Should You Be Surf Foiling?
Eric Geiselman says Yes!
You probably know Eric Geiselman as one of Florida’s best pro surfers. The 36-year-old had a successful competitive career in his 20s before transitioning to become a freesurfer. What you may not know is that he is also an accomplished surf-foiler. “Eric is the best surf-foiler in the world right now, and remains one of my favorite surfers,” said Adam Bennetts, the celebrated Australian foil surfer who just launched FLITELab, a new range of surf foils.
We caught up with Eric to talk through his foiling career and why every surfer should add the discipline to their quiver.
How did you get into foiling?
I wanted to have another tool for the water on those days when the waves were really poor. I think it was in 2017, and I saw Kai Lenny’s viral clip where he connected two rides after paddling into one. That got me interested. My dad is a surfboard shaper and keen kiteboarder, and he made a couple of foil boards for himself. I ended up inheriting his setup and got up on my first go, which was a fluke, but I could see the appeal.
How difficult was it to learn?
Well, there was no blueprint back then, so I had a week or two of getting absolutely blown up. So there was some initial suffering, and I was thinking, “What is this stupid thing?” But I didn’t want it to conquer me.
Were you immediately hooked?
At the start, I treated it more like extra ocean time and a bit of fitness. It was still fun, but there wasn’t much progression. And my dad’s boards were fairly primitive. However, when COVID hit and I was stuck at home, I got back into it. By then, the tech and equipment had improved massively and then that’s where I was like, “holy shit, this feels amazing.”
Can you describe the feeling?
You can go out in little 1-foot ripples, and it still feels like you’re riding like a true point break. It’s pretty wild to have that at New Smyrna Beach. The crowd ratio to stoke factor for me is what keeps me kind of foiling. At home, I’d say I’m foiling at least 60% of the time. When I do go surfing, I paddle out for a 2-foot wave, and my best friend’s now my enemy, and it just seems crazy. Now I’m still getting my fill, and I’m leaving the water stoked every time. And with these new foils, it doesn’t feel like work or anything. It’s all flow. It’s almost like you are having an out-of-body experience or like you are on a dreamy powder run on a snowboard. Also, while surfing is awesome, it’s a very individual pursuit. So there’s a lot of ego involved in the line-up. That doesn’t exist in foiling.
How long are your average sessions?
I’ll regularly do 6-hour sessions. I’ll come in and I’m exhausted, and back and my legs are hurting, but I’m still waking up the next day stretching and going and putting myself back through it, as the payoff is so great. I stay out of the way of the surfers just roam, and carve these tiny waves and I always think, “How are more people not into this?”
What’s been the biggest advantage for you?
It’s kept me in the water and stoked, even when the waves are absolute crap, which in Florida is most of the time. It’s fun, it’s dorky, and it’s like surfing, skating, and snowboarding all put into this one weird water-fused futuristic-looking dorky vessel. It’s changed my experience in the ocean for the better. I can’t imagine a life without it now.