WAKESHOP.BE interview #5: Antoine Allaux

July 1, 2020

Welcome to the WAKESHOP.BE interviews!

the WAKESHOP.BE interviews are here to get to know better your favourite riders. We have ask a few questions to some riders we like the most to share their insight with you!

There will regularly be new WAKESHOP.BE interviews posts like these with some of the biggest names on the scene so stay tuned!

Today we are meeting Antoine Allaux !

Name: Antoine allaux

Nationality: Vietnam/ France

Date of Birth: 1989

Sponsors: Mystic

Antoine grew up as a french wakeboarder near Paris in France. Still young but already one of the old boys for a while now, He is not around as much as he used to but this guy deserve more than anyone else out there. What's he's done in the sport as a filmmaker or a rider is more than many would dream for. The visual artist at "Unlocking the neederlands" ,what we like to call "True Love", and plenty other things... On top of his artistic eye, He is a incredible talented rider that's always ridden with a big smile on his face, for the fun and love of it which is something some people seem to forget to do nowadays! His style and ability to ride every set up you can find has brought him to be the main focus in many big video project, He is what we call a true freerider. Eventho he's done big results on big competition, his mind always was there to have fun and ready to start the after party.

Instagram: Antoine Allaux

Questions to Antoine:

1. Tell us about yourself in a few words.

Yo! I’m Antoine Allaux, French wakeboarder and videographer, I live in France near Paris.

2. How and when did you start wakeboarding?

I started wakeboarding behind the boat in Annecy back in 2002, when my uncle brought my cousin, my brother, Jerome Gilles and I to a wake camp. Fell in love with it instantly, I rode boat for a few years, only during family vacations. I would spend the whole year watching wake DVDs (All Or Nothing, Counterfeit This, Encore...) just waiting for the holidays and being able to ride again! In 2007 I got my driver’s licence and everything changed because I could drive myself to the cable! I just started riding as much as I could from that time, skipping class, obsessed with riding, and somehow got to travel, attend crazy events, meet inspiring people, push my limits as a wakeboarder, and as a person. Never thought it would bring me so much. It was just a sport, it became my life!

.3. What is your favourite wakeboard location and why?

Argentina really is insane! Not as busy as Thailand or the Phillies, but it is warm, people are super kind, food in great, they have like 4 cables around Buenos Aires, including pool gaps like Bairex or Renton. Pampa Cable Park is just unreal. In the middle of the jungle, surrounded by wilderness, you can live there in a big wood cabin, wake up to animals you’ve (probably) never seen before...

4. We heard you are crazy about the Vietnamese food PHO, how did you get into PHO so much?

It is in my DNA, my dad is Vietnamese, and I don’t even know when I started eating Pho, but I could it one every day! If you have not tried it yet, go for it, it’s delicious and healthy.

5. You are known as one of the brightest wakeboarder from France but always the last man standing at a party as well, how can you match both so well?

Well thanks for the compliment but I’m not that good at doing both. I used to do good in contests when I didn’t go out at night too much, years and years ago. It has become more and more random, but sometimes I still get lucky.

6. One wakeboard event, project, trip, session that is on top of your list, which one is it and can you tell us about it?

Somewhere In Europe was for sure the one I’ll always remember as THE first big trip! Got to travel with Ian Curry and Ben Leclair across Europe in a RV for more than a month, rode the final at FISE, Won the Monster Jam, met so many people, saw such beautiful sceneries, rode a lot of cables in different countries, and got my first winch trip! How sick was it?!

7. Whats the highlight of your career?

Career haha ? Man just to clarify, I never was a pro wakeboarder. I’ve had sponsors that supported me for years (thanks Kanar, Vinny, JC, All Is Possible, Slingshot, Mystic, Waxthat...), I got to travel, to attend pro events, but I always had a job in the same time. I’m not going to say one highlight, the whole process was insane.

8. You ve always been so impressed and looking up to the Belgian population, how come?

I think Belgian people represent the climax of evolution. So much perfection in that nation: the language, the beer, the mind... still don’t know where their habit of drinking pee comes from though. Weird. But still, thumbs up to Belgium.

9.You ride for Mystic, How is it to be part of their family?

I feel really lucky to have them to support me! It’s been almost 10 years and they really take care of their riders. And the whole brand improved so much over the years : technical stuff, clothing, brand image. They get us on sick trips, and the whole team is really cool to hang out with. Except for Dom, I don’t like him. ( ;-) )

10.What is your favourite product from their collection?

The Voltage Sweat. It’s the best. Protects from the wind, from scratches, and gives you that gangster look when you land a trick, the hoodie falls on your head, and the rap music starts playing.

Mystic voltage

11. You ve always been on top of your game. As a freerider, competitor or film maker, we even saw a couple insane photos... How do you see yourself in the wakeboard scene? What satisfy you the most in the sport?

Well thank you bro. I don’t know how I should see myself. The only thing is that I do it for the process, for the fun. That whole thing of riding, shooting, is so much fun, you can’t be serious, you just have to have fun with it, and do it with love.

12. What/Who do you really dislike in the sport?

Wes Gumpel.

13.How do you see wakeboarding in 5 years?

No idea man, I just hope that people get winching more.

14. 3 riders that inspire you the most?

Ben Leclair, Raph Derome and Dom Hernler. (Same question back in the days : Parks Bonifay, Ben Greenwood, Keith Lyman)

15. 3 personalities that inspire you the most

My girlfriend, Paul Bichet and Donald Trump.

16. Who will be the Wakepark rider of the year in 2020 ?

Jules Charraud!