IT OPENED DOORS IN MAY AND SEEKS, ABOVE ALL, TO HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE MARKET. IT’S THE NEW SPACE OF THE BODYBOARD CENTER LOCATED IN CARCAVELOS, PORTUGAL (RUA DE LUANDA, NR. 578A). WE SPOKE TO SEBASTIEN BOULARD, THE CEO OF THE PORTUGUESE SUBSIDIARY COMPANY, ABOUT A PROJECT THAT LIVES AND BREATHES BODYBOARD – 24/24.
Versão em português AQUI.
Your may start by telling us when and how Bodyboard Center (BC+) was founded?
Sebastien Boulard: Bodyboard Center was founded in France about 7 years ago, in Anglet to be exact. After a couple of years running the Anglet store, the team behind decided to move to Hossegor as it is the epicenter of all companies related to wave-riding activities in the South West of France. The consequences of this choice were unfortunately closing the Anglet store and focusing on online sales before we found our dream location in Hossegor.
We remained an online only store for two years but our aim always was to create the best showroom for Pride Products and all the brands we retail such as Stealth Boards & Fins, Nymph Wetsuits, Found, GT, Erizos and now Science. With more than 600+ boards in total and all you can dream of in terms of fins, wetsuits, magazines and more it basically become a sanctuary for bodyboarders. We receive travelling bodyboarders from all over the world and have gathered a very passionate bodyboarding community.
And we also have plenty of Softboards for those who like to switch stance in summer! Our Hossegor store is now running for two years and we couldn’t be happier with the outcome.
“(…) our aim always was to create the best showroom for Pride Products and all the brands we retail”
And why now a physical store in Portugal and even more in the Carcavelos area?
SB: Regarding Bodyboard Center Carcavelos, the idea came after many trips to Portugal. First, we were amazed by the level of the local riders. Then we got many new riders on the team lately with Steph (Kokorelis), Mini (Miguel Coelho) and Pedrim (Pedro Correia) and we felt that we needed a stronger representation in Portugal as well as an actual touchpoint for the local community, a place to make events and a place where people could see and touch all the products we have in stock.
I believe we’ve achieved just that and we are starting to create more and more interactions with local people, local clubs and obviously with our team riders. Don’t be surprised if you see Mini working at the store sometimes. And the best is yet to come.
Our Carcavelos store is just getting started but it’s been amazing so far. The support from our friends and riders, the local community and the enthusiasm from local clubs has been amazing and I’d like to thank everyone for that. You know who you are!
“(…) we believe competition can be healthy whether we are talking business, sports, or any other topic”
The presence of BC+ somehow left unhappy the owners of other stores, but that wasn’t your real intentions. How do you feel about that and what were your real goals for the BC+ Portuguese store?
SB: I believe it’s a natural feeling to be scared for your business when a new competitor appears. It generates all sorts of reactions and unfortunately in this case, some people have thought clever to be spreading fake information about us to try and discredit us.
Time will tell the truth anyway and we believe competition can be healthy whether we are talking business, sports, or any other topic. Our true intent is to have a positive impact on the market, to have a job in relation with our passion, to help clubs, to help riders achieve their dreams, to create content in Portugal and to get people inspired and keen on the boog.
The market in Portugal is big, has room for growth and definitely has space for more than one or two big actors. I really hope we will have a positive impact on the market and we are doing our very best to ensure this.
The other side of our business is the distribution of Pride Bodyboards for all the stores in Portugal so our intent is to develop a good and healthy relationship with all retailers, providing the best services and ensuring we got their needs covered.
Can you explain what kind of projects do you have running (or in hand) and how do you intend to get more involved with the local bodyboarding community?
SB: The first aspect of all our projects is to get involved with as many local clubs as possible in order to help the Youth get their hands on the best gear on the market, create interactions between. I cannot disclose more information on those interactions at the moment, but we want to create a very fun project between local clubs, involving our pro riders in the country in order to create emulation between young riders and offer a platform for kids to be noticed by potential sponsors.
Another way for us to get involved with the local community is to create events, just like what we did for our opening party. We will premiere bodyboard movies at least twice a year at our store in order to gather the local community and create a social life around bodyboarding. Events where you can meet your idols, see some of the best action movies, have a drink and chat with people who share your passion. All for free so that anyone can come, customers or not, and have a good time.
“Our true intent is to have a positive impact on the market, to have a job in relation with our passion, to help clubs, to help riders achieve their dreams”
You sponsor directly a good gang of boogers. Investing in riders is a good investment?
SB: Well basically that’s third aspect on how we want to get involved with the local community. Our goal is to really get things to the next step with our Portuguese riders, give them the opportunity to travel, make clips, access good gear. As the Portuguese distributor for Pride and as a store, we have supported Steph [Kokorelis] last clip, we are supporting Mini’s next clip he’s working on with Saraiva (Bodecas), we invited Steph Kokorelis on three Pride team trips (Ireland for Nymph, Switzerland for Pride and lately Namibia with all the A team).
Is it a good investment? I truly believe so and it’s actually just part of our DNA. I’m passionate about bodyboarding because I was part of a strong club life in France (Ocean Roots) but also because I was having magazines to read, movies and comps to dream about and all of this featuring my favorite riders.
I don’t think we can get young blokes to dream about our sport without all this. And we’re doing our best to recreate this. Most of those projects haven’t seen the light yet but it’s only getting started and you’ll see more and more content and trips with our Portuguese team in the next few months!
To finish, what is the dream of BC+? What do you guys want to reach?
SB: Our dream would be to have a dynamic store with plenty of people and clubs involved and a social life around it. We want to make team riders happy travelling and filming around the world, doing what they love. We want a strong representation of Pride in the country, which is the brand who invests the most on riders, movies and world tour events for years now as it can only have a positive impact on the market. xxx
