Having cut his teeth on some of Europe's heaviest slabs, the 20-year-old German surfer is ready to chase gold at Teahupo'o.
The Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago sitting 60 miles off the coast of Morocco, boasts some of the heaviest waves in Europe–most of which are heaving, pitiless slabs that grind over volcanic rock. Tim Elter–a ripper from this slab-laden island chain–grew up cutting his teeth in such conditions and will be putting his tube-stuffing skills on full display this July, vying for gold at the Paris 2024 Games while representing Germany.
Born to German parents, Elter's path to the world's biggest stage has involved nothing short of hard work, perseverance, and true dedication to the sport (and of course, access to some of the best waves in Europe.) The regular-footed, self-proclaimed underdog has been honing his frontside technique since age 9 and charging backside caverns among a notoriously localized crowd.
We caught up with Elter to check in on all things training, surf inspo, life in the Canary Islands, what the surf scene is like in Germany, and more.
First, congratulations on qualifying for the Olympics! Can you tell us about your journey up until this point?
Thank you! It’s been quite a ride. It all started when I was 16, and I saw my teammate Leon Glatzer qualify for Germany in 2020. At that moment, I realized that surfing the Olympics was a possibility for Germany, too. From then on, I trained relentlessly, moving up from the junior squad to the open squad. Despite setbacks and being a first alternate multiple times, I never gave up. I was taken to the training camps and I got to surf in Puerto Rico [for the ISA World Championships]. I got put on call because of an unlucky injury from a teammate and had exactly two months to train and give it everything I had. Sometimes I look back and think: I haven’t done enough, you know?
I trained hard for two months and did weightlifting in Germany and with being physically stronger, I was feeling mentally stronger.
It was a bit overwhelming, I mean, I’ve been to junior ISAs, but this is different—an open spot for Olympic qualification—that was a bit more serious.
I see you won the 2023 WSL Pro Junior Casa Blanca, which would be your first-ever WSL win with the last German to win that event being Marlon Lipke in 2004.
It was great, I really like Morocco. It's not too far from the Canaries either. I trained a lot before going, so I felt physically comfortable and was really in tune with the spot. Now, it's not [about] the best surfer who wins, it's the smartest competitor who wins and I was able to dominate six heats in a row, and in the end I clinched the win, but it was just because of wave selection consistency and smart surfing.
With the Olympics ahead, what will be your strategy for preparation?
I’ve still got a good three or four months, so a lot of time to prepare, I’ll keep doing training camps with the first one in April and then train more in Europe and then another ISA in June.
Growing up in the Canaries, you obviously had full access to super heavy slabs. How are you feeling about surfing Teahupo’o at the Olympics?
It gets really heavy and when it’s over six feet, it gets really nasty. We have a lot of similar waves at home. We have the Quemao Class, it’s sort of like Hawaii and I’ve competed in it for the past three years. When I was 18, I got third place. It’s one of the waves here that is like Chopes. I feel comfortable barrel riding, I’m just stoked to go—it’s going to be great.
Speaking of growing up in the Canary Islands, can you tell me what life is like? What is the vibe?
I was born and raised here. It's a pretty easy life. I think once you're on the islands, you start worrying about different things that may seem so unimportant to other people. And yeah, it's easy living here. People don't really care about having cool cars or expensive watches…young people just want to have a good time and spend a lot of time in the water. It gets contagious and you become lazy a little bit.
And for me, growing up here as a surfer, it was great, especially when I was a kid. It's starting to get crowded, but I've earned my spot. I've learned a lot from the ocean and the people here.
What is the vibe like in the water there?
I have to be honest–we have got to have some of the worst localism in Europe. I was educated pretty well, so when I go anywhere else, I never get in trouble because I read people's local behavior so well that I can anticipate it a bit.
It’s tough, localism. Honestly, I've seen so many people getting beat up here, but I don't like fighting. I'm not an aggressive guy. But if there's someone in the water that's starting B.S., I'm going to tell them politely and that's it. Localism in the Canaries is sometimes unfair. Sometimes I see the reason but overall, it's pretty nasty.
Wow. What has been the biggest lesson you learned since the localism is so heavy?
There are so many now but the first one that comes to mind to me is just try to be respectful. Don’t go straight to the peak. If you're a tourist, try to stay on the side and be friendly. Don't come in big groups.
Some people tend to get aggressive or don't want to listen, and that's when they actually get hit. So I'd say listen to the locals, even if it's B.S., listen to it.
Speaking of locals, Germany has quite the river surf scene. Have you connected with the German surf community and have you ever tried out river surfing?
I think it's a totally different sport. I've tried it once but more like a city wave. And it's the exact opposite. Like even the weight shift [when surfing] is the exact opposite in my opinion. It's a totally different sport. I personally don't find it attractive. When I’m in Germany, it’s fun to just check it out, but I’m not really into river surfing.
But still, we have a huge surf community of people that surf outside of Germany or in the north of Germany, where we have a few islands. You have close access to Denmark—that’s where people surf. The support I have from the German surf community it crazy—it just erupted.
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