{"id":1054,"date":"2016-05-04T08:17:38","date_gmt":"2016-05-04T13:17:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/numa.media\/en\/?p=1054"},"modified":"2016-05-05T08:57:20","modified_gmt":"2016-05-05T13:57:20","slug":"ouisurf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/numa.media\/en\/ouisurf\/","title":{"rendered":"Storytellers of a new kind"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"stag-intro-text run-in\">OuiSurf started out as a joke. \u201cLaunching a web site about surfing in Quebec sounds a bit like a joke, doesn\u2019t it? My friends poked fun at me. I was told I\u2019d never find sponsors. I was told there was no surfing community in Quebec,\u201d confides Benjamin Rochette, the producer and actor who dreamed up OuiSurf. And yet. Five years later, OuiSurf is a TV show on the \u00c9vasion specialty channel (devoted to travel and adventure), two web platforms, tens of thousands of active and loyal fans, a tightly knit team, and still lots of passion. For Benjamin, OuiSurf owes its success to its mantra: tell true stories that trigger genuine and unforgettable emotions.<\/p>\n<p>Benjamin is a skateboarder and snowboarder who first went surfing when he was 25. He went to El Salvador to join a friend and launched a surfing camp there. For three years, he spent his days surfing, meeting new people, and hearing travel stories. He even organized a Quebec Open, a surfing competition for surfers from Quebec, which he captured on film and posted online. \u201cI love travel, video, and surfing, so the idea for OuiSurf came quite naturally,\u201d says Benjamin.<\/p>\n<a name='numavideo'><\/a><div class='numa-video-wrapper with-cover'><div class='video-cover-overlay'><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/numa.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/ouisurfintrovideo.jpg?w=1152\" \/><i id='overlay-play' class='overlay-play'><\/i><\/div><iframe id='numavideo' allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' src='http:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/165365412?api=1&amp;title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0&amp;color=fa1164&amp;mw=1004&amp;mh=564' frameborder='0'><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>The initial version of OuiSurf.ca saw the light of day in 2010. It was a French-language site focused on surfing on which Benjamin produced and broadcast his own web TV show whose goal was to explore travel destinations and foreign cultures through surfing trips across the globe. After several seasons and in response to growing public interest, the TV show \u201cOuiSurf en Asie\u201d (\u201cOuiSurf in Asia\u201d) was developed and broadcast on \u00c9vasion in 2013. Each show attracted more than 80,000 viewers eager to follow Benjamin and his acolyte Jean-Michel P\u00e9loquin on their journeys. \u201cIt was a risky gamble, because when you do things for the web, you\u2019re free. There are no constraints, no traditional programming formats like on television. Our formats, our ways of filming with GoPro and drones, our ways of editing to showcase the stories, all of this was unique. We wanted every episode to be like a film about surfing,\u201d mentions Benjamin, who went on to produce \u201cOuiSurf en Afrique\u201d for the show\u2019s second season.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/numa.media\/ouisurf\/ouisurfsurfa\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-1012\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1012\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/numa.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/ouisurfsurfA.jpg?resize=1152%2C648\" alt=\"ouisurfsurfA\" width=\"1152\" height=\"648\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/numa.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/ouisurfsurfA.jpg?w=1191&amp;ssl=1 1191w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/numa.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/ouisurfsurfA.jpg?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/numa.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/ouisurfsurfA.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/numa.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/ouisurfsurfA.jpg?resize=500%2C281&amp;ssl=1 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1152px) 100vw, 1152px\" \/><\/a>The surfing community was hooked and asked for more. A new web platform called <a href=\"http:\/\/ouisurf.tv\/\" target=\"_blank\">Ouisurf.tv<\/a> was created to share all the content produced by the team during the film shoots. By posting regularly on social networks and responding to fan mail, the OuiSurf team has succeeded in creating really close ties with its community.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1036\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1036\" style=\"width: 2872px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/numa.media\/ouisurf\/ouisurfsiteb\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-1036\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1036\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/numa.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/ouisurfsiteB.jpg?resize=1152%2C638\" alt=\"ouisurf.tv\" width=\"1152\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/numa.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/ouisurfsiteB.jpg?w=2872&amp;ssl=1 2872w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/numa.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/ouisurfsiteB.jpg?resize=300%2C166&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/numa.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/ouisurfsiteB.jpg?resize=1024%2C567&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/numa.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/ouisurfsiteB.jpg?resize=1700%2C942&amp;ssl=1 1700w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/numa.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/ouisurfsiteB.jpg?resize=500%2C277&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/numa.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/ouisurfsiteB.jpg?w=2304&amp;ssl=1 2304w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1152px) 100vw, 1152px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1036\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">ouisurf.tv<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The team has plenty of projects on the go! These include a new version of OuiSurf.ca in development. The new platform, which is beginning to address the English-speaking public, will bring together video, news, and articles on surfing and travel in general. As a way of informing more people in Quebec, a caf\u00e9 dedicated to travel and surfing has just opened in Montreal. It\u2019s called Caf\u00e9 September. It\u2019s a creative space that includes a workshop where you can build your own surfboard.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1038\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1038\" style=\"width: 1417px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/numa.media\/ouisurf\/ouisurfsitea\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-1038\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1038\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/numa.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/ouisurfsiteA.jpg?resize=1152%2C708\" alt=\"ouisurf.tv\" width=\"1152\" height=\"708\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/numa.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/ouisurfsiteA.jpg?w=1417&amp;ssl=1 1417w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/numa.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/ouisurfsiteA.jpg?resize=300%2C184&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/numa.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/ouisurfsiteA.jpg?resize=1024%2C629&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/numa.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/ouisurfsiteA.jpg?resize=500%2C307&amp;ssl=1 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1152px) 100vw, 1152px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1038\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">ouisurf.tv<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>OuiSurf started out as a joke. \u201cLaunching a web site about surfing in Quebec sounds a bit like a joke, doesn\u2019t it? My friends poked fun at me. I was told I\u2019d never find sponsors. I was told there was no surfing community in Quebec,\u201d confides Benjamin Rochette, the producer and actor who dreamed up [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1033,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[43,59],"class_list":["post-1054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-media","tag-nature-en","tag-sports-en","post-grid"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/numa.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/ouisurfintro.png?fit=1192%2C671&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/numa.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/numa.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/numa.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/numa.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/numa.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1054"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/numa.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1054\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1104,"href":"https:\/\/numa.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1054\/revisions\/1104"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/numa.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/numa.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/numa.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/numa.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}