Isabela Sousa.
Firstly congratulations on your surfing in the new movie Pride movue “Peninsula” , you were certainly ripping! What was noteworthy was your air game, is it an area of your surfing you have been focusing on ?
Firstly Thank you!:) I love going to the air but I have also been paying attention to my rail game, I strongly think this is my biggest focus. But yeah I love ramps.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ_m5JipK7w/?igshid=yymizagmdjpx
What other riders do you look to for inspiration when looking at air moves?
There are many riders that motivated me to improve. Each of them with their own technique and style. For example: Spencer Skipper , Guilherme Tamega, Damien King, Ryan Hardy, Ben Player, Mike, Pierre ….
Surfing with Pierre and Tristin, is there a pressure to step up and compete with them with aerial moves?
For sure. When Pride invited me to the trip, I was very excited but at the same time scared. Pierre and Tristan are top of the world in bodyboarding and it’s an honor to be part of a movie with them.
Do you think that there is any reason why women can’t compete and complete air moves to the same level as the men?
I believe it goes beyond bodyboarding and it’s deeply related to a cultural matter. Since a very young age women aren’t encouraged to do physical activities as men does, consequently, men will rapidly develop technique in comparisonwith women. Bodyboarding IS NOT a sport of strength, but technique, as much as you develop your technique, the better you will perform.
What drives you to continual to want to improve in your surfing?
Traveling and the exchange of riding waves knowledge are my main motivations to improve.
Now that Covid-19 has stopped the running of a world tour indefinitely, is getting great footage an intergral part of being a professional bodyboarder?
Absolutely. I am always filming and creating content, it helps me to improve technique by watching every single sesh and it is undeniably relevant for all my social networks, specially my Youtube channel (Onda Bela).
Watch Isabela’s YouTube channel here:
https://youtube.com/channel/UCNHL6HOzTrPoSRE3yd6323w
Pride bodyboard’s epic film “Peninsula” here:
https://youtu.be/DW56ehRNUIU
