60 seconds with… Pete Holliday

Interview: SUP mag UK
Pictures: Tomas Januska

Age:
36

Sponsors/supporters: 
BIC SUP, ZRE Paddles, SUPSkin, Bomber Eyewear, Chi Coconut Water

Home SUP spot:
Bosvegas (Boscombe).

Favourite SUP disciplines: 
ALL of them. Surf / Downwind / Race – all have a big part in my life. I guess it started from a love of surf (and lack of waves) so I’d probably give surf the edge.

Favourite SUP spot: 
Any… I just love being on the water.

Bucket list top three SUP locations: 
California – DONE; Morocco – DONE; Sumatra – Watch this space!

SUP highlights/achievements to date: 
Taking part in Battle of the Paddle California and getting fourth in my age category in distance – pretty cool! Winning the Bray Lake 26km ultra race last year was quite an achievement. I won the 12.6ft class and was second overall against a large fleet of 14ft boards. Flying that day… Last year I did a Euro trip to The SUP Race Cup and Lost Mills events. Racing against the best in the world. It was a real travel adventure, one I won’t forget.

SUP goals:
Cheesy but keep enjoying it. Last year I did a bit too much in the early season, got injured and it really took the edge off it for me. It’s important to enjoy all the aspects of SUP and mix them up. It’s not just training; surf, paddle downwind, just muck about and most importantly, have fun.

Best SUP session:
Hard to name just one, but the start of 2014 has been great on the south coast. I’ve managed to sneak out early a few days and get some pumping waves with barely anyone out.

Favourite piece of SUP gear:
I guess the new BIC race boards. They are so light and really suit my style of paddling. With my awesome ZRE paddles they are a pretty good combo.

Typical SUP day:
If there’s waves I’m surfing and if it’s flat I’m race training.

SUP training routine:

• I try and mix up things to keep it interesting. I guess a week will contain a mix of any of these
• SUP training sessions (distance and intervals)
• OC1 / V1 sessions (usually tough long distance sessions)
• Kettle bells for strength and conditioning
• Indoor rowing sessions if weather is bad (distance and intervals)
• Circuits at my local martial arts gym

SUP buddies:
We’ve got a great local crew who meet up most days of the week to surf or train. It’s awesome having some really fast guys around to keep pushing me. Back when I started I trained on my own the whole time which can get really dull! My main paddle o’hana consists of these bunch of brilliant chaps: Ryan James; Nick Watt; Tim Harley; Barry Short; Will Vincent; Sam Ross; Ben Bailey; Mark Slater and Steve West.

Final shout outs:
This year I helped launch UK SUP Clubs – the first proper unified series of SUP races here in the UK. (We hope to launch a downwind and surf series too). I urge anyone who loves SUP to come along to a few of the events to meet and share with likeminded people. Everyone should have a go at racing, it’s really not as intimidating as it sounds once you’ve done one! Find out more at www.uksupclubs.co.uk or follow www.facebook.com/UKSUPClubs. My blog can be found at www.peterholliday.co.uk. Thanks.