Lewis Hamilton Succumbs To The Internet’s Most Maligned Holiday Pastime

There’s not a lot that Lewis Hamilton can’t do. He’s a record-setting world champion Formula One driver first and foremost, and his competitive and curious nature has also seen him try his hand at several other disciplines, from sports to music. He’s also quite the style icon, regularly being seen in some outrageously great outfits, and is an advocate for the Black Lives Matter movement.

The perfect man, some might say.

Perfect in all but his choice in holiday pastimes, however. That’s right: Hamilton was recently spotted trying out a hydrofoil surfboard (or as we like to call it: the Zuckerboard) while in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, a small commune in South-Eastern France, and not too far from Monaco, where the most recent Formula One race was held.

Hyrdofoil surfing is one of the most futuristic (and, thanks to Mark Zuckerberg, most mocked) areas of water sports, as it doesn’t necessarily require actual waves in order to work, compared to traditional surfboards. The fin also has wings attached to it, which sit further down in the water than a regular surfboard fin, meaning it isn’t affected by the forces of wind on the water’s surface. This means less friction, so you can easily glide along the water, being carried by the undercurrent (or if you have the right technology, a remote).

Both Laird Hamilton (one of the first people to attach a foil to a surfboard) and Kai Lenny have given the surfboard technology some serious testing – and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has also been pictured with a face full of zinc riding one – and their results indicate there is really is much to love about it.

Retired Formula One driver, 35-year-old Romain Grosjean, was also recently spotted on one of these contraptions, giving Zuckerberg a run for his money.

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Though the Zuckerboard has been historically mocked by some ‘core’ surfers, thanks to its association with the WSL ‘establishment’ and big wave jocks (rather than globe-trotting freesurfers travelling the world selling counter culturalism and board shorts), perhaps, now as celebrities like Hamilton and Grosjean get involved, the time has come for it to burst out into the light and become ‘the jet ski of 2021’?

Only time (and the Zuckerboard to Jetski ratio in Monaco this Euro summer) will tell…

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