ROMAIN CLOITRE TURNS ME ON
23, Libra the scales

Photo: Laurel

Homeward Bound
That last plane. I love that feeling, just before the plane touches down on Reunion Island. It goes around the island, I can see the mountains, the beaches where I grew up. You realize, especially when you’ve been gone for a while, this is a true paradise and that I’m super lucky to call it home. It’s a magical moment for me, and it’s hard to find the right words to explain it.

Sports
I love exercising, it’s the thing that brings me the most well-being. I think I’m a bit hyperactive, I always need to be on the move. There’s nothing like being surfed out or tired after a full day of sport. You know you haven’t wasted your day. It is also a way to manage hard times, on tour or when you’ve got some bad news in your life. Going for a couple of waves or just running around the block.

Tiramisu
It’s my favourite dessert, I’m mad for it. I love good food but never been too crazy on dessert except for le tiramisu. Every time I am at a restaurant, it’s the first thing I look for on the menu, do they have tiramisu? When my girlfriend or mum makes one, I can nail it in a single day. A coffee one is the best, raspberry in close second.

Newquay
A town I didn’t really like before. But now, I will never forget that place, winning my first big WQS there will be a memory to keep forever. I was not doing great before that this season, and in Newquay, I won heat after heat with good scores without feeling the pressure. In the final, I tried not to think about the result, I told myself there will be other rounds after that one to keep my mind off it. When they blew the horn, the beach speaker said I had won, I started shaking. I felt on top of the world in Newquay, England.

(Turns me off)
Sharks
Way too many attacks, way too many deaths of good friends, and when I see the stupidity of some environmental groups and local politicians, it’s shocking. Most of these people have never set foot on a surfboard or know the beaches of Reunion Island, and they are insulting our community while we are trying to find solutions. We never called for the massacre of sharks. We’ve always surfed with them around, but lately something has changed, something never seen before even by the eldest surfers and fishermen. I am against the killing of sharks, as they do in some other countries, but when sharks are attacking at every hour of the day and in areas known previously for their safety, we need to do something.