It is they who are at the origin of the “vortex” of seven meters high, composed of 7,500 plastic bottles, which can be admired in the middle of the Sainte-Catherine promenade in Bordeaux until next Sunday. Thomas Cervetti, Basile Gentil and Nicolas Thyebaut are the three founders of the start-up
Nomads Surfing. In addition to producing eco-designed surf products, this company is also committed to raising public awareness of plastic pollution in the oceans, hence this work commissioned from the artist Gérard Dumora.
While working in the world of construction, aeronautics and agronomy, these three surfers decided to give up everything to venture into this Nomads Surfing project, in 2018.
“Offer an alternative to surfers”
“The trigger came when I met Thomas when we were both expatriates in Malaysia,” says Nicolas Thyebaut. In Southeast Asia, we literally surf in plastic oceans, when we row near Bali in the rainy season, we can run our hands in the water and collect plastic from the surface. It shocked us. And the surf industry participates in this pollution, knowing that the wetsuits, the boards come from the petrochemical industry. This is where we wondered how to offer an alternative to surfers designed locally, from biobased materials or from recovered waste. “
The start-up started by designing more virtuous surfboards. They are made from partially recycled polystyrene foam cakes, and an epoxy resin made up of 40% plant waste or even natural flax and basalt fibers. “We try to guarantee recyclability by recovering boards at the end of their life that we delaminate to recover components” specifies Basile Gentil. “Ultimately, we would like to use a 100% recycled or bio-sourced material to replace the petroleum part of the foam with other components. But the testing phases last for months. “
Fins from fishing nets
The Bordeaux start-up also offers fins from fishing nets, and recently “pads” (the grip that is used to position your feet on the board) from recycled corks and natural cork made in Landes. “We are also working on a leash [laisse qui retient la planche au surfeur] from recycled materials, adds Nicolas Thyebaut. And all made to the maximum in France knowing that 90% of the accessories come from China. We want to revive a local surf industry. “
The boards are made in Portugal and France, the fins next to Clermont-Ferrand, the pads in Soustons (Landes) while the leash should be made in France and assembled in Bordeaux. “We also have a whole range of eco-designed luggage made in Bordeaux with a solidarity association called Recover’R, by recovering event covers of all kinds, for example those of the Lacanau Pro [compétition de surf]. “
“Accessible prices”
Nomads Surfing products are mainly found online, but “we are also at a lot of distributors and present in many surf shops”, explains Nicolas Thyebaut. “And at affordable prices,” assures Thomas Cervetti. Last January, the start-up joined the Sportech incubator for a period of one year, which is part of by Unitec, one of the main support structures for start-ups in the Bordeaux region. “This helps us to structure ourselves and obtain subsidies, particularly from the region”, specifies Thomas Cervetti.
At the same time, the young company wants to continue its awareness-raising actions, and hopes that its vortex of plastic bottles will travel to other cities. “We want to reflect on our consumption, knowing that a plastic dump truck is dumped into the ocean every minute,” says Thomas Cervetti. This represents much more than 7,500 bottles… ”