YANNICK LUCA

Yannick Luca on surfing.

Model, surfer, globe trotter. Yannick Luca has lived in many places, and they all have one thing in common: surf.

Read more about how he fell in love with it.

Can you tell us your story so far?

My name is Luísa, I was born and raised in Lisbon, and I love this city. I took a Design degree and I am extremely passionate about color and graphics. Music has always been a big part of my life, it helps me to focus on work and to never stand still. Ever since I was little I have experienced a lot of different genres of music. My mother was always listening to Fado at home, so it’s a genre that I keep very present.

Four years ago I received my first vinyl record, an album and ever since then I haven’t stopped buying music. After that I took some beginner lessons in Djing with a good friend of mine and have become more and more interested in this craft. New opportunities to play started coming up so I began to focus more on Djing, playing mostly in events and clubs. Nowadays I have a monthly program at an online radio - Collect Radio - where I play lounge and dance music.

I fell in love with Surfing couple of years before and had the idea of designing my own home in shipping containers, send them to Portugal and start my new life together with my girlfriend and daughter close to the sea.

Why Pt? Because I was travelling Portugal in my Van for more than 12 years and every time I was spending a couple of weeks at the coastline, first Zambujeira do mar, later I went South where I started to surf. The amazing nature, the Portuguese lifestyle and surfing, it was a dream for me to come there. So at the end I got things done and moved close to Budens / Vila do Bispo, where I enjoy my time, improve surfing day by day and working on my creative projects.

To me, connecting with the sea is one of the rawest forms of being in nature. It's unpredictable, dangerous, fun, humbling and addicting. I like the saying 'the church of the open sky' because it represents a spiritual place for me. Every time I leave the water, it feels like I have learned something new and was able to release heavy energy and recharge with new. Figuring out how to surf the sea is like figuring out how to live this life; there are many ups and downs, but you end up trying again and again until you start understanding the patterns of the sea and the patterns of life.

I grew up in landlocked Germany but was fortunate to spend most of my holidays at sea in France. I remember watching surfers and the waves before I was allowed to go into the ocean by myself. It always fascinated me. Also, I was lucky as my uncle was a surfer and skater and had some special influence on me throughout my life. He got me into it in the beginning, and I still surf with him from time to time.

As long as I can remember, I dreamed about moving close to the ocean to bring surfing into my everyday life. It properly started when I was living in Australia and Mozambique, where surfing almost became a way of life. Now, I try to balance this passion while having a family.

My favorite place to surf is a long righthand pointbreak in Mozambique. It was a difficult and dangerous wave but incredibly thrilling. It's a 500-700m point, and you end up walking along the beach all day while you see your friends getting barreled and getting the longest waves of their lives. Miss that place.

What motivated you to get started with The Peak House?

The Peak House was a dream come true. Since a long time ago when we both started traveling around the world, chasing the perfect wave, most of the times we ended up staying in places with the same feeling as The Peak House, where the contact with local people was always a priority to us. These people and friends inspired us to embrace this lovely journey