Duotone NOW Magazine No.03 2022

Since 2019 the Duotone Waveriding team has been dominating competitions around the world. From legends Airton Cozzolino and Matchu Lopes to the young guns James Carew, Pedro Matos and experienced surfer and competitor Sebastian Ribeiro, seeing a Duotone podium sweep at events has become a regular sight. We then have Patri McLaughlin and Olivia Jenkins pushing the envelope in Big Wave riding, with every rider having their own style and unique way of riding. Duotone is proud to have such a variety of talent on board. A friendship between battling teammates can be put to the test but the relationship between the riders and the team spirit allows them to push each other to reach even higher levels of performance. Here’s what our riders have to say about their success, being friends on Tour and what it means to compete against your teammates. DOMINANCE OF THE DUOTONE TEAM WAVE DOMINANCE OF THE DUOTONE WAV Patri McLaughlin “The entire Duotone wave team is incredibly talented, and they all come from some of the best wave locations in the world. Olivia and myself are from Maui, Airton and Matchu come from Cape Verde, Sebastian and Pedro from Brazil, and James from Australia. They’re all notorious surf destinations, and I think that has a huge effect on a rider. You can see how the regions where the riders come from influence their style. The Cape Verdeans are incredibly good at using the kite to propel them into waves, where the Brazilians surf more and use the kite as an aid to their surf style. Olivia and I have big waves to ride so that’s what we focus on. The place I see the team push each other the most is Strapless Freestyle / Big Air. Airton and James are both getting pretty crazy with that stuff and they’re definitely pushing each other. One of the beautiful things about wave riding is it’s an art form. Everyone has their own style. I personally try to focus on pushing myself. I love getting barreled and I love kiting big waves so I try to get better at that every chance I get. Kiting big waves is such a strange thing. It takes so much time to get comfortable out there and you only get a few sessions a year in the really big stuff. I feel like I’ve only started to get comfortable at Jaws in the last few years. I’m only now starting to try to pull into big barrels and see what’s possible with a kite out there. I’m also getting older so I need to focus on staying healthy and avoid getting injured. It’s a weird thing where time gives me knowledge, but I also need to race and do all the crazy stuff before I’m too old… Kelly Slater is 50, and he’s still one of the best surfers in the world so I still have plenty of time.” Photo  Daniel Sullivan, Jaws, Maui, Hawaii

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