Hydrofoiling is the future and the future is now-
Charles Österlund
The foiling world continues to grow as not only the day to day john doe and weekend warriors join the revolution though some of the biggest names on earth such as Mark Zuckererg begin to learn.
In the image we have no other than the co-founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg catching some Hawaiian swell on a hydrofoil.
This photo is rad for various reasons though the main reason for us is simple… He is wearing protective equipment!
The majority of people hate protective equipment for the simple reason that it is not stylish. Most people rather look stylish then safe and we cannot deny that sometimes we ourselves are like this. Wearing protective gear is bulky and takes away a little of the “freedom”.
When people begin hydrofoiling regardless if it is in kiteboarding, prone surfing, windsurfing, SUP, winging or downwind swell riding they scoff at the idea of having to wear a helmet, impact vest and neoprene as they are “better than that”. Though the reality is that no one is above safety and Mark reminds us of this in one simple and clear example.
Unfortunately this is not always the reality but its a good reminder of the ideal… Below we will add another image of Mark out riding some swells on his E-Foil sadly without any protective equipment.
We recommend that if you are ever learning a new sport, practicing new tricks, out alone or riding extreme conditions – to use protective equipment.
When we are doing any sort of teaching, with little to no exception we use protective equipment – only on very special and unique situations this might vary. When we are doing any sort of coaching to intermediate and professional riders, we strongly urge the use of protective equipment.
Learning water sports in a place like Cabarete, Dominican Republic makes the experience overall more safe because winds are on-shore and not off-shore, vast space to learn undisturbed away from obstructions, ocean gets progressively deeper with limited spots of reef and there are always people around willing to help incase of an emergency!
When you are looking to learn any sport it is ideal to pick a spot that is not only safe though get proper instruction from a reputable establishment or coach.
In the end, it is great to see the water sports growing at such a rate all around the globe. We find that water sports interestingly enough attract people from all walks of life which makes it that much more serendipitous since you never know who you will bump into or tangling with out at sea!
Enough reading! Get out there learning or riding. Maybe you bump into Sir Richard Branson, Mark Zuckerber or Charles Österlund – though only one way to find out and that’s getting out there!
Warm and windy regards from the Liquid Blue Cabarete team on the North Shore of the Dominican Republic-
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