stay salty

Marie
Dubois

If you’re looking for Marie, chances are she’s outside and on a board. A real dynamo, she loves doing it all, whether it’s ripping down a ski slope, carving on a wave, jibing with a wing in her hands, or sending it while kitesurfing or snowkiting.

A few years ago, Marie left Paris and her urban lifestyle behind, and started wandering around the world without ever looking back. In the summer, she now usually roams the clear waters of French Polynesia. In the winter, she’s most likely enjoying the fresh pow of the snowy French Alps.

STAY FLEXIBLE.

Nationality FRANCAISE Age 1994

HOMESPOT
I’m somewhat nomadic. At this point, I have been in the spot of Hitimahana in the north of Tahiti the most

FAVORITE MOVE
Carve on the waves in surf foil and wing foil, flights in snowkite, S-bend in kite, cut back in surf, headstand on a longboard ... The list is long

DREAM TRICK
A megaloop in kite solely for the adrenaline

3 REASONS TO GO RIDING
Because I feel better in the water than on land, for the adrenaline rush, and for the freedom

BIGGEST INSPIRATION
All waterwomen and watermen, and those who give themselves the means to achieve their dreams

FAVORITE MEAL
Poke, and saucisson (unfortunately for me!)

“I'm interested in everything related to boardsports, and I simply adapt to the environment around me.”

Marie Interview

Can you tell us a bit more about your passion for your sports?

It’s actually a bit long! I'm interested in everything related to boardsports, and I simply adapt to the environment around me. I started surfing in Ireland when I was 21 and then I took up kitesurfing, wing foiling and surf foiling when I arrived in Polynesia in 2016. When I'm in France in the winter, I do snowkiting in the Alps.

My family does not do any boardsports so this passion came to me mainly by watching strangers riding on all types of boards or from seeing pictures on the internet. I immediately knew that I would enjoy these sports, so I made sure to find ways to live in places where I could practice them. For example, I did my engineering internship in Polynesia. Although, I must admit that I was more interested in the destination than the internship itself!

You just won the lottery, what do you do first?

First, I would buy a big catamaran to share it with my friends and sail around the Pacific islands in search of wind and waves. It would also allow me to build my professional project much faster: To offer charters with kite surfing lessons.

“I would enjoy these sports, so I made sure to find ways to live in places where I could practice them.”

What’s the most amazing thing you’ve experienced?

There are so many! It all started when I left the city life that I didn't particularly like in Paris and then in Lyon for a totally different existence in Polynesia. I wanted to do what I have always dreamed of doing: boardsports, travels, adventures and meeting new people. I started kiteboarding for example by boat hitchhiking alone. I was lost in the Tuamotus after a mishap on another boat; but I met great people as a result. They took me to an uninhabited atoll cut off from the world. We kited there for two weeks in idyllic conditions.

What do you do with your day when there is no wind or waves?

That’s easy: when there is no wind, I look for waves and vice versa. And depending on the conditions, I either go for my foil, my shortboard, my SUP or my longboard. I am always active!