In the latest episode from free-surfer and filmmaker Laure Mayer, viewers get special exploration of the local surf culture of Senegal in the aptly named People of Surfing series.
Having already documented New Zealand and Brazil, Laure, who created the series, invites friend and legendary Basque explorer, Kepa Acera, to get a true look at what’s happening in the biggest hub of West African surf culture. “For us, it was the friendliness of the people that really stuck. Everyone in the street stops to ask you how you are. Not a just a simple hi, but a genuine how are you?”
Set to an epic soundtrack of classic-to-modern African music, drum-filled beats and lyrics in multiple languages, the two score fun-sized and dreamy waves in multiple spots along the vastly under-explored coastline. While surfing casts the hook, the real catch is the interviews and conversations they have with multiple locals that help give the history and modern context of surfing in Senegal.
While most of the world may not know much about Senegalese surfing, that is surely changing with the emergence of world-class surfers like Cherif Fall and increased tourism. Kepa shares that, in his last trip to Senegal over a decade ago, ‘there were local surfers but it seemed like they were mostly just beginning, today there are real athletes.’
But the point of the episode is far greater than simply validating the destination based on its local talent and wave quality, it’s to really examine what surfing means to those who are learning and getting involved.
We caught up with Laure to learn more about her and the People of Surfing project.
Origins and background
People of Surfing
“Coming from France, having grown up in France, then having lived in Portugal, Spain, and Australia, I really saw that the surfing world and the surfing environment in each country is actually quite different. Whether it’s the type of waves, the climate, the social environment — we just don’t have the same relationship to it in a sense. And we don’t have the same approach depending on the culture. It’s kind of not the same experience being a surfer in a different part of the world, aside from just standing up on a surfboard and riding a wave.”
What she brings home
People of Surfing
“When I travel and go surf beautiful waves and visit beautiful places around the world, as much as I take so much from what I’ve got in waves and in time in the ocean, what I bring back with me is always the connections I’ve made with the people. The people that tend to really stay with me. The people that I meet and that touch my heart and that I share waves with and laughs and connect with when I’m in those foreign countries — they’re the ones that make me wanna go back to that place. I’m always thinking I’m gonna hopefully be able to come back and visit my new friends.”
What makes it different
People of Surfing
“It’s about shining a light on local people and local cultures around this passion we have for surfing. Just showcasing different cultures and different countries through this unique world we all live in and are all passionate about — which is surfing and riding waves and spending time in the ocean.
The other facet of the series, which I kind of like and I think is a bit different, is that this is about showing local surfers. They don’t have to always be the best surfer in the country or the best surfer somewhere. It’s more about the everyday surfer that’s genuinely passionate. Or the guy that’s been going to this one beach for his whole life. Or the young generation just setting up. People that have a story, and that I’m just really passionate about — whether they are amazing at surfing and it’s visually incredible to watch them surf, or whether they’re just a really good everyday surfer, someone that just loves it for real and does it a lot.”
People of Surfing
Related: Inside Dakar’s Surf Scene and Why the Ocean Means Everything to Young Surfers