay clear of others and take your time.

Ride safe,

JB

Such a nice guy.. Can't wait to see him on a DW foil board (the Malolo)

Thanks JB ,
It interest s me but ....I really like living on the face of the wave and hitting that lip .
one day maybe .
i think you just need the right area to try it .

.I bet the view is nice up there .I would imagine it would be like floating over the ocean.

You can see in this video some of the potential and also how unforgiving it can be.

The learning curve is massive, I personally knew it would be hard, but not this hard. At 100kg, I knew I was going to have my challenges though, and I am pretty stoked with my progress so far.

The trickiest part for me is working against your natural instincts, everything is a little backwards. As you accelerate down the face, you need to nearly learn forward not back. And the foil is very sensitive once up, so over reacting usually ends with a breach and dismount.

All this said, there is something amazing with SUP Foiling, the potential to open up basically limitless waves and ride ocean swell for miles at a time is incredible. Such an amazing journey and very humbling.

Enjoy the glide,

JB

It looks to me that "sup" surf foiling is basically redundant already by all the top guys?
All the videos on social media seem to be of them foil surfing short boards no paddle. Either probe into a wave or being towed in.

down wind ocean sup foiling seems like where the sup side of "foiling"/sport will head to me.