In The Mix Tahurai Henry

In: In The Mix by doclach 0 Comments Sat 21st Jan '12

Tags: Tahiti , Tahitian Ten , Tahurai Henry , Flipmode , Corio Cremoux

The "Tahitian Ten" is a series of ten interviews with the groundbreaking Tahitian Bodyboarders. From The latest cutting edge moves by riders such as Tahurai Henry and David Tuarau, to the history of BB in Tahiti from 'Pipe', words with Within filmer and editor Eric Schnitzler. Also a special introduction to some underground chargers you will never have heard of before, but certainly will in the future. Many thanks go to Coriolan Cremoux - who created the Flipmode Bodyboard Clothing brand. A Tahitian local now living in Australia and surfing & charging hard with my crew these days. Corio has been instrumental in bringing this series together, arranging introductions and contacts so you can really get to meet these amazing riders and see their different dimensions. The way it is done island style.This is the Tahitian Ten. These are the people taking bodyboarding to the next level in one of the world's greatest and most powerful breaks. Please give a strong "la Orana" to Tahurai Henry:

(If you aren't one of the 56.8K who have watched the Withincast 2 video and you would like to have a visual of what will be spoken about here and have Tahurai's voice in your head for his words below, just take a few minutes to click here and absorb vimeo.com/33300432 )

Doc: Hey Tahurai, There have been a lot of eyes opened around the bodyboarding world with the release of Eric's Withincast episode 2. The riding is fresh & dynamic, plus there is that new move (for us) which we only know as 'What the fuck'. Can you let readers know the name of the new move and how it developed?

Tahurai Henry: Right, Withincasts are probably the best way that will help Tahitian bodyboarders to get exposure internationally. It makes us wanna push more our limits and show to the world how we surf in Tahiti. That new move is called the "gainer flip" invented by David TUARAU, "What the fuck" is just what they call in Tahiti as that`s what people were saying when they first saw him pull it. That guy is a machine, always wants to pull new moves it`s incredible. Looking forward to see him pulling new moves this year!

Doc: Teahupoo is the wave people are most familiar with, what's it like to have grown up with that as your backyard wave? How old were you when you first surfed it?

TH: I surfed Teahupoo for the first time when I was 13 years old. Growing up at Teahupoo is the best thing that happened in my life, I was surrounded by pro bodyboarders and surfers, it was always exiting to see them surfing. Surfing that spot one day was a dream but at the same time I was a little scared because it was Teahupoo, so I had to learn at the little river mouth with my cousins, it`s a right hander, that`s where the kids are surfing before going out to the heaviest left in the world. Changing from a right to a left hander was the hardest thing to do at this time, from a little right to a hollow left!

Doc: The code red day with the famous webcast during the surf comp - have you boys surfed it that big before and did any bodyboarders make it out that day?

TH: That day, the boys and I woke up early and went out to see if we could paddle into some bombs, it was already huge, 15 footers were already breaking while we paddled out, by the time we got there the sets were getting bigger and bigger, it was not the perfect Teahupoo at all, it was so shallow that the waves had stairs like Shipstern`s wave.

That was the swell from hell! I`ve never seen Teahupoo that big.

A friend of mine, Angelo FARAIRE paddled out just before us and got there first, he caught a huge wave, I would say for sure one of the biggest waves paddled into at Teahupoo, he air dropped and threw his board, his wipe out was so crazy that I thought that something bad would happen to him. He lost his board, he was all safe and swam to the channel. Lucky Angelo! That was the only wave caught by someone paddling. That historic swell will stay in our minds forever.

Doc: People may think from the media exposure that Tahiti has more stand-up surfers than bodyboarders, but in fact it's the other way around with bodyboarders dominating the numbers. What are some of the contributing factors to bodyboarding being so strong in Tahiti?

TH: Obviously, Tahiti is a breeding ground for talented bodyboarders. We pretty much all come from hundreds of family generations that were fisherman, sailors so it`s kind of in our blood to be comfortable with reefs and the ocean in general. There`s another reason why bodyboarding is so strong is because most people can`t afford to buy a surfboard so they all start bodyboarding and loving it. Waves are really heavy in Tahiti, so if you want to paddle on our huge waves you should bodyboard because you can go bigger I reckon. Most of the waves have sick ramps, people don`t know how lucky we are with big, perfect and rampy waves ! It`s paradise!

Doc: You are the most travelled of the crew Tahurai. Where have you been and what have been your experiences in the different breaks compared to your home?

TH: I`ve been to Australia, Hawaii, Cook Islands, Canary Islands and outer Islands of French Polynesia. I didn`t get to surf waves as perfect as my home break. It was always something new for me, the cold water from the South of Australia, the big slabs that scared me so much, the crowd in the spots, thinking about sharks because I was surfing in cold water and also the wedges that are so fun. Doc: In Withincast episode 2, you describe the worst wipeout of your life where you blacked out on the reef and were sure you were going to die. What sort of thoughts were running through your mind? TH: All that happened so quickly, but I was that stunned that everything seemed to be in slow motion. I was asking myself if I was gonna survive after the shock, just thinking about life in general, family and friends. Hoping for someone to rescue me as soon as possible.

Doc: Sapinus is a real bodyboarder's wave. How would you describe this in comparison to Teahupoo and in what ways may it suit competitive bodyboarding more or less than Teahupoo?

TH: Both of these waves are amazing, they look almost the same. The difference is that Sapinus is less massive, comes more like a taller wave and doesn`t close out at the end part of it. I would say it`s more safety at Sapinus but you can get hold under for longer because it`s deeper than Teahupoo. I think that you can also get deeper at Sapinus because the shock wave isn`t as strong as Teahupoo so you have time to get out of it. For the ramps, I would say that Sapinus is safer to hit because it doesn`t close out at the end. You can also hit it at Teahupoo but it`s a little harder because of the last section that closes out on the reef. Good luck haha! Both these spots work on the same swell, Teahupoo catches more of the swell easily, big Sapinus would only break if Teahupoo has at least 10 to 12 feet.

Doc: What would you like to see developing in the world BB tour? Is it an aspiration of any of you to be on the tour, or are you mostly happy to surf your epic home breaks?

TH: I`m dreaming about having the contest back at Teahupoo, if it can`t happen at least do one in Tahiti, we have so many world class waves it`s amazing. In my opinion, I think that any of us would love to get paid for what we love to do the most but it`s also hard for us to travel because our Island is far from everything. I guess if the support was offered to us for comps and travel expenses, I don`t think that any of us are gonna say no. If one day I have the opportunity to try to get on the tour I will be very happy but I'm pretty sure that surfing our waves all year is much more fun!

Doc: I was speaking to friends the other day who has lived pretty closely with you boys and they were saying the economic status is pretty tough there, that some of the young riders just use one fin, as they buy a pair between two and split one each. What are the general economic circumstances for the Tahiti riders? Also A few people have asked why you and the others aren't strongly sponsored considering your level of ability and charge factor. I noticed Surge and Pride logos in the podcast - who is backing you and why do you think you haven't received perhaps as much commercial attention so far?

TH: Well, we pretty much all started bodyboarding with one fin in Tahiti, the material is a little expensive so it`s hard for the kids to convince their parents to buy some bodyboard gear. I think that some of us `TAHITIAN BODYBOARDERS` deserve to be internationally recognised. I`m sponsored by PRIDE Tahiti and I`m proud to ride for the brand but I would like to get bigger support soon.
For the support and commercial attention, I don`t really know why we are not strongly sponsored, it`s only been a year that we are exposed to the world and I would like to thank Eric SCHNITZLER for all the work that he does for us! I think that it`s gonna change soon or in the next year. I try to work to get good footage but it`s never easy because we don`t have that much of people filming us in Tahiti, Eric SCHNITZLER and Hugo TAURU are filming me when we have the opportunity to surf together. I think and hope that it`s gonna get better and better every year, because I still didn`t show the world what I can do.

Doc: How would you describe living and surfing on your island and also can you put into words your relationship with the ocean?

TH: Living in Tahiti is a dream, the weather is to me pretty much good all year, we have beautiful landscapes with waterfalls all around the Island even if I think that life is a little expensive compared to what I`ve had seen elsewhere. For the surfing, I`m enjoying our waves, the island is pretty small so we don`t need to drive for hours to score perfect waves. I can`t handle not going to the ocean, I live right in front of it, the ocean is a part of my culture with my Tahitian ancestors. When the waves are flat, I`m going to swim to keep the ocean feeling, it`s so nice to relax in front of the ocean, play soccer on the beach with my little brother and friends or go fishing. The ocean makes me smile that`s for sure!

Thank you so much for your time Tahurai

I would like to thank FLUIDZONE for the interview, my local sponsor PRIDE, the Teahupoo Surf Club, Eric Schnitzler and Withincasts, all my friends who helped me to progress in the sport and of course my lovely Family that is always supporting me!

Photo credits: 
Domenic Mosqueira
Tim McKenna
Eric Schnitzler (within podcast series framegrabs)