Episode #71 - Yann Rifflet

[00:00:00] Hey everyone, welcome back to the show. This week we have Yann Rifflet joining us, a pro windsurfer and wing foiler turned content creator from La France. He joins us to talk about his entry into water sports, his early competitive days, his transition to wing foiling, and then the creation of his YouTube channel, Yann Rifflet Free Rider, and his awesome lifestyle living both in Brazil and in France with his wife Lessa.

[00:00:28] I hope you enjoy this episode. If you haven't caught last week's episode, we talked with Jelle Stoop. He is the owner and founder of Foil School Nederland. So he joins us to talk about his school, their specialties, the conditions you can expect where they're located in Brouwersden, their upcoming trips in Denmark, Italy, Tenerife, and Brazil. So make sure to check out this episode if you're looking to do some organized events and organized trips.

[00:00:57] These guys are awesome, and they do offer some high quality service. So we do hope you enjoy that episode as well.

[00:01:04] Now I want to take this opportunity to thank our team for making the show a reality. We have Frank that helps out with media consulting. We have Matthias on guest relations and Stefan on audio mastering.

[00:01:16] A big thank you guys because a lot of work goes into each and every episode.

[00:01:21] Next, I'd like to say a big thank you to our sponsors. So first and foremost, we have North Foils. Super stoked to be working with you guys. I'm loving the SF series.

[00:01:30] I was able to ride it on the Great Lakes last week, riding the 830. I will be enjoying it this winter as well. So if anybody's looking to learn more about North, head over to NorthKB.com and check out their wings, their boards, their foils. It's all good stuff. Super stoked to be working with you guys.

[00:01:49] Lastly, winter is coming. And if you haven't decided where to go yet, and if you're looking for some tacos and some Mexican adventure, come on down to Lavantana.

[00:01:58] I'll be giving wing foil lessons all winter from November all the way to March. More than happy to help you get into this sport. And if you want, come do some downwinders with me.

[00:02:08] I do some daily downwinders there, five or six kilometers, and I wing back up to where I'll be staying near Latuna. So send us a message on Wing Life Podcast, either on our socials or hop over to winglifepodcast.com.

[00:02:21] Now I hope you enjoyed this episode with Jan.

[00:02:31] Welcome to the Wing Life Podcast, where we talk about wing foiling and the lifestyles of those who enjoy this great sport.

[00:02:39] All right, my friend. Thanks for coming back.

[00:02:41] Welcome.

[00:02:43] We got to be patient sometimes with this online stuff.

[00:02:47] Yeah, for sure.

[00:02:50] So that beautiful painting back there, how did it get into your beautiful office?

[00:02:56] Thanks.

[00:02:57] Thanks, guys. That's my wife's work. She's a painter as well as a rider. She's sailing both windsurfing and wing foiling. We are almost all the time sailing together.

[00:03:09] But now she's dedicating a lot to painting as well.

[00:03:14] Oh, really? Oh, cool. Okay.

[00:03:16] What brought the artistic kind of painting into her life?

[00:03:22] She always loves to paint, and now she has time to paint when it's not windy.

[00:03:33] So it's something different than being always in the water, and so she likes to do this.

[00:03:40] That's true. That's cool.

[00:03:41] When did you guys meet?

[00:03:43] We met almost 20 years ago now in Maui, Hukipa, for sure.

[00:03:51] No way.

[00:03:52] We were both windsurfing there, and we met, and from then we decided to stay together.

[00:04:03] Nice story.

[00:04:05] Yeah, you must have had some incredible windsurfing moves to win her heart over in such a popular windsurfing mecca.

[00:04:17] That's cool.

[00:04:18] So you're originally from France, from the homeland?

[00:04:23] Yeah, I'm French, from Brittany, Carnac, exactly, in South Brittany.

[00:04:28] And I'm spending my time between France and Brazil.

[00:04:33] Now for almost 20 years, like I told you.

[00:04:36] It's kind of the end of the summer.

[00:04:39] And it's a super nice way of life.

[00:04:43] We are always sailing in good conditions.

[00:04:45] And before we were windsurfing a lot.

[00:04:49] And now I think I'm a little bit more wingfoiling than windsurfing.

[00:04:55] But I still love windsurfing, for sure.

[00:05:00] In the waves.

[00:05:01] I'm only windsurfing in the waves now.

[00:05:03] But the thing is that for wingfoiling, you don't need so much conditions.

[00:05:12] Even if the wind is not that strong, even if the waves are not that good, it's really fun.

[00:05:19] So that's one of the super good things of wingfoiling that you can practice almost anytime and anywhere.

[00:05:29] Is she sticking to windsurfing or is she starting to convert over as well?

[00:05:35] Oh, Lisa is doing, as me, the same.

[00:05:37] When it's good for wingfoiling, she goes wingfoiling.

[00:05:43] But I know you're a windsurfer too.

[00:05:48] It's always here.

[00:05:50] Yeah.

[00:05:50] When you know the feeling, when there's a nice wave, perfect cross offshore wind,

[00:05:57] it's hard to beat a good windsurfing session.

[00:06:01] That's true.

[00:06:02] That's true.

[00:06:03] That's a pretty special thing that you share with your partner.

[00:06:07] That's almost like a dream for all of us wind people,

[00:06:10] is to have both partners kind of passionate and be able to live in two couple different locations.

[00:06:16] That's pretty cool to be able to do that.

[00:06:19] Yeah.

[00:06:20] How did all that start?

[00:06:22] Like, when did you, first of all, fall into wind yourself?

[00:06:25] And then how did you kind of were able to build a life that enabled you to do these kind of things?

[00:06:32] I was just finishing my studies when we met with Lisa.

[00:06:36] And we found it fair for both of us to spend like six months of the year in her part.

[00:06:46] She's Argentinian, but her father lives in Brazil and the best spot was in Brazil rather than Argentina.

[00:06:55] So we decided to spend six months a year in Brazil and six months a year in France.

[00:07:00] And at this time, so we started working with a sushi restaurant.

[00:07:07] It's a little bit original as well.

[00:07:09] Yeah.

[00:07:11] We were one, it was one of the first sushi restaurant in France.

[00:07:18] Back then was super, the mod, it was the big boom of the sushi in France.

[00:07:25] And Lisa was already able to do sushi super well.

[00:07:29] And me, I had no experience at all in a restaurant, but I learned everything.

[00:07:37] And I liked it, it was fun.

[00:07:40] And it was also like a business, just taking care of a business.

[00:07:47] And it was in the Ile de Ré, a little bit more southern than Brittany.

[00:07:53] And it's a place that it's lots of people, but only during the summer, like six months, the touristic season in France.

[00:08:04] So we were working hard for six months.

[00:08:07] But after we knew that we had the six months only windsurfing in Brazil.

[00:08:15] So it was worth the work.

[00:08:18] Oh, wow.

[00:08:19] And how did she get into like sushi making and stuff?

[00:08:22] Was that just another passion or?

[00:08:24] Because you have to be fairly good to attract people to a restaurant.

[00:08:27] Like your food has to be, especially in France.

[00:08:30] You guys have high standards.

[00:08:31] The food was really exceptional, to be honest.

[00:08:36] And, you know, sushi is kind of art as well.

[00:08:39] And so Leisa is an artist.

[00:08:42] So as the painting, the sushi were really perfect.

[00:08:46] Everything organic, everything super fresh.

[00:08:50] And so people really loved it.

[00:08:54] So we were lucky enough to have a good business working good.

[00:08:59] Oh, that's amazing.

[00:09:00] Nice.

[00:09:01] And when did your push to a bit of online content go?

[00:09:06] Because you were in some competitions, right?

[00:09:08] Like how, because we talked a little bit before.

[00:09:10] It's a really cool story of how you met the guys at Duotone and how this whole journey started.

[00:09:16] Like maybe some people would like to, because I was pretty cool.

[00:09:20] Thanks.

[00:09:20] Yeah, I was like 14 or 15 years old.

[00:09:24] At this time, it was still North Sail and Mistral, who became after Duotone.

[00:09:31] And you should remember the indoor competitions, windsurfing.

[00:09:38] And like it was in 98, I think, they decided to make a junior competition.

[00:09:49] I entered and I qualified and I think I finished second with other kids.

[00:09:59] And at this time, North Sail wanted to create a grown team, a kids team.

[00:10:07] So I could enter like this by this door.

[00:10:12] And since then, when you're in the brand and everything's fine, they know you are making good content or good results.

[00:10:25] You stay in the company.

[00:10:28] And so still then, for almost 20 years, I'm sponsored by the same guy.

[00:10:34] So that's pretty amazing.

[00:10:36] That's amazing.

[00:10:37] To be able to say that.

[00:10:38] And the better thing is that at the time, one of the commercials from North Sail is now the big boss of Bord van Mare in France, Laurent.

[00:10:52] So he knows me since really a long time.

[00:10:56] That's really cool how it went from a childhood kind of younger racing and kind of competing to then being able to transition to content and help more people find out about the company, obviously.

[00:11:10] But kind of do your little part within it.

[00:11:12] That's pretty cool.

[00:11:13] Yeah, thanks.

[00:11:14] At the beginning, for sure.

[00:11:15] Most in windsurf, you have to do competition, to do good results, to show you know what about your talking.

[00:11:26] And after I felt that competition was not the thing that I preferred, the French tour was quite strong back in time.

[00:11:40] But it started to drop a little bit.

[00:11:43] And so I started as well speaking with Duotone that maybe it should be better for me to do some nice trips in nice ways.

[00:11:55] Show the equipment in a dream location.

[00:12:00] And to do this, I needed less equipment.

[00:12:04] And I was, how do you say, enjoying more my time on the water because always sailing in perfect conditions.

[00:12:16] But you know, when you're doing contests, sometimes it's really bad.

[00:12:20] It's the wind is shitty, the weather is shitty.

[00:12:25] And you have to go anyway.

[00:12:27] And maybe you will sail only one or two weeks during the week and go back home.

[00:12:32] And you spend a lot of money, a lot of equipment just to do this.

[00:12:37] And for the brands, it's nothing.

[00:12:40] It's no good.

[00:12:41] No good return.

[00:12:42] So they agreed with that.

[00:12:44] And I was still able to do this quite a lot with magazines, print magazines.

[00:12:52] That at this time was still important in France.

[00:12:56] We had the wind magazine and the planche mag.

[00:13:02] And after, with the time, the magazines dropped a little bit, like everything on printing paper.

[00:13:10] So I started to do a little bit the same, but on Internet, on YouTube and after on social media.

[00:13:18] And thanks to that, I'm still here.

[00:13:22] Because today, almost everything is on social media and YouTube.

[00:13:31] So now for like sales, do you obviously brands are relying fairly heavily on socials, right?

[00:13:41] Like you would know the numbers or like I'm always just curious from an outside perspective, looking at the industry that I know there's a heavy push there.

[00:13:52] There's a heavy push as well to go to events so that they can, the brands can sell their gear to their stores and that kind of thing and help keep the stores alive because that's very important.

[00:14:02] But it's really neat to see that a lot of their athletes are not only, there's some that are doing just competition and they post that.

[00:14:09] But there's a whole other group now of athletes like yourself that are getting to travel, publish some cool content from different locations, help people understand why this gear could be good for them.

[00:14:20] And you're actually riding it.

[00:14:22] If you didn't like it, you would say so.

[00:14:24] So that's kind of cool.

[00:14:26] Do you know if there's a, like, I guess they just set it up this way to make sure that they can get all the different areas of marketing, right?

[00:14:33] Yeah, I think it's already super popular, like in surf, in the surf industry, there's a lot of free surfers.

[00:14:41] And it's more common in surf, more like normal that some guys aren't competitors.

[00:14:48] They are not interested at all in competition, but they are sponsored because they are surfing well and showing amazing contents all around the world.

[00:14:59] But in windsurfing, it's just that you get the racing parts that it's not in surf.

[00:15:07] And so the racing part, for sure, you have to do the competition and show that you're faster than the others.

[00:15:14] But all the wave riding parts or free riding parts, lots of people are sailing and don't mind at all the results.

[00:15:25] So I try to do a little bit like the free surfers and to just sail for me to me getting better each time and sailing against me, against the conditions and try to do my best, you know?

[00:15:48] And now with all the modern stuff like GoPros or 360 cameras and YouTube, you can do nice things with not so much money, not so much cameramen, people around you.

[00:16:08] Everybody is able to do nice content, I think now.

[00:16:14] And to show the results to everybody, thanks to the social media, thanks to YouTube.

[00:16:20] What's one of your favorite places that you've gotten to travel to, to film this for Duotone?

[00:16:26] I think the place where I produce most and where I like most to fail, it's Ibirakera, my second home spot where I spend six months a year.

[00:16:38] Because you have both super nice wave spots, which is not always the same.

[00:16:48] And I love this, it's not always, always the same wind, always the same wave.

[00:16:54] You can have wind from the right as well.

[00:16:57] You can have big waves, you can have small waves, you can have a powerful wave, but you can also have days with small, mushy waves.

[00:17:07] But most of the time, it's really, really nice, close to perfect, but it's always different.

[00:17:13] So I really like this.

[00:17:16] And in Ibiraka, there's as well a lagoon, so super flat water.

[00:17:21] And for wing foiling, it's nice as well sometimes on flat water.

[00:17:27] Thanks to wing foiling, I enjoyed again sailing in flat water.

[00:17:34] And what I like there as well is that there's a lot of waves and sometimes no wind at all.

[00:17:42] But super nice waves.

[00:17:43] And I like to surf, to surf foil.

[00:17:49] So it's one of my favorite places, for sure.

[00:17:52] That sounds pretty nice.

[00:17:54] And crowded, and crowded.

[00:17:55] This is, nowadays, it's super nice to be able to sail in places with not so much people.

[00:18:03] Yeah, definitely with the boom of wing, everybody is going everywhere.

[00:18:07] Yeah.

[00:18:08] Oh, wow.

[00:18:09] And how's the food down there?

[00:18:10] It must be pretty phenomenal.

[00:18:12] Oh, yeah, it's super nice.

[00:18:15] And Ibiraka is famous for the shrimps.

[00:18:18] It's a really small town with big lagoon.

[00:18:21] So lots of fishermen are getting super nice shrimps.

[00:18:27] And south of Brazil, in general, is famous for the good meat.

[00:18:31] So really good meat.

[00:18:33] And with barbecue cooking, it's super popular in south Brazil.

[00:18:41] Big barbecues.

[00:18:43] I'm coming to visit.

[00:18:44] With Caipirinha.

[00:18:46] For sure.

[00:18:47] Yeah.

[00:18:47] Welcome.

[00:18:48] You're welcome.

[00:18:50] Okay.

[00:18:50] So you spend six months in both.

[00:18:52] And so you dedicate most of your time working with Duotone.

[00:18:57] Then?

[00:18:58] That's pretty fun.

[00:18:59] Yeah.

[00:19:00] Thank you.

[00:19:01] Oh, sweet.

[00:19:02] Yeah.

[00:19:02] Cool.

[00:19:03] Okay.

[00:19:04] What?

[00:19:05] I know you were talking a little bit about what was coming out for 2025.

[00:19:09] Is there anything that we can let the Duotone lovers of the world know that's coming out?

[00:19:13] Or is it still quiet?

[00:19:14] Oh, I'm just receiving the new equipment those days.

[00:19:18] And I don't know exactly when the podcast will be online.

[00:19:24] But I think I can already said that we're going to have some boom options on the new wings.

[00:19:34] The boards change a little bit as well.

[00:19:37] The construction will be a little bit stronger and a little bit lighter at the same time.

[00:19:44] So it's pretty nice.

[00:19:47] It's a new mast as well for the foils, which are going to be faster.

[00:19:53] So super nice evolution.

[00:19:55] And I like as well the colors, the new design.

[00:19:58] It's one of the strong points of Duotone, I guess.

[00:20:05] Okay.

[00:20:06] All right.

[00:20:06] Any new foils or foils, any kind of new in that range?

[00:20:11] So is it an HM mast as well that's coming out?

[00:20:14] We already had a HM mast, the D-Lab.

[00:20:19] Everything which is branded D-Lab at Duotone, which means Duotone Laboratory, D-Lab, is the really best from Duotone.

[00:20:30] And so this year there was a D-Lab mast, which was HM.

[00:20:36] But like the plate was glued to the mast.

[00:20:42] And this year we're going to have a HM mast in one piece.

[00:20:49] So the plate is full carbon and one piece with the mast.

[00:20:53] So it should be even more rigid, more light.

[00:21:00] And the profile of the mast is thinner.

[00:21:03] Okay.

[00:21:04] So this gives you more speed, basically.

[00:21:08] Now, because I know the whole talk right now is around HM and like a lot of companies have it.

[00:21:14] And like I was talking to Steve of what's that company in Maui?

[00:21:21] And they're in Hood River as well.

[00:21:24] Oh, I'm blanking on the name right now.

[00:21:27] But do you feel like for the average rider out there, do you feel, can you feel the difference between an average mast and an HM mast?

[00:21:36] Like does it make, I know for a beginner they probably won't be able to feel a thing.

[00:21:41] But for somebody who is like intermediate to quasi advanced, do you feel a difference?

[00:21:47] Yes, I think everybody, even at a beginner who just starts to fly, can feel the difference.

[00:21:56] But to be honest, my friends who want to start wing foiling to the beginners, I suggest them to start with an aluminum mast.

[00:22:08] Because it's super rigid.

[00:22:11] And at the beginning, you're not looking for performance or speed.

[00:22:17] Or even jumping.

[00:22:18] So an aluminum mast is perfect.

[00:22:21] And after, if you really enjoy the sport and want to get better and to have better equipment, you can start to think for a carbon mast.

[00:22:37] And in the carbon mast, you can have even better carbon with the HM.

[00:22:44] And the carbon is a little bit lighter.

[00:22:49] It can be even more rigid than aluminum.

[00:22:53] And so it's better to get faster.

[00:22:56] And when you start to jump, it's easier to jump higher with a carbon mast.

[00:23:02] And there's not that much difference between HM mast and carbon mast than between aluminum mast and carbon mast.

[00:23:13] That's a big, big difference between aluminum and carbon mast.

[00:23:17] And after, I think we can say it's a little difference between a standard carbon mast and the HM mast.

[00:23:25] But you can feel it.

[00:23:27] I think an average rider can feel a little bit more speed because the profile will be thinner.

[00:23:35] Because the mast can be a little bit more rigid.

[00:23:38] So it's going to be a little bit easier as well.

[00:23:41] You're going to feel the border better.

[00:23:44] Okay.

[00:23:46] And you can have some weight difference.

[00:23:50] And this is better, easier to jump higher with a lighter equipment.

[00:23:57] And also sometimes for other reasons, like if you have to carry a long time your equipment, like if it's low tide.

[00:24:04] Here in France, sometimes we have big tides.

[00:24:07] It's also an argument.

[00:24:10] And when you are carrying your board for five or ten minutes, it can be cool to have a mast a little bit lighter.

[00:24:18] So you're finding there's, because I haven't, the only, it was No Limits by the way, who had their, who had their, their mass.

[00:24:25] And I was talking to Steve about it.

[00:24:27] But, so you're finding they're a little bit lighter as well as a bit stiffer, obviously, than the standard.

[00:24:32] So it adds to turning, jumping, everything.

[00:24:36] Yeah, it's a little bit better in everything.

[00:24:38] But after just, I know some mast can be super light, but they are going to be soft as well.

[00:24:46] And I, I really don't like.

[00:24:49] So you have always to take care.

[00:24:51] It's a combination of something rigid and light.

[00:24:59] But don't go for the lightest mast of the market, just because it's super light.

[00:25:05] Because it can also mean that there are less carbon, less material in it.

[00:25:12] And so it can be more fragile and super soft.

[00:25:16] So it's hard to sail even more if you're a big guy with heavy weight.

[00:25:24] I really don't recommend to, to go for a soft mast.

[00:25:29] Now, do you, like, obviously the mass of, it's crazy how much they've progressed.

[00:25:35] Yeah.

[00:25:36] Over three, four years from having a little bit of play in them to now, like, absolutely practically none.

[00:25:42] It's, it's crazy how much they've come.

[00:25:45] Yeah.

[00:25:45] And also the profiles, like I was telling you, the new duoton mass is going to be much more thinner, which makes you go much faster, less drag, basically.

[00:25:58] And the, I don't know how to say in English, sorry.

[00:26:03] I think I'm more used to speak Portuguese or Spanish, but not so much English.

[00:26:10] The profile, both the size, the cord, the cord.

[00:26:16] Ah, the cord.

[00:26:17] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:26:17] The cord.

[00:26:18] It's also big at the plate.

[00:26:21] So it's super rigid, but close to the foil, close to the front wing, it's getting thinner.

[00:26:28] Yeah.

[00:26:29] Yeah.

[00:26:29] And so this is super cool because when you're sailing, it's only this part, which is in the water.

[00:26:35] So it's less drag as well with this part smaller.

[00:26:42] And so you, you're going faster thanks to this, but to take off, you need this rigidity on the mast.

[00:26:49] And so that's why it's super, it's much more, the cord is higher at the plate.

[00:26:56] And now obviously has tech has improved that you can manage that with having next to no play in it.

[00:27:02] Ah, for sure.

[00:27:03] Yeah.

[00:27:03] The technology evolves a lot and the knowledge as well, and they know how to do a good mast.

[00:27:11] For a long time now, I didn't break any, any equipment at all.

[00:27:16] And the first years, I think everybody was, was breaking some equipment because I think the sport wing foiling was evolving super fast and even faster than the development of the material of the board of the foil.

[00:27:36] And so I think we started to jump, but the, the guys who were making the boards didn't thought that we were going to jump that high.

[00:27:48] So on the landing at the beginning was not so good.

[00:27:51] So what breaking at the, like at the board and mass connection, what else are you breaking?

[00:27:59] Yeah.

[00:28:00] At the beginning, I think every brand was suffering problems and yeah, foils, boards, the boxes of the foil a lot at the beginning.

[00:28:13] I remember, uh, the one wasn't the worst, but the, the boards were strong, but a little bit, uh, more heavier than other brands.

[00:28:25] But there's no secret.

[00:28:26] If the board is super light, uh, it will be more fragile.

[00:28:31] That's true.

[00:28:32] If it's heavy, it's strong, but it's not that good to, um, in performance.

[00:28:39] So you have to feel the good balance.

[00:28:41] So, okay.

[00:28:42] So you got some cool stuff coming out for 2025.

[00:28:44] We're going to have some YouTube videos from you with all that when it comes out.

[00:28:48] Yeah, for sure.

[00:28:48] For sure.

[00:28:49] Okay.

[00:28:50] I'm always mixing on my channel, some, uh, tutorials, wing for tutorials.

[00:28:55] And to be honest, it's, uh, one of the kind of videos that more, uh, people are, uh, liking, uh, asking for.

[00:29:08] So, uh, and, uh, I'm also doing like a review presentation of the new equipment.

[00:29:15] And, uh, personally, I like a lot to do also some, uh, videos of, uh, travel, new spot destination, showing nice spot to people with a nice action.

[00:29:28] Oh yeah.

[00:29:29] No, all of that sounds pretty fun to do.

[00:29:31] Now, when you do your review videos for maybe somebody who should tune into your YouTube, um, what you're doing is you'll, you're, do you compare last year's model to this year's model and let people know what the changes are and how it could suit them?

[00:29:45] And who are the best people to ride the gear?

[00:29:48] Yeah, for sure.

[00:29:49] Usually I, when I receive the equipment, I, I try it a lot in different conditions, uh, to, to be able to, to talk about, well, I don't want to just, uh, do it fast.

[00:30:04] And to be the first to do the review, uh, just to be the first, I, I really want to, to understand the new board and new file and to try it in different conditions.

[00:30:15] And, uh, when I have a good, uh, images and I, I feel I can talk about the product.

[00:30:24] I released the video and sometimes it's a, an evolution, but sometimes it's a brand new thing.

[00:30:31] So I can't compare like, uh, I think two, two weeks ago I did the presentation, the review of the new skybred SLS, the new mid-length, uh, duotone, a wing foil board.

[00:30:44] And, uh, it's a brand new concept that I never, uh, ride before.

[00:30:50] So it was pretty nice, but I managed to compare it to the downwinders and to the classic wing foil board.

[00:30:59] And, uh, this skybred is really like a kneebred of these two kinds of boards.

[00:31:04] So it was, uh, really interesting.

[00:31:06] Have you been able to try the new parrowing yet?

[00:31:08] The new little kite that you can hold onto?

[00:31:11] Ah, no, I just saw, I just saw the video, uh, two days ago.

[00:31:14] It looks amazing.

[00:31:15] Looks, uh, the first seconds I saw this, I thought, wow, no, what is this?

[00:31:20] This shit.

[00:31:21] But, uh, after 15 seconds, when I saw the guy taking it and, uh, folding it, uh, on the foil and just surfing, I said, ah, yeah, no, yeah.

[00:31:33] That's a, that's a cool thing.

[00:31:35] And I think it's gonna evolve a lot.

[00:31:38] And, uh, I hope to be able to try one, uh, soon, as soon as possible.

[00:31:46] There could be a lot of cool little, I guess it's a hybrid.

[00:31:51] It's a hybrid, but obviously it's like, it's like a trainer kite that's close to you in essence.

[00:31:55] Yeah, yeah.

[00:31:56] I'm curious to see why, why there's so many lines compared to like a trainer kite that only has four.

[00:32:02] Yeah, I don't know.

[00:32:03] And I'm not doing kite.

[00:32:05] So I really don't know a lot about this.

[00:32:08] Oh, yes, yes, yes.

[00:32:09] But, uh, ah, for sure they're gonna make it better soon.

[00:32:15] Because a lot of people are interested in, in this.

[00:32:18] And it can be, it can be really cheaper than a wing.

[00:32:22] I think.

[00:32:22] Well, yeah, I would think so.

[00:32:24] Yeah.

[00:32:24] Trainer kites are a couple hundred bucks.

[00:32:26] Maybe Duotan will, uh, will do one, uh, soon.

[00:32:29] We don't know.

[00:32:30] They are doing kites.

[00:32:31] So they, they are able, they, they can do one.

[00:32:35] Yeah.

[00:32:36] I can't wait to try it as well.

[00:32:37] That'd be pretty fun.

[00:32:38] Uh, maybe I'll get one for Mexico or something.

[00:32:40] Cause it could do some epic downwinders with that.

[00:32:43] That'd be, yeah.

[00:32:44] Maybe I'll try to hook that up before I take off.

[00:32:47] Do you have any trips coming up that were pretty fun that you're looking forward to?

[00:32:51] Yeah.

[00:32:51] I'm going, uh, in three weeks in Dahla, South Morocco.

[00:32:56] So, um, for, uh, first of all, I'm gonna be part of the Kite and Connect.

[00:33:05] It's, uh, like, uh, club of, um, businessmen.

[00:33:10] Uh, they are, like, networking, walking together in the morning and sailing in the afternoon

[00:33:14] with coach.

[00:33:15] And, uh, there's a few kitesurf coach and I'm the wingfoil coach.

[00:33:21] Oh, cool.

[00:33:22] So it's a really nice experience.

[00:33:25] Uh, super cool.

[00:33:26] And just after that, I stay, uh, one more week in Dahla because there's the French, uh,

[00:33:33] Duoton dealers meeting.

[00:33:36] Duoton is inviting the biggest, uh, shop to, to show the brand new equipment and to, to try

[00:33:45] it, to, to, to test it.

[00:33:48] And the, the shop, the, the dealers can, uh, ask questions to, to all the riders.

[00:33:58] I think there also will be some, um, guys from the development.

[00:34:05] So it's going to be super interesting.

[00:34:08] And that is a really nice place with, uh, always windy.

[00:34:12] And, uh, you have both as well, the lagoon and, uh, the waves.

[00:34:18] So you can do pretty everything.

[00:34:21] Is that equipment that's coming out?

[00:34:22] Is that different from what you, you're just going to receive?

[00:34:25] Is that the same stuff or is it different stuff?

[00:34:27] No, no, that's the same stuff, but the thing there is that there are really everything, all

[00:34:33] the kinds of foil, uh, all the sizes, uh, of, uh, boards.

[00:34:38] I, I don't need everything.

[00:34:40] I, there's things that I don't use.

[00:34:43] Like, uh, there, now there's foil super, um, specifics to some, uh, discipline.

[00:34:51] And, uh, there's lots of duotone foils that didn't suit my, uh, style of riding, for example,

[00:34:59] or even my, uh, my, uh, discipline.

[00:35:02] I'm not doing, uh, super downwind, stand-up paddle downwind foil, for example.

[00:35:10] And, uh, there's foil, uh, specially designed for this and, uh, they can work as well in,

[00:35:17] uh, winged foil, but, uh, I'm not using it and I can do everything.

[00:35:24] What do you mean?

[00:35:25] You're Yann Riflet.

[00:35:26] Of course you can do everything.

[00:35:28] I would love, I would love, but, uh, well, my van is, uh, is not, uh, that big.

[00:35:38] That's fun.

[00:35:39] That's fun.

[00:35:39] Okay.

[00:35:40] I'm happy to be able to try there.

[00:35:42] Downwind, I never tried a real, uh, downwind.

[00:35:45] So there, I think I will love it.

[00:35:48] Oh yeah.

[00:35:48] So you've never done paddle downwind yet?

[00:35:51] No.

[00:35:52] In the waves, in the super-toiling waves, I, I did.

[00:35:57] But, uh, on, um, swell, who don't break with a strong wind on my back, I never did.

[00:36:05] Hmm.

[00:36:06] Okay.

[00:36:07] Me neither.

[00:36:08] Hopefully this winter.

[00:36:09] Yeah, me too.

[00:36:11] Nice.

[00:36:12] All right.

[00:36:13] That's cool then.

[00:36:14] Um, any trips back to Maui or when are you guys heading back down to, uh, Brazil?

[00:36:18] Because you're in France right now?

[00:36:21] Yeah.

[00:36:21] Uh, just, just after Darla, I go directly to Brazil, uh, it's like 10 of October.

[00:36:28] Uh, and, uh, now it's official.

[00:36:58] I think it's only 24 guys.

[00:37:00] Uh, and so you have to send video to, to be able to get a wild card.

[00:37:07] So, uh, I hope to get one.

[00:37:10] But, uh, if I don't, uh, if I can't and doesn't matter, it's going to be super nice to see all

[00:37:17] the best riders in the world, uh, in, in Iberacara.

[00:37:22] Yeah, definitely.

[00:37:23] Oh, wow.

[00:37:24] That's going to be awesome.

[00:37:26] Huh.

[00:37:27] Just at the start, like what's the wave season like in Brazil?

[00:37:30] Is it, is it winter?

[00:37:31] From now, for one or two weeks, I saw pictures of my friends.

[00:37:34] It's, uh, starting to, to be really nice.

[00:37:38] And the season looks nice.

[00:37:40] It's starting well.

[00:37:42] And, uh, basically the biggest wave are from August to December, but you can have perfect

[00:37:50] condition as well.

[00:37:51] January, March, April, May, a little less wind, but basically from September to March, it's

[00:38:00] perfect.

[00:38:01] Oh, really?

[00:38:01] And houses are still reasonably priced and cost of living is pretty good.

[00:38:06] Yeah, it's pretty good.

[00:38:08] But, um, it's getting a little bit more expensive.

[00:38:12] I guess, unfortunately, like everywhere in the world, um, the past, uh, four or five

[00:38:18] years, it's getting more expensive, but it's still a little bit cheaper than Europe.

[00:38:26] Yeah, no, I don't doubt.

[00:38:28] Yeah.

[00:38:28] Okay.

[00:38:29] Well, heck, that's a pretty fun year.

[00:38:31] Basically the food you can eat for, uh, uh, much less than Europe.

[00:38:40] Yeah.

[00:38:40] And you have acai bowls and a whole bunch of other cool stuff.

[00:38:43] Yeah.

[00:38:45] What's your favorite one down there?

[00:38:47] We tried, my buddy and I were driving across the U S and, uh, we stopped off in San Francisco

[00:38:52] and he said it was the closest thing to Brazil, but he said nothing has compared to the acai

[00:38:58] bowls.

[00:38:59] He was having in, in Rio when he was there.

[00:39:01] Yeah.

[00:39:02] But, um, yeah, I don't know if it's the fresh SAE or something, but anyways, it must be

[00:39:06] pretty phenomenal.

[00:39:08] Yeah.

[00:39:08] I say he's really good after a nice session.

[00:39:12] It's the best.

[00:39:14] Oh, before a nice session is super nice as well.

[00:39:18] Yeah.

[00:39:18] Before, after it's all the same, but, uh, that's cool.

[00:39:21] So is there anything else interesting for the duotone lovers out there that they would

[00:39:25] want to know about the 25 stuff that's coming up?

[00:39:28] Well, basically the same kind of, uh, of equipment, but a little bit more with some

[00:39:37] evolutions.

[00:39:37] Uh, but we still have the D-Lab, uh, which are the same, more or less the same model, the

[00:39:44] original model, but with better materials.

[00:39:47] Like on the unit or on the slick, uh, as I told you already, you're going to have the

[00:39:53] unit with a new hander or the boom that you can choose for freestyling.

[00:40:00] And even, I think the boom is easier for everybody.

[00:40:03] You can slide your hands.

[00:40:04] Even if you're learning to jibe or the tack, it's easier because you can slide your hand.

[00:40:10] So that makes sense.

[00:40:12] Yes.

[00:40:13] And, uh, I already saw the new board construction and it's going to be a little better.

[00:40:20] The SLS version.

[00:40:21] So it's going to be a little bit lighter and stronger.

[00:40:27] Even you can feel more rigidity.

[00:40:29] Do you think any other brands are going to copy what North did with their able, like the,

[00:40:35] the locking so that you can move your handles and move that?

[00:40:39] Do you, have you gotten the opportunity to try that yet with North?

[00:40:43] I didn't try it, but I saw one and I thought it was a really nice for sure.

[00:40:49] And, uh, all the time, uh, small brands are copying the biggest brands and, uh, Duoton is

[00:40:59] one of the biggest brand and lots of other brands, uh, copied Duoton for a long time, but

[00:41:05] that's the, that's the game.

[00:41:07] And, uh, after each brand can also, um, try to get the idea, but make it a little bit

[00:41:16] better.

[00:41:18] And at the end, that's the, the whole industry, the whole sport, the wing foil, which is, uh,

[00:41:26] evolving thanks to all those brands.

[00:41:28] Yeah.

[00:41:29] All the, the inter little intercompetitions, I guess, between everybody.

[00:41:33] And did I not just see a recent Instagram of you on a big yacht or something?

[00:41:38] Was there not some stuff that you just, yeah.

[00:41:40] Where was that?

[00:41:41] What amazing was, um, well, in France, it's quite famous.

[00:41:46] I don't know.

[00:41:46] Yeah.

[00:41:47] Yeah.

[00:41:47] In the world it's famous.

[00:41:48] The Croisière Ponant, uh, like, uh, to do some cruising on boats and big boats usually.

[00:41:57] And it was like a 77 foot, uh, catamaran.

[00:42:01] Uh, and it's like, uh, look, luxurious, uh, traveling, uh, luxurious, uh, boats.

[00:42:08] And on this boat, there's a partner partnership with a Duoton.

[00:42:12] They buy for the catamaran, uh, wing foil equipment and, uh, stand up paddle.

[00:42:19] Um, and, uh, so the guys who spend the week on the catamaran can as well, uh, do a little

[00:42:27] bit wing foil or paddle.

[00:42:30] And so with Leisa, we went to do the shooting of the, the equipment and the, the maxi catamaran

[00:42:37] was brand new.

[00:42:39] And so we were like super lucky to get this opportunity.

[00:42:43] And it was in South Corsica, which is amazing for sailing on the summer.

[00:42:49] It's super windy and it's super nice warm water.

[00:42:53] And so basically it was super, um, uh, simple pictures, no radical action at all.

[00:43:01] They were not, uh, looking at that, but just, uh, passing by the boat and doing nice, uh, pictures

[00:43:08] of, and video of the boat with the wing foil equipment.

[00:43:12] Oh, fun.

[00:43:13] Hmm.

[00:43:13] Yeah.

[00:43:14] So no, no double backflips this time.

[00:43:16] No, no.

[00:43:18] I did some nice moves, but the, the cameraman and the photographer told me, no, no, no.

[00:43:24] Just, just, uh, passing by just a simple jive, please.

[00:43:28] No jump, no backflip.

[00:43:31] I guess for the, the crowd that you're marketing the material for, maybe that's all they're

[00:43:37] going to be able to do, I guess, is a simple turn, right?

[00:43:40] So maybe that's what, is that kind of more what the thinking was behind?

[00:43:44] Yeah.

[00:43:44] To be honest as well, uh, again, in my home spot here, or even in Brazil, uh, most of the

[00:43:52] guys are not looking for jump or backflip, all those stuff.

[00:43:56] Hmm.

[00:43:57] I can say almost 90% of the wing foilers that I saw, they just want to, to take off easily,

[00:44:06] to make their jive easily.

[00:44:08] And if there's a little swell, a little wave to drop the wing and to, to free fly like this.

[00:44:14] Yeah.

[00:44:14] Yeah.

[00:44:14] But that's the big, big majority.

[00:44:16] And, uh, I tried to, to make content for, for all those guys.

[00:44:24] If you're only posting like, uh, super radical, uh, tricks, uh, people will not even look at

[00:44:35] it and don't understand nothing.

[00:44:36] If you look at the, the last, uh, tricks on the JWR and freestyle, uh, there's something

[00:44:44] I have to look at the slow motion to, to understand everything.

[00:44:48] Yeah.

[00:44:48] And I think I'm a lot into the sport and I'm able to do lots of tricks.

[00:44:54] So imagine if I have to watch it, uh, slow motion, like the back mob to 360 or all those

[00:45:00] stuff.

[00:45:01] Imagine the guy who can say like one or two times a month is learning the jive for him.

[00:45:07] It's almost, um, another sport.

[00:45:10] Yeah.

[00:45:11] I have friends who have been at it.

[00:45:13] So I think everybody, all the riders have to think about it and try to speak to those

[00:45:17] people as well, which is the base of the, of the sport.

[00:45:24] You don't have to make it too much extreme, too much radical because unfortunately, if

[00:45:32] the industry goes this way, uh, we're going to lose some people because, uh, everything's

[00:45:36] going to be too, too difficult.

[00:45:38] I think wing foil became super popular because it's, it can be super simple to learn on a big,

[00:45:46] on a big board with a big foil, with a small wing.

[00:45:51] Now there's lots of, uh, racing competition, but it's like a 400, 500, um, square centimeter,

[00:45:59] the front wings.

[00:46:00] Wow.

[00:46:01] That's tiny.

[00:46:02] So, uh, you, you need a big, big, uh, wing in your hands with strong wind.

[00:46:09] Even if it's blowing 20, 25 knots, you need a five, 5.5.

[00:46:14] And because you have a super small foil and a harness to handle the power.

[00:46:20] So this kind of, uh, riding, it's already in my opinion, really different than the way.

[00:46:31] The majority of people are riding.

[00:46:34] And, and most people are not going to want to risk injury in foot straps, flying along

[00:46:42] three feet above the water.

[00:46:43] They just want, like, I just want to cruise as well.

[00:46:45] It's super fun to just catch some swell and make some turns.

[00:46:48] The majority of people just want to cruise.

[00:46:50] But after I understand perfectly and I respect a lot, everybody doing it, but it's just the

[00:46:57] human nature, I guess, to try to push the limits.

[00:47:00] And it's super interesting as well.

[00:47:04] But I knew you had a triple backflip in your repertoire.

[00:47:07] I knew you just haven't showed us yet.

[00:47:12] We just have to, not to forget this and to, to make equipment super easy and maybe cheaper

[00:47:24] to those people who don't need the maximum performance gear.

[00:47:29] And, uh, yeah, that's very true.

[00:47:30] Keep the sports as simple as possible.

[00:47:34] Yeah, no, I agree.

[00:47:36] Yeah, that's very true.

[00:47:38] Huh.

[00:47:38] Now, for people who don't follow you on YouTube, a majority of people must, but what's your

[00:47:44] YouTube channel and what's the easiest way for people to reach out to you in case they

[00:47:48] want to see what you guys are up to?

[00:47:50] On the social media, it's, uh, Yan Riflet Freerider.

[00:47:54] That, uh, my name is with Freerider, which is, uh, my way of riding, like, uh, just enjoying.

[00:48:04] If there's waves, I can wave ride.

[00:48:06] If it's flat, I can do some freestyle, some cruising.

[00:48:11] If it's big waves, I can do some windsurfing wave riding.

[00:48:15] If there's no wind, I can do surf foiling on small waves.

[00:48:21] That's awesome.

[00:48:22] Just having fun, Freeriding.

[00:48:24] Yeah.

[00:48:25] Okay.

[00:48:26] No, I love your attitude.

[00:48:27] You're like a happy, very happy person.

[00:48:29] It's pretty cool.

[00:48:30] Thanks.

[00:48:30] I'm just a passionate rider and, uh, lucky enough to be able to enter the windfoil with

[00:48:38] my windsurfing experience, which helped me a lot.

[00:48:42] True.

[00:48:42] And to all the windsurfers, if you want to try a windfoil, it's super easy because you

[00:48:47] have already the windsurfing experience, which is not an easy sport compared to windfoil.

[00:48:54] Yeah.

[00:48:54] I'm still working on my planning jibe and it's been 11 years.

[00:49:00] What are you going to do?

[00:49:03] You're going to keep at it.

[00:49:05] Um, is there anything else you wanted to chat about or mention before, uh, where we take off?

[00:49:09] No, I think we, we made a nice, uh, little chat, uh, together.

[00:49:16] But, uh, if everybody, if anyone has any questions, feel free to, to enter my Instagram,

[00:49:23] and to, to ask me anything you want.

[00:49:27] On my YouTube channel, I've already had, uh, like 20 tutorial videos.

[00:49:33] Everything is, uh, subtitled in English.

[00:49:36] So you can find pretty, everything about wingfoil from, uh, your first flight to the backflip tutorial.

[00:49:45] I made.

[00:49:46] Oh, beautiful.

[00:49:47] So for everybody.

[00:49:49] And I'm talking about the new equipment.

[00:49:53] You can find a nice thing on my channel.

[00:49:56] If you're like the wingfoiling.

[00:49:57] No, that sounds good.

[00:49:58] And then also if they want to find out what's coming down the pipe, what they should buy

[00:50:02] at Duotone, then you got those videos as well.

[00:50:05] Yeah, for sure.

[00:50:06] Yeah.

[00:50:06] And I'm, I'm getting lots of questions from everybody about, uh, what.

[00:50:15] Recommend because, uh, I understand it's quite complicated.

[00:50:18] There's lots of different sizes, lots of different, uh, kind of writing.

[00:50:23] And so, uh, feel free to ask me some questions, um, to, to be sure that what you're going to

[00:50:31] buy, uh, suits you.

[00:50:32] Yeah.

[00:50:33] Cause I finally upgraded my foil set after three years.

[00:50:37] Cause North is our first main North is our first main sponsor for the podcast.

[00:50:42] I just picked up some of their stuff and I hopped down to an eight 30 surf wing and there

[00:50:47] was like overhead surf conditions and swell conditions on our great Lake.

[00:50:51] And I finally got to go try it out.

[00:50:53] Nice.

[00:50:54] And it's three year old, like it's been three years since I've tried new stuff.

[00:50:59] Right.

[00:50:59] But it's, it's insane.

[00:51:00] I mean, it's obviously phenomenal new stuff and riding smaller foils is really cool.

[00:51:06] But even for myself trying to figure out what tail to pair and, and they all, every brand

[00:51:11] has amazing tutorials, but it's always nice to talk to people who have ridden it more than

[00:51:16] you have just to find out what they liked the most.

[00:51:19] And so it's kind of a cool service that you're doing for the, for the people because it is

[00:51:23] difficult to know what to buy.

[00:51:24] It's not, it's not as easy as you think it is.

[00:51:27] Yeah.

[00:51:28] And the riders are lucky enough to, to have time to sail more.

[00:51:32] True.

[00:51:32] So they have more experience.

[00:51:34] And so the idea is to, to give this experience to everybody who have no time to sail as much

[00:51:46] as we, we have.

[00:51:48] That's very true.

[00:51:49] Yeah.

[00:51:49] If they only have a couple hours in the weekend and we have more than it's, it's a duty and

[00:51:54] an obligation to help out by sailing more.

[00:51:56] Yeah, for sure.

[00:52:01] All right, my friend.

[00:52:02] Well, Hey, thanks for coming on and thanks to you to invite me.

[00:52:05] Having a nice chat.

[00:52:07] Can we, can you turn your camera so we can see your wife's beautiful painting a little

[00:52:11] bit before we go?

[00:52:12] So people in, ah, yeah, there you go.

[00:52:16] Very nice.

[00:52:17] Ah, there's a lot more.

[00:52:18] You can visit her website.

[00:52:21] Okay.

[00:52:22] By laser art by laser.com.

[00:52:25] A R T by laser.com.

[00:52:28] L.E.Y.S.A.

[00:52:31] Oh, L.E.Y.S.A.

[00:52:32] All right.

[00:52:33] Les Français, leur H.

[00:52:34] All right.

[00:52:36] Hey, man.

[00:52:38] Hey, thanks for coming on and looking forward to seeing you again.

[00:52:41] Sorry for my English.

[00:52:42] I'm not practicing that much.

[00:52:44] I'm more pretty good.

[00:52:45] South America.

[00:52:46] But I hope everything, everybody understood.

[00:52:49] Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

[00:52:51] Yeah.

[00:52:51] Thanks for coming on.

[00:52:52] Thanks for people tuning in and we'll catch you to see you next time.

[00:52:54] See you in the next one.

[00:52:55] Okay.

[00:52:57] Bye.

[00:52:58] Thanks.

[00:52:58] Bye.