Edouard Delpero wurde in Marseille geborene und lebt heute in Biarritz. Der fünffache WSL-Europameister im Longboarden begann als Teenager mit dem Surfen und zog mit seinem Bruder Antoine Delpero ins Baskenland.
Im Alter von 21 Jahren gewann Edouard seine erste französische Longboard-Meisterschaft, ein Titel, den er noch fünf weitere Male gewinnen sollte. Mit einer beeindruckenden Sammlung von Trophäen bewies Edouard sein Können auch auf der internationalen Bühne und wurde 2017 als bester Surfer der WSL World Longboard Tour ausgezeichnet. Zwei Jahre später wurde er zum World Longboard Champion gekrönt.
Seit diesem Jahr ist Edouard Teil des O'Neill O'Riginals Teams und sein geschmeidiges und kreatives Surfen, kombiniert mit einem großen Ehrgeiz, machen ihn zu einem interessanten Surfer, den wir euch mit diesem Interview näher vorstellen wollen.
Da wir das Interview auf Englisch geführt haben, lassen wir es im Original.
How did you start surfing?
I was probably five years old when I first got on a surfboard. At the age of 9 or 10 it became more serious. We were living in Marseille at the time and I only got to surf on vacation when we visited the Basque country. Because my father was very involved in surfing and windsurfing at that time. When he got more into surfing, he would take me and my brother surfing after school on the beaches of Marseille whenever there were small waves.
And how did you get into competitive surfing?
My older brother started competing, so it was natural for me to follow. He was competing at a world class level and as a younger brother I wanted to do the same. But I always studied and finished high school, got my university degree and graduated from business school. This led me to open my own surf school with my brother in 2016. Since then we have been running our surf school business here in Biarritz on the Côte des Basques. So since then I try to manage, compete, work and enjoy surfing, overall, my whole life around it.
Thanks for the insight. So your main business at the moment is the surf school business or is there any other business besides that?
No, it's a premium surf school business, which means we only do groups of maximum four people or private lessons at la Cote de Basque, or we choose some other spots in the region for our groups, as we also offer surf guiding. But it's pretty cool because we have a rhythm, like we work between April and November, and the rest of the time I can really develop myself, get ready for the contest season, chase some big waves and look for perfect waves. So it's a good balance.
You mentioned that you have an older brother. Was he a big influence for you in surfing?
Yeah, my brother was probably the biggest influence in my life overall. And not only in surfing, but also in being a surfer. His approach to surfing has made me the surfer I am today. But of course I bring my own little touch to my surfing and I prefer short boards more than him, that's for sure. I've always looked up to a lot of people, but yeah, my brother was probably the biggest inspiration.
What else did he teach you besides surfing? You mentioned that he also inspired you in other ways.
Yeah. I mean, imagine living with your brother since you are 14 years old and only having him around. It starts to be a big influence in your life.
It can also be a big struggle.
Yeah, sometimes it was a struggle for sure. But that was when we were younger, not anymore.
So to me it sounds like you really love what you do and you probably have shared your roles in the business. Or how does that work?
It's a tricky thing to find a balance in this environment, for sure. But I feel like we have a good balance right now. We all know what our responsibilities are, so we're good at that. That's for sure.
The good thing about surfing all kinds of boards in all kinds of conditions is that you can always have fun in any kind of wave.
Cool. So what do you like about teaching people how to surf?
It depends, there are different types of people. There are people who just want to say they surf, which is not that much fun. But there are also people who really want to learn and they're willing to put in the time and they start to understand the ocean and read the ocean, that's the most important thing. And when you see people picking it up, it is really rewarding. Sometimes it's more ocean education than just surf education. It's crazy how the ocean reveals people's personalities. It's crazy how sometimes a surf lesson becomes almost therapy. Kids lessons in small groups are also a lot of fun because the kids learn fast and you get a lot of smiles and happy faces.
You surf all kinds of boards. What do you like about the variety of shapes?
With different shapes, surfing never gets old. But I go through different phases. Last year, when I was on tour, I was pretty focused on training my longboard to meet all the criteria that judges like to see in contests. I practiced a lot, but the reality is that you take out the fun minutes. Right now I just want to go surfing when it's big and I ride shortboards or longboards, whatever. But I haven't done a noseride in a couple of months. The good thing about surfing all kinds of boards in all kinds of conditions is that you can always have fun in any kind of wave. That's really good. And it brings in another motivation because you always have something cool to do, something new to improve on, because every board lets you ride different lines.
Longboarding was really classic when I was young, then it went into more of a performance approach, and now it's actually finding the right balance.
So imagine you were going on a surf trip to South Africa, but you were only allowed to take one board. Which board would it be?
I would probably take my 9'1'' longboard for two reasons. First of all, I want to surf Jay Bay on a longboard. I think you can do some crazy nose rides on that wave. And the second reason why I would take my longboard is that you are safer with the sharks. So I can keep my feet and hands up and out of the water.
Now I sent you to the Maldives with a board. Which one would that be?
That would be a fish, probably a 5.6 by 19''x1/2''. A twin that can still handle a six-foot wave. Or wait, I guess a quad fin setup would be better so you have a few more options to change fins and adapt to the current conditions.
And where would you take a mid-length board?
Morocco. You have such a great variety of right point breaks all along the coastline. And the coastline is huge. You have some really long waves and a mid-length board is great for cruising, carving big lines and handling the variety of different waves the best.
Let's talk a little bit about contest surfing. You compete on the WSL Longboard Tour, right?
Yes, for 13 years.
So when you look back on the whole setup of the tour and how it developed, what is your perspective on it?
I could go on and on about that. But to make it pretty simple, I feel like longboarding has changed since I'm nine years old. You know, it was really classic when I was really young, and it went into more of a performance approach, and now it's actually finding the right balance. I feel like it's definitely going in the right direction since 2017, with an own tour and a series of events that decide the world title. At the peak of my surfing, which was between 2017 and 2021, I struggled a lot with the judging criteria.
The focus was more on traditional style than performance longboarding and I got into a lot of controversies which was a bit frustrating.
But at the same time, it helped me to develop my style and to surf the way I surf today.
Thanks for your time Edouard and good luck for the future!
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Credits: Alle Fotos (c) by O'Neill
Edouard Delpero in DUSTY HOPE - A Surfing Expedition in Baja California, Mexico.
