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JUAN GONZALEZ – VEGA, MOSKOVA
Beyond an impressive career, Juan Gonzalez-Vega’s life is above all about destiny. The destiny of a Spaniard, who arrived in France at a young age, who got into surfing as a teenager, whose ambition and talent first led him to become a trader on Wall Street for the biggest agencies in New York in the late 90’s.
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JOOST GROOTSWAGERS – LIBERATED BRANDS
Joost Grootswagers got into board-riding culture when he was very young. Starting out with skateboarding, he then moved on to snowboarding. As a student in university, he admits that he spent more time on the slopes than in class. Since then and throughout his entire career, he has skilfully combined living out his passion with taking on new challenges.
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NICHOLAS LARTIZIEN – SURF HARDWARE
On a trip to Australia to learn how to make wetsuits, Nicholas Lartizien discovered the king of sports: surfing. From then on, it would become a lifelong passion. A passion that would take him to Hossegor, where he helped kick off two of the leading and legendary boardsport brands and eventually lead him to take over as head of the European branch for the...
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FRANCOIS PAYOT – RIP CURL
Though destined to be a doctor like his father, his grand-father and great-grand-father before him, François Payot dropped out of medical school to pursue studies in architecture. But right before graduating, he met an Australian surfing champion who was looking to develop the brand Rip Curl in France. This encounter would change the course of his life and launch François all the way to...
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FRANCISCO SPINOLA – WSL
Francisco Spinola is the “Mister Surf” of Portugal. With his business partner Frederico Teixeira, he was the initiator of the Portuguese competitive surfing tour. What was once a small niche has, thanks to them, become a driving force for tourism and economic development with the birth of Surf Schools, Surf camps, hotels and restaurants that all contribute to attracting the international surfing scene to...
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GABRIEL DAVIES – PATAGONIA
Originally from Tynemouth in the North-East of England, Gabe Davies is one of those intrepid adventurers to have braved the cold northern waters. While his school buddies were all going crazy over football, Gabe dreamt of becoming a pro surfer. Thanks to his parents’ support and his own dedication, he gradually made a name for himself early on and was spotted by Quiksilver, a...
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CLÉMENT MAULAVÉ AND MATHIEU COUACAULT – HOPAAL
Clément Maulavé and Mathieu Couacault are two surfers who created Hopaal, an apparel company that is trying to have the tiniest footprint possible. Relying on their first success of their “sweater of the future” manufactured from 100% recycled materials, they have recently left Olatu in Anglet to open their first shop in Biarritz, a few hundred meters from the Grande Plage. Truly committed surfers...
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MARTIAL CAMBLONG – GENETRIX
His passion for kitesurfing was born when he saw a surfer being pulled by a kite in Hawaii. That moment was true revelation for Martial Camblong, who is dedicated to developing the sport and who works towards making it accessible to as many people as possible. In 2005, his dream took flight when he created the kitesurf brand GENETRIX with a friend. It was...
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STEPHEN BELL – EUROGLASS
When Stephen Bell, aka “Belly” arrived in Hossegor at 20 years old, he had no way of knowing what an incredible adventure the surfing industry had in store for him. Originally from Torquay in south-western Australia, he came to France because Harry Hodge asked him to come shape surfboards for Quiksilver. It was the beginning of an amazing experience alongside Kelly Slater that would...
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EMILIE SOUVRAS – ROXY
Emilie was a head of collection in mass retail when she quit her job to follow her husband to the Basque coast. Never would she have thought that just a few years later she would be at the head of one of the world’s leading ladies boardsports brands, Roxy.