Samuel Amoyal is a surfer from Hossegor that you can see most of the time getting barreled in SW France's best sandbanks on a soft surfboard. After seeing him day after day having more fun than anyone else at the line up on his softboard, we decided that it would be interesting to get him in the Softboard Center team and make him test one or two soft surfboards.
Hey Samuel, can you quickly introduce yourself for those who don't know you already?
Hey I'm Sam, I'm 22 years old, I was born in Biarritz and I started surfing when I was 7 years old. I basically tried every form of wave riding possible: longboarding, bodyboarding, skimboarding, surfing, bodysurfing...
We are used to seeing you mainly on soft surfboards rather than on classic PU surfboards, is there a reason why?
I usually ride my PU surfboard for turns and take my soft surfboard out in barrels to have fun, get some nice visions and It helps me to not take myself too seriously! Big plus, It's also a good way to not break too many boards.
You surfed a couple years with differents Catch Surf soft surfboards, now that you have a brand new Mullet Fresh Bean 6'0 that you have been able to test in some good winter surf, can you give us some feedbacks about this Mullet Softboard ?
I really like it! The wider nose without rocker gives me a good paddle power. The combo Round Tail + Quad Fin Set is pure bliss when the waves are hollow. Even on the weaker days, the board is still pretty responsive and allows for some turns. It's the first one in the Mullet Surf that I have been able to test and from my previous experiences with other soft surfboards, all I can say is that this board works good!
How do you see the future of soft surfboards ? Who would you recommend getting a soft surfboard and why ?
I feel like more and more people are going to surf soft surfboards because on small crowded summer days they are perfects to have some fun without caring much. Moreover, you can still get barreled with them and have fun in the shorebreak with you mates.
For who, I would say they are for anyone regarding their abilities and experiences. The beginner can learn safely and the experienced surfer can have fun in every sort of waves, they are really for anyone.
Thank you for you feedback Sam, see you soon in the water.