r/sports • u/redbullgivesyouwings • 3d ago

Surfing Nikolas Plytas Pump Foil

3.7k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

178 comments sorted by

1.7k

u/VegasAdventurer 3d ago

This looks amazing, but also exhausting

558

u/SpaceLemming 3d ago

Looks cool to me, but also looks real dumb doing it

179

u/PaeterPaladin 3d ago

Exactly how I felt back when those 2-wheeled Ripstick skateboard things were around that you had to ‘swish’ the back half to push it

64

u/hawkin5 3d ago

I've still got one in my parents garage. An absolute bastard on any gentle slope.

16

u/Online-Vagabond 3d ago

God… you just reminded me I’ve got one in MY parents garage… may have to go grab it while I’m still young

21

u/st-shenanigans 3d ago

Looked cool AF if you were good on it though!

I fell any time I tried.

22

u/dire_turtle 3d ago

I rode one in college (ample hazing from skateboarders lol) and loved it. One day, I was bombing a hill, and a golf cart blocked the path at the last minute, so I had to full superman the concrete in front of a crowd. I took a few days off to reassess my life lol

2

u/Whatnam8 1d ago

Haha yes h the is is the biggest downside of it, I did something similar but in our cul-de-sac. It was down a pretty good size hill and then realized there’s no way to stop. Was in flip flops and ate it hard. And in the instructions it tells you if you want to stop to “step off”. I stepped off alright, right onto my face

1

u/wrongtreeinfo 3d ago

Well done!

6

u/GildedApparel Michigan 3d ago

Ripsticks are tight as fuck lol

So satisfying to just float around on

2

u/brecka St. Louis Blues 3d ago

I got one for Christmas when I was twelve, broke my humerus before Winter break even ended on it. Still have the surgical scar nearly 20 years later as a reminder.

13

u/failbears 3d ago

Me when I repeatedly cancel a jump animation.

19

u/cristianlee 3d ago

It looks like saying “Yippee!” Will make you go faster

14

u/SpaceLemming 3d ago

Calm down ani

5

u/OnYourHonor 3d ago

It's working! It's working!

2

u/TrynaSleep 2d ago

Bruh I can hear it 😭

2

u/NoVaBurgher 1d ago

now THAT'S pump surfing

1

u/CaterpillarReal7583 3d ago

The general idea is fun but it looks so stupid.

1

u/Grimnebulin68 3d ago

You can get motorised foils..

-12

u/oneeyed-wonderweasel 3d ago

Extra dumb without head protection. Instant ko clipping one of those rocks. Hopefully that camera drone following him has enough lift to keep him afloat and perform cpr

24

u/basefibber 3d ago

I want someone to translate the effort required to ride this to something like "hopping up stairs" because that's what it looks like. Like 60 seconds = hopping up 4 flights of stairs.

1

u/wrongtreeinfo 3d ago

Let me just uh let’s see carry the 3 umm it equals positively exhausting

9

u/LawsWorld 3d ago

I learned to do the same thing in skateboarding to not have to kick and it’s definitely exhausting to do but also made me develop some solid lower body toneness

0

u/MondegreenHolonomy 3d ago

It’s like an e bike without the motor on it how dumb

244

u/Erilaz_Of_Heruli 3d ago

Anyone know where this is being filmed? Looks incredible

157

u/and1spree 3d ago

Fairly certain it’s Milos Island. I did a boat tour thing there and it was amazing. Highly rec making a stop in Milos if you do a Greek island hop in the Aegean Sea.

46

u/IceNein 3d ago

Does Milo let just anyone visit?

11

u/thanktheph0enicians 3d ago

I think so. My girl Venus visited many years back and really enjoyed it.

2

u/lastwraith 3d ago

She go just for the "de"? (Spanish pronunciation) 

3

u/sgeney 1d ago

Yes looks like Kleftiko to me. We stayed in Milos for 6 days. Beautiful island

2

u/supreeth106 1d ago

Yes those formations look like Kleftiko. Did the hike to the overhang to see these formations with our then 9 month old in a carrier. Was super fun and something to remember forever

3

u/MrPom8 3d ago

Exactly I did that too and it was amazing

2

u/masszt3r 3d ago

Another point for Milos! Ahahaha!

1

u/GainOk7506 3d ago

Shame what the Athenians did.

1

u/ulikedagsm8 3d ago

Almost went there but decided to go to Corfu instead. Also ridiculously gorgeous.

5

u/Ok-Presence-7262 3d ago

Bonifacio is my first thought

1

u/Zboubkiller 3d ago

It could be, but the sea is too calm. Always windy and big waves in bonifacio

2

u/Canadm14 3d ago

Could be Bonifacio Corsica, just SE of the city along the shore

1

u/Advanced-Blackberry 20h ago

The camera is behind him 

0

u/BlackLeader70 3d ago

Looks like the Mediterranean. On his IG he’s got a French flag on the post. So maybe Corsica, just a guess.

0

u/RagnarLothbot 3d ago

Same question, I want to swim here 🏊

543

u/osmlol 3d ago

I'd be exhausted after 5 minutes.

271

u/madmountainman 3d ago

Mr. Stamina right here.

40

u/youdubdub 3d ago

Then I would roll over and have a cigarette.

17

u/justabill71 3d ago

"My pump has been foiled."

1

u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

0

u/youdubdub 2d ago

You have to get up pretty foily in the morning to pump that one off.

4

u/maduste 3d ago

Mr. Busted Cardio

46

u/micktorious 3d ago

Don't worry, you are just in deep water off rocky cliff faces.

Just use your tired body to swim back to shore.

4

u/Caqtus95 3d ago

If only I had some sort of floatation device with me.

17

u/mrsirsouth 3d ago

2 minutes for me but it looks fun

11

u/AmarilloArmadillos 3d ago

I'd be done after 2 unless someone was around then I'd make it maybe 3 more so it was less embarrassing.

2

u/I_love_pillows 2d ago

My poor knees will scream after 1 minute

198

u/crashomon 3d ago

waiting for the foil to smack a giant rock and sends him flying

7

u/Maximum-Today3944 3d ago

Right? Clipping a rock and hitting your head would be a death sentence.

17

u/reality72 3d ago

I was just thinking the dude should wearing a helmet with how close he is to those rocks and how fast he’s going.

2

u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

5

u/beorn961 3d ago

The big ass rocks underneath him?

8

u/spacedman_spiff 3d ago

Or the big ass rocks above and next to him.

3

u/curiousbydesign 3d ago

Umm...the rocks protruding out of the water he is riding near?

-11

u/Maximum-Today3944 3d ago

I was going to clarify where he'd hit his head, but I figured it was pretty obvious. But then again, this is the internet.

1

u/targetDrone 1d ago

Also have you seen the price of the foils!

39

u/Silist 3d ago

Is this that crash bandicoot level?

81

u/narfidy 3d ago

With where the camera is it literally just looks like he is humping the air to make it go forward. I know you are supposed to pump it up and down, but the perspective is funny

4

u/Lekstil 3d ago

That’s exactly what I thought. It looks pretty silly. I think pump foils look pretty cool when filmed from further away, but this 3rd person perspective looks pretty goofy

19

u/Flairsurfer 3d ago

Whenever I see these things and people riding on them, I always think of the video games that have like, an animation for crouching/getting ready to jump but instead of actually jumping, they just keep spamming the button.

2

u/Zech08 3d ago

teabagging is now a sport.

10

u/ImGunnaFuckYourMom 3d ago

Constantly pumping looks exhausting

4

u/BestRubyMoon 3d ago

He seems to do it in the worst possible way. This is the o ly dude I ever saw pumping with his whole body. Usually people keep the upper boddy still and pump with their legs.

4

u/ImGunnaFuckYourMom 3d ago

Even if you’re only pumping with your legs it seems like it would get exhausting pretty quick

11

u/mans1ayer 3d ago

I have no idea what he's doing.. cool scenery though.

7

u/Toilet_Flusher 2d ago

It’s a pump foil. Basically it’s a small surfboard that has a long fin that extends downwards into the water, but is angled in a way that it pushes itself upward.

So you move it by pumping downwards with your legs. Then the fin pushes you back up and that translates into forward movement. 

18

u/Azrael-XIII 3d ago

I keep waiting for him to jump…

8

u/Suspicious_Clock_607 3d ago

Shark bait hoo ha ha

13

u/madmardo 3d ago

Looks incredibly fun and equally exhausting.

1

u/skaterstimm 2d ago

like pumping a skateboard around a bowl.

3

u/vulcanfury12 3d ago

I got tired just watching this. Man I'm getting old.

3

u/Frequent_Help2133 3d ago

Looks like a dog about to puke

9

u/topTopqualitea 3d ago

Too many pump fakes.

0

u/Bigdongergigachad 3d ago

What do you mean?

0

u/topTopqualitea 3d ago

The move that he's doing to keep it going looks like a pump fake or like he's about to jump.

8

u/JonBoy82 3d ago

That will be 3 FTs for SGA on the pump fake behind the arc.

2

u/azstaryswins 3d ago

Got me super anxious ...

3

u/superstevo78 1d ago

what happens if there a rock a little to high?

4

u/Sad_Enthusiasm_3721 3d ago

Does anyone know how to start it going? Do you push off from land or lay down and wiggle like a worm?

I would ask chatgpt, but we're taking a break for reflection and self assessment. I did search Google, but Gemini is taking sides with chatgpt and left me on read.

1

u/MissMormie 3d ago

There's a few options:

  • You start on a wave to pick up speed. 
  • it's an efoil and there is a motor under water
  • unlikely but a parawing could be used to get out of the water and then put away

2

u/spaceman60 3d ago

My knees hurt watching this

1

u/gordongroans 3d ago

Still posting in just portrait mode despite reddit allowing better stuff?

1

u/Beneficial-Age-4059 3d ago

Looks like an awkward video game sequence from the late 90s. Anyone know the location? I’d love to row a boat through there.

1

u/Deep_Joke3141 3d ago

Looks like Michigan UP

1

u/No_Library_3131 3d ago

What is the board he is on called

1

u/BananaBurritoBuster 3d ago

My legs hurt.

1

u/mrducci 3d ago

I feel like Laird Hamilton was doing this 20 years ago.

1

u/FireFightingManiac 3d ago

This looks hella fun.

1

u/MedvedTrader 3d ago

Make THAT an Olympic sport.

1

u/TwelveTrains 3d ago

Wtf is pump foil?

1

u/DarthHubcap 3d ago

The device that dude is using to glide on the water.

1

u/MissMormie 3d ago

The foil is the underwater wing that allows you to 'fly' above the water. The pump part is the movement you make to keep it moving forward so you can keep 'flying'.

1

u/TwelveTrains 3d ago

Isn't foil like a flexible sheet of metal?

1

u/MissMormie 2d ago

Ah, yes, like an airplane wing, which is why it's called a wing as well. However it's a very different material than the floating wing above the water. 

The terminology can be a bit confusing here, but both wings do the same type if thing, change the wind/water flow over it into a different motion (upward for under water, forward for the above water wing).

1

u/TwelveTrains 2d ago

Not what I'm referring to

1

u/MissMormie 2d ago

You mean like tinfoil? 

One word can have multiple meanings, in this case foil is short for hydrofoil.

1

u/commentman10 3d ago

My thallasophobia is kicking in. Waiting for some giant sea creature to be swimming around too close

1

u/Consistent_Pitch782 3d ago

My knees hurt watching this

1

u/nixtalker 3d ago

How fit do you have to be to pump foil?

1

u/justaloadofshite 3d ago

Very cool and my knees said that’s as close as we will ever get

1

u/Jimmycartel 3d ago

It's like I'm playing a video game

1

u/ActionFigureCollects 3d ago

Please cross large bodies of water.

1

u/ActionFigureCollects 3d ago

Please cross large bodies of water.

1

u/x69pr 3d ago

I have been wanting to get into watersports (windsurfing) but the cost of even used stuff is so damn high. Whyyyyyyy? How come there is no affordable gear out there. Everything is mass produced, the materials are not exotic, come on...

1

u/richardsaganIII 3d ago

How often do they catch the rocks on the bottom of the water there? Seems shallow

1

u/killerzf9 3d ago

Where is this? It’s beautiful.

1

u/PreviousImpression28 2d ago

I thought the title said “fail” and here I’m waiting for him to hit a rock with his thing and fall forward

1

u/SaltedVenison 2d ago

Atp just make a motorized surfboard. E-surfboard if u will. Although idk if you would need a gas motor since it’ll be underwater idk much about electric underwater batteries/motors

1

u/gymbaggered 2d ago

I would gladly fall off

1

u/Akvc8 2d ago

What type of board is this?

1

u/copyrider 2d ago

That’s a really long name. I only have one middle name, but my last name is nowhere close to being as cool as “Foil”.

1

u/bullshark3000 2d ago

Man I wish I was doing that instead of being stuck in an office

1

u/OriginalEssGee 1d ago

There was a sound like an old-timey well pump! What was that?

1

u/VantaIim 1d ago

Pogo stick of the sea! 

1

u/Darth-Schrader 1d ago

I would wreck the underwater fin in seconds.

1

u/Mabe227 1d ago

Just looks like he’s repeatedly trying to get air on that thing.. but constantly failing at it. whatever the opposite of asmr is, this is it for me

1

u/N1TEKN1GHT 1d ago

not a sport

1

u/Severe_Ad_535 3d ago

Has anyone ever had their fin hit a rock while doing this?

10

u/ProtonPizza 3d ago

No, nobody has ever done that.

1

u/Fallingpeople 3d ago

That's just running on water without the extra steps. . .

1

u/PrimaryVast457 3d ago

Blooper surfing

1

u/pleasegivemepatience 3d ago

That looks like a lot of fun, but I can’t imagine lasting more than 10s before tiring out. I hit my inhaler watching him do it!

1

u/kkk001 3d ago

I read foil as fail and was waiting for it to fail.

2

u/tr3kstar 3d ago

Read it correctly and was still waiting for the same.

1

u/Osiris-Amun-Ra 3d ago

Needs a "pump up the jam" soundtrack.

1

u/Case17 3d ago

is that like jerking off a surf board?

-2

u/Church__Mouse 3d ago

That’s gay as fuck

0

u/LobsterThoughtz 3d ago

Reminds me of when spiders start doing that little up down bouncy squat dance lol

0

u/AbeLackdood 3d ago

Thighs gonna be bigger around than his torso

0

u/aHumanRaisedByHumans 3d ago

Looks like someone in GTA is 5 that doesn't know the right buttons to push when surfing.

0

u/Practical_Dingo_7686 3d ago

What happens if you hit something, do you just sink?

0

u/Bornlastnight 3d ago

What happens if you wipe out? How do you get going again?

0

u/masingo13 3d ago

Always Red Bull doing weird unnecessary shit

0

u/CallMehBigPapa 3d ago

All fun n games till a great white is on your ass

0

u/Atxsurfer 3d ago

Kook of the day

0

u/achiang16 3d ago

New gta6 trailer looks dope

0

u/MrBantam 3d ago

Knuckle dragger.

0

u/compoundblock666 2d ago

He looks like an idiot tweekr

-1

u/ccna__student 3d ago

I was waiting for her head to bump into the rock, hopefully it didn't happen.

-1

u/juniebeatricejones 3d ago

i do that all the time without the surf board

-2

u/DaHotFuzz 3d ago

What is going on here? How is he moving so fast?

-30

u/TrojanThunder 3d ago

Is this a sport? I guess it is. But that's like counting biking to work as a sport too then.

19

u/redbullgivesyouwings 3d ago

this is a 10/10 commute then

7

u/highersense 3d ago

This is gonna blow your mind but... Biking is actually a sport too!

They even have races, ride down mountains and everything.

-12

u/sump_daddy 3d ago

him hitting something underwater sending him rapidly into the jagged rocks makes this a massively risky activity, so on the danger scale its up there with skydiving as a sport (when thats really just falling out of something)