Yael Peña tells us about his last video

. Good morning Yael! What a barrel party! Tell us when did you film the waves of the video and how you and Makoa experienced such epic sessions.

Hi, thank you very much for letting me stop by your blog ;). The truth is that the project came out quite naturally. We saw that a good swell was coming and in two weeks we got some material to get a DIY project like this. From my part it was amazing to spend two weeks of such good waves and share all that time with Makoa. Without a doubt, watching him surf and the rest of the local talent (Cristian Portelli, Conor Donegan, Dylan Donegan, Alejo Valido, Nahuel Garcia…) is very inspiring, they have an amazing technique for their early age, I can’t wait to see them on the following years!

. Since we still have the Pipe Masters fresh in our minds and its similarity with El Quemao is more than evident, what parallels would you establish in both waves and what is the key to be able to adapt to such difficult and dangerous conditions?

Yes, it’s true that from the outside they pretty similar waves. However, the reality is that inside the water they are very different. How the peak moves, how the wave advances… are characteristics that make both waves unique and perfect. When it comes to adapting, both are a puzzle that you have to solve little by little, in each surf you learn where to place a piece and you understand it better.

. A key factor for the evolution of any young surfer is the access to ‘world class’. Tell us what your day to day surfing looks like, what kind of waves you usually surf.

I think a pointbreak is going to develop your rail surfing the best. The lines you have to use in the waves are more obvious and therefore easier to learn. However, it takes a lot of time to become very good in this kind of waves. On beaches it is the opposite. You can surf the same wave in many different ways, they give more room for creativity.

. The Canary Islands have always given great surfers and with a representation like yours, it seems that the lineage continues! How does it make you feel to belong to such a special place?

The quality and range of waves in the Canary Islands has led to the emergence of so many good surfers. I thank them all for breaking down certain walls so that my generation and the following ones can fulfil their dreams. There are two surfers in particular that I want to thank for having broken and continue to break year after year the limits of what we thought possible not only here in the Canary Islands but also worldwide. They are Alexander Zirke and Manuel Lezcano, references both in and out of the water that motivate and support all of us who are coming.

. At this point, and after all this years, your relationship with Volcom is very close. In such difficult times, when traveling and competing is not as easy as it used to be, what does it mean for you to be able to count on the support of sponsors of such importance? Do you collaborate with any other brand? Tell us about your relationship with other sponsors!

The reality today is that there are many good surfers without support and that dream that invades us since we were kids to travel the world surfing and competing is increasingly difficult to fulfill. To be able to count on Volcom after so many years is incredible, they continue to trust me and support me by creating projects that motivate and inspire me. As for boards, I’m buying as many as I can. You guys at Deflow arrived a year ago, but I feel like I’ve been with them longer. You share my vision for creating audiovisual projects and I hope to get one done soon. HEY CBD helps me to feel 100% every day and to be able to give my best in every session. Thank you so much to all three of you.

. Abusing your confidence and experience, any extra tips to keep progressing in surfing and stay motivated?

The next wave you surf will disappear when it arrives to the shore, so take the best out of it, or just enjoy it 🙂

Thank you so much Yael for your words! See you soon 🙂