On The Road With Sophie Fletcher

Surfer, designer and C-Skins rider Sophie Fletcher recently returned to Australia after catching the tail end of a European summer. Together with her partner, musician Felipe Baldomir, the pair spent two months on the road, travelling around Europe and the UK for Felipe’s tour, whilst Sophie took part in QS events in France and Portugal. Sophie described the trip as a “working holiday” as she also took her creative business Sophie Fletcher Designs on the road with her, releasing three new, pre-prepared designs every month back home in Australia, scoring 12 new stockists and keeping the online store ticking over nicely with her cousin taking care of online shipments from Melbourne. “Managing everything from afar was an amazing test this year as I had some big opportunities arise and I had to tackle them so far from home. I did it, and I am so proud of myself! At times it was hard because I would be going to bed as everyone was waking up in Australia. I always ended up staying up quite late replying to emails and catching up on admin. But during the day I was trying to be a little more creative when we weren’t driving. When I first started my business in 2020, the goal was to be able to work from both home and anywhere in the world. I wanted to be able to surf, travel and work. Finally my dream is becoming reality! I can travel the world with Felipe supporting his amazing music journey as well as live mine: surfing, creating and travelling. I am so incredibly grateful that I have kept everything fun. I am working really hard but not putting any pressure on the business either. Letting it grow organically in the right way for me.”

Van life is nothing out of the ordinary for Sophie and Felipe. For the last two years they have been living full time in their van in Australia. The nature of both of their work takes them all over the country; surf competitions, training, events, touring and markets, “A fun fact about our chaotic life - last year from January 1st until December 31st, we were in a different town, state or country every 2.5 days! So van life definitely is the best option for now.” They also now have a van in Europe, which is something they always dreamed of. “When Felipe and I met, I remember him telling me that he would love to play shows in Europe and the UK, plus having a van over there like we do back home. And now we do!” 

Sophie’s top three tips for van travel: 

• For long term van life - have a van you can stand up in.
• In Europe/UK, using the Park 4 Night app is amazing. Just to know where to sleep, fill up the water tank etc.
• Enjoy the freedom of it! 

Based in Hossegor, France, between shows, Sophie described the similarities between there and where she grew up, explaining how the waves and environment felt really familiar. When we asked how surfing in Europe compares to back home in Australia Sophie said, “Some spots were super different, but a lot of the time I would see similarities to waves at home. Ribeira d’llhas in Portugal is like surfing Bells Beach and Hossegor reminds me of the beaches around my hometown, Phillip Island; the big sand dunes, long open beaches, rips, punchy waves. There were definitely times where it got super crowded as it was still summer. But I guess that's summer everywhere.” They also spent some time in Seignosse, which she described as having some of the most memorable sessions of the trip, “We had two days in Seignosse, France. That was amazing! In the morning and afternoon it was super glassy and amazing. 4ft rip bowls, which is just like surfing home for me, super deep channels and shallow sand banks, and currents like a river.  But we went out when the sea breeze kicked in and most of the crowd went in. I surfed until my arms couldn’t move anymore, mainly because I knew we were going to head inland to Switzerland soon after. I also did a QS event in Lacanau, France. It was so nice to surf new places!”

Sophie competing in Lacanau, photographed by @bupamid

Heading down to Portugal solo, Sophie took the win at Ribeira d’llhas.“This hands down was one of the funnest comps I have ever done! I absolutely loved riding the 90’s boards. They were so thin, narrow and had so much rocker. It actually really suited my style of surfing.” Windy conditions didn’t hold her back and she found some “good long runners” on the infamous point break. The surf contest was a week-long event of competing, pizza nights, movie nights, skate jams, art exhibitions and live music where she met loads of new friends. “I did this Portugal trip without Felipe, which was so intimidating at the beginning as I haven’t travelled solo in ages! You really have to put yourself out there, staying in hostels, introducing yourself to new people and eating at places you’ve never been. But because of this I met some super nice new friends that I can't wait to catch up with again. It was one of those insanely amazing trips that I’ll remember forever! ”

Stopping in to visit us in Cornwall, we spent a day shooting next year's Spring/Summer wetsuit collection and surfing. Sophie met up with other local team riders such as Beth Leighfield, and accompanied by photographer Bella Bunce the girls scored some good waves. As well as catching up with the C-Skins team, Sophie and Felipe explored what else Cornwall had to offer, with the plan of visiting new places in the county every year. “We have family friends down in St Ives, so we got to explore more of the south west corner in the van. I still can't get over how crazy your streets are. They are so small, pretty much one lane, and you have double decker buses coming straight for you!” 

Aside from surfing, Sophie and Felipe’s European road trip saw them watching plenty of live music, hopping from festival to festival, hiking in the Dolomites in Italy, swimming in rivers and lakes, and driving thousands of miles across the continent. “Felipe was playing a show in a different country every 1-3 days! So I was helping as much as I could on the road doing load in/out at venues, being there for sound check and running the merchandise sales for each show as well as having my own little ‘Sophie Fletcher Designs’ set up at his headline shows. We also caught up with lots of friends along way, which is always lovely.” 

We’re looking forward to welcoming you back soon, Sophie!