Surf vlogs have created quite the paradox over the past few years. On one hand, they’ve opened up an entirely new (and clearly viable) segment of pursuits for athletes that don’t rely on competitive success, sharing what typically looks like an enviable life of travel and dreamy waves along the way. On the other hand, a lot of it is completely unrelatable. Most of us don’t know what a travel budget looks like — at least not one earmarked for the whims of buoy readings.
Oh, and most of us only hope to surf as well as the athletes making these vlogs. That part is also very unrelatable.
Enter Nic von Rupp, aka von Froth. While von Rupp’s talent is world-class, his charisma is really what’s made the Von Froth vlog so entertaining over the past year. According to the man himself, a lot of feedback from the series has been in the wheelhouse of “how can we do that too?”
“People have been asking us how to improve their surfing skills,” he writes. First up: frontside barrel riding.
In the video, von Rupp breaks down some simple but easy to overlook mechanics that can make or break an attempt at getting barreled.
When paddling: “You wanna paddle as close as possible, stroking underneath your board.”
On Steep drops: “Throw yourself. Commit. Don’t hesitate. Throw your arm forward.”
To stall or to pump?: “For me, it’s kind of finding a balance between the wave and yourself. I like to put my hand in to feel where I am on the wave. If you feel like you’re deep, you want to start pumping with your whole body.”
The entire tutorial is full of some helpful mechanical tips, but also some great insight into Nic von Rupp’s own style and approach. And who knows, maybe watching him get barreled all the time won’t be so unrelatable now. Because getting barreled is what we’re all after anyway.
