OUI SURF
OUI SURF Interview with Benjamin Rochette
There’s a balsa-wood surfboard hanging on the wall in Benjamin Rochette’s (founder and one of the personalities of OuiSurf) living room. It was formed by an Ecuadorian shaper with Ben’s help and input. From inception to realization, the surfer can be a part of the growth of these boards: planting the sapling, cutting down the tree, and working it into the organic ride of their dreams. Representing patience, attention to detail, and the meeting of earth, water, and the dreams of the individual, it is a fitting parallel to Ben’s life.
DARING WISEMEN
87
Like the board, OuiSurf didn’t come out of the ground fully formed. It started 5 years ago when Ben – a trained cameraman who started surfing in 2005 – was in El Salvador filming a documentary. There, Ben and some friends set up, ran, and filmed, the Québec Open, a small surfing competition that saw Québecois cut their teeth on the Salvadorian breaks. It was a chance for the land-locked and often overlooked Québecois surf-scene to strut its stuff. Although the Québec Open is now defunct, the competition served as fertile soil for Ben’s ideas to flourish, and he wondered: Why not film a show about Québecois surfers as they check out different breaks all over the world? From its humble beginnings as a web show to a weekly documentary on the Québec-based travel channel Évasion, OuiSurf has broken all the molds. There’s a heart and soul that comes through when watching OuiSurf and, as Ben will tell you, ‘We aren’t the best surfers, but the images are more artistic.’ From its sweeping and often dramatic cinematography, to its focus on culture, the destination, and the personalities of the surfers, OuiSurf is way beyond the surf-porn typical of the industry. It is also the only show completely produced by a Québec-based production company, and featuring Québecois surfers. Ignoring more taboos, OuiSurf isn’t about riding the most impossible (not to mention expensive) breaks, it’s about the ‘search for waves [to] showcase the lifestyle’ of the Québec surf community, highlighting trips that are doable for the average kook. OuiSurf – like so much in life – happened by accident. Yet even accidental success needs focus and drive – two things that Ben has “en masse”. No longer just a show, OuiSurf is a brand. Complete with surf-related gear and OuiSurf merchandise, fans of the show can finally rep their Québec-based tribal roots, showing that being landlocked does not always mean surfing is just a dream. But underneath the excitement of success, and the development of the OuiSurf brand identity, lies a more important commentary.
88
The arts in Québec are under attack. Just like the oil spills that threaten the world’s most pristine breaks, and the cultures that live within ear-shot of the thundering waves, Ben and OuiSurf feel the squeeze. Over the past decade, funding for the arts in Québec has decreased to the point where even Ben admits that sales from the OuiSurf store are necessary to keep the stoke alive. With most funding going to media that can be shared with American
and English-Canadian audiences, Québec shows, and the Québec surf-scene, need to take matters into their own hands. This makes OuiSurf more than just a show about a bunch of cool dudes in search of new experiences: It is a representation of a culture within a culture, and this comes out in every episode. Being marginalized – in the surfing world, and in their own province – Ben, OuiSurf, and the Québecois they bring with them on safari understand
DARING WISEMEN
how many of the cultures they visit are treated, and can better understand them than the larger, American-based surf industry. Even though it is ‘hard for young [Québecois] to realize their dreams of creation,’ Ben and the OuiSurf crew are leading by example, and have managed to earn the respect of the industry with the show now being aired in France and Morocco. OuiSurf has even partnered with Oxfam, travelling to Haïti where they were able to see the positive impact of projects there. More than just an artistic victory, OuiSurf is also having an effect on travel tourism, one Ben hopes will ‘influence people to leave the all-inclusive [resorts] and experience each country’ for itself while connecting with locals. To that end, Ben plans on starting another web-series so that all the friends he’s made on his travels can see what they helped create. Montreal certainly seems like an odd place to start a surfing safari. Then again, a balsa tree in Ecuador is an odd place to find the perfect surfboard. When you plant a seed it might grow into a massive tree, or wither in the cold. For now, even without knowing exactly what the endgame is, the future looks good because Ben and OuiSurf keep searching, having yet to reach the final chapter. words_CHRIS PERRIN photos_credit_BENJAMIN ROCHETTE MAZDA ALINIA
Check Ben and OuiSurf out on Évasion Television (http://www. evasion.tv/emissions/ouisurf), and at OuiSurf.tv and OuiSurf.ca. You can also follow them on Twitter (@ OuiSurf), Facebook, and Instagram (@ouisurf). Also, keep on the lookout for Kooks & Hurricanes, Ben’s next Québecois Surf Project.
DARING WISEMEN
89
There’s a balsa-wood surfboard hanging on the wall in Benjamin Rochette’s (founder and one of the personalities of OuiSurf) living room. It was formed by an Ecuadorian shaper with Ben’s help and input. From inception to realization, the surfer can be a part of the growth of these boards: planting the sapling, cutting down the tree, and working it into the organic ride of their dreams. Representing patience, attention to detail, and the meeting of earth, water, and the dreams of the individual, it is a fitting parallel to Ben’s life.
DARING WISEMEN
87
Like the board, OuiSurf didn’t come out of the ground fully formed. It started 5 years ago when Ben – a trained cameraman who started surfing in 2005 – was in El Salvador filming a documentary. There, Ben and some friends set up, ran, and filmed, the Québec Open, a small surfing competition that saw Québecois cut their teeth on the Salvadorian breaks. It was a chance for the land-locked and often overlooked Québecois surf-scene to strut its stuff. Although the Québec Open is now defunct, the competition served as fertile soil for Ben’s ideas to flourish, and he wondered: Why not film a show about Québecois surfers as they check out different breaks all over the world? From its humble beginnings as a web show to a weekly documentary on the Québec-based travel channel Évasion, OuiSurf has broken all the molds. There’s a heart and soul that comes through when watching OuiSurf and, as Ben will tell you, ‘We aren’t the best surfers, but the images are more artistic.’ From its sweeping and often dramatic cinematography, to its focus on culture, the destination, and the personalities of the surfers, OuiSurf is way beyond the surf-porn typical of the industry. It is also the only show completely produced by a Québec-based production company, and featuring Québecois surfers. Ignoring more taboos, OuiSurf isn’t about riding the most impossible (not to mention expensive) breaks, it’s about the ‘search for waves [to] showcase the lifestyle’ of the Québec surf community, highlighting trips that are doable for the average kook. OuiSurf – like so much in life – happened by accident. Yet even accidental success needs focus and drive – two things that Ben has “en masse”. No longer just a show, OuiSurf is a brand. Complete with surf-related gear and OuiSurf merchandise, fans of the show can finally rep their Québec-based tribal roots, showing that being landlocked does not always mean surfing is just a dream. But underneath the excitement of success, and the development of the OuiSurf brand identity, lies a more important commentary.
88
The arts in Québec are under attack. Just like the oil spills that threaten the world’s most pristine breaks, and the cultures that live within ear-shot of the thundering waves, Ben and OuiSurf feel the squeeze. Over the past decade, funding for the arts in Québec has decreased to the point where even Ben admits that sales from the OuiSurf store are necessary to keep the stoke alive. With most funding going to media that can be shared with American
and English-Canadian audiences, Québec shows, and the Québec surf-scene, need to take matters into their own hands. This makes OuiSurf more than just a show about a bunch of cool dudes in search of new experiences: It is a representation of a culture within a culture, and this comes out in every episode. Being marginalized – in the surfing world, and in their own province – Ben, OuiSurf, and the Québecois they bring with them on safari understand
DARING WISEMEN
how many of the cultures they visit are treated, and can better understand them than the larger, American-based surf industry. Even though it is ‘hard for young [Québecois] to realize their dreams of creation,’ Ben and the OuiSurf crew are leading by example, and have managed to earn the respect of the industry with the show now being aired in France and Morocco. OuiSurf has even partnered with Oxfam, travelling to Haïti where they were able to see the positive impact of projects there. More than just an artistic victory, OuiSurf is also having an effect on travel tourism, one Ben hopes will ‘influence people to leave the all-inclusive [resorts] and experience each country’ for itself while connecting with locals. To that end, Ben plans on starting another web-series so that all the friends he’s made on his travels can see what they helped create. Montreal certainly seems like an odd place to start a surfing safari. Then again, a balsa tree in Ecuador is an odd place to find the perfect surfboard. When you plant a seed it might grow into a massive tree, or wither in the cold. For now, even without knowing exactly what the endgame is, the future looks good because Ben and OuiSurf keep searching, having yet to reach the final chapter. words_CHRIS PERRIN photos_credit_BENJAMIN ROCHETTE MAZDA ALINIA
Check Ben and OuiSurf out on Évasion Television (http://www. evasion.tv/emissions/ouisurf), and at OuiSurf.tv and OuiSurf.ca. You can also follow them on Twitter (@ OuiSurf), Facebook, and Instagram (@ouisurf). Also, keep on the lookout for Kooks & Hurricanes, Ben’s next Québecois Surf Project.
DARING WISEMEN
89
