Please vote for Tom at: shortcircuit.movementmag.com/video/29

Hi Tom, could you introduce yourself to our readers?

Hey my name is Thomas Paterson I’ve been pushing the sport of freestyle riverboarding for 9 years. I grew up in Oakville Ontario Canada, I’m 27 years old. I now spend the majority of my time in Quebec on big volume rivers looking for giant river waves. I’m very passionate about rivers the outdoors and wildlife. A couple years ago I introduced the sport of riverboarding to my brother Jon and ever since we have been on a mission to find the biggest river waves. Bigger the waves bigger the tricks!

Would you consider yourself a pioneer in riverboarding?

My focus has always been on freestyle, I like to stack up and get airborne. I have invented a whole assortment of different tricks that are super fun to huck on big waves. Some riskier than others.

Are you the first man doing flips on a river wave?

I think I am the first person to do flips on a riverboard. The front flip is probably the hardest to land but also one of the most fun to throw. The board flip, insane flip, and board blunts are the riskier tricks because in order to complete the trick I have to release my self from the board. If I don’t reconnect with the board it generally means I have a big swim to do. Some of the easier tricks include airscrews, board whips, and spartas.

What is your relationship to river surfing?

Before I started riverboarding I bought myself a surfboard to try river surfing on the Ottawa River. It was fun on the wave but really wasn’t practical getting down the rapids though, I broke all the fins off the bottom of the board. At this time I was a raft guide at horizon x rafting on the Ottawa River. Through HX I started riverboard guiding and I instantly fell in love with the sport. I realized this was a great way to get down the river to the waves I wanted to surf.

Do you think that your sport will influence river surfing ?

Sure I think freestyle riverboarding can influence river surfing. I think more so if river surfing grows, and more people are introduced to river waves, freestyle riverboarding will grow as well.

Where do you got your inspirations from?

I have always loved adventures and the outdoors, freestyle riverboarding allows me to go places very few people go and experience nature on a different level. I’ve learned a lot from pro kayakers like Ben Marr, Nick Troutman, and Joel kowalski, by watching their videos I have adapted there techniques to riverboarding. Another one of my inspirations is Jacky Chan, I always loved his films and his stunts, and I think he has influenced a lot of what I do. But the biggest thing for me is just to get out there and figure it out; I prefer to make my own rules. By spending hours and hours and hours on the river, the water teaches me so much. I would say the river inspires more then any one person can.

How do you prepare for surfing these waves? Are you worried about dying in the water?

Riding big waves is a progression; I started on very small waves and as I’ve grown as an athlete I’ve been able to work my way up to bigger waves. Some of the river waves I’m planning on surfing this year are over 20 ft tall. A lot goes in to surfing waves this big. I do a lot of scouting, just looking at the river, climbing trees to get different perspectives. A lot depends on what’s down stream of the wave. If the wave has allot of down river consequence (holes, waterfalls, strainers…) then I will only throw tricks I’m confident I can land and keep in contact with my board. if the wave flushes into a big pool or a lake then I’m willing to go big and try tricks I know I might not land. I know there are risks to what I do but if I take my time to piece the puzzle and never jump into something I’m not confident or not comfortable doing then I’m sure I will be fine.

Where do you think will riverboarding go?

I’m not sure where the sport of freestyle riverboarding will go … all I know is my tricks are going to get bigger and more flashy … I have some new tricks I’m working on that will hopefully blow some minds. I’m just going to go with the flow and see where it takes me. I’m so passionate about the river and riverboarding that I’m just excited to see what happens.

Why don’t you stand up on your board?

I do occasionally stand up on my board. But do to the fact I use fins it makes it not very practical. Also the boards that I design don’t have fins on the bottom. Also the style of tricks I’m throwing all are initiated by starting on the kneesI think in the future I will be practising standing up more. What not! Haha!

Please vote for Tom at: shortcircuit.movementmag.com/video/29

The post Riverboarding Pioneer Needs Your Vote appeared first on Riverbreak.

Could you introduce yourself to our readers?

What’s up everyone! My name is Ben Gravy, I am a novelty surfer on a mission to surf in all 50 US states & any waves that are weird & quirky!

Why did you start Vlogging?

I started filming my life when I was 8 years old. I used to film onto VHS tapes & edit surf videos with 2 VCR’s stacked on top of each other, but I started making YouTube videos documenting my life & surfing online in 2006. Then in January 2016 I started my official Ben Gravy VLOG channel.

Why did you choose the name “Nubnation” for your fan base ?

When I was a kid my best friend Mike Nesspor and I started a skate & surf magazine called NUB. NUB was an acronym for “nobody’s unliked buddy”, which meant we were going to feature unknown skaters & surfers in the magazine, instead of big name pros. The idea of accepting and promoting everyone no matter of their “status” has been a steady ideal in my life. Mike happened to pass away from a motorcycle accident in 2013 and I keep the NUB nation alive in his honour.

Tell us a bit about your story, how did you get into river surfing?

After I had realised that I surfed in 14 US states and that maybe 50 states was possible I started investigating ways to surf in landlocked states. When I found out about river surfing in Colorado on a road trip out to California, the game changed.

What were the biggest changes in your VLOG in the last years?

Since the beginning of my VLOG I wanted to create a series of videos that was honest and empowering. Sharing the ups & downs as I go. Some of the biggest changes has been the fact that I now bleep out the curse words haha.

What’s your view about the current North American river surfing movement?

River surfing in North America has blown up in the past three years! I know people have been doing it forever, but since social media made it a more noticeable and discoverable sport it’s really taken off.

When will it be possible for professional river surfers in North America to make a living from the sport?

With the way social media works in this day and age it’s possible to make money as a professional river surfer now! Start promoting what you do and make a splash!

A really fundamental question Ben: In your opinion, should river surfing seek to become a professional sport like ocean surfing?

Yes, why not? It’s fundamentally a different sport so the events and characters would be completely different and I think it can be it’s own awesome sport!

There are famous snowboarders in America who are river surfing. Bryan Iguchi and Travis Rice are filming surf videos in their hometown Jackson Hole. What’s your opinion on this? Good for the sport in general or only good for the sponsors of Bryan and Travis?

As long as it’s promoting the sport I think it’s rad!

Even ocean surfers like you, Dylan Graves and Jamie O’Brien star in river surfing clips. Why did it take so long until famous ocean surfers start promoting river surfing?

Whenever I mention river surfing to people they usually think I’m joking or that I’m riding down the river through rapids and trying to stand on my surfboard. It’s a hard thing to comprehend until you can relate to it. I think because we’ve taken our boards that we use in the ocean and shown that they can be used on the river it helps people understand that it’s realistic to try it!

Two Canadian men are showing insane action on big river waves … speaking about the bodyboarders Tom Peterson and his brother. What is their impact on river surfing?

I haven’t seen any of their footage, but I’ve seen some pretty gnarly stuff go down on bodyboards in the river. Definitely using the wave to do new and crazy stuff.

What will the future in contest river surfing bring?

Competitive river surfing will push the athletes to get more creative and innovative!

Where do you prefer landlocked contests? In rivers or wave pools?

A natural river wave event would be SICK! Maybe Montana!

Today, river surfing contests are at a stage where ocean surfing was 20 years ago. What can river surfing learn from the mistakes that happened in ocean surfing?

I think the river surfing community should just focus on what river surfing is and not worry about comparing anything to ocean surfing. We have a very unique and cool thing here!

Are we going to see you participating in river surfing comps in the future?

I’m so in there big dog!

What are your personal goals in river surfing? Which tricks do you want to get dialed in the future?

My goals right now are to find a wave in Missouri and Nebraska! Kick flips are an ultimate goal!

Which other river waves would you love to ride one day?

That big dog monster wave up in Canada!

Are you involved in any wave building projects? Which waves do you see coming in the future?

I’m seeing Nebraska coming on the scene HEAVY! It’s NEVER been surfed…

How do you want American river surfing develop in the future?

I’d like to see a lot more young people trying it out and enjoying that fun it has to offer!

Some last words?

Whatever you want in life, go for it 100% do it for the DREAM!

What is the claim for your future?

I’m claiming that it’s nuking boys!

The post Ben Gravy – On a Mission to Surf in Every State appeared first on Riverbreak.

Silvia, are you already planning to participate in the Olympics in six years?

Wait a sec? China winter Olympics is in 4 years! Or … are you really asking me about in 6 years? You mean … SUMMER Olympics? Holy shit!! What an epic thought. To be honest it hasn’t crossed my mind but the thought is so wild and beautiful that I’ll keep it in my head to cheer me up through this current Olympic’s knee injury recovery period.

Let’s imagine, for a moment, river surfing is an official discipline at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. Would you swap your snowboard against a surfboard?

As I said before, I haven´t dared to think these kind of thoughts before, my surfing skills would definitely need a big upgrade to keep up with the amazing ladies river surfing already has in store. On the other hand, I´ve always loved a big challenge and a big dream. Those things are what makes life exciting. Especially right now while facing 5 more weeks of wounded warrior life before I can even just walk normal again… I´m down with a new and additional dream, and even the thought of trying this, no matter how far I could get with it, makes me stoked already. Thanks for brightening up my day with new dreams!

Tell us a bit about your story … how did you get into river surfing?

That was quite some years ago on the most chill one of our three Munich river waves, the “Flosslände”. I had tried my luck with real ocean surfing several times before, but only got rare chances when I was snowboarding in California already anyways and managed to do a quick additional stopover with friends on the beach or did the classic German camping& surfing vaca in France for a week. Great experiences but I never got enough of it and the only realistic way to get more surfing into my fulltime snowboarder life was to get on our Munich river waves. So I started on the Flosslände many years ago. Great times while the Flosslände ran, but then it shut off for a bit so I tried to transition straight to the Eisbach but I was quite scared of the rocks behind the wave, really couldn´t afford to hurt myself in the river and that way be out of the snowboarding. Also I didn´t know any of the Eisbach crew at that stage and it’s intimidating if you´re just a scared kook Eisbach beginner with no connections.

There are people on our river doing turns in ways I could probably try all my life and never be able to do it like that.

I felt I had no business being there so I went to the second Eisbach wave instead. It´s a smaller, weaker wave and kind of tricky if you aren´t very light weight, but it worked for me. I spent as much time there between my snowboard trips as I could and once that wave stopped running well I finally went to the classic first Eisbach wave. Got to know lots of people over the course of time, got over my fear of the rocks and kind of figured out how it works there after all. From a technical surfing point, I have lots of room to grow, but just being able to enjoy the surfing there makes me so happy, and in the end that’s what it’s all about – to feel good and comfortable with the wave and people and the huge amounts of watching tourists, to spend your time there with a constant smile adding your own little share of happy vibes to the accumulated good energies of Munich city.

Photo: Zach Faulkner

What would you say if future Olympic surf comps would be carried out on river waves, in cities far from the ocean?

Obviously the real surfing belongs into the ocean. But that makes it exclusive, only a certain amount of people have the luck to naturally have access to a surf spot, it´s quite comparable to good snowboarding locations and the reason why I have moved a lot of my life to the USA throughout my snowboard career. River waves and wave pools are an opportunity for many people to experience the joy of (that other kind of) surfing without living on or moving to the beach or being limited to your vacation time. I think there is no question about it that the primary Olympic surf event will always belong to the ocean, but adding a second surf discipline in the river or wave pool could be a sweet addition. Not only as something for the landlocked surf community to connect to, but also as a chance for technical trick surfing to improve in an additional direction. Especially if the wave pools or river wave constructions improve to new heights as well. Hate it or love it, it can definitely broaden the whole big picture of what surfing is and can be.

It’s up to yourself to figure out what exactly makes your heart scream from joy.

I can only compare it to the snowboard world, where backcountry never made it to the Olympics (I don’t think it should – snow gets tracked out, water stays the same), but slopestyle did in 2014 and then they added Big Air in 2018, also on those in-city-ramps that take snowboarding to downtown cities where it otherwise could never be. No, that´s not “real” snowboarding to me, but yes, big air was amazing to have in the Olympics this year and it does add a big slice of new excitement to the aging Olympic vampire as well. Generally I believe it´s good to be open to new additional directions and not only limit yourself to what you have known so far and cling on to the size of box you have packaged your passion into so far.

What would a river wave need to qualify as “Olympic”? What would the river wave of your dreams look like?

Wow, I only know my three home waves here in Munich so far. The main Eisbach wave is for sure the best one of those, it´s the tallest and has the most pressure and people are doing amazing things on it. So that´s the best I know, but I don’t feel I have enough experience with different waves to really say what should be different to make it the best it could be. You’ve got to ask those boys and girls with the big bag of tricks and many years of Eisbach experience, I´m not one of those, at least not at this stage.

Photo: Julian Dörr – kn12.de

Today, river surfing contests are at a stage where snowboarding was 20 years ago. What can river surfing learn from the mistakes that happened in snowboarding?

Wow. This interview is definitely one of a kind. I´m really enjoying all this crossing over between snowboarding and surfing, it´s broadening my own horizon of imagination and understanding along the way. Thanks guys!

Generally I don´t believe much in mistakes.

Generally I don´t believe much in mistakes, everything that happens is a chance to learn from it and evolve. So in my eyes, it’s not so much the things that happen themselves, it’s more our perception and judgement of them, our ability to let things happen with an open, fearless mind and soul. The only constant in life is change, and no matter how much you love something at a certain stage, time will go on. So in the context of boardsports and Olympics, Terje Haakonsen definitely comes to my mind, with his strong anti-olympic attitude back in the day. Olympics are clearly not 100% of what snowboarding is, there are many more perceptions and ways of living snowboarding, but the Olympics have clearly broadened the horizon of what snowboarding can be. It´s still up to the individual to only care about pow, to be a part of producing core snowboard movies, to compete in alternative events or chase an Olympic dream. It´s up to the individual to be on the mountain 2 or 200 days a year, on a freestyle-, race- or pow-board and it’s up to yourself to figure out what exactly makes your heart scream from joy.

So I´d say the important thing for the future of river surfing (as well as lots of other things in life) is to stay open and fearless and give things a try in order to figure out how to do them better. Resistance against change and growth is usually a waste of energy as long as the change and growth don’t destroy nature or hurt living beings.

A really fundamental question Silvia: In your opinion, should river surfing seek to become a professional sport like snowboarding?

I don´t think this is a question of “should” or “shouldn’t”. It kinda of goes back to the question with the mistakes in a way. No matter what happens, the individual will always have the choice to perceive riversurfing in whatever way makes them the happiest. If stationary wave surfing turned into an olympic discipline in 2024, whoever would like to spend time hating on that could save that energy and just keep surfing the same way they always have, not watch any of the events or care about it. I think the question is not to judge if it’s good or bad if stationary wave surfing became “official”, it’s more the question if it will happen or not.

I´d say the important thing for the future of river surfing is to stay open and fearless.

I do think there is a future of more river waves, city waves and wave pools because people enjoy using them. Consumers create the market, market creates chance of making money, chance to make money with something sweet as surfing creates people who will want to take advantage of that. So yes, I do think there will be a growth in that kind of surfing. More people doing it creates events, and the question is how popular and official those will get, and if the Olympic vampire will get hungry for more fresh blood as well. So bottom line – no resistance against whatever the future brings, just curiosity for what’s to come!

Who should be in charge of carrying out the qualifications for the Olympics? Do you think this should be left in the hands of national (ocean) surf associations or should river surfers have their own associations?

Wow this thought goes far into the future! Different federations and organisations have been a big magnet for wasting energy with fighting in snowboarding, but after many years, everybody has somewhat found together and two different tours have been united in a combined ranking list and a quite respectful co-existence. Coming from that experience, we know how important it is to include everybody involved and have vivid communication to create things together. So ocean surfing and stationary surfing would need to work together with respect in the shared goal to do what’s best for surfing overall. Ideally money and sponsor interests are secondary behind the interest of the sport and it won’t be a fight over who owns what but more joining forced to take it all onto a higher level together. This might sound rather dreamy-naive, but the more everybody involved can see the biggest picture, the better it will be. But obviously with human´s monetary system we also need budget to make things happen.

Photo: Zach Faulkner

What are your personal goals in river surfing? Which tricks do you want to learn in the future?

Surfing has mostly been a treat for me, a change of scenery, a chance to have a good time with lower expectations than those I have on the mountain. In snowboarding I´ve gone through all emotions of the pain and pleasure of trying and learning tricks, of scaring and pushing yourself, succeeding and failing with consequences. I haven´t gotten to a stage of putting any pressure on myself for surfing, I just go with it and am happy cruising no matter what. In that one summer on the little second Eisbach wave I sometimes got to a stage of being so comfortable I wanted more, so I started with little ollies and got alright at surfing switch (might help that I skateboard regular all my life, and I´ve been skateboarding longer than snowboarding actually) but once I transitioned to the bigger wave I was just stoked to feel comfortable cruising there. It would be sick to learn some 3s eventually, to pop above the water and see if the switch surfing also works there, but first I need this knee to heal again, keep up with snowboard life, and then I´ll possibly ask some of the good guys and girls for trick advice this summer, once the time has come.

Which other river waves would you love to ride one day?

In terms of river waves I´m lucky to come from Munich! We have some of the best, most consistent river surfing there is. So far if I travel somewhere to surf, it would be to be in the ocean and not in another river. But if there´s a river along my journeys, I surely love to try it out. This summer, when we were snowboarding in New Zealand, I was really hoping to join my Kiwi friends on their local (Hawea) wave, but while I was there that wave never ended up being surfable. That made me realize how lucky we are in Munich. Eisbach always runs except those 2 weeks a year when they clear out the river. I also have a friend who surfs in the great lakes in the USA which would be a sick experience if it worked out along the way – and we had the luck to get waves.

If there´s a river along my journeys, I surely love to try it out.

My next “new” stationary wave experience will be our 4th Munich wave – the indoor wave at the Jochen Schweizer arena. I’ve been wanting to try it ever since it opened, but in the summer the Eisbach was too fun and I didn´t want to go indoors, then I was in AUS/NZ for snowboarding, then ended up crashing so hard on snow that I had brain bleeding and wasn´t allowed to do sports for six weeks, then the snowboard season and Olympic qualifying kept going, taking me to Olympics eventually – where I hurt my knee. So it´s going be a little while until I can surf again, but once that time comes around I´m really excited to try that clean indoor wave and compare it to what I know so far.

Are we going to see you participating in river surfing comps in the future?

Coming back to the beginning of this interview – I haven’t really thought of it yet since I don´t think my skills are quite there yet. But who knows – if my body stays healthy and I have enough surf time this year and get lucky with some Eisbach crew advice on learning stuff – never say never. :) I´ve always loved a challenge and honestly I´ve thought about it how sweet it would be to learn surf tricks. It must help to have board feeling from doing tricks on a snowboard and skateboard? So far I just never really knew where to start so I just kept cruising. And actually just that is an eternal task in itself. There are people on our river doing turns in ways I could probably try all my life and never be able to do it like that. And in the very end, what matters is that it feels good and makes your happy. No matter if it’s a contest day or any given day. It´s just like snowboarding.

What can popular athletes like you do to help build more river waves?

I don´t really know. But if you can tell me, please tell me how, and I´m happy to help. If there was a smooth way to add waves to existing rivers without fucking with mother nature too much that would be huge! I´d love to support it in whatever way I can.

Thank you for your time Silvia and we wish you a speedy recovery!

The post Silvia Mittermüller – River Surfing from a Pro-Snowboarder’s Perspective appeared first on Riverbreak.

“What a blast it was doing hydrofoil river surfing! Interestingly, it feels as though you’re going so fast but when you look to both side of the river everything is stationary. Never felt that much speed in my life without actually moving forward! Can’t wait to do more of it.”

Video footage will be released soon so stay tuned – Huge props to Nate Meyer for capturing this unique moment. Make sure to check out his profile!

The post Hydrofoil River Surfing appeared first on Riverbreak.

I was in for quite the surprise when I received an email from the website’s founder, Zach Weisberg – it went something like, “We’d love to have you as an intern! I see you go to school out in Reno, Nevada. I don’t know if you were banking on coming out here to Venice, but we have an opegning in Boise! I’m going to forward your portfolio to our Mountain editor, Joe.” Though it wasn’t quite what I expected, I took the opportunity with little reluctance. Boise, Idaho – I’d never been there, and I knew little about the place.

When I finally received a phone call from my boss-to-be, I was fly-fishing at Pyramid Lake. Joe Carberry was his name, and he had nothing but great things to say about Boise and the work opportunity ahead of me. “Oh you’re into fly-fishing? Dude, you have to come out here to Boise, man. You will dig it! You surf? No way? Me too! Dude, bring your wetsuit!” I did not question the guy. For the first time in my life, I let the chips fall as they did, and just went with it. Naturally, I was stoked on the opportunity ahead of me. I called my mom and told her I would not be coming home much at all that summer.

For the first time in my life, I let the chips fall as they did, and just went with it.

Fast forward a few months – I had spent the morning drinking expensive beer on the shore of Lake Tahoe, with a beautiful girl. It was from there that I had driven my loaded down Subaru straight to Boise. It was a long drive, but a beautiful one at that. The tobacco-filled hours buzzed by as the same Jawbreaker album played on repeat. When I arrived, I was greeted by a living room futon in the small apartment of an old high school friend – living with two sorority girls was not as glorious as it sounds, but it was an experience to say the least. My new home was a short walk away from the Boise River and a short drive away from my new office in downtown Boise.

Corridor surf shop in Boise, Idaho

My first day working for The Inertia went down in history as the best first day of a job in my entire life. I had expected to walk in a small office filled with a small staff of outdoor writers – there would be some radical snowboarder guy, a gnarly kayaker dude, and of course a beautiful Boise mountain babe who I would share a summer love affair with. None of that became a reality. I was greeted by Joe and only Joe. He long-boarded up the sidewalk to meet me at the entrance of a start-up business office, 10 minutes late. I didn’t mind – this was only an indication of how laid back my work environment would soon be. He gave me a shockingly brief run-down of what he expected from me, and we soon began writing on our laptops. Most of our conversation consisted of him telling me about a man-made wave on the Boise River and how we were going to surf it. Not even two hours into our work, Joe looked up from his computer and said the words “Let’s go play”. He told me to go home, grab my wetsuit, and meet him at the Boise Whitewater Park. I followed his instructions, not quite knowing what to expect.

I followed his instructions, not quite knowing what to expect.

Joe and I arrived at the river and suited up. He had a surfboard for me. A dinged up short-board thinner than anything I’d ever surfed before – even in the ocean. I was pretty envious of the board he was going to ride. It made me wish I would have brought my entire quiver out to Boise. Unfortunately, all I had was my 5/4 wetsuit. I neglected to even bring my booties, due to the expectation that we would be doing much more working than river-surfing – I was so wrong. And I was also wrong in not bringing my booties, because the rocks that line the Boise river are a hell of a lot more treacherous than the sand on the Northern California coast. Needless to say, my feet got ripped to shreds during my stay in Boise. But even bloodied feet cannot strip me of the stoke I earned from that river-wave.

Even bloodied feet cannot strip me of the stoke I earned from that river-wave.

We stood in line behind a handful of river-surfing Boise locals. Boards-in-hand we watched as surfers paddled into the massive river break one-by-one. To put things lightly, I was a bit scared. Actually I was very scared – mostly of making a fool of myself and becoming the new Boise River kook. I was still trying to figure out exactly how these guys were getting into the wave. They would paddle straight into to edge of this massive onslaught of water, put the board in front of them like some sort of boogie-board, then somehow end up in the pit of this gigantic wave. I was at a loss – each time it was my turn, I would be washed away 70 yards down the Boise River. Only to walk back and stand in this line of river-surfing freaks of nature. I would question the surfers aside me in line, asking how to get in. I would introduce myself as an ocean surfer to establish some sort of credibility, then express my confusion and extreme will to get this down.

Wave One, Boise Whitewater Park

These guys made up one of the most fantastically unique surf community that I’d ever found myself in.

Each surfer was extremely kind and helpful. These guys made up one of the most fantastically unique surf community that I’d ever found myself in. After a few days of continuously being washed down the river, I finally found myself getting into the wave each and every time I paddled towards it. What an exciting sensation it was, but I still was not ripping like some of the locals – cutbacks, airs, you name it. These guys were good. Joe would be stoked on my progress as if it was some sort of big article I was writing for his website. I ventured into the Corridor surf shop to seek tips on river surfing, and maybe even find a banged up soft-top to buy. I came up short with the board, but one of the guys who worked in the shop, who’s name was actually Guy, gave me some quick tips to improve my riding.

It was probably the second week when I showed up to the wave, only to be stumped by its configuration. The river flows decreased, and the wave had to be reshaped to match the flows. It was now a smaller wave, and was unable to be paddled into like before. Just after I had learned how to successfully enter this massive river wave, the thing completely changed. Surfers couldn’t even enter it from the parking lot side. We had to enter the river upstream and paddle our butts off to cross it before we would be swept down by the wave. Though I had an entire new technique to learn, it ended up working to my advantage. The new wave allowed for me to drop in to the wave on my feet, kind of like how a skater would drop into a half-pipe. It made for much easier rides, but I would soon be lusting for the larger size and wider wave of the previous configuration. The new wave was about half as wide and two-thirds as tall. Regardless, it was just as rugged, difficult, and exciting.

Female shred power in Boise

To put things lightly, I was a bit scared. Actually I was very scared.

The most amazing thing that I found in river-surfing was not the diversity of waves, nor was it the steep learning curve or incredible difficulty. It was not the novelty and it was not the fact that I didn’t have to rinse my wetsuit after each session. The most incredible part of it was the people who did it. The Boise surf community is one like none that I have seen before. A mix of California transplants, adrenaline junkies, fun-seekers, a Tahitian, and maybe even a few guys who have never even surfed the ocean. Together they formed a welcoming group of folks, young and old, who surf like few surfers ever have. These guys rip in the water, and they are devoted to their craft. The river-wave lineups were as fair as fair can be. Whether there was three guys in the water, or 20. Whether it was a dawn patrol river session, or a couple of turns on lunch break. These guys respected each other and seemed to respect anyone else who wanted to give this sport a shot, including myself. I have no doubts that I would be accepted back, and even remembered by name, come the day I return to the Boise River wave.

The river-wave lineups were as fair as fair can be.

I went on to surf that wave almost everyday for the remainder of my time there. It was almost like a part of mine and Joe’s daily work-flow. Some days I would be a bit too frustrated with getting thrashed around in the rocks and ripping current, but Joe would get me to go anyways. We truly had an awesome time. I spent my time in Boise writing articles, drinking at college bars, surfing, fly-fishing, camping, meeting great folks, and not to mention becoming well-acquainted with the bottom of the Boise river. How many other places can a guy do that?

The post What it Feels Like to Transition from Ocean to River Surfing appeared first on Riverbreak.

Full name: Annie Carrier
Age: 26
Years river surfing: 2 years
Homebreak: Montréal
Favourite board: My 5’6 Alanie model from Boréal Surfboards
Favourite trick: roundhouse cutback
Sponsors: Boréal Surfboards, June Swimwear, Rip Curl, Kiteforce, Best Kiteboarding

So you’re from Montreal Annie … there is a really vibrant surf community at the St. Lawrence River and most of the surfers are men, right? Are you one of the few women surfing in Montreal?

I mean there are more men than women in the water but I’m “fighting” against that movement. I’ve taken at least 15 of my girlfriends this summer in the river for the first time. I’m also seeing more girls taking lessons and I am really proud of that. But the boys are super nice to us, they don’t see us as women, they see us as surfers and that’s my goal too.

Are there other girls that you’ve been surfing with consistently? Who are your favourite female river surf-buddies?

My best friend, Audrey Frégeau. We learned together last year and we just can’t get enough now. The second we are out of work, we are in the river. We sometimes go surfing before dinner with friends or before meetings. We always try to make room on weekends for the river. It’s funny because I traveled with Audrey to many cool places to surf in the ocean. We got back to Montréal and we were like: let’s go surfing in the river. We couldn’t figure out how to surf in there and it was really frustrating because we knew how to surf in the ocean. So we encouraged each other and at the same time, we caught the wave and surfed it like never before. It was the best moment. It’s like learning to ride a bicycle; once you have figure it out it’s priceless.

Photo: Sébastien Chartrand

Which waves do you surf in Montreal and which one is your favourite wave?

I surf the wave in the St Lawrence river behind Habitat 67. It’s awesome when it becomes all green. It’s sometimes all foamy but I still surf it anyway because I like to paddle out and get wet. The community is also super friendly and fun to hang out with.

Is “Shore Wave” still on, or is the wave gone at the moment?

Unfortunately Shore Wave at Habitat 67 is dead ☹ It happened last winter. We don’t really know what happened but it doesn’t break like it used to. At the moment, the wave is not surfable at all.

What is the surf culture at your home break in Montreal?

The community in Montréal is super tight and friendly. I’ve brought out a lot of girls this summer and everyone wants to help. Everyone is happy to have new surfers in the community. We saw how tight our community was when the city of Montréal wanted to dump raw sewage. There are also private groups on Facebook that are made for organizing surf trips, wave report (we post ONLY when the wave is bad) :P, sell stuff, etc.

Photo: Sébastien Chartrand

What was the reaction of the local river surfing community on the city’s plan to dump raw sewage into the St. Lawrence River?

We were outraged. We couldn’t believe that it was the only solution in 2015. We decided to do petitions, organise a paddle out.

Think of the first time you went river surfing … How did you get into it?

I first went river surfing when I was about 12 years old. I was into my “Blue Crush” mode and begged my dad to bring me to the river. We didn’t really know what we were getting into. I had a surfboard that wasn’t appropriate at all. I bought it online and it was a gun from Hawaii. My dad also told me to wear my bike helmet in case something happened. I asked few surfers how to get to the wave. Turns out I took the wrong current and I was going “offshore”. I ended up crying because I could see everyone at the shore yelling me things and doing signs and I didn’t know what to do. I took a long break after that horrible session and went back 12 years later!

 What’s your advice for other women who want to give river surfing a try?

Don’t be scared. It looks more intimidating than it actually is. It’s also really important to take lessons before going on your own. Or go with someone you really trust if you have been surfing before. It also helps if you work out your upper body. It can get tiring for someone who is not used to paddling.

Photo: Sébastien Chartrand

What makes river surfing so special for you?

What makes it so special is that I can go to work during the day and go surfing at night, in the city. I’ve always been used to choose surfing or working because the closest surf spot from Montréal is 5 hours away. I could never do both in one day and I thought it was super hard to choose. Now that I have discovered river surfing, I can enjoy having both in one day and that makes me so happy. I can also enjoy it with all my friends from the city. It’s like all my life I had to choose between working, having my family/friends around or head to the USA to get my surf fix.

Tell us about one of your river surfing highlights

One of the highlights I have in mind was a sunset party wave with 2 of my best friends. We just couldn’t stop laughing. We couldn’t even stand up because it was too funny. I am also super proud of one article I did about river surfing with my buddy Pascale Marcotte for the magazine Elle.

Have you been surfing river waves outside Montreal too? If so, what was your best river surf tip you ever did?

Nope! I usually travel to surf in the ocean.

Have you won any contests that you’re really proud of? Tell us about them!

I have never done a river surf contest but if I hear of one in Montréal, I’m more than keen to participate!

Photo: Sébastien Chartrand

 What are some of your “high hopes” for the future of river surfing?

I really hope that our water in Montréal stays “clean” (it could be much more cleaner). I also hope that more and more ladies will get into the sport. I love it when we are more girls than boys at the wave. Makes me feel proud of us!

Besides river surfing, what hobbies do you find the most pleasure in? 

Surfing of course! I also really enjoy kiteboarding, skateboarding, karate, snowboarding, skiing. Any sport that sleds haha!

3 people who inspire you the most?

Ronda Rousey for her determination and focus; Lakey Peterson for her perseverance and talent; My boyfriend/coach/shaper for his patience and perfectionism.

Anything else you want to pass on to our readers?

Show me the river waves you surf and I’ll show you ours!! ☺ I want to live the search.

Fill in the blanks

• I’ve always wanted to ___ surf everyday.
• You’re not really a river surfer unless ___ you don’t get sick because of the cleanliness of the water! Hahaha
• My favourite river surf buddies are ___ Audrey Frégeau, Pascale Marcotte and my brother, Benoît Carrier.
• Happiness is ___ surfing. I know it’s cheesy but it’s true!

Thank you Annie for your time and keep spreading positive vibes in Montreal!

The post Women in River Surfing: Annie Carrier, Montreal (Québec) appeared first on Riverbreak.

Full name: April Zastrow
Age: 27
Years river surfing: 1
Homebreak: Boise River Park
Favourite trick: So far all I have been able to pull off are simple ollies. I plan on progressing into more air type of moves and 360’s.
Sponsors: Peterson surfboards, Roxy

April, who’s to blame for your passion for river surfing?

A friend and I were trying to figure out something to do and they told me that they river surfed. I never knew there was such a thing, but the second they told me about it I said I was going and knew it wasn’t going to just be a one-time thing. I immediately bought gear the day after my first try at river surfing.

Do you see river surfing as a typical male or female sport?

I do see it as more of a typical male sport, simply by the amount of men that do it compared to women. But I do not consider it being a sport that is predominately more of an advantage for men compared to women. I have competed in motocross for 15 years and have found motocross to be a lot harder as a woman compared to men. MX takes way more strength being one of the most physically demanding sports out there, but surfing involves a different type of strength. As a female I have found that my style in sports is usually smooth and effortless looking and I think this translates well into surfing.

Photo: Tanya Pavlis / Sidewayz Films

Are there other girls that you’ve been surfing with consistently?

There is a small group of core girls that consistently come out and surf: Kiley, Lucy, Katie, Katy and Ciam before she just recently moved. There is a lot of skill and heart between these girls and I love watching them all surf!

What’s your advice for girls who want to get into river surfing?

There is nothing holding you back except self-doubt. I think it is far worse to not try something than the fear of failure. Failure is necessary before you can experience success and the harder you fail, the greater the success feels. And of course do not give up if it’s something you are truly passionate about.

What makes river surfing so special (compared to ocean surfing)?

One major thing about river surfing is the sportsmanship. Everyone gets a shot at the wave no matter what skill level you are or how much time you have put in at the wave and people are courteous about taking turns and keeping the flow going. When someone who has been struggling for days, weeks or even months finally gets their first turn or finally stands on their board; you will hear every surfer cheer them on.

What is the surf culture like where you live?

It is a very small culture here, but everyone is so friendly and it feels like a family. There is an interesting diverse group of people who can all get together and have the same froth over the wave. We also get together occasionally for chill parties, gatherings or events.

How large is the river surf community at your home break?

I am really bad at guessing numbers, but on a crowded night there can be about 20 and have even counted up to almost 30 people. It is somewhat of a small community, but I like it small.

Tell us about one of your river surfing highlights (scariest, greatest, funniest…)

I have had to take one trip to the hospital already. Last year the board shot up out of the water and the rail pulled an uppercut on me. I had lockjaw for about a week, but there wasn’t any major damage except maybe a small fracture or something.

Photo: Tanya Pavlis / Sidewayz Films

What is the best river wave you’ve ever ridden?

I have only had the opportunity to surf our wave. I did have a trip planned to Munich this summer, but it fell through. I do plan on hitting some other northwest waves this fall or spring though.

Best river surf tip you have personally applied?

Never give up. I went a long time before I got more than a turn or two at the wave and there were many days that I thought I would never get it, but I kept trying and eventually it clicked one day. One guy made the comment “I never would have thought a year ago that you would be one of the smoothest surfers out here.”

Have you won any contests that you’re really proud of? Tell us about them!

I have yet to compete for river surfing, I have only heard of the Payette River Games locally and will maybe compete if they make the wave more fitting for surfing rather than SUP/Kayak.

Photo: Tanya Pavlis / Sidewayz Films

What are some of your “high hopes” for the future of river surfing?

I see a lot of potential in river surfing. There are so many people like myself who have always been landlocked and dreamed of surfing, they just don’t know about river surfing yet. There are also more river waves popping up around the states, that I can only see it grow from here. Maybe one day there will be an actual river surfing championship series that people can compete in around the states, but right now it is just fun to do without being too serious about it.

Photo: Tanya Pavlis / Sidewayz Films

Besides river surfing, what hobbies do you find the most pleasure in?

I have been a professional motocross racer since I was 15, but haven’t raced the last few years due to a change in the series with it taking a major step back in our progression as professional athletes. I am also a graphic designer for a motocross apparel company, Fly Racing. I have recently started painting (my boardshaper has even let me paint all of my boards) and picked up the guitar to help keep me busy when our wave gets shut down in the winter. I will occasionally road bike or snowboard. Just love to be active and have fun as much as possible!

Final shout outs?

From the late Kurt Caselli “Do one thing every day that scares you.”

Fill in the blanks

• I’ve always wanted to ___ be as rad as possible.
• You’re not really a river surfer unless ___ you have chased your board down the river and have been held down long enough to spark some fear in you.
• My favourite river surf buddy is ___ the core group of regulars at the river, they know who they are (can’t just pick one).
• Happiness is ___ to love and be loved.

Thank you April for your time and all the best for the upcoming season!

The post Women in River Surfing: April Zastrow, Boise (ID) appeared first on Riverbreak.

Website:
https://lanaudieresurf.wordpress.com

Social:
https://www.facebook.com/alex.larue.94

More of Alex Larue on Riverbreak:
Alex Larue on Riverbreak

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Elijah Mack founded the World River Surfing Association (WRSA) back in 2001.

Here is a video shot in January 2004 that showcases just how far ahead of the curve Mack was. Watch the founder of the World River Surfing Association (WRSA) in action, surfing on the McKenzie River and elsewhere.

Producer: Mike Midlo
Videographer/Editor: Nick Fisher

The post Elijah Mack Surfing McKenzie River and Elsewhere appeared first on Riverbreak.

Sponsored and supported by Nixon, DC, GoPro, burn, Quicksilver, Slingshot, vault and Dakine, Jan is always on the road, hitting surf, kite and wake sessions whenever and wherever he can. This gives him the possibility to combine what he loves most: sports and traveling. Besides being busy with his sponsor affiliations, the 1988 born water enthusiast is also co-editor of the Polish surfmag.

It’s safe to say that Jan’s discovery of the first Polish river waves has set river surfing in Poland in motion. We are already curious where Jan and his friend will be off to next time on their mission to discover the yet unexplored river waves of Poland.

Jan’s list of records

• Second in Kitesurfing Slider World Championships Pkra 2006 Venezuela
• Polish Champion ’06 In kitesurfing
• Polish champion ’08 in surfing
• Vice Polish Champ in Kitesurfing ’08

Find out more about Janek

Website: janekkorycki.com
Write-up on Riverbreak: River Surfing in Poland — Chasing the Perfect Wave

The post Janek Korycki appeared first on Riverbreak.