Portrait: A long-boarder met expatriate Laure Mayer in Australia

Surfers Born in the summer of 2022 with a new name and great stories. In this issue 1, an inspirational article about Bethany Hamilton sponsored by Alice Lemoigne, a trip to Ireland with Marie Sache, portraits of big wave surfers or artists, but also a life of freesurfing with Anna Gudaskas, the mood of Johan Defey and a step into the world of bodyboarding with Brazilian champion Isabela Sousa! Maria Bastidas and the portfolio of the Girls Surf Two community in South Africa, not forgetting the company's report on Typhoon Roy in the Philippines.

In short, lots of topics and desires of the moment to discover throughout the pages. Today we share with you a portrait of Laure Meyer (page 52) who lives his life to the rhythm of longboarding, and not only that!

Find your rhythm

This article can be read in the context of flamenco music. First, because it's a rhythm that has rocked Laure Mayer for years, well into his youth and into his young adulthood, but its richness and its articulations match the rhythm of Long Boarder's life.

Laure grew up in Saint-Jean-de-Luz. A fascination with the mountains developed a keen interest in skiing. First at the age of 16, a club opened in his city, and then at the age of 19. License in hand, free to travel, she sets her sights on longboarding. In discipline, she tries to rediscover the sensations of the movements she already loves in flamenco. “It spoke to me so much, it fit me so well, I wanted to dance a little on my board. She explains today.

The trigger that made her most emotional came two years later. At the age of 21, the Frenchwoman stepped out of her comfort zone using an Erasmus experience in Portugal as part of her studies. “Surfing means surfing spots you don't know about. I had to learn to manage on my own and that's when it took place in my life.” she says.

Get out of your comfort zone. For some it's a dangerous path, but for Lau it seems like magic. She draws energy from her deep desire to learn new things, set personal goals, and surpass herself: “I found that the progression I lacked in skiing was in surfing. There were so many things I wanted to learn and succeed at, that's what got me into it. I set a lot of goals for myself and that's what kept me going more than anything else: the joy of knowing that I could go further than where I was.s.”

She applies this way of thinking to longboarding, but to her entire life. After Spain and Portugal, Basque wanted to learn other languages, and returned to English. English and surfing? Go to Australia, the land of surfing, and more specifically Byron Bay, a surfing town where longboarding is king.

“Life here is very pleasant, a lot of people's daily life revolves around surfing, which is perfect for me today”. In Byron, Laurie found the rhythm of life that suited him. However, its installation was not without interruption: “I fell in love with the surf and the waves here, but I didn't necessarily fall in love with the culture right away. I come from the Basque country, we have a somewhat anchored culture, and it was hard to leave my loved ones. This is why I went back and forth for so long that I had to return home” says the witness. However, eleven years later, Laurie chose his choice. Now she is at home in Byron, where she walks barefoot like everyone else.