His name might not be familiar yet, but we’ve been hearing about Issam Auptel for a little while now.
Whether it was getting piped around Hossegor or launching at our beloved Grande Plage, the smooth regular footer didn’t take long to raise our eyebrows and soon enough, we felt the need to know more. Turns out that Issam hails from Guadeloupe, an island located somewhere in between Barbados and Jamaica — one that we’re rather familiar with, being the home-ground of numerous WT associates including Yentl Touboul, Tito Lavole & Erwin Bliss.
Like most Caribbean kids, Issam has transitioned to the mainland to study and ended up in Biarritz. Despite its glorious summer months, Christmas time can be a tough one on the French west coast due to its healthy share of bleak weather, and by this point the only thing one can think about is an escape to warmer pastures. Needless to say the urge must be a step further when you’ve grown up surfing in 25°C water… Having the opportunity to do so whilst sleeping in his own bed & chasing ramps for two weeks straight, you would be mad at Issam for not indulging for a week or two and mom and dad’s, even more when you can come back with a surf edit. Beautifully shot and cut by Simon Levalois & supported by our good friends at Volcom (Issam’s new sponsor) Starfruit seems to be the start of a promising surfer/filmer collaboration, and with the pair now living in Biarritz, we’re hyped to see what they will come up with next!
