Interview: "I want to do freestyle manoeuvres at wave height!" - Five questions for Lennart Neubauer
Julian Wiemar
· 29.05.2026
Lennart Neubauer is flying to Gran Canaria this summer with a clear plan: to bring freestyle even more into the wave and at the same time take his wave riding to a new level. The 22-year-old wants to land moves like the Shifty into Forward and consistently split his summer 50/50 between wave and freestyle. He explains why the chaos of Pozo kicks him more than mirror-smooth flat water, as well as the physical intensity of freestyle in the surf. Lennart also talks about the lack of training partners and the idea of going all-in with the best freestylers in the world for a joint video project. He remains relaxed when it comes to equipment: Why change a winning concept - short freestyle boards work for him in all conditions.
Lennart, you're off to Gran Canaria straight after the surf festival. Where will you be focussing this summer? Freestyle or wave?
On both. I want to try to really push freestyle - into the air. So I want to do freestyle manoeuvres at wave height, such as the shifty into forward. That's the goal. At the same time, I also really want to improve my wave riding. I'm really not good at reading waves. Ben Proffitt said last summer that I was the only one who got kicked out in the second round in Pozo with a push forward in my luggage. That's because my wave riding is just too bad and was only in the two to three point range.
Do you enjoy freestyle in the waves more than on perfect flat water?
On mirror-smooth water, like in the lagoons of Brazil, I was pretty much done after a good hour, I have to say. Even with Spock into triple Culo, I got bored. I always went over to the wave to do double air rotations and so on.
Freestyle on perfect flat water spots is like in a video game.
What is more physically intense? Jumping crazy triple to quadruple combinations on flat water or a freestyle session in the waves?
Hm, that's a good question. Freestyle on perfect flat water spots is like in a video game: you ride, you don't have to look at any gusts because you know it's constant. Nothing changes. The water surface is always the same. But in the trick it gets intense, you're at maximum body tension for several seconds. In Pozo, on the other hand, the thing is: you're already tense before you even get to the ramp. Because you have so many people there, so much wind, you have to assess so many factors, and the adrenaline really kicks in when you're in the air. That's why I would say that freestyle in the waves is more strenuous and more intense overall.
Who are you currently pushing yourself with on the water? It seems like you (the best freestylers in the world) are often out on solo missions. Do you think it would push you and the discipline as a whole more if you were on the water together more often?
Yes, that's right, I've noticed that too. And I miss that a bit too. For example, I was in Brazil, a few months later Jacopo flies there, and then Yentel. And they all do their thing a bit. I then spent several months in Cape Town, where the conditions were so good that it was hard to believe how perfect it was for freestyling. But then I'm surrounded by kiters. That's the thing. As nice as it would be to always motivate yourself, it's not always like that. I have someone who films me, that motivates me. But what would motivate me even more is if I had a Yentel, Jacopo or Balz who just tried the same nonsense as me. We all lie down, but still, then the mate has seen it and then there's a story we can laugh about. We talked a lot with Yentel, Jacopo and especially Balz about possibly filming all together on the Canary Islands and then just pushing freestyle, booking a film maker and going all-in for the days. Preferably even at a time when it wouldn't matter if you got injured and had to miss a month or two. That would be awesome.
We plan to book a film maker and just go all-in.
Yes, dHow about it! What about the equipment? Do you need anything special for this extreme type of freestyle in the waves? A few years ago, the boards got a lot shorter in one fell swoop. Now, not much has changed for longer.
I'll put it this way, it sounds daft and I'm sure we'll definitely do something in the future, but why change a winning concept? I believe that if something works really well and you don't have the feeling, okay, I'm missing this, or I need more or less of this trick, you shouldn't necessarily change anything. And I haven't, not even under extreme conditions like Pozo. I think around 210 centimetres is a really good length for freestyle boards, which is where we are now. I've ridden shorter boards and also longer ones, and I think 210 centimetres is a good compromise between power move performance and sliding. If you make the board shorter, then a spock, for example, becomes more difficult - a long nose is better. But if you make it too long, you'll notice that it's a bit slower in power move rotations in the air.
Lennart, thank you for the interview and good luck on the Canary Islands.
Julian Wiemar
Editor surf
