Mathieu Fouliard leaves his home in Tahiti and heads to Italy to check out the RRD offices and the fantastic conditions the Tyrrhenian Sea has to offer for paddlers!

Roberto Ricci needs no introduction, the waterman from Italy has spent his whole life in the ocean and he has forged the huge RRD brand from it too. His early days as a windsurfing pioneer in the 1980’s turned into a love of shaping, and he’s never looked back. When kitesurfing arrived on the scene, he embraced it with Manu Bertin from France who was one of the first kitesurfers on the planet. Then when SUP landed, Roberto turned his attentions to the new sport, invested in it heavily and it now makes up a significant part of the RRD brand.

Mathieu Foilard was born in Brittany, grew up in Africa and now spends his days shredding the waves in Tahiti with his dad. Mathieu joined RRD a few years ago now and has featured in numerous photo shoots riding the immense waves that Tahiti has to offer. When Roberto invited him to visit the headquarters in Italy, Mathieu jumped at the chance, but he had no idea what was in store for him when he arrived in Tuscany…

Getting to Italy represented a new challenge for me; it’s a long way and a few flights from my beloved island in the ocean. However, I had a growing desire to finally meet my Italian family, who have been supporting my dreams and passion over the last four years. I really do mean ‘family’, despite being based on a remote dot of land in the South Pacific Ocean I have been made to feel exceedingly welcome within the team at RRD!

I also wanted to meet the man behind the brand. Roberto, an artist and a businessman, and someone I consider to be a genius, he's able to bring together beauty and performance in each of his inventions.  Likewise, I was keen to meet the rest of the team, all these people who I have been collaborating with over the years.

When I arrived in Grosseto, Roberto Ricci, the man himself, was waiting for me at the company’s head office. I received a warm welcome from everybody and was pleasantly surprised by the relaxed atmosphere and by the fact that everyone seemed to know who I was. Not only that they all followed my work too, as Tahiti is half a world away, I wasn’t expecting to find out that my role was that well understood and appreciated, this was quite a heartwarming yet also humbling experience.

Italy was just as one imagines it… only better! There, amongst the stunning scenery and fantastic food, I found the philosophy developed by RRD:  a blend of quality and beauty. Or as the Italians call it Mestiere Artigiano, which roughly translates to artisan craft, an ancient tradition of building beautiful things by hand. This was how the RRD brand started all those years ago when Roberto wanted to fuse this ethos with performance to create his products and make them something special. Even today, in a computer aided design and CNC machine world there is a still a huge passion for quality and exquisite workmanship with the hand crafted touch still present.

I also discovered how similar the Italian and Tahitian lifestyles are: kindness in life and passion for life, it’s all about finding the right balance.

I was privileged to see how well Roberto runs his company, in conjunction with his intelligence and “savoir-faire”, was an ever-present human touch. There aren’t a massive number of people working at RRD, as you might expect, but everyone is incredibly talented and ardent in their roles. I noticed that each point of view gets taken into account and that there was real team cohesion, both among employees and riders that support them. Meeting them allowed me to understand how they function and have a better grasp of the character who leads this dynamic workforce: Roberto.

Roberto is a mind-blowing man, both through his energy and ingenuity. He’s a man who is perpetually searching for innovation, and whose creativity appears to know no boundaries, a gift, which in all likelihood, he inherited from his father.

My biggest surprise came in the evening, when we all met at a restaurant with Roberto, at Castiglione della Pescaia. You can imagine that after such a friendly reception, settling into a superb apartment, and being given a vehicle to use at my disposal, I was already in seventh heaven!  However, being welcomed as both a guest of honour and also as a full member of the RRD team was unbelievable!

To get to know each other better, and also to make the most of my visit, Roberto had the idea of going on a trip towards Corsica. Being Roberto, this was his boat, one that he designed, another of his talents. It is capable of taking his entire SUP, kite and windsurf gear just about anywhere he fancies!

We loaded up with all the necessary equipment, boards, sails, wetsuits, but also the family, the photographer, and Pawel, the brand distributor from Poland. The first night we all slept on board so we would be ready to cast off at dawn.

We went cruising off into the Tyrrhenian Sea at about 18 knots, with beautiful sunlight illuminating Corsica and Giglio Island, we planned to spend four days exploring. On the way, Roberto wanted to show me the places that he is most fond of, such as the Island of Montecristo, a mythical area, loaded with history that dates back to the Iron Age. These days the island is a nature reserve, and there are just two humans who live there, both keepers who look after the reserve and help to preserve the flora and fauna found on the island.

At that moment, the environment, the strong winds and the heavy seas, inspired me. I decided to jump into the water to do a downwind with the Monotipo 11'4". It was a great opportunity for some improvised photos; I was paddling hard, riding the small swells with the Island of Montecristo in the background. I experienced the moment as a magical one. I felt a sort of energy and a thought connection, regarding the way we all wanted to put innovation forward.

I am passionate about board sports, and I’m convinced that those sports can be displayed in more creative ways. I had the feeling that we all shared this vision together, given that we have a hunger for our respective professions and live our lives at one hundred percent.

Once we arrived in Corsica, we got on the water right away on our boards, a Longrider and a WinSup, attaching some windsurfing rigs we sailed for three hours in the crystalline bay waters of Piantarella, beneath the lens of photographer Andréas. In Corsica, the landscapes are spectacular, and we couldn’t help but take photographs everywhere we went and at anytime! In the caves, during sunset, along the seashore, on the water and under it!

When I awoke on the first morning in Corsica, Roberto suggested we take some photos underwater. The plan was to play with the early sunlight and its effects while it reflected on the sea. I felt honoured to be able to shoot this session with him. Roberto took the camera, while I put on the latest 2016 winter wetsuit. We worked all morning, and the time passed without us noticing. In the evening, all the crew, children included, were delighted to tell stories about their adventures while everybody enjoyed a good plate of ravioli, and many other delicious dishes I couldn’t even begin to describe.

It was awesome to discover this other facet of the man, Roberto Ricci, his paternal side, and his ability to let go of work problems, to live fully and take advantage of the present moment. I believe life should be lived that way, and it was inspirational, they kept calling me “Grande Mateo”, but I would rather reply “Grande Roberto”!

We explored Corsica as much as we could in the four days on the island; we paddled until our arms could take no more, and ate some of the finest Corsican food that you could imagine. As ever, when you are having the time of your life, the clock moves too quickly and before I knew it my trip, which had turned into a blur of fun and great people had come to an end.

In a short time, I got to feel like I had not only met the people I regarded as my family but truly become one of them. Roberto was an inspiration at every moment, and I flew home to Tahiti with some fantastic memories and moments I will cherish forever. I’ll be back in Tuscany soon!

By Mathieu Fouliard

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