To those close to the foiling community, it may seem we’ve entered the
mainstream, but I believe that the sport is just getting started. We’re
finally starting to see small groups of surfers adopt the foil for their
small wave needs. In wind sports, wing foiling is officially taking over.
Kitesurfers are making a complete move, and windsurfers who haven’t
contemplated rigging a sail in the last 20 years are now coming out of
retirement to start winging on a foil board. In the world of electric, more
and more eFoils are starting to pop up in the wild and as houseboat
owners cruise around with multiple outdated jet skis on the aft deck,
they ask themselves, “Why don’t we have one of those?” The first
person foiling was a kook, when it was two people they were weird,
and now, with gangs of foilers at local breaks and WhatsApp groups
excitedly messaging each other about one-foot surf, we have ourselves
a movement. If you look closely at the strange trends, you can start to
visualize the evolution of a new sport with multiple segments.
I see two advancement trends in foiling. The first is the early advocates,
the ones who have been on the edge of the sport for years, who are
going to achieve levels of mastery that are simply beyond what we can
even comprehend today. I see it now with riders we work with at Lift.
Some are only a few years into foiling, some are still in high school,
but they’re doing flips and tackling waves that seemed insurmountable
to pioneers just a year ago. I firmly believe these riders are going to
be flying out of barrels, riding huge waves at incredible speeds, and
doing acrobatics similar to what we see in the world of snowboarding.
Have a look at what people achieve behind a boat on an Air Chair and
then combine that with fearless young surfers on large waves, light
equipment, and foot straps. These young guns may even adopt an eFoil
as the tool needed to get them launched into such surf...
The second is that we’re going to see the infrastructure building quickly
for further mainstream adoption, education, and enablement of new
riders in all types of foiling. This is going to mean more brands jumping
into the sport, more schools and lesson opportunities, and an increased
desire from people of all skill levels to try foiling. The multiple branches
A NOTE FROM LIFT FOILS FOUNDER
NICK LEASON
06
