Some smooth carving moves by Xavier Leroy, a very talented French surfer/super.

On a shortboard, then a Gong 9'2" Freak performance LongSUP (black) and a Gong 6'10" Fatal ShortSUP (back & white) (both 100% carbon, no glass)



2 years ago, on LongSUPs: Gong 9'11" Electric (red), and a Bonz 9'1" (green)

Talented surfer/super thanks for the post Colas.

I liked him on the longer sup , looked smooth.The shorter sup not so much

guys that can do it all have no place in this forum thankyou very much





ps good stuff

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teatrea said..

I liked him on the longer sup , looked smooth.The shorter sup not so much

I knew you would be a longboarder deep down

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62mac said..

teatrea said..



I liked him on the longer sup , looked smooth.The shorter sup not so much

I knew you would be a longboarder deep down

Yeah Mac , Drop knees cross stepping , nose riding , long arcing smooth turns , is the shizzUnfortunatley my old body doesen"t let me prone surf without consequenciesBut im a closet longbaord fan

love the longboard vid but i think helicopters are about the stupidest move ever devised by surf-n-sup-kind. far as i can tell, there's nothing functional about them and they always look awkward and, well, they're just stupid. and irritating. i can barely stand to watch the vid knowing that any second he might squat down and drop that turd of a maneuver -- -- and stink up his performance to high heaven. in any event, that's my opinion. who's with me?

...yea but what about Derek Hynd doing it finless at Jeffery's Bay? That was really beautiful and flowed.

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linter said...
love the longboard vid but i think helicopters are about the stupidest move ever devised by surf-n-sup-kind. far as i can tell, there's nothing functional about them and they always look awkward and, well, they're just stupid. and irritating. i can barely stand to watch the vid knowing that any second he might squat down and drop that turd of a maneuver -- -- and stink up his performance to high heaven. in any event, that's my opinion. who's with me?

I thought I was the only one. Absolutely hate them, ruins flow and style IMO

I'm jealous I can't do them(helicopters) but I hate them anyways. They look awful. Colas, love your work mate. The Gong boards always look to perform really well to me. Is there an Au distributor???

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log man said..
Colas, love your work mate. The Gong boards always look to perform really well to me. Is there an Au distributor???

Well, my "work" is only to write posts :-) Gong boards are the sole work of Patrice Guenole...

No foreign distributor for now, I guess Patrice struggles already to make enough boards for the French market (the waiting list is quite long) that he didnt look for foreign distributors... However, I think you have so much talented shaper in OZ and US that you should have no shortage of quality custom boards there.

Some words on the boards: the 9'2" Xavier uses is a real killer: at 29" wide for 110l (the 130l version is 30.5") with a domed deck, it has very thin rails and an extremely flat rocker, and the full carbon non-sandwich construction really make this kind of shapes alive. The Fatal 6'10" is one of my favorite board, with a wide planshape and well shaped but meaty rails everywhere it is incredibly fun and easy (note how you can ride the foam by staying on top of it), while keeping speed in carving turns. For me I'd rather surf these low rocker short boards than 8' with tons of rocker that do not actually have more speed since most of the nose is out of the water anyways...

Some early videos of Xavier:

In 2008, (i dont remember the shaper whose boards - maybe his own? - he was riding, but as soon as 2009 he was already experimenting with 7'2" SUPs)



And in early 2008, with early Gong gear (a 10'2" "Greedy / Gravity", 145 l volume... and an aluminum paddle). It was his 3rd session on a SUP

here's a slapped-together helicopter-free remix of the second vid above. much bettah if you ask me!

Xavier Leroy after some epic belharra tow-in sessions, at 31s here:

Relaxing on a weird waves on a fish-like 8'1" SUP

Xavier on his 6'10", view from the beach, from the paddle, and from a cool head-mounted swivelling bar on the helmet:

The twirlygig was cool.... like his own personal drone.... must be interesting during a wipeout

Xavier "kicking the tires" of his new 6'10", 27"3/16, 115l

I like his style... very fluid.

He seems to have attracted some interest from the surfers...

Note that these boards are definitely not "world cup boards". It shows that you can enjoy short lengths & high performance while keeping a manageable width & volume.

supthecreek, yes, he surf in the french surf mecca (Biarritz / Hossegor) which tend to be very conservative, so surfers are not used to see progressive SUP surfing.

Cool vids colas . i really like how he utilises his paddle.

Question, how long do you think his paddle is relative to his height? Below head height maybe

cheers

Don't know, I'll ask...

Xavier testing his new LongSUP, 24" wide

Very nice..

Tell u boys dont ride all boards and cant do helicopters as they are a fun manouvre an variations can be added

11'x31, yes with just little side bites twinning it. Usually variable as slightly out of control.

Some vids of Xavier in California, filmed with the Soloshot 2

Not sure that I saw one turn on the small SUP that wasn't a bog rail or a dish - fat board problems....

On the opposite, this is a board designed for powerful conditions, this is why he doesn't have enough speed to complete turns in these weak waves due to the rocker. I would not have used my Fatal in these conditions, but faster ones (same length or shorter) designed for slow waves... But I guess Xavier took only one board for his Calfornian trip.

Excellent Colas thanks!

Proves it for me... sort and long sups why NOT bother

Bill

Yes, short, long... fun comes in all sizes and shapes...