The surfing world is like a big family and for Marie-Pascale Delanne, it’s truer than for most. The Delanne siblings wrote some of the first pages in the history of surfing in France, partly right here on the Côte des Basques and Marie-Pascale was no exception.
For this ninth episode of the Inside Eurosima Podcast, we welcome Hervé Lacastaigneratte, Founder of Surf Lounge.
For this episode we are thrilled to welcome a pillar of the European boardsports industry and a founding member of Eurosima : Michel Hoff.
As the exclusive distributor for Morey Boogie back in the day and a key retailer for boardsports in the 90’s and 2000’s, it is partly thanks to Michel Hoff that Europe saw the introduction and eventually the huge success of bodyboarding as a sport. But that is only one of many accomplishments this trend-setter has gifted the industry. Some examples of what a key player he’s been for the industry include importing and selling brands like SexWax, Reef or technologies such as SurfTech, as well as a number of other successful business endeavors.
Every industry has its key players and for French boardculture, Greg Poissonnier is one of them.
Originally from the North of France and having moved to Pau in the Pyrénées at the age of 12, Greg saw the rise of snowboarding in the early 90’s and how it spread to the masses, which is also when he honed his own skills in the sport. Having joined the Quiksilver pro team a few years later, he experienced firsthand the first pro contrats as well as the first editions of several now legendary events such as the Quik Cup. These travels and interactions led him to establish a wide network in the industry.
Pierre-Bernard Gascogne. PBG (“Pébège”) for friends.The name is as legendary in the boardsports industry as it is familiar to Surf Session magazine readers.
A long-time surfer (the first Frenchman to have surfed Mundaka) PBG has always strived to combine his passion with his studies and his career.
You can’t talk about female icons of the surfing industry without mentioning Maritxu Darrigand
Back in the 70’s, a visionary and a pioneer, she helped lay the foundations of the industry before it even was an industry. As a world traveler living between the mountain and the ocean, she was behind the first screenings of surf movies in theaters.
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.
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.
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 the top of one of the world’s leading surf brands.
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 brand he would spend 20 years working with. A fervent environmentalist to the core, in 2013, he joined Patagonia, where he found a true calling.
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