This is definitely the coolest way to surf big waves we’ve seen in a hot minute. Fred Compagnon, of Hossegor, an SUP and alaia enthusiast, took both big wave surfing and step-offs to a whole new level with this one. Simply by combining the two boards and a little hop-step, he’s found the most innovative way to slide into a yawning barrel in recent memory.
Paddling out with both boards – the alaia on top of the SUP, to be exact – Compagnon paddles into these big waves and ditches the SUP for the quarter-inch rail of his alaia on which he slides down the line and pulls snowboard-esque cutbacks (snowboard-esque because his feet are afixed to the board). This is the greatest combination of three unlikely bedfellows: surfing, snowboarding and SUP. We love it.
