On the second day of Red Bull's Project Air, the top surfers in attendance took a trip back in time to try out a very special replica surfboard.
Project Air is about the refinement and progression of the most exciting move in surfing – the aerial – but today, each member of the elite team received a very special gift: a custom-made replica of Mark Richards’ 1978 'Pipe Weapon'.
Personally hand-signed by the former four-time world champ and legend 'MR', the single-fin replicas are a symbolic, tactile reference to the origins of competitive surfing.
As Red Bull’s High Performance Director, Andy Walshe, detailed in his opening presentation, any top performer with ambitions of becoming a master must have an understanding of the past.
“We are not here to re-invent the wheel, but tradition and history are important elements. From there, you have a base to build an innovative performance,” said Walshe.
Pioneering surfers Baddy Treleor and Chris Brock sat as special guests alongside modern superstars Jordy Smith and Julian Wilson as the whole Red Bull gang took a brief trip down Memory Lane, watching an exciting compilation of performance surfing through the ages, which culminated with Baddy and Brock’s epic Lennox Head sessions from Morning of the Earth, the seminal '70s surf film.
On the 7ft [2.1m] single fins this morning, the surfers ripped. Well, for the most part! Jordy powered through some big moves, using his 89kg bulk to his advantage, and claimed a nice tube.
But for lighter surfers like Sally Fitzgibbons (59kg) the going was a little tougher.
“It paddled like a dream, I glided past everyone, then first wave I face planted! My fin skipped out of the water – I didn’t realise I needed my foot right over the fin," said Sally. "But then I kinda got the hang of it, I did a couple of cutties, trimmed, got dropped in on… my new name is 'Marina Richards!'”
The reigning Men’s ASP World Champion, Mick Fanning, blazed, before trading in the replica and jumping on his shortboard.
“The board had really nice lines, but the one thing you lack with single fins is that you don’t have is the speed," said Mick. "But overall, I was really surprised – it was better than I thought!”
Late in the day, the surfers had their first taste of the purpose-built skate ramp and the bungy trampoline, both specified to allow ‘more air time’ at Project Air.
Per Lumdstum, Red Bull’s High Performance Manager, then took the team through an intense core strengthening routine, which allows weaknesses to be identified, then evaluated and improved upon, with the big aim of improving overall conditioning, long term.
Luckily, we caught the best bits of day two on camera – check out the pictures below!
Red Bull Photofiles
Mick Fanning proudly carried his Mark Richards board.
Red Bull Photofiles
Each surfer's replica was individually assigned.
Red Bull Photofiles
Sally Fitzgibbons gets to grips with the single fin.
Red Bull Photofiles
Mick makes it look easy.
Red Bull Photofiles
Michel Bourez gets the Lumdstum treatment.
For more news and action from the beaches, head to Red Bull Surfing.
Comments
Add a comment