The Future Starts Now

The Sapinus Pro in Tahiti saw stand-up take a couple of turns into new ground, and at the fulcrum of these shifts sits Sean Poynter. First up, Sean’s convincing win sees him move into the no.1 spot on the Stand Up World Tour ahead of Kai Lenny, and subsequently, we enter the era where high performance shortboard surfing, of which Sean is vanguard, is king. We caught up with Sean to talk about judging criteria, his improved fitness regimen, the benefits of a couple of beers and driving stick-shift (but not at the same time)…

Interview SUP Magazine // Photos  Hat Shot: John Carter // All others Ben Thouard

(This feature originally appeared in the Summer 2012 issue of SUP International. Print and digital subscriptions for readers worldwide are available HERE.)

Hi Sean, thinking back to your win at Sapinus in June, do you get any sense of conflict when it comes to judging high performance attacks against more traditional cross-step styles in the same event?
I don’t think so, not so much anymore in 2012. Maybe in 2011 you may have seen contradictory scores; hanging 5 may have got you higher scores then. Either way it’s been consistent all round, matching the critical part of the wave with critical manoeuvres, if that’s a hang 5 the score will be put through, but in 2012 it may not score as high as a big turn. It’s very much going towards the movement of high performance surfing and matching with ‘critical with critical’. It’s something that I’m glad about and that’s the direction I’ve been pushing it.

It may seem an obvious question, but are we now looking at a definite world title bid?
Yeah I’m definitely going for a world title; I had that set at the start of this year to win. I kind of had that set last year but I was maybe a little over ambitious considering what I put into my surfing and fitness. So last year I finished  7th which was kinda disappointing, but it was later in the year when I figured out my routine and surfing. At the start of this year, I was feeling as fit and surfing as well as I’ve done so far. I’ve got a new daily fitness regimen where upon I get up and target all the muscles on the SUP. I do a hundred push ups, a hundred dips, fifty pull ups, inverted leg raised and then run five miles. I make sure the paddling muscles are conditioned are ready to go. I also cut cheese out of my diet, it had kinda been slowing be down, but really I’ve just been smarter about what I eat and making sure I tick all the food groups.

What’s the balance of focus and release like? Do you postpone all partying till the tour is over?
I partied after Tahiti for sure; you gotta mix in work with play, I’m definitely one of those individuals who likes to enjoy life. Right now I’m in North Carolina on the vacation tip with the family. It’s an annual thing we’ve been doing for 22 years now, since I was 1. During the day we’re fishing, or surfing, in the evening have a couple of beers, tonight we’re feasting on crab…

How do your peers from your professional shortboarding days view your SUP career? Any feedback from them on it?
When I first made the transition, they were like ‘What? You’re doing what?’ This was back in 2010 and at the time I was trying to push my boundaries in shortboard surfing. It was almost a shock to them at first, but hell, I’m no 1 right now (laughing) and they’re like ‘I wanna go out with you and can you get me a board?!’ Now it’s props and respect where it’s due. It’s all coming full swing, there was that kind of unspoken word where shortboarders weren’t appreciative of stand-up, but when you have guys like JOB and Makai Rothman competing at Sunset Beach, and hearing those guys giving props to the sport says a lot. Still, you’re always gonna have those guys that never change their mind or their perceptions of the sport.

Outside of the tour, where do you like to run to for some good waves?
I really enjoyed Mexico, Puerto Escondidos, or even Pascuales, you had some shots of that in the last issue right? (We did). I really enjoy Mexico, not many crowds, good friends down there, lovely cuisine, the beach breaks are pumping. Anywhere in Fiji is always good, hopefully I’m going there in August, fingers crossed.  (We ask about cold water locations) There have been talks about going up to Nuka Island, tucked up inside the Gulf of Alaska. It’s a full wilderness trip, staying in tree houses, living in the world, cold as hell. But something that I’d really like to try out, something that I haven’t done. I want to go to Ireland, I haven’t been yet, I’ve got friends there, Finn Mullen, Fergal Smith…those guys are getting into some heavy slabs.

Talking of travel, are you still driving a stick shift?
Haha! You know I learned in France, I’m on automatic right now but now I step it up! I hopped in this thing, it was Scott McKercher’s car, I don’t even drive that much, I was only going to move it a couple of spots in the car park, but ended up cruising around with Zane and the boys and when we got back Scott was spewing. Haha, I actually got a little slap for that.

Finally, anyone you want to thank for giving you special support this year?
I gotta give props to Starboard and FCS. I’ve been working with the guys at FCS to get my fins dialled in to wave conditions, and Starboard are just solid, so I want to thank both of those guys’. The family are pretty exited, it’s fun coming back home, before vacay I was in Florida in my home town, you don’t really see it because you’re away, but everything gets published, and it’s a small town so everyone knows what going on, that whole community is psyched for it all. And that makes me feel that much more determined to go out and do my best. SUP