Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Surf Europe website interview:http://surfeuropemag.com/features/category/Interviews/catching-up-with-first-french-wct-qualifier-eric-rebiere/se_121582

ith first French WCT Qualifier Eric Rebière

Posted on April 01, 2008.

SE: Yo, what’s up Rebrix?

ER: Hi guys. All’s good. I’m in Brazil with my parents. I decided to spend a little more time at home this year.

Just recently, I was at Itacoatiara, a hollow beach break a bit like La Gravière, by far the heaviest beachie in the area. It’s where Bruno SE: Yo, what’s up Rebrix?

ER: Hi guys. All’s good. I’m in Brazil with my parents. I decided to spend a little more time at home this year.

Just recently, I was at Itacoatiara, a hollow beach break a bit like La Gravière, by far the heaviest beachie in the area. It’s where Bruno Santos the winner of Teahupoo grew up and when I was there I understood why he goes good in those kinds of conditions. I’d like to organise a trip down there soon with some Europeans. It’s pretty consistent, holds up to 10ft and perfect for photo shoots. It’s similar to the French beach breaks.

SE: How was your winter?

ER: Winter was tough as my French grandpa, the one that brought the whole family from France to Brazil, passed away so it was a pretty sad time for everyone. It was nice to spend some time with the family. I spent a lot of time with my cousin (who’s also my physical trainer) and he got my fitness in top shape.

SE: You’re doing the pro circuit without any sponsors at the moment, after being the first French surfer to qualify for the WCT. Is it hard to stay motivated?

ER: I think surfing is something that’s either in your heart or not, regardless of the business side of things. If it’s in your heart then you want to go charge big winter swells, whether there’s photogs shooting or not… You’re just doing it for your own stoke.

SE: But you thought about going back to studying this year. What made you stick with pro surfing?

ER: I’m always thinking about different options. I love to read books and I’ve even written a couple myself! I’m lucky enough to have had a good education thanks to my dad and sometimes as an athlete that complicates things because you start to think about too many things and ‘what ifs’… A little like Boris (Letexier) had to reevaluate his position, even if he did have a sponsor.

My dad told me it was the first time he’d seen me in such great shape. I’ve lost 6kg, but at the same time gained a lot in strength. He said it be a shame to quit now as they’ll always be time for me to go back to studying if that’s what I want to do, whereas my physical peak is now so I should make the most of it while I have it. I would like to go back to studying one day, either sociology or political science, study in France and Brazil, maybe work in politics further down the line… who knows?

SE: OK, but if you had to choose between a professional surf career without a main sponsor and a normal 9 to 5 job with retirement at 65 where you could just surf without any pressure in your free time, what would it be?

ER: Ha ha ha, you guys are having a laugh, right? Every day I’m grateful for the pro surf career I’ve had. And I’ll continue to ride waves until the day my body says it can’t take it any more.

SE: Tell us a bit about your ‘Chien Errant’ (Stray Dog) project?

ER: The nickname comes from some friends of mine. Nicolas ‘Daz’ Dazet and Laurent Pujol started to call me that when I used to sleep at Pujol’s house and his dogs would wake me up by licking my face in the mornings (laughs).

It’s true that everyone always asks me where’s home for me and for the last five years I haven’t really had one (apart from on Lanzarote). So that’s also why they started to call me ‘stray dog’.

Last month, I was staying with Daz, as we’ve always worked together with the video stuff he’s done and he knows a lot of people. We were talking about approaching potential sponsors and pitching them a video project…

Most people want to see me charging big waves, but I feel like I’m still at a stage where I can do well in competition so why not try to do something on the side too. Dazie had the idea of producing a kind of surf reality show. Rebrix’s world! I know people all over the place. I like to hang out with the locals in Portugal, Lanzarote, Spain, France, UK, Brazil… So the idea would be to document all the spots, the gnarly locals, as well as all the tourist places to eat and the places we like to chill at.

SE: With four Euros on the WCT this year, who’s impressed you the most so far?

ER: Jérémy is definitely the most complete opponent. It’s as if he visualizes all of his heats in his head beforehand. As soon as he puts on a little more weight, with the lines he’s already drawing, there’s no doubt he’s going to be a world title contender! Miky is starting to find his rhythm it seems with a solid result in Tahiti. Tiago, I’ve surfed with a lot in Portugal and if he can surf on tour the way I saw him surfing then he’ll be fine. The first year might be a little tricky, but if he can hang on in there then he’ll soon have all the right-handers dialled on tour. Aritz is only just getting started after his early season injury; go AA!

SE: The Brazilian wildcard Bruno Santos recently took out the Billabong Pro Tahiti, the first time a Brazilian has won an ASP World Tour event in 5 years and the first time a wildcard wins a World Tour event since Jamie O’Brien won the Pipeline Masters. Is it a sign for things to come?

ER: It’s been waiting to happen for at least three years now. There are no longer favourites on tour in the same way there used to be. If you come up against the 300th on tour, there’s a reason he’s there. Hollow waves are always going to favour barrel specialists like Bruno, who’s surfing I love. As far as my surfing goes, I’m focusing on being as complete as possible: barrels, manoeuvres, contests and why not tow-in too.

SE: You’ve done a few contests in Brazil this year. What’s the scene like over there?

ER: I decided to do contests until December this year and then charge the hell out of Europe in the winter. I’m in Brazil coz I don’t really have the money to do the whole tour at the moment, so I’m just doing contests in Europe and Brazil. And I really want to go to Hawaii.

In June there are two WQS contests here in Brazil and before that I’m doing 5 or 6 local comps to stay in shape for the big ones. The level is crazy, everyone is so hungry to win and they really know how to murder small waves over here.

But if I had to choose, Europe has much greater variety to offer wave-wise, and that plays a big role in developing your surfing ability. So if the waves are small, the Brazilians are likely to dominate but over all, in all types of conditions, we’re seeing more and more Europeans are starting to do well on the WQS.

SE: So what’s planned for the rest of the year?

ER: After the ‘QS in Brazil in June, I’ll hit up the ‘QS contests in Europe , unless I go on a freesurf trip to the southern hemisphere, it’s their winter right now and waves are bound to be cranking down there. Either way, I won’t be bringing you guys any Brazilian hotties coz they’re already all married, ha ha ha!

No, what I’m hoping for most is that I’ll be able to find a sponsor so I can do all the contests, develop my ‘Chien Errant’ video project, and start towing-in more in Europe. With the Euroforce crew, we’re also looking to develop a new tour in Europe at all the best spots to continue improving the image Europe has in surfing. Europe is totally where it’s at!

SE: Nice one Rebrix, you won’t catch us saying otherwise. Thanks for stopping by. Say hi to the girls for us!

FRENCH VERSIO

Santos the winner of Teahupoo grew up and when I was there I understood why he goes good in those kinds of conditions. I’d like to organise a trip down there soon with some Europeans. It’s pretty consistent, holds up to 10ft and perfect for photo shoots. It’s similar to the French beach breaks.

SE: How was your winter?

ER: Winter was tough as my French grandpa, the one that brought the whole family from France to Brazil, passed away so it was a pretty sad time for everyone. It was nice to spend some time with the family. I spent a lot of time with my cousin (who’s also my physical trainer) and he got my fitness in top shape.

SE: You’re doing the pro circuit without any sponsors at the moment, after being the first French surfer to qualify for the WCT. Is it hard to stay motivated?

ER: I think surfing is something that’s either in your heart or not, regardless of the business side of things. If it’s in your heart then you want to go charge big winter swells, whether there’s photogs shooting or not… You’re just doing it for your own stoke.

SE: But you thought about going back to studying this year. What made you stick with pro surfing?

ER: I’m always thinking about different options. I love to read books and I’ve even written a couple myself! I’m lucky enough to have had a good education thanks to my dad and sometimes as an athlete that complicates things because you start to think about too many things and ‘what ifs’… A little like Boris (Letexier) had to reevaluate his position, even if he did have a sponsor.

My dad told me it was the first time he’d seen me in such great shape. I’ve lost 6kg, but at the same time gained a lot in strength. He said it be a shame to quit now as they’ll always be time for me to go back to studying if that’s what I want to do, whereas my physical peak is now so I should make the most of it while I have it. I would like to go back to studying one day, either sociology or political science, study in France and Brazil, maybe work in politics further down the line… who knows?

SE: OK, but if you had to choose between a professional surf career without a main sponsor and a normal 9 to 5 job with retirement at 65 where you could just surf without any pressure in your free time, what would it be?

ER: Ha ha ha, you guys are having a laugh, right? Every day I’m grateful for the pro surf career I’ve had. And I’ll continue to ride waves until the day my body says it can’t take it any more.

SE: Tell us a bit about your ‘Chien Errant’ (Stray Dog) project?

ER: The nickname comes from some friends of mine. Nicolas ‘Daz’ Dazet and Laurent Pujol started to call me that when I used to sleep at Pujol’s house and his dogs would wake me up by licking my face in the mornings (laughs).

It’s true that everyone always asks me where’s home for me and for the last five years I haven’t really had one (apart from on Lanzarote). So that’s also why they started to call me ‘stray dog’.

Last month, I was staying with Daz, as we’ve always worked together with the video stuff he’s done and he knows a lot of people. We were talking about approaching potential sponsors and pitching them a video project…

Most people want to see me charging big waves, but I feel like I’m still at a stage where I can do well in competition so why not try to do something on the side too. Dazie had the idea of producing a kind of surf reality show. Rebrix’s world! I know people all over the place. I like to hang out with the locals in Portugal, Lanzarote, Spain, France, UK, Brazil… So the idea would be to document all the spots, the gnarly locals, as well as all the tourist places to eat and the places we like to chill at.

SE: With four Euros on the WCT this year, who’s impressed you the most so far?

ER: Jérémy is definitely the most complete opponent. It’s as if he visualizes all of his heats in his head beforehand. As soon as he puts on a little more weight, with the lines he’s already drawing, there’s no doubt he’s going to be a world title contender! Miky is starting to find his rhythm it seems with a solid result in Tahiti. Tiago, I’ve surfed with a lot in Portugal and if he can surf on tour the way I saw him surfing then he’ll be fine. The first year might be a little tricky, but if he can hang on in there then he’ll soon have all the right-handers dialled on tour. Aritz is only just getting started after his early season injury; go AA!

SE: The Brazilian wildcard Bruno Santos recently took out the Billabong Pro Tahiti, the first time a Brazilian has won an ASP World Tour event in 5 years and the first time a wildcard wins a World Tour event since Jamie O’Brien won the Pipeline Masters. Is it a sign for things to come?

ER: It’s been waiting to happen for at least three years now. There are no longer favourites on tour in the same way there used to be. If you come up against the 300th on tour, there’s a reason he’s there. Hollow waves are always going to favour barrel specialists like Bruno, who’s surfing I love. As far as my surfing goes, I’m focusing on being as complete as possible: barrels, manoeuvres, contests and why not tow-in too.

SE: You’ve done a few contests in Brazil this year. What’s the scene like over there?

ER: I decided to do contests until December this year and then charge the hell out of Europe in the winter. I’m in Brazil coz I don’t really have the money to do the whole tour at the moment, so I’m just doing contests in Europe and Brazil. And I really want to go to Hawaii.

In June there are two WQS contests here in Brazil and before that I’m doing 5 or 6 local comps to stay in shape for the big ones. The level is crazy, everyone is so hungry to win and they really know how to murder small waves over here.

But if I had to choose, Europe has much greater variety to offer wave-wise, and that plays a big role in developing your surfing ability. So if the waves are small, the Brazilians are likely to dominate but over all, in all types of conditions, we’re seeing more and more Europeans are starting to do well on the WQS.

SE: So what’s planned for the rest of the year?

ER: After the ‘QS in Brazil in June, I’ll hit up the ‘QS contests in Europe , unless I go on a freesurf trip to the southern hemisphere, it’s their winter right now and waves are bound to be cranking down there. Either way, I won’t be bringing you guys any Brazilian hotties coz they’re already all married, ha ha ha!

No, what I’m hoping for most is that I’ll be able to find a sponsor so I can do all the contests, develop my ‘Chien Errant’ video project, and start towing-in more in Europe. With the Euroforce crew, we’re also looking to develop a new tour in Europe at all the best spots to continue improving the image Europe has in surfing. Europe is totally where it’s at!

SE: Nice one Rebrix, you won’t catch us saying otherwise. Thanks for stopping by. Say hi to the girls for us!

FRENCH VERSION:

Quoi de neuf Rebrix?

Salut bros. Tout va bien. Je suis au Brésil avec mes parents. J’ai décidé de passer une année à côté d’eux.

Dernièrement, j’étais à Itacoatiara, une plage de tube comme La Gravière, la plus puissante dans le coin. C’est la plage où Bruno Santos le vainqueur de Teahupoo a grandi et là j’ai vu pourquoi il est bon dans des conditions comme ça. J’aimerais organiser un trip là-bas avec des Européens bientôt. Ça casse souvent de 1,5m à 3m et c’est parfait pour les shoots. French beachbreak style.

Comment s’est passé ton hiver ?

L’hiver était dur car mon papi français, celui qui à amener toute la famille de la France au Brésil est décédé et c’était un hiver triste. Donc j’étais avec la famille et mon cousin (et préparateur physique) qui m’a laissé vraiment en forme.

Tu te retrouves sur le circuit pro sans sponsor en ce moment, après avoir été le premier Français à se qualifier pour le WCT. Comment tu fais pour rester motivé?

Je pense que le surf doit être dans ton coeur toujours. Pas que le pourcentage business, la profession fait perdre le feeling. Par exemple, si tu pars surfer des grosses vagues pendant l’hiver tout seul dans des spots où il y n’a pas de photographes ou quoi que ce soit… Tu pars pour ton plaisir. Pour ton feeling après.

C’est ça qui me motive toujours. Je pense que bientôt je vais avoir un commanditaire et je pourrai re-voyager comme avant, mais ça si je suis toujours là avec le même sourire de toujours et les mêmes envies de faire des résultats, et surtout de charger!

À une époque, tu pensais peut-être reprendre des études cette année. Pourquoi as-tu décidé de rester avec le surf finalement?

J’ai toujours des choses dans ma tête. J’ai toujours des livres dans la poche et j’ai même écris deux. J’ai la chance d’avoir une éducation avec mon père de la plus culte et ça, parfois, ce n’est pas bon pour un sportif qui n’a pas de sponsor car tu réfléchis à des options ailleurs… Un peu comme Boris (Letexier) a dû réfléchir, même s’il avait un sponsor.

Mais mon père ma bien dit: c’est la première fois que je te vois si en forme comme ça. J’ai perdu 6 kg, mais je suis beaucoup plus fort. Et il a fini par me dire que j’aurai toujours le temps de faire des études plus tard, c’est dans la tête… C’est vrai qu’un jour, j’aimerais bien faire des études de sociologie ou science politique, étudier en France et au Brésil… peut-être devenir politicien.

Mais s’il faillait que tu choisisses entre une carrière de pro surfer sans sponsor ou un job normal avec la retraite à 65 ans ou tu pourrais surfer dans ton temps libre? Ha ha ha, c’est pour rigoler ça ? Tous les jours je remercie dieu d’être surfeur. Au moins jusqu’au jour où mon corps me laissera en faire.

Parle-nous un peu de ton projet ‘Chien Errant’ ?

Ça vient de mes amis surtout. Le nom vient surtout de Nicolas ‘Daz’ Dazet et de Laurent Pujol qui a commencé à m’appeler comme ça quand je dormais chez lui et ces chiens me réveillaient en me donnant des bisous tous les matins, ha ha ha !

C’est vrai que tout le monde me demande ou c’est que j’habite et comme d’hab depuis 5 ans, je dis que je n’ai pas de maison (sauf à Lanzarote). Alors c’est aussi pour ça qu’ils ont commencé à m’appeler le chien errant.

Le mois dernier, je suis venu chez Dazie car on a toujours bossé ensemble dans les vidéos et il connaît beaucoup du monde. On a commencé de parler un peu pour avoir des idées de sponsor.

La plupart des gents veulent me voir charger du gros, mais je me sens toujours à l’age de faire des compétitions encore donc on pensait faire quelque chose à côté. Et Dazie a eu l’idée de faire une sorte d’émission ‘reality show’ dans le surf. Le domaine Rebrix. Je connais du monde partout. J’aime bien rouler avec les locaux au Portugal, à Lanzarote, en Espagne, en France, en Angleterre, au Brésil… et l’idée serait de montrer les spots, les locaux chauds, mais aussi où le touriste va manger et où l’on va nous.

Avec les quatre Européens sur le WCT cette année, qui t’as impressionné le plus?

Je trouve que Jérémy c’est le plus complet. Il a les séries dans sa tête. Dès qu’il va avoir du poids, avec les trajectoires qu’il a déjà, attention ! C’est un world title contender ! Miky est bien dans son rythme. Tiago, j’ai beaucoup surfé avec lui chez lui et s’il fait pareil dans le tour, c’est bon. Ça va peut-être être dur cette année, mais s’il reste, il va vite dominer les droites du circuit. Aritz a commecé juste, qu’il charge le petit!

L’essentiel c’est qu’ils sont plusieurs. J’étais plusieurs fois perdu avec mes planches, je ne pouvais compter sur personne pour demander quelque chose. Là ils sont des amis. Et ça c’est la base de tout.

Le wildcard Brésilien Bruno Santos vient de gagner le Billabong Pro Tahiti, la première fois un Brésilien gagne un WCT en 5 ans et la première fois qu’un wildcard gagne un WCT depuis Jamie O’Brien à Pipe. Est-ce que c’est un signe pour des choses à venir du Brésil ?

Le signe est là depuis trois ans au moins. Dans l’ASP. il n’y a plus des favorites comme avant. Si tu rentres dans une série avec le 300ième du circuit, attention, il n’est pas là pour rien. Il faut dire que des vagues de tubes, ça donne plus de chance à des gonzes que j’aime et Bruno. Barrel spécialistes. Moi, je cherche plus un tout : les tubes, les manoeuvres, la compétition et pourquoi pas le tow-in aussi.

Toi qui es en train de faire quelques compètes au Brésil cette année, comment vois-tu la scène là-bas?

J’ai décidé cette année de faire une année de compétition jusqu’à décembre et charger ma race en Europe l’hiver. Je suis là parce que je n’ai pas vraiment d’argent pour faire le tour entier, alors je vais faire l’Europe et le Brésil. Et surtout j’ai envie d’aller à Hawaii.

Au Brésil en juin il y a deux compétitions ici et avant ça il y a 5 ou 6 contests local. Alors j’attends les compétitions en faisant des compétitions. Le niveau est fou, ils ont faim et surtout ils surfent grave les petites vagues.

Mais je trouve qu’à la base, l’Europe est meilleure en variété de vague, c’est ce qui te donne plus de base dans le surf. Je veux dire que peut-être si c’est petit, les Brésiliens seront hyper fort, mais en toutes conditions, même sur le WQS on voit que les Européens grandissent au jour le jour. La variété des vagues c’est notre spécialité en Europe.

Et pour le reste de l’année ?

Les WQS en Europe, au Brésil, à Hawaii, avec quelques trips pour charger des tubes… L’hiver on fire en Europe (Lanzarote, Portugal et France).

Normalement je rentre en Europe juste après le WQS de juin au Brésil. Sauf si je pars en trip dans l’hémisphère sud, car c’est l’hiver et les vagues sont meilleures. De toute façon je ne vous apporterai pas des Brésiliennes car elles sont toutes mariées, ha ha ha ! Non, surtout, j’aimerais pouvoir trouver un sponsor pour qui je pourrais faire de la compétition, faire l’émission ‘Chien Errant’ et qui me supporterait pour faire du tow-in en Europe. Aussi, avec tout l’Euroforce, on cherche à développer un nouveau tour en Europe sur les meilleurs spots à fin de changer l’image du surf en Europe encore plus. On a les meilleures vagues et les meilleurs crews !

best session ever at Cote des basque.Biarritz.France

website getwashed cover the great session wacheted by many people from the top of the hill at the tipical Biarritz bar "centmarche"