Guess what? We’ve catch up with Pierre-Louis Costes after a family holiday in the Caribbean Sea. The French Prince spoke about the trip, the events he competed throughout the year and even outlined the goals for the next season. Are you ready for this?


To start this interview, please give us the lowdown of what you’ve been up to? 

I recently just got back from Brittany, France for the Annaelle Challenge, I was in Puerto Rico with the family for a few weeks before that. The transition was tough.

2021 was the second year of the pandemic situation, which means lots of restrictions and no world tour once again, but you kept pretty busy especially on running your own bodyboard camps in Portugal?

Yes, the pandemic was quite dramatic for the world, it was very challenging for everyone. I did struggle with the lockdown but suddenly, I really did stop in my life from traveling and competing, it was an opportunity to have time I wouldn’t normally get and it made me realize a few things. The greatest part was to be near the family and watching my son grow at a very fun age. The other good part made me think “what if everything stops?” Almost like a retirement preview, I always had the project of doing bodyboarding camps in the future so I just accelerate the process because of the pandemic and the world tour being on standby once again.

The camps have been such an incredible experience, especially at a human level, I met remarkable people who are now my friends and to be able to transmit and share my passion with so many different individuals was amazing. I am very excited to explore this project and continue for next year as it does makes me happy doing it and I can’t wait to meet more passionate people.

“The pandemic was quite dramatic for the world, it was very challenging for everyone”

Between your daily affairs you accomplished back to back wins at the Frontón King and Annaelle Challenge and were also runner up at the 25th Sintra Pro, basically the world events to look for this season. Any comments?

I am obviously really happy with my results this year. It was amazing to have the world tour events of Sintra and Fronton happening, to be honest being able to compete against the world best riders again. It was a special year for Sintra celebrating its 25th anniversary, the level was the best I ever seen there. Morocco and the Canaries had incredible athletes and everyone knew how to do good and stylish backflips in small waves, so it was very difficult to separate yourself from the rest of the field. I was happy to make the final considering how hard it was to get there, but Iosing so close to a win is never easy. Uri Valadão is such an incredible athlete, Sintra is such a difficult contest to win because you never know what to expect. The fact that he won it 4 times shows how good he is. I guess this defeat made me hungrier for the next events.

Winning Fronton was probably the most important win in terms of understanding what I want to do in the future. I had many challenges coming back to succeed here after losing the world title in 2019 and injured myself in 2020 declaring forfeit for the first time in my career. I went thru many different phases, but I arrived at this competition very focus on what I needed to do. Fronton is my favorite wave in the world and probably the hardest contest to win and to be able to win it again 9 years later at this stage of my life was something pretty special for me.

The Annaelle Challenge was different, it’s not the same vibe as the world tour events but a challenging event regardless especially this year with the conditions we had. I admire so much the work done by the organizers, their idea to regroup people together on this island, creating a convivial atmosphere in between everyone is beautiful to witness. It is the only professional event in France and running it is such a hard job, so it’s important for me to show my support towards them. I was happy to win the event but I was more happy to see how stoked the organizers and everyone involved in this event were.

“Frontón is my favorite wave in the world and probably the hardest contest to win”

How thirsty are you to get back to competing on the IBC World Tour? 

I sure gained confidence this year but every year is different and I will need to refocus in 2022. Having such a long break from competing full time made me very amped to go back to some of the events. I do not think I will do all events on the calendar, I will have to make choices and I already know which events I will go for sure.

For example, will we be able to see you competing more in the Portuguese National Tour in 2022?

Maybe, I will see with the calendar. I need to make choices in the future and I simply cannot do everything. I admire so much the work that has been done by the organization and I continue to support it if I can.

Recently you also went to Puerto Rico. What was the purpose of your visit in the Caribbean? How did everything go?

The purpose was to take a break and go to a place we love, my wife and I, for different reasons. We dreamed of bringing our son there and the first purpose was definitely for a family holiday.

“The variety of waves in the north of Puerto Rico is crazy”

Any good sessions there? 

I got lucky, there was one nice swell with a few days of waves. I wasn’t really chasing it but as I let it flow and didn’t put too much pressure, I was actually lucky to score waves I never surfed before with size. The variety of waves in the north of Puerto Rico is crazy, in such a small stretch, you can find slabs, wedges, beach breaks, point breaks. 

Which local riders did you like to watch in the water?

The bodyboarding community is massive there and there are so many good guys in the water. Of course Jared Houston is always a stand out and it was great to share sessions with him again. We were staying with Abner de Arce, a young prodigy from Puerto Rico. He is such a nice guy, him and his lady Virelys, they made our trip very special. He was ripping also, I also met this young girl Anais during the coach clinic we organized with Surfand Hemp. She was 16 years old and surfed so well. Then of course you have the older generation with guys like Piyei Tartak, Babby Quiñones, Rafa Riveira and others. 

How strong is the bodyboard scene there?

It’s huge, the potential is massive. I honestly met so many bodyboarders from different generations, I know there is a national tour too and if people work well towards structuring the local competitive scene, I believe we will see many talents emerging from there.

“The vibe is pretty mellow, the Caribbean is a bodyboarding destination for sure”

Do you reckon Puerto Rico is a destiny to consider on a future bodyboarding trip?

For sure, Puerto Rico is the best place to ride in the Caribbean. The water is warm, the weather is amazing and the variety of waves like I said is crazy, the vibe in the ocean is also pretty mellow. So to be honest, Puerto Rico is a bodyboarding destination for sure. A dreamy one.

It seems 2021 was a good year to carry out filming projects like X Decem and Holy Africa, two movies built from the Pride Bodyboards brand. How did you get to manage everything?

I am very lucky to be riding for a company that invests so much in production and quality content. With the world tour on standby, Pride has accentuated on releasing free surfing films on a regular basis and it was a success every time.

X Decem was a celebration of 10 years riding for Pride and despite scoring a few epic swells at home, we got to travel to Costa Rica and we were lucky enough to score the best swell of the season.

Holy Africa was our annual Pride trip and we were lucky enough to score in South Africa. It was such a special trip being able to discover and explore a coastline I always wanted to, massive thanks to the Pride team of course, but especially to Tristan [Roberts] and all the locals we met who made our journey a lot more special.

“I hope people can relate to while riding the boards of the Pride retro collection”

You and Pride Bodyboards just launched a retro model of your own The Answer signature. What’s the best thing about this release? 

I really love the 90’s and I think the retro model of the Answer signature is a nice tribute to one of the best decade our sport has ever lived. The colourway of everyone’s signature is beautiful and I hope people who feel nostalgic about the nineties will see something they can relate to while riding the boards of this retro collection.

Is Benjamim bodyboarding yet? 

He definitely loves to be in the water and ride waves.

Last question. What kind of hopes do you have for the future?

I hope the pandemic will soon be behind us and people stop suffering from its consequences. I hope the world will learn from it too. At a personal level , my biggest hope is the people I love keep being healthy ’cause it’s honestly what matters the most.


All photos by @rutepenedo #WonderlandProd
Photos pictured in the article have Pierre, Jared and Abner in action.