September 2021
An Interview with A Surfer; Noah Avallone
Those that surf in Montauk know what a privilege it is to have pristine beaches, a variety of breaks and conditions and great people in the water in which to share the waves. It is also special to see the kids that splashed around the water as toddlers become expert surfers. One of those is Montauk’s Noah Avallone.
At 14, Noah is a National Champion in surfing AND snowboarding. A regular in the line-up at Ditch where his parents are surfers, we caught up with Noah to hear about his latest accomplishments and his thoughts on surfing.
At the USA Surfing Championships in Oceanside California, you won for under-14 long board category, tell us about that: It was a great experience being able to compete against the best long boarders in the nation and amazing to have gotten to surf in California for the first time and explore all the different breaks.
How do you compare surfing on the west coast to Montauk? It’s similar in a sense that there a bunch of point breaks and that’s what we have down here in Montauk where I surf normally. Great for longboarding or short boarding.
Where else have you competed for surfing? I’ve competed in Virginia Beach, Jennette’s Pier, North Carolina, Carolina beach, South Carolina, New Jersey, Maryland, and allover Long Island from Rockaway to Montauk.
Where do you compete for snowboarding? And of those places, where was your favorite spot? I compete all over Vermont and New Hampshire, which is normally just regional events. I’ve competed in Copper Mountain, Vail and Aspen Colorado, Park City, Utah, Mammoth Mountain, in California, Mount Baker, Washington and Gstaad in Switzerland! My favorite is Vail where I’ve competed in three U.S. Opens contests.
We hear you go to the Stratton Mountain School during the year, what are your go-to disciplines in snowboarding? I like to do all the disciplines which include, boardercross, halfpipe, slope style, giant slalom and slalom, and rail jams. But the ones I like most are boarder cross, halfpipe, and slope style.
Where is the best place to snowboard? Really depends on the type of style you have and what your riding consists of like rails, jumps, halfpipes etc. but my favorite place must be Colorado because they have all types of terrain and great halfpipes.
What are your dream surf break and snowboarding locations? My dream snowboard location is Laax, Switzerland because it looks like a very beautiful place, and they always get a lot if snow and have the best halfpipe. My dream surf breaks would probably have to be trestles in California and perfect Malibu.
Could you choose between surfing and snowboarding if you absolutely had to? Yeah, if I had to, I would choose snowboarding because it feels the most like both sports combined. But it would be hard to not be able to surf.
What is next for you this year in both surfing and snowboarding? I plan to surf in the East Coast Surfing Championships in Virginia Beach and the Eastern’s in North Carolina. Snowboarding, hopefully the Nationals & U.S. Open again after they have been cancelled due to covid and Rev and Futures Tours.
Besides your dad, who is your biggest influence in each sport? In surfing my biggest influence is Joel Tudor…and Alex Knost. In snowboarding my biggest influences must be Danny Davis, Shaun White, Scotty James, and Brock Crouch.
What do you love the most about each sport? I love snowboarding because it’s just fun and I get to do it with my friends and when I’m snowboarding, I feel free to do what I want and express myself through my board. For surfing I love the water and hearing the waves and the silence is very calming.
Can you pick a favorite pro-surfer and pro-snowboarder? My favorite pro surfer is probably Joel Tudor because I love his style on a longboard. My favorite snowboarder is Danny Davis because he adds so much style to his tricks and does stuff no one else does.
We all love our local surfers; do you have a favorite in Montauk? Too many to list, there are so many great surfers with amazing style.
What do you like to do when you are not surfing or snowboarding? I love skateboarding, and mountain biking is a new hobby I picked up during covid.
We hear you are an excellent student. What are your best subjects in school? Been doing well in all, but my best subjects are probably Art and English.
As someone close to Montauk, what do you find to be special about surfing here? It’s super fun because I get to do it with my friends, and everything is very close together so I can always be surfing.
Tell us about a day in the life of Noah in the summer? Wake up early, check Ditch first. then other spots, like Terrace. The quality of the surf will determine my day. Winter? When I’m in school, I snowboard first chair until lunch then school. We then train on trampolines or in the gym late afternoon.
What achievement are you most proud of? I’m definitely most proud of winning the nationals for longboarding. And the Legendary Banked Slalom in Mount Baker Washington twice. The award is a trophy with a rook of gold duct tape. Highly coveted in the snowboarding universe.
Noah that is Awesome. Any last words? Thanks for taking the time to interview me. I love standing sideways on boards. Snow, surf, skate. they all relate!
