Name: Yann Roy
Age: 42
Hometown: St-Hyacinthe, Québec, Canada
Years Riding: 15 year of wakesurf and 24 year of watersports
Favorite Trick: 540 bigspin, shuvit grab and combos
Favorite Wave: Mastercraft XT23 with the SurfStar Wakesurf System
Favorite P5 Board: Key 50"
PHASE 5: Hi Yann, how have you been? How was your 2023 season?Yann: Hi Jeff, it’s going well, thank you! My 2023 season was lit. I had several great moments spent on the water with my friends! We also had good surf trips on the American east coast, Mexico and Costa Rica! And I have done a lot of coaching and my clients have made good progress. So pretty stoked on the 2023 season!
PHASE 5: Where are you based and how often do you get to ride?
Yann: I live on the south shore of Montreal, on a small river called the Yamaska River for 15 years now. My boat is in my backyard, so it’s quite accessible and I ride almost every day when it’s possible. In Quebec, the season is only 4-5 months so during the winter, I can train at Oasis Surf. It’s an inside surf wave and we can ride all year long.
PHASE 5: What are some of your other hobbies outside of wakesurfing?
Yann: I am a professional photographer and I have worked with several high-level athletes. I have always been passionate about my work. Otherwise, my biggest passion is traveling. I travel mainly to discover new surf spots anywhere in the world.
PHASE 5: How were you introduced to wakesurfing?
Yann: I started water sports in 1999 by buying my first boat and hyperlite
wakeboard at 18 years old. In 2002, I had my first sponsor, En Équilibre, the
coolest board shop in Quebec. The sport was progressing quickly, with cables
parks, kickers and rails and I quickly exchanged my wakeboard for a wakeskate because the sport was evolving and gaining popularity.
In 2008 I had my first partnership with a boat dealer and I had my first
Mastercraft X-Star. So I ordered my first wakesurf in 2008 and quickly I fell in
love with this sport and this is where it all started!
PHASE 5: You told me that Drew Danielo reached out to you back in 2011 after seeing a shot of you airing over a buoy, right? Tell us about how all that went down.
Yann: In 2011, a friend challenged me to do an air over a buoy at home on my wakesurf. On my first try, we came so close that the buoy hit the board rack and a board fell into the water when I was jumping the buoy and I landed on it. The photo was incredible, but I fell on it. So I tried again and I nailed it the second time!
A few months later I put the photo on my Facebook account, the one where the board had fallen from the rack and someone had tagged Drew and he commented saying it was photoshopped. I sent him the photo and the sequence where I landed it. Drew was impressed and he offered to put me on the P5 Canadian team right then.
Yann: I’ve been riding P5 since day one. Phase 5 is not only the coolest brand on the market, it’s also the best brand with the best products on the market.
PHASE 5: If you could go out on the boat with any pro out there, who would it be and why?
Yann: I’m not too much of a pro hoe *laughs* but Sean Silviera is a good friend. I met him on the FlowTour in Montreal in 2012. In 2014, he came wakesurfing to my place and he landed his first 360 shuvit on a wakesurf behind my boat! Then in the next years, he became a crazy machine and one of the best in the world. He’s someone I admire, he’s very talented and he’s a funny guy. Lets go for a ride my bro!
PHASE 5: You like to ocean surf quite a bit, right? Where’s the coolest place you’ve been able to do that?
Yann: In 2019, I had the chance to ride at Honolua Bay in Hawaii! It’s one of the longest rights in Hawaii. One of my favorite places is of course Costa Rica. I love surfing all over the west coast. Completely north of CR, I rode at Witches Rock. The scenery is amazing and the waves are shaped with a perfect a-frame. And completely to the south of CR, I surfed in Cabo Matapalo. It’s off the grid with no electricity and there is no one in the
water! The jungle offers biodiversity with its exotic plants and animals. There are parrots and monkeys everywhere!
PHASE 5: What are some of your biggest accomplishments in wakesurfing?
Yann: In 2002 I started my video production company and produced the first Canadian wakeboard video ”Underground Water”. In 2003, I produced the film “Transfer” which featured the best wakeboarders in the world and was distributed world wide.
In 2008 I started photography professionally. I had the chance to take photos
with the best Canadians athletes, Raphael Derome in wakeboarding, Dom
Lagacé in wakesurfing, Sebastien Toutant an Olympic medalist and the X-Game in snowboarding, and many more top athletes.
From 2010 to today, I have been coaching wakesurfing and I have had the privilege to share my passion with several hundred people. This allowed me to explore tons of lakes in Quebec and meet lots of great people. I love introducing our sport and sharing it with as many people as possible.
PHASE 5: Is there anything else you’d like to say? How about anyone you’d like to thank?
Yann: Thanks Jeff, for the interview. Thank you Phase 5 for the support over the years.Thanks to Pomerleau for the support with Mastercraft. Thanks’ to all my friends with whom I share my passion for wakesurfing. Thank you to all the sponsorships I had over all these years and to all the people who have supported me.
Over the last 25 seasons, I had the privilege of practicing water sports. This allowed me to meet several hundred people and to travel and discover a little paradise over the country. I’m very grateful about that!
Cheers!!!
Leave a comment (all fields required)