I’ve never met Julien Fillion. But I’ve always been a fan. Probably because I’m a fan of weird waves, and open-minded people who ride them on any sort of craft available at the time. The St. Lawrence River in Montreal is one of the best–and most consistent–river surfing locales in the world. The playing field is much larger than anywhere else people ride rivers: Habitat 67 has a broad face that one can actually layback and engage the rail in a proper cutback.
The above video is Fillion on the St. Lawrence. I’m not exactly sure which wave–there’s a couple within the Lachine Rapids–but he’s making it look so fun. I love the sound of the wind in his kite.
Fillion has always been one to poke his head around the rivers of Eastern Canada—he splits time between Montreal, Cape Hatteras, NC and Maui. This shot below is from the Ruins Wave, a large river wave in the city of Ottawa:
Fillion is among a handful of Montreal-based water athletes, like Corran Addison and Igor Goni, who make up a healthy scene on the St. Lawrence. Seems to me it’s about using whatever board works at the time there. Which is what it’s all about, really.
