Founder · eFoilgc & School of Foiling · Gold Coast, Australia
Vasco Vellez
Australia's first eFoil owner. Foiling since 2012. 800+ students taught. One idea that wouldn't leave him alone.
"I dislike my own limitations. I have an uncommon habit of looking too far ahead — searching for areas to explore, pushing my abilities beyond what I ever thought possible. That's what puts a smile on my face."
December 2018 — first rides on the Cherry Ferrari, Australia's first eFoil. Yes, that's hail.
Today I call myself a Foiler — a Hydrofoil Rider. My current rides range from a Lift X to a Hydroflyer Sport to a Jetwave C55, chosen by conditions and purpose. And of course I still ride the Cherry … more on that later. I have more boards than I care to admit … but, have you seen the smile on my face?
How did I get here you ask, was it pure coincidence or a carefully laid out plan? In my case definitely planned, it's been an ongoing process with no finish line in sight. Here's a few snippets of my journey … so far.
At the end of 2004 while setting up a worldwide 3D clothing display internet company in New Zealand, a friend of mine, Adam Schofield showed me some photos of a sport I didn't know – Kitesurfing. I was intrigued, but far too busy building a complete company, designing a website and internet strategy to pay proper attention – Brazilclothing.com was in full swing.
As I wasn't stopping my long hours of self-imposed slavery, he suggested I see a movie – Step into Liquid. Wow, now I was well and truly convinced. Seeing Laird Hamilton being towed into mountains of water riding a silver horse called a Hydrofoil totally messed with my mind. I was hooked!! I wanted to ride one of those.
Immediately in my mind I put together the 2 sports, Kitesurfing and Hydrofoiling. No one was doing it together but I knew it would be possible .. in theory. There were a couple of problems however – I knew nothing of kitesurfing or how to surf any type of craft or board. I know, it sounds crazy. But that was not a deterrent for me – on the contrary, it gave me goals.
Let's fast forward to 2006: I moved to Australia and decided it was time to learn to Kitesurf. Adam came to my rescue again providing much needed guidance. I quickly grew tired of TwinTips and switched to Kitesurf boards. For a continuous supply of waves I swapped Sydney for the Gold Coast, I've been here since as it is sunny and warm, and I have waves everyday. It's a Paradise I don't want to holiday from.
Before the eFoil, before the school, before around 800 students — there were the boards. Every single one a custom one-off, built by Nicholas Leason at MHL Custom in Puerto Rico. No two the same. Each one pushing further than the last. This is the hardware that made the foiler.
From the first custom MHL kitefoil hybrids to the Cherry Ferrari — every board a chapter in a story that has no finish line.
The first hydrofoil ever
seen at Nungas.
So, Hydrofoiling … let's not get side tracked. I had started my foiling journey in late 2012, and by October 2013 I was ready to climb the next mountain. I emailed the 5 companies at the time researching and building Hydrofoils and MHL Custom responded straight away with "We'll make anything you want" .. pure music to my ears.
Following a quick phone call to Nicholas Leason from MHL Custom, to make sure I was talking to the right people, I bought my first Kitesurf Hydrofoil board. The hydrofoil was called Lift, and it was the first ever to be shipped to Australia. In time the company became Liftfoils.com. It's been a blast… Oh My, what a ride.
Being at the forefront of the sport had its downfalls, I had no one to learn from. There were NO other kitefoil riders on the Gold Coast so my learning curve was hard, I mean, real hard LOL. There were dozens of falls before I could ride a hydrofoil without touchdowns. The process provided my mates with material for hilarious tirades and friendly abuse, everyone was really amused … why was I wasting time with such ill concocted invention, clearly not designed to succeed. I was labelled a fool but they eventually grew tired of 'paying' on me.
And all this was before Kai Lenny started publicly riding foils and making them famous. There were no Sup or Prone foils around anywhere at that stage. I kept asking for changes to my boards from Nicholas and he designed me a hybrid surfboard that I could ride with or without a foil – it was the first of it's kind. Perseverance and hard work pays off as by 2014 I was riding big waves in Indonesia.
Around the time I bought my 3rd kitefoil Nicholas Leason from Liftfoils told me he was working on the 'future of hydrofoils'. Sworn to secrecy I joined the underground foil society and was told about the electric hydrofoil plan. It was still at concept stage and there were no pictures or prototypes, it was all on Nick's mind. Freck Hell I was definitely in. I placed an order immediately even though I knew it would take a long time before I even saw one, much less own one.
Late December 2017 I was allowed to confer with the Liftfoils artist for a custom paintjob for my board. Like every one of my toys from MHL Custom, it would be a one-off. In April I paid for my board and was promised it would ship at same time as Laird's and Kai's .. I was in good company LOL. My Cherry Ferrari arrived in late April 2018.
I was the first in Australia to own an eFoil – that's what Nick and I decided to call it. The name quickly took hold and it's now a classification eheh. Australia's first eFoil
Since then, hydrofoiling has grown from a niche experiment into a sport with multiple disciplines. Prone foiling, SUP foiling, WingFoiling and eFoiling have all evolved enormously, with new equipment and new ways to ride continuing to appear. It's a pleasure to have been part of that evolution from the early days.
So, me … what am I doing? I'm still riding, experimenting, learning and spending as much time on foils as I can.
I created eFoilgc on the Gold Coast in February 2019. What started with private eFoil coaching has grown into the School of Foiling, equipment advice and sales, Find Your eFoil and eFoil Doctor support. The goal is still the same — help people learn properly, understand the equipment and find the part of foiling that suits them best.
What awaits me next is uncertain, but I have no intentions of slowing down anytime soon … I'll keep you posted.
In the meantime, this is what life looks like. Two Siberian Huskies on an eFoil, foiling above the water on the Gold Coast. Nobody else in the world has this photo. Nobody else in the world has these 2ICs.
They don't know they're doing something impossible. That makes three of us.
Thank you for your attention and welcome to being addicted. Send me an email for a chat or better still — book a lesson.
Vasco (V) Vellez
FOIL the King and WING the Captain — yes, that's an eFoil. Yes, they're foiling.
These numbers exist because the sport kept growing and people kept asking. Not because there was a business plan. Because I couldn't stop talking about foiling to anyone who would listen.
Thinking about getting on a foil?
I've taught more than 800 people. I know exactly where you are right now. Here's where to go next.
One-on-one tuition with Vasco on the Gold Coast. A structured, confidence-first way into hydrofoiling.
A question, a chat, advice on getting started. Email Vasco directly — he reads every one.
Not sure which board is right for you? Use Vasco's eFoil recommendation engine to find your match.
About Vasco & eFoilgc
The short version of a much longer story.
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Vasco Vellez is the founder of eFoilgc and the School of Foiling on the Gold Coast, and the person behind eFoil Doctor. He has been foiling since late 2012 and combines first-hand riding, private coaching, equipment knowledge and workshop experience to help people learn, choose and own foiling equipment with confidence.
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The eFoil Doctor is Vasco Vellez. It is the diagnostics, servicing and repair side of eFoilgc, created to help owners understand what is actually wrong with their equipment, maintain it properly and avoid replacing expensive parts unnecessarily.
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Vasco has been foiling since late 2012, before foiling became the established sport it is today. Those early years involved kitefoil experimentation, custom equipment and plenty of trial and error — experience that now informs how he teaches riders and evaluates equipment.
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Vasco began eFoiling in April 2018 when his first electric hydrofoil arrived in Australia. eFoiling subsequently became a major part of his riding, coaching and equipment work.
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eFoilgc started on the Gold Coast in February 2019. What began with private eFoil coaching has developed into the School of Foiling, equipment sales and advice, Find Your eFoil and eFoil Doctor support — covering the journey from learning to choosing, riding and maintaining a foil.
