25
Joe Thwaites
LOCO SUP
Tell us about your surf riding background and when you discovered riding waves with a paddle . I first started surfing when I was 12 years old , late by today ' s standards . My gran used to take my brother and me over to Saltburn , which was the epicentre for north east surfing back then and still is today . We graduated from foamies to minimals quite quickly and eventually ended up with shortboards that were too small for us , so nothing new there . I stuck with prone surfing for about four years , then sold my board for a set of DJ decks . I decided I needed something to keep me out of the pub , so I started windsurfing on lakes not far from where I lived in Harrow .
A move north landed me in Leeds , and I continued my ' lake surfing ' at Pugneys and Grimwith Reservoir before graduating to the coast when I moved back home to the north east when I lost my Dad . I mainly wave sailed at Redcar but still kept a hand in with the inland stuff . After a couple of years at home , I moved further north to just outside Tynemouth , but after about a year or so , the credit crunch hit and my recruitment business went from being very busy to be dead . I decided to take the brave step of setting up one of the first SUP schools in the country operating from Tynemouth beach . I remember driving down to Roger Tushingham ' s house and picking up my first fleet of Starboard school boards . They seemed enormous , but it didn ' t stop my brother and me from taking them straight out for a surf at Seaton Carew , catching waves from the offset ; it was like surfing properly but so much easier !
Do you still partake in a surf dabble with a paddle ? If so , how does this make up ( to a greater or lesser extent ) your overall paddling ? Paddle surfing is 95 % of my paddling as I live 300m from the beach and enjoy a mission to a reef that we have in spades up here on the north east coast . Everyone who paddle surfs up here knows me , and I ' d like to think I ' m one of the best paddle surfers locally as I ' ve put in the hours . I no longer teach SUP , but I ' m always happy to give improvers a few pointers for a cold pint in the pub afterwards .
What ’ s your overall opinion of SUP surfing in the UK currently ? Do you see much new blood at your local ? SUP surfing seems to be waking up again , mainly due to loads of people buying a blow-up and now looking to progress . We ' re now getting blow up owners seeing more experienced paddlers slashing around in the surf , which gets them thinking I ' d like a stab at that . I ' ve always got a buzz out of passing on my skills , so I ' m in the process of starting an informal SUP surfing club , the idea being that members get some insight without having to spend silly money on 1-2-1 . I might get a fish supper and a few beers for my time , and hopefully , I ' ll be able to switch people onto the benefits of hard boards and make a couple of sales or at least foster good word of mouth .
Why do you think SUP boarding waves never exploded as some predicted ? Where to begin ? Most brands are quite happy selling blow-ups to the masses as they cost less to ship , are easy to store in volume , and present fewer headaches with onward logistics . Most of the early adopters came from wind sports or surfing proper and demanded a hardboard as they just looked at the ' glorified lilo ' options and thought , meh !
As SUP continues to navigate through its new growth spurt , with large volumes of paddlers coming into the fold , do you think we ' ll see an influx of SUP surf riders ? Absolutely ! The number of calls I get daily asking me which board I ' d recommend as a first surf SUP can only be a positive sign of things to come for ocean sweeping . I don ' t think many of these paddlers realise that coming off a massive blow-up can be like learning from scratch again . Still , hey , that ' s what I ' m here for , primarily to inform and ensure people get the right board . It ' s amazing how many people have boards that are far too big for them , so it ' s no wonder they ' re struggling to do any decent turns . Get the right kit under your feet and get a bit of know-how , and literally , anyone can ride a wave on a SUP .
Final thoughts on SUP surfing ? It ' s the closest thing you can do the surfing proper that involves minimal skill , doesn ' t require cat-like balance and guarantees the same stupid grinning and sense of achievement you get from surfing . It burns calories like doing a HIIT workout in a sauna , especially if you wear a wetsuit in the height of summer ! It gets you out on the water , which is excellent for your mental health . The floaty boards let you explore hidden breaks and interact with dolphins and other cool marine wildlife . Once people get into SUP , our experience is that they soon upgrade to a hardboard for racing or surfing , so I think the future for non-competitive SUP surfing looks very bright !
Regarding the competitive side , we ’ ll have to wait and see . Wave pools could undoubtedly solve the unreliable conditions argument for SUP surfing ' s inclusion in the Olympics . Watch this space !