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Behind the Scenes: Candide Thovex Skis the Wave

By: Ethan Stone July 16, 2019

Candide Thovex’s 2018 collaboration with Audi, “quattro2” — more commonly known as simply the “Ski The World” edit — showed that there’s apparently no surface on Planet Earth that Candide isn’t capable of skiing. Now, a series of behind-the-scenes videos is shedding some light on how Candide and his team actually made this viral hit possible.

In the lineup this week is the wave— the highlight closing shot of “quattro2”. In the edit, Candide effortlessly cruises into a break somewhere off the coast of Jamaica, tosses a clean slash, then rides ashore to catch a chair on a ski lift operated by an amicable Rastaman.

The behind-the-scenes cut gives us a more realistic look at Candide’s aquatic exploits. First off, he’s not off-shore but in a wave pool. His first attempts are at Wavegarden in Spain’s Basque country, which evidently doesn’t work out quite as well as planned because the team relocates to Surf Snowdonia in Wales, where a longer tow-in allows Candide to get the shot he’s looking for. Along the way there’s plenty of falls, screw-ups and crazy logistics to ponder — a rare look inside the world of one of skiing’s most influential and enigmatic figures.