Gnar Brinehowl

Backstory

Gnar started foiling the same way many of us do, with equal parts curiosity and questionable decision-making. He showed up at the beach with a borrowed foil, a grin full of sharp ideas, and precisely zero understanding of how exhausting it is to tow someone for "just one more run." One pull became five. Five became fifteen. By the end of the week, the local crew had a new warmup routine called "Towing Gnar," which mostly involved stretching sore shoulders and negotiating terms like snacks, coffee, and "please stop running laps."

The problem was not that Gnar was reckless. The problem was that Gnar discovered the pure joy of flying and could not un-discover it. He was the beginner who kept falling but always popped up laughing. Then he turned into the intermediate rider who suddenly started linking turns and looking back at everyone like, "Did you see that, did you see that, did you see that?" And then he became the seasoned foiler who could read a bump, feel the lift, and predict the next section like he had a tiny tide chart tattooed on his brain.

Eventually, the crew staged an intervention. Not the emotional kind. The practical kind. They pooled spare parts, traded favors, and donated enough resources to build him a tow boogie. Now, Gnar no longer needs a driver or a buddy to keep pulling him back into position. He runs laps all day long, launches himself into clean runs, and returns to the lineup like a happy purple metronome. The best part is that he still cheers for beginners like it is their first day, because he remembers exactly how it felt to wobble, splash, and then finally fly.

Gnar Brinehowl's Merch Shop

Gnar Brinehowl's Foiling Discipline

First Flight

Gnar's first real flight happened on a messy little day that most people would call "not worth it." The wave face was bumpy, the wind was confused, and his borrowed tow foil board looked like it had survived a few heroic mistakes. A friend gave him a short foiling tow to get him up to speed, and for one perfect moment, the board went quiet, the foil flew, and the ocean noise dropped into the background, as if someone had turned down the volume. Gnar wobbled, corrected, wobbled again, then laughed mid-ride because he realized he was not just bouncing off the water, he was flying. He came down in a spectacular splash, popped up grinning, and immediately asked for another pull.

Personality

Gnar is equal parts hype-man and lab tech. He hoots for your first few feet of flight like you just won a world title, then he follows it up with a gentle breakdown of what happened, what worked, and what to try next. He talks to his tow boogie like it is a trusted co-pilot, thanks it after clean runs, and apologizes when he botches a start. On land, he is loud, friendly, and constantly inventing nicknames for everyone's gear. On the water, he gets focused in a calm, almost meditative way that makes hydrofoil surfing look effortless, even as he quietly calculates speed, angle, and timing.

Favorite Conditions

Gnar lives for wave tow sessions when the swell has enough shape to carve but not so much chaos that it turns into survival mode. Shoulder-high rollers with a clean face are his favorite, especially when there is room to set up long lines for hydrofoil wave riding. He likes a little texture on the water because it teaches good balance, but he loves a clean section where foil carving feels like drawing smooth arcs on glass. If the tide is right and the wind behaves, he will run laps until the sun dips, then pretend he is heading in, then do "just one more" because the next bump always looks promising.

Gnar's Code

Gnar follows a simple code: protect the stoke, respect the water, and leave things better than you found them. He does not cut lines, snake waves, or show off when someone is learning. If he is running a hands-free tow setup with his electric tow boogie, he stays wide, gives plenty of space, and treats the lineup like a shared playground, not a personal racetrack. He also believes every wipeout is tuition, not failure, and every session has a win, even if the only win is figuring out what not to do next time.

Beginner Tips

Gnar's top advice for tow boogie foiling is to keep the early goals tiny and repeatable. Start with a clean body position, soft knees, and steady eyes, then let the lift come to you rather than yanking it. If you are doing tow-in foiling, focus on smooth acceleration and a stable stance before you even think about turns. Once you are up, relax your shoulders, keep the board level, and make gentle pressure changes to learn control. When you are ready for a foil surfing tow run on a wave, pick a mellow face, stay patient, and save the bigger foil cutback attempts for later. Gnar says the fastest way to progress is simple: short sessions, lots of reps, and a good laugh when the water reminds you who's boss.

Preferred Ride

Tow boogie assisted wave laps: quick tow to match speed, drop onto foil, then carve the wave face while the boogie stays out of the way until it is time to reset for another run.

What Makes Him Gnar

Gnar is powered by stubborn joy. He treats every wipeout like data collection, every successful link like a victory parade, and every empty stretch of water like an invitation to practice. He is also famously generous with tips, as long as you can handle the fact that his coaching voice sounds like an excited growl in a blender. Under the tattoos and teeth, Gnar is a pure gliding addict who believes progress belongs to anyone willing to get wet repeatedly.

Signature Move

The Tow Loop Cutback: Gnar uses the tow boogie to accelerate just enough to get stable lift, then he releases the handle and transitions into a controlled, banked cutback on the wave face. He climbs high to the steeper section, rolls his hips and shoulders into the turn, and brings the board back down the line while staying on foil the whole time. It is fast, smooth, and completely doable with good speed management and a clean line.

Fun Facts

• Gnar names every lap.
• He believes tow boogies have personalities and insists his prefers "tight turns and compliments."
• His tattoos are not random. Each one marks a milestone, like the first sustained flight, the first clean carve, or the first full-wave link.
• He keeps a tiny emergency snack pouch to get him through the last laps.

Gnar's Motto

“Take one more lap with a better attitude than the last.”