For the love of surf foiling
31.08.2020
Written by Martijn, Appletree’s surf foiling ambassador
A new addiction
I dream about foiling, I live for foiling, I foil about foiling. Never before have I been so taken by a sport. The freedom, the speed, the sensation that comes so close to the feeling of flying (as in your dreams) just doesn’t stop to amaze me. Combine that with a steep and challenging learning curve, doing it together with friends and frothing on the smallest and mushiest or unbreaking waves that normally would go unridden and you have the perfect mix for a new addiction on the love for foiling!
How it all started
It all started on a surf trip in Bali when my mentor and good friend Tim Delhaes (who I had met 15 years ago when I did an internship in his startup in Santiago de Chile – and he taught me to surf ) asked me to join him on a surf foil clinic in Sanur. Little did I know that this would take the next few years of my life – and maybe more. A little dinghy towed us into tropical lines of blue and there and then it happened: I flew through my first wave and I was immediately hooked!
Connecting the waves
Back in The Netherlands I bought a second hand foil set and I got my first Appletree surfboard 5.0 foil board and surfed my first slushy waves and the pleasure level was already high. When days were getting shorter and the temperature went down, it was time for our annual winter escape to the sun. We booked a trip to a subtropical Portuguese island in the middle of the atlantic and got blessed with 10 days of straight offshore winds and 1.5m peelers. ‘Dude, these waves are perfect for regular surfing, what are you doing?!’ my buddy exclaimed. But I was on a mission: at the end of the surf trip I wanted to be able to catch a wave, pump back, and catch the next wave behind it. And indeed, after 10 days of struggling I made it. I connected my very first waves! This opened a whole new realm of possibilities and I knew I would be foiling forever.
Step up your game
From that moment on I surf foiled almost every day and with the purchase of a new set of wings and the 4.6″ Appletree Pro Foil board made of full carbon I stepped up my game and got better and better and was flying more and more. I could now easily connect three or four waves in a row, could surf the smallest of waves and would stay in the water for five hours straight. The stoke levels simply went through the roof.
Share the stoke!
Here’s a short video that hopefully portraits my love for this amazing art of flying above the water. Have a look and let me know what you think:) Oh and please, if you’re a foiler or want to be, let’s connect on the gram to get in touch and share the stoke!
Best,
Martyn
@supertyn