John Florence holds his cards close to his chest.
Of course, what he lacks in candor on land, he makes up for in the water. Florence has always preferred to let his surfing do most of the talking.
In recent years, however, Florence has been letting us inside his world via his YouTube channel, where he offers a more intimate look at his life. From behind-the-scenes at CTs, to showcasing his sailing adventures, down days at home, and a whole lot more, it’s a place where Florence feels comfortable. Where he controls the narrative.
In this recent clip, featuring a couple of recent and raw sessions on Oahu, new dad Florence lets us in on a little secret to his success:
“I’ve been recording notes for myself the last few years to keep records on the boards and fins I ride,” says Florence. “They have been super helpful as a way to organize those thoughts, and give feedback to Pyzel or the team at Futures. It instantly improved our design process when we could add a visual record to the feedback I give them. It also became a big part of my competitive process, going back through different sessions to choose which boards I pack for tour, or what I choose to ride in a heat based on conditions. And an added way to get feedback from someone like Ross. As we kept recording them, it developed into a way to test other kinds of gear as well, whether that’s sample boardshorts for Florence, or something like a new pad design with Veia. I thought it would be fun to share a few of them just to show the process.”
A guy like Florence has so much equipment to test, it makes sense he’d use video replay to help make those tough decisions on board/fin combinations before each CT. And when every session is filmed (even the “down days” like this one), there’s so much feedback available to Florence and his team, it’s no wonder Pyzel’s shapes look like an extension of his body.
Now that the cat’s out of the bag, how many CT pros will follow suit?