After 15 years on the Championship Tour, Jeremy Flores has announced today that he will be stepping away from full-time competition on the Championship Tour at the conclusion of the 2021 regular season.
Now living in Tahiti with his partner Hinarani de Longeau and young daughter, Hinahei, the 33-year-old Tour veteran will be focusing on his family, freesurfing, and supporting the next generation of francophone surfers.
"I don't like the word ‘retiring' because i don't feel like i'm retiring at all, I'm moving on to the next chapter," Flores said on Instagram.
"I dedicated most of my life to Surfing competition. It's been a rollercoaster, lots of ups & downs but damn i lived it to the fullest. Some epic moments. I tried to stay real the whole time, maybe too much sometimes ? But it was all worth it ! If someone told me, when I was a kid, the success, the life i would have, I wouldn't of believed it. Because of professional surfing i am now lucky enough to live a happy life & provide for my whole family."
Originally from Reunion Island, Flores first started surfing at age three and has been chasing waves around the world ever since. As a youngster his family spent time in Australia, Europe and Hawaii as he pursued his dreams of becoming a pro surfer. Signed as one of Quiksilver's "Young Guns," he came up the ranks under the eye of Kelly Slater and alongside peers including Julian Wilson, Dane Reynolds and Clay Marzo.
Flores joined the Championship Tour in 2007, finished the season ranked eighth in the world and earned rookie of the year honors for the effort. Over the course of his distinguished career he is one of only a handful of surfers to have earned multiple Pipe Masters crowns - in 2010 and 2017.
Flores also won the 2015 Billabong Pro Tahiti in pumping conditions.
At the 2015 Billabong Pro Tahiti, Jeremy Flores showcased his mastery of barrel riding against competitors such as Gabriel Medina, CJ Hobgood, and Kelly Slater, winning the event and taking home the highly coveted trophy. - WSL / Kirstin
"I'm the luckiest guy in the world," smiled Flores after his win in Tahiti.
In 2011, he received the Andy Irons Most Committed Award for his hard-charging, go-on-anything approach in heavy, 10-foot barrels.
In 2019, Flores won the Quiksilver Pro France in Hossegor in front of a huge hometown crowd. Previously, Flores had never finished better than ninth there and was the first French surfer to win the event.
"Thank you to everyone on the beach who supported us in the early and cold mornings," he said from atop the podium. "They've been behind us for so many years. This one stays in France. This is the event I have always wanted to win."
Most recently, Flores helped made history as an athlete in surfing's Olympic debut, where he represented France.
The Tour veteran from Reunion Island becomes the first French surfer to win the Quiksilver Pro France, making history for his country.
Jeremy Flores Stepping Away From Full-Time Competition On Championship Tour
WSL
After 15 years on the Championship Tour, Jeremy Flores has announced today that he will be stepping away from full-time competition on the Championship Tour at the conclusion of the 2021 regular season.
Now living in Tahiti with his partner Hinarani de Longeau and young daughter, Hinahei, the 33-year-old Tour veteran will be focusing on his family, freesurfing, and supporting the next generation of francophone surfers.
"I don't like the word ‘retiring' because i don't feel like i'm retiring at all, I'm moving on to the next chapter," Flores said on Instagram.
"I dedicated most of my life to Surfing competition. It's been a rollercoaster, lots of ups & downs but damn i lived it to the fullest. Some epic moments. I tried to stay real the whole time, maybe too much sometimes ? But it was all worth it ! If someone told me, when I was a kid, the success, the life i would have, I wouldn't of believed it. Because of professional surfing i am now lucky enough to live a happy life & provide for my whole family."
Originally from Reunion Island, Flores first started surfing at age three and has been chasing waves around the world ever since. As a youngster his family spent time in Australia, Europe and Hawaii as he pursued his dreams of becoming a pro surfer. Signed as one of Quiksilver's "Young Guns," he came up the ranks under the eye of Kelly Slater and alongside peers including Julian Wilson, Dane Reynolds and Clay Marzo.
Flores joined the Championship Tour in 2007, finished the season ranked eighth in the world and earned rookie of the year honors for the effort. Over the course of his distinguished career he is one of only a handful of surfers to have earned multiple Pipe Masters crowns - in 2010 and 2017.
Flores also won the 2015 Billabong Pro Tahiti in pumping conditions.
"I'm the luckiest guy in the world," smiled Flores after his win in Tahiti.
In 2011, he received the Andy Irons Most Committed Award for his hard-charging, go-on-anything approach in heavy, 10-foot barrels.
In 2019, Flores won the Quiksilver Pro France in Hossegor in front of a huge hometown crowd. Previously, Flores had never finished better than ninth there and was the first French surfer to win the event.
"Thank you to everyone on the beach who supported us in the early and cold mornings," he said from atop the podium. "They've been behind us for so many years. This one stays in France. This is the event I have always wanted to win."
Most recently, Flores helped made history as an athlete in surfing's Olympic debut, where he represented France.
Jeremy Flores
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