I’m SUPer proud to share this website with you. It’s all part of the journey. SUPer Whale started as a fan page and a visual diary of my stand up paddleboarding adventures which bring pure joy and a sense of freedom I could only find while surfing (read: being washed out, held down and thrashed around really bad while learning to surf).
I always return to my early memories of attempting to surf, where there’s nothing else, just you, the surfboard and the sea, the power of it seems crushing but when you’re in the water it seems almost serene. And as paddleboarding brings that feeling back, I wanted to share this stoke and encourage people of all sizes and ages to get on boards and start exploring local rivers and lakes.
So what’s so gripping about the surfing culture? The energy, again the sense of freedom, the magnificence of the ocean and beauty of surf spots, the danger and insane level of difficulty, and the super powers of surf riders taming the sky-high waves (think Laird Hamilton, Garrett McNamara or North Devon’s own Andrew Cotton, to name just few). Then there’s the whole rad glossary of surfing full of dudeisms and ripping, shredding, firing, kooks, localism etc. And of course the beach hair, the apparel and the cult surf movies (check out “Surfwise”, an awe-inspiring documentary about the legendary surfer, health promoter & philosopher, Dorian “Doc” Paskowitz. I honestly go back to this movie once in a while to get my priorities straight) – it all just adds up to this sun-drenched, technicolour vision of surfing as the coolest thing on Earth.
I wanted to capture a little bit of that culture through SUPer Whale and so the vision of ‘bringing surf dudeism to flat water’ has become our mantra. Inclusiveness is the beauty of this great sport. There’s something for everyone in paddleboarding: from just chilling and sightseeing to super hard work and performance. Wherever you place your expectations, there’s always one thing in common – a community driven stoke. So what are you waiting for? #jointheSUPtribe
Thank you for reading and see you on the water y’all!
I’d like to take this opportunity and express my gratitude to all dudes and dudettes who have been supporting SUPer Whale all the way:
Mario Gracek Kupiec – for doing the heavy-lifting…always
Paweł Andrzejczak – for being a super talented designer who captured the spirit of SUPer Whale while creating the logo and website
Szymon Białas – for being awesome brand ambassador while windsurfing
Paweł Rusiecki – for endless enthusiasm & being awesome brand ambassador while globetrotting
Dariusz Łukasiewicz – for being awesome at print and helping us turn SUPer Whale into a clothing line
Kate Nadolna – for being my sista & awesome brand ambassador while wearing the most inappropriate clothes during paddleboarding
Hania Małecka – for being awesome brand ambassador while cross-fitting and handstanding
Katarzyna Kitajgrodzka – for being a super talented photographer who shared our vision
Karolina Tomska – for being a super patient model while practically freezing during our first ever photoshoot
My mom – for everything
#TadziutheDude aka #DUDEeater – for rocking our world and teaching us what to be a fighter and to survive really means
To all my coaches (Andy, Ryan, Marie, Grant) – for inspiring me to paddle harder in order to progress
Jay SUP Manning and his squad – for being true dudes and sport ambassadors
And last, but not least…
To All of You – for sticking around and being awesome SUPer Whale friends