As a child, Arthur developed strong ties to the aquatic world in his hometown of Nice and in nearby Corsica. That is when he initially discovered freediving. His career as a freediver started later, at 26 years old and since then, he has claimed 5 world titles and 8 world records.

In 2016, he was the first to reach the symbolic and impressive depth of 300m in dynamic freediving, an all-time record in the sport. A year later, he set the first world record for under ice freediving with only his wetsuit and a monofin, reaching a depth of 175m.

In March 2020, Arthur sought out to reach the double world record of under ice dynamic apnea freediving, swimming breast stroke. In 2021, he set the record in the field with his wetsuit, at 120m. Then, last March, in Morrison Quary, Quebec, he swam 105m in breast stroke, but this time with no wetsuit, wearing just a simple brief swimsuit.

Once again, it was an all-time record and the performance made headlines in France and all around the world. Today, he has become the most decorated French freediver in the history of the sport.

Relying on his experience and his stature, Arthur has turned towards sharing his journey and raising awareness about the beauty and values of his sport through demanding audio-visual productions that are both moving and in which human adventure merges with athletic feats.

In addition, Arthur also works as a conference speaker, focusing on themes such as pushing one’s limits, stress management, taking risks, self confidence…He also offers breathing workshops for relaxation, namely for stress management. These workshops, which are open to all, are directly inspired from his own training methods, which have enabled him to push boundaries in his sport and his daily life.

Maurice Cole was born March 13, 1954, in the Terang Hospital in the middle of western Victoria, not super far from the surf zones he’d later occupy. Except he wasn’t.

The kid born that day only became Maurice Cole after being adopted immediately following his birth by Frank and Mary Cole, a sturdy Anglican couple from Ballarat, some 80 miles north-east of Terang. Maurice’s parents later adopted another child, Maree, and they never hid the fact of adoption from their two kids. But Maurice wore the label in unsettled fashion. Maybe it’s a part of why he struggled to contain the explosive energies that arose within him as he grew; certainly it’s a part of the story he tells himself about his life. He recalls as a child being driven past a big dark building, the Ballarat orphanage, and being told that if he didn’t behave, he’d be going back there. That’s what I am, he thought, an orphan. Something was unmoored, driven yet adrift.

Maurice never saw the ocean until the family moved down to the coast at Warrnambool in 1960. “We were made to go to church in those days,” he says, “you didn’t have a choice. Which became a real problem when I started surfing.”

Surfing fell on him out of the blue one day in the summer of 1966, when he found himself at the beach with five shillings – the old British-inspired currency – in his pocket. By February that year he could have changed it to 60 cents, a bloody fortune. Instead he spent it on renting a surfboard. A big white-pigmented thing over nine feet long. Maurice walked the board out across a gently sloping sandbar through waist-high whitewater, strained his skinny 12-yearold body to turn it around, caught one of the little waves, and stood up. “All of a sudden my goal became to buy myself a surfboard. I was doing paper rounds and odd jobs like that. So I saved up $36 and bought one second hand off a guy called George Saffron from Ocean Grove. A 9’3” with a green GT stripe and a big D-fin. We didn’t have any racks on the car or anything, but I had a bike and I dunno how I did it but I rode with the board down to the beach. My passion was really tested by the logistics.” Maurice dragged that thing to the surf and back until one side of the tail wore off, then he flipped it over and wore off the other side. He reckons this was the first pintail he shaped. He repaired it with a builder’s glue named Plasti-Bond, and joined the local volunteer lifesavers’ club so he could store the board nearer the surf. The lifesaver disciplines, exercise drills and the rest, irritated that rebellious streak; when he tricked his way out of doing them, the club captain suspended him.

“But I’d been watching,” he says, nearly 50 years later. “This little building down in the dunes, in this nook and cranny. The Warrnambool Boardriders Club. And all these cars. A big Valiant with a full V8 and twin pipes and mags. A customised Holden FJ. Mini Coopers, MG sports. And when I first saw those guys surfing, well they could surf. I told the lifesavers’ captain to get fucked. Within 24 hours I was in Warrnambool Boardriders.”

Mike Stewart (born 1963) is a nine-time World Champion bodyboarder, one of the early pioneers of the bodyboarding sport, a pioneer of big-wave tow-in surfing and also a champion bodysurfer.

Having ridden bodyboards since the inception of the sport, Stewart is the most experienced bodyboarder currently on the tour. He has won the annual Banzai Pipeline event a record 11 times, from which 9 earned him the world title, and has been crowned the Pipeline Bodysurfing Classic champion a record 15 times. He is the only bodyboarder to have competed in the Banzai Pipeline event since 1982. He has received the title Mister Pipeline for being the best wave rider of any kind: the only non stand-up surfer to achieve this accolade.

Along with fellow bodyboarder Ben Severson, Stewart pioneered surfing Teahupo’o in the late 1980s. This location has since gone on to become a premier global big-wave surfing destination on the WSL circuit.

Stewart is also an accomplished bodysurfer, having won the Pipeline Bodysurfing Classic 14 times to date.

Stewart has been involved in the design and manufacture of bodyboards throughout his career, having a close relationship since childhood with the inventor of the modern bodyboard, Tom Morey. Since 1998, Stewart has manufactured his own line of boards under the label Science Bodyboards.

A fashion designer specialized in lingerie, swimwear and activewear, I’ve been a consultant & designer in the industry for over 17 years. I became a Cultural Broker once I understood the importance of a systemic approach to sustainable fashion! In 2014, while living as an expat in Vietnam, I founded the creative consultancy and sustainable sourcing office ENTADA TEXTILE. Research and trends coexist with resource innovations that lead to product and manufacturing solutions. Assisting and guiding designers, existing brands, future DNVBs, manufacturers, press and trade show organizers is my daily exercise.

I have a particular attraction for research from a style & sociological point of view. I develop presentations on trends, market intelligence and analysis of brand DNA (stylistic, fashion) as well as design proposals and resulting sourcing. Pooling these skills, I create editorial content in the form of Masterclasses, articles and conferences for the press, fairs or schools. Finally, I have just become Bleaders of BcorpTM because their tools offer a systemic, synthetic & operational vision that is aimed at everyone.

Expatriation has given me the unique experience of adapting to cultures and new situations. This has allowed me to become more intuitive, dynamic, cooperative and thus to evolve towards a service and “cultural broker” profile.

Originally from Newcastle, UK, Gabe became a professional surfer at the age of seventeen, embarking on a career that took him from the cold North Sea around the world. He picked up numerous surfing titles and represented his country at World Championships and at the XXL Global Big Wave Awards. But that’s not all. Gabe also has extensive experience working in television, film and printed media and with brands such as Quiksilver, among others. Inspired by the radical marine conservation group Surfers Against Sewage to focus on environmental action, his aim is to drive the surf industry towards a more positive future. In his current role as Ocean Marketing Manager EMEA at Patagonia, a company whose sole purpose is to ‘Save Our Home Planet’, he can now combine his love for surfing with his connection to the environment. It should come as no surprise that Gabe is leading this charge, pursuing better ways forward for surfers, ocean loving surf communities and the wider surf industry, to strive for and share a positive future.

A Climate researcher at the French National Meteorological Research Center (CNRM) David Salas y Mélia is Head of the department on air quality and climate research. This entity’s missions are to increase understanding of the processes and impacts of climate change, to study air quality, to develop a seasonal climate forecast model and to regularly produce climate simulations as support to IPCC reports. David Salas y Mélia mainly works on understanding and assessing past and future climate evolutions through models. More specifically, he focuses on the role and evolution that marine ice plays within climatic systems. To this end, he has namely created and developed a model to represent the evolution of the Arctic and Antarctic ice packs.

About the CNRM:

The  CNRM is a Mixed Research Unit, which includes the CNRS and Météo-France. Research and development activities, which are mostly based in the Météo-France sites of Toulouse, Grenoble and Lannion, mainly focus on forecasting atmospheric events, namely extreme events, and the study of climate, climate change, the water cycle, as well as interactions between the ocean, the atmosphere, the continents, ice, snow, atmospheric chemistry and urban meteorology. Research and development also includes work on models for digital weather forecasting and the development of measuring tools.

Richie has experienced both brand side and agency life. Having spent the majority of his career to date being just in front of the curve, he’s found his niche. Launching vvast has allowed Richie to blend his client experience and brand expertise to deliver an innovative, low- impact entry to market for brands BUT crucially plugging them into a relentless R&D roadmap based on shared learning.

He is passionate about the concept of creative destruction and feels genuinely privileged to have seen the inception and gradual impact of ‘the internet’ on society and brands. Richie builds teams with a shared love of brand; a stoke for surfing, biking and music; and a drive to deliver epic work.

About VVAST:

vvast are fast proving themselves to be the D2C ecommerce expert for brands looking to scale at pace whilst maintaining brand equity. Proudly partnering with a global portfolio from VF (Jansport) $13bn turnover to Stance; and YETI $1.5bn turnover, to Troy Lee Designs; vvast are pro their brands consumers right at the heart of the conversation. Having fast tracked ISO accreditation, the business model is geared to support clients trading in the US and looking to break into Europe as well supporting brands already in territory. vvast understand that D2C is far more than systems and processes and have built a model based on a foundation of collaboration and many years of experience from trading 200+ brands across EMEA.

Ludovic QUINAULT has been Director of Operations at Rip Curl Europe, Managing Director at Cube Bikes France and Managing Director at Skunkfunk / SKFK. Today he is an Operations Consultant at HI-EX CONSULTING.

« I focus on human and environmental values and lead business transformation towards sustainable production, the circular economy and fair trade. »

He is also a board member of UNU MONDO, a non-profit association that runs expeditions in the Arctic for research and to raise awareness on climate change.

About HI-EX Consulting :

Hi-Ex is a consulting firm, that was founded in 2009 and specializes in Operations and Sustainable Transformation. Its main activities are:

• Transformation management
• Sustainable and ethical management
• Cash flow optimization
• Sales strategy / supply chain management

Grew up working in UK surf and skate stores during the 90’s.  After some years in France as a wakeboard coach returned to the UK to join the Extreme Group sourcing and designing apparel for wholesale and ecommerce channels.  Currently at O’Neill Wetsuits since 2005 specialising in wetsuit design and compliance in conjunction with the product development team in Santa Cruz, CA.

About O’Neill:

O’Neill, the original California surf, snow and lifestyle brand was founded in 1952 when a young man named Jack O’Neill took his unstoppable passion for surfing and used it to beat Mother Nature at her own game.

Pioneering the world’s first neoprene surf wetsuit, Jack had successfully found a way to extend his surf sessions in the bone-chilling breaks of Northern California. He opened up the garage doors to his first surf shop soon after. While many things have changed since those humble beginnings, Jack initial vision of producing functional and innovative riding products continues to inspire people and empower them to do what they love doing most.

Currently hold the position of European Sales Manager for Rip Curl Europe. I have worked for Rip Curl for over 20 years, starting in Trade Marketing and Team/ Events before moving into sales.  I progressed from an Area Manager to UK & Eire Manager and then North European Sales Manager, before holding my current position.

About Rip Curl, The Ultimate Surfing Company:

The Ultimate Surfing Company Rip Curl is a company for, and about, the crew on The Search. The products we make, the events we run, the riders we support and the people we reach globally, are all part of the Search that Rip Curl is on.

Jenny is the genuine guardian of the company’s values. She embodies these values, these virtues…She is the Commercial Director and ensures that our values are behind all our business relations and interactions.

About Les Chanvres de l’Atlantique :

The company was created in 2016, under the impulse of Vincent LARTIZIEN, ex-professional surfer, who after more than 20 years playing on the biggest waves of the great Oceans of our planet, made the following observation: it is up to us to act and improve everything that goes wrong in our world. But in order to act, he needs a tool and hemp comes as an obvious one. The mission becomes clear: To nourish the health of all, through Hemp / Cannabis.

The project is vast and the main ambitions are:

• The re-establishment of an organic agricultural sector of french hemp
• Marketing of processed products through our own brands in b2b and b2c
• The creation of a hemp mill capable of locally transforming all parts of this plant
• Total autonomy from the seed to the final customer

I grew up in the heart of the mountains, in Savoie. My parents were both ski instructors, so I naturally inherited their passion for boardsports. Professionally, I started out in the snowboard department at Rossignol, where I met Emmanuel Debrueres, the current President of Oxbow. I then moved across France to wind up on the coast in the Landes, where I joined Emmanuel at Billabong. I was a Product Manager in the outerwear department there, for 6 years. Those were incredible years during which I was lucky enough to combine my passion with my career.

In 2014, I decided to start my own project: Arcosse, an ecoresponsible technical apparel brand for mountain professionals. It was a three-year adventure with ups and down, but I learned a lot. I then created a product development consulting agency, Peak2Sea, and assisted several outdoor brands. In 2020, Emmanuel called me up, to tell me about his project and vision for Oxbow. I was immediately   onboard and joined the family. Today, I am in charge of the 85 and Collector ranges, whose objectives are to reconnect with riders and the brand’s roots. Made in Europe and in France with local organic and recycled materials, these two ranges are perfectly aligned with my own values.

About Oxbow:

As individuals and companies, we are all responsible for the planet we live on. It is entirely up to us to contribute to protecting our living and playing environments in order to pass them on to future generations! That is the vision that French brand Oxbow shares with its committed ambassadors, its employees, its management but also its many customers who demand change. These customers demand transparency as well as meaning when it comes to what they buy and their consumption habits.

We are not so pretentious as to say that we are exemplary today. The process of transformation is long and will take time to be complete. It is a mission we have undertaken since buying the brand in 2020 and we are proud to see that day after day, our employees, our partners and our consumers are moving in the right direction. We also implement these changes hand in hand with our suppliers and partners, in total trust.

We can no longer turn a blind eye to the emergencies of tomorrow. As users and people genuinely passionate about natural environments, it is our responsibility to systematically implement solutions that include the environmental factor, to offer a practice of our sports that has been thought through as well as to fulfil our duty educators.

It’s about living, enjoying, sharing and having fun, but the most responsibly possible through our adventures, our messages and the projects that the ambassadors we support carry out. And of course, it is about the products that we create and sell.

We « Stay alive » in how we face and stay aware of the world around us. We « Stay alive » through the sustainability we give to our products. We « Stay alive » through the ties we build with our partners, which we want to be both long-lasting and close and finally we « Stay alive » by constantly challenging ourselves for a more responsible present and future.

For more information on our CSR policy and actions:

https://www.oxbowshop.com/fr/environnement 

Nin Castle is the Co-founder of Reverse Resources, a SaaS platform for the fashion industry that enables mapping, matchmaking and tracking of textile waste from source to recycling, closing the loop of material flows. With extensive experience in working with pre-consumer and post-industrial textile waste since 2006, Nin runs RR’s international programs collaborating with NGOs, brands, manufacturers, waste handlers and recyclers across Europe, Asia and North Africa. Finally, Nin leads the Reverse Resources’ recyclers network, matching textile waste streams with the best possible recycling solutions.

Driven by the passion for surfing and people, Wilco arrived in this industry at an early age in the mid 90’s. His career took him from being a trainee at Rip Curl, to different positions in product management, marketing and sales to become the president ceo at the age of 36 in 2013. He also was the president of Eurosima from 2016 untill 2019.

Together with Stephan Moretti, they created The Salts Only. The Salts Only is the European Licensee for T&C Surf Designs Hawaii, Rivvia Projects and the European distributor for several other brands.

The Salts Only – Products for the Ocean

We are here to share the lifestyle we live. The Salts Only is for those, who are inspired by and who live in and around the ocean. Our core purpose is to create a smile in the water!

Our mission is to offer qualitative products in a sustainable way with great service, fully adapted to the needs of any surfer.

#createasmileinthewater

Frédéric Tain specialises in the evolutions of consumption and its impacts on non-food business. He manages sport-guide.com and its independent magazine, which has become a key source of information for buyers and retailers, providing in-depth analysis of the best and not so good practices to be found in the industry. The team also works towards anticipating and forecasting future evolutions within the industry.

Every day, the hardened team of European journalists interviews key players from heads of leaders in retail, challengers as well as project carriers. Their analysis focuses on data from brands and retailers. Their motto: “information that is useful”.

Dave Mailman was born in California where he grew up surfing, skating and snowboarding. After studying French at UCLA and the University of Bordeaux he moved to France in 1994. Since then he has been an editor at Onboard European Snowboard Magazine, Marketing Director at Quiksilver Europe, Co-founder of the Ticket To Ride (TTR) World Snowboard Tour, President of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Europe, writer & presenter of the EpicTV Surf Report, and main announcer of the Freeride World Tour as well as many other international surf, skate and snowboard competitions. His is currently working in TV post production doing scriptwriting and voice over work on the highlight shows for the Freeride World Tour and the FIM EnduroGP World Championship.