Stab Magazine | 99 Days of Summer – Maud Le Car

Live Now — Episode 3 Of Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico

310 Views

99 Days of Summer – Maud Le Car

From Stab issue 58: French pro surfer gal Maud Le Car ain’t so bad to look at… Words by Elliot StruckPhotos by Jason IeraceHair and make up by Sina Velke @ DLM Breezing around the Caribbean on a white sloop, surfing deserted waves and drinking local-made rum is the kinda thing most’d be happy doing for their entire lives. And, it’s a life that Maud Le Car could easily have had. Y’see, Maud grew up on the French half of an island called San Maarten. It’s the sorta place where diving into the water feels like drinking crisp white wine after eating a burning curry. But, while Maud talks fondly of island lifestyle and her perfect childhood, there was one thing missing from it. Maud wanted the thrill of battle, the glory of winning, the drama of losing. She wanted competition. At 19, Maud hovers just beyond the last edge of adolescence, but right outta high school she made a very adult decision. Her desire to be a professional surfer led Maud to move to the Landes Coast of France. Now she wakes up to Hossegor every morning, wanders down the cold sand and paddles a choppy little four-beat crawl into a not-so-crowded beachie. Then she comes in and trains with her friends. That’s the life she chose and the one she loves. But what Maud doesn’t like is the cold French water. And, coming from an island with average water temp of 26 degrees year-round, can y’blame her? Maud fires off her English with what sounds like curiosity. Under a thick French overdub, every sentence rises to finish with an upwards inflection, but not in the bemused Playboy Bunny way. The overall effect is delightful and the breeziness of her voice is indicative of a Caribbean lifestyle. French genes and a Caribbean upbringing have given Maud magic in her pink palms and a bronze forehead that bursts into gold lovelocks. A perfectly toned figure, howevs, is owed to hours in the bath-like water of the islands, during surfs over the bow of her parents’ boat. Her silhouette rises and falls much like the purple mountains that sprinkle the San Maarten skyline, naturally and softly. It was a mixture of all these charming qualities that first enchanted your pals at Stab and, ultimately, led to a (admittedly kicker-centric) photo shoot. While her photograph was taken, Maud was not self-conscious. She flashed bright eyes at the camera, re-moulded her figure, then flashed again. When she ain’t taking apart a Caribbean reef or French beachie, or having her photo taken, what does Maud do? The link may be a stretch, but her passions don’t lie too far from those of her Volcom teammate, Ozzie Wright’s – Maud likes to paint. She don’t have a favourite artist, is without a particular style and can’t describe what she’s into. All she knows is what she likes and what she don’t like. “I like to go to galleries and look at the work of many different artists, not just one, and I love to be inspired by all of it,” she says. “It’s, like, I paint or create when I have time and have some ideas. I just want to express myself, really.” Maud’s creations consist mostly of pop art that make bold statements like ‘Life is too short, live in excess.’ It’s rare that one of her new boards hits the soup before she’s added some sort of visual flair to it, usually with a Posca and avant-garde message. Right now, Maud digs watching Coco Ho and Sally Fitz (both of whom are responsible for style elements of Maud’s own surfing) and says women’s surfing is the best it’s ever been. She loves the newfound progressive nature and, during World Tour events, you’ll mostly find her glued to a webcast. And, speaking of the tour, where d’you suppose Maud Le Carr, the gal who left warmth and tropical perfection for cold beachies and competition, wants to be this time next year? – Elliot Struck BUY STAB ISSUE 58 ONLINE, HERE.

girls // Mar 8, 2016
Words by Stab
Reading Time: 3 minutes

From Stab issue 58: French pro surfer gal Maud Le Car ain’t so bad to look at…

Words by Elliot Struck
Photos by Jason Ierace
Hair and make up by Sina Velke @ DLM

Breezing around the Caribbean on a white sloop, surfing deserted waves and drinking local-made rum is the kinda thing most’d be happy doing for their entire lives. And, it’s a life that Maud Le Car could easily have had.

Y’see, Maud grew up on the French half of an island called San Maarten. It’s the sorta place where diving into the water feels like drinking crisp white wine after eating a burning curry. But, while Maud talks fondly of island lifestyle and her perfect childhood, there was one thing missing from it. Maud wanted the thrill of battle, the glory of winning, the drama of losing. She wanted competition.

At 19, Maud hovers just beyond the last edge of adolescence, but right outta high school she made a very adult decision. Her desire to be a professional surfer led Maud to move to the Landes Coast of France. Now she wakes up to Hossegor every morning, wanders down the cold sand and paddles a choppy little four-beat crawl into a not-so-crowded beachie. Then she comes in and trains with her friends. That’s the life she chose and the one she loves. But what Maud doesn’t like is the cold French water. And, coming from an island with average water temp of 26 degrees year-round, can y’blame her?

Maud fires off her English with what sounds like curiosity. Under a thick French overdub, every sentence rises to finish with an upwards inflection, but not in the bemused Playboy Bunny way. The overall effect is delightful and the breeziness of her voice is indicative of a Caribbean lifestyle. French genes and a Caribbean upbringing have given Maud magic in her pink palms and a bronze forehead that bursts into gold lovelocks. A perfectly toned figure, howevs, is owed to hours in the bath-like water of the islands, during surfs over the bow of her parents’ boat. Her silhouette rises and falls much like the purple mountains that sprinkle the San Maarten skyline, naturally and softly.

It was a mixture of all these charming qualities that first enchanted your pals at Stab and, ultimately, led to a (admittedly kicker-centric) photo shoot. While her photograph was taken, Maud was not self-conscious. She flashed bright eyes at the camera, re-moulded her figure, then flashed again.

When she ain’t taking apart a Caribbean reef or French beachie, or having her photo taken, what does Maud do? The link may be a stretch, but her passions don’t lie too far from those of her Volcom teammate, Ozzie Wright’s – Maud likes to paint. She don’t have a favourite artist, is without a particular style and can’t describe what she’s into. All she knows is what she likes and what she don’t like. “I like to go to galleries and look at the work of many different artists, not just one, and I love to be inspired by all of it,” she says. “It’s, like, I paint or create when I have time and have some ideas. I just want to express myself, really.” Maud’s creations consist mostly of pop art that make bold statements like ‘Life is too short, live in excess.’ It’s rare that one of her new boards hits the soup before she’s added some sort of visual flair to it, usually with a Posca and avant-garde message.

Right now, Maud digs watching Coco Ho and Sally Fitz (both of whom are responsible for style elements of Maud’s own surfing) and says women’s surfing is the best it’s ever been. She loves the newfound progressive nature and, during World Tour events, you’ll mostly find her glued to a webcast.

And, speaking of the tour, where d’you suppose Maud Le Carr, the gal who left warmth and tropical perfection for cold beachies and competition, wants to be this time next year? – Elliot Struck

BUY STAB ISSUE 58 ONLINE, HERE.

Comments

Comments are a Stab Premium feature. Gotta join to talk shop.

Already a member? Sign In

Want to join? Sign Up

Advertisement

Most Recent

10 Shapers To Watch In The Next 10 Years — Part Two

A few more foam craftsmen worth keeping on your radar.

Jul 14, 2025

Watch: Rip Curl Mobilises Its Teenage Army In ‘Dunno’

A 30-minute surf film by Vaughan Blakey and Nick Pollet.

Jul 14, 2025

There’s A New Number One Surfer In The World

And it feels so right.

Jul 13, 2025

Controversial Opinion: No One Needs To Yoga In Boardshorts

8 Trunks for the traditionalist.

Jul 13, 2025

Stab Edit Of The Year: Sam Piter Stars in ‘Rogue DNA’.

French blood, thick water.

Jul 13, 2025

Matty McG Skydives Into CT Heat, But Jordy’s Still The Main Event

A full day of heats at J-Bay, and only one shark warning.

Jul 12, 2025

Correction: J-Bay All Foreplay, No Climax

Slim pickings on Day 1 of the Corona Cero Open J-Bay 2025.

Jul 11, 2025

What Do Hollywood, Surf Lessons, Michael Jackson And Traction Pads Have In Common?

A Stab Interview with Teva Dexter, the man behind surfing's hardest new hardware brand —…

Jul 10, 2025

Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico: Episode 3

"The tribe has spoken," Dane Reynolds pronounced, and a surfer's torch was snuffed.

Jul 10, 2025

How Josh Ku Nearly Died Trying To Cross From Ulus to G Land by Hydrofoil

“If someone finds me dead at least they can find my phone and know what…

Jul 10, 2025

Expect No Kiss, All Climax At The “World’s Most Perfect Pointbreak”

A Corona Cero Open J-Bay 2025 preview.

Jul 9, 2025

SEOTY: Liam O’Brien stars in ‘Friction of Perception’

"Hopefully I don’t come across like too much of a peanut."

Jul 8, 2025

10 Shapers To Watch In The Next 10 Years — Part One

“It’s like a drug empire, man. Cut the head off the snakes, and more will…

Jul 7, 2025

Mason Ho Joins Ritual Vision, Releases Remix Of Greatest Hits

Dion Agius riffs on the eyewear brand’s U.S. expansion, Ritualistic Tendencies, and the new stars…

Jul 7, 2025

Is It Time For A New Judging Format?

We have a modest proposal — a WSL head judge disagrees.

Jul 7, 2025

Luke Thompson Turns Last Year’s Priority Disaster Into Ballito Gold

+ earns himself a wildcard into Jbay.

Jul 7, 2025

Fiji Has Its First Professional Surfer, And He’s Unbelievable

16-year-old James Kusitino’s incomprehensible tube lounging leads to a deal with Former.

Jul 6, 2025

Laird Hamilton on The Limitations of Being a Purist, Invention vs. Ownership + Why He Never Had a Sticker Deal 

Untold stories from his How Surfers Get Paid interview.

Jul 4, 2025
Advertisement