Inaugural SUP Racing in India with NSP’s Antonio Morillo

The 2024 SUP race season looks like it will be the most competitive yet with so many paddlers able to push for the win in every event. One paddler you need to look out for is Antonio Morillo, this young Spanish star paddling for NSP has already opened his 2024 account with a fantastic result at the first APP Event in India. Chris from TotalSUP talked to him when he got back to Europe.

Hola Antonio, bienvenido a TotalSUP! 

¡Gracias, qué bueno estar aquí!  

We had better stick to English now before I embarrass myself! An easy question to start, who is Antonio Morillo? 

Ok, English works everywhere! I am Antonio Morillo, from a small town in the south of Spain, called Caños de Meca. I have lived here since I was born until a few years ago when I combined living here with Seville due to studies.

And you have just got back from racing in India, was that your first visit there?

That’s right, India was Incredible! It is a country where I had never been and it surprised me, wonderful places and endless beaches, where there were good waves, but without a doubt, the highlight was the people I met, super helpful and attentive.

People always make a huge difference to an event and we are lucky, the SUP community worldwide is fantastic. Where was the event and what was it like? 

The event was the India Paddle Festival and it was the first APP event in India, that’s fantastic for the sport. The event was hosted at Sasihithlu Beach which is a little north of Mangalore on the Eastern side of India, a great location for a SUP event with a good mix of ocean and river conditions. 

Antonio in action at the APP event in India. Image from APP

On this trip, I only had time to paddle in the event area but it was a super cool place and I want to go back. It was an area of waves, but right next to it was an entrance to a river, where we did part of the long distance and where the Mantra club, organisers of the test, is located.

The races were APP model, on Saturday, long-distance technical races, with a qualifying race in the morning and the final race in the afternoon. 

The course started on the event beach, from there we entered the river, where we turned around an island and began our way back towards the sea, ending with several buoys near the beach and two portages. In the afternoon final, I managed to take 1st place.

Congratulations! Winning an APP event is huge! 

Thank you, the race was in conditions I really enjoy and, of course, I had the best board! 

App events are over two days, how did the second day go for you?

We had the sprints on Sunday with several qualifying rounds until the final. 

The circuit was an M shape on a windy day with super-fun waves. I made it through to the final along with my NSP team-mate Christian, he finished second behind Ferando Perez, Daniel was third and then me. It was really good fun! 

Travelling with boards is always difficult, which board did you have to race on? 

The NSP team are awesome, thanks to Chris, Vicente, Alain, Sander. I was able to compete with one of the boards that I like the most, the brand new 2024 NSP Ninja 20”. The Ninja is fantastic. 

How would you summarise your trip?

Oh, that is easy! Without a doubt a trip to repeat, see you there in 2025!!!

Top paddlers always make racing look easy but we all know it takes a lot of effort and training to get to the top. How did you get started with SUP?

I have always been lucky enough to be able to practice sea sports, I started with surfing until I discovered Sup at the age of 9 or 10 through friends. I started with surfing waves until I started racing when I was 15 years old, until now.

Your surfing background stands out, especially in the video footage I have seen of your racing. You look like you enjoy waves. 

I do! And that is what got me more interested, waves on a race board are fun. I started out just to have fun, until around 2020 when together with my coach Oscar Ruiz, @ortrainig, we gave a push and started training much more seriously. This was the same year when I started with NSP.

that hard work with my coach meant that I started to do well in national junior races and then in 2022 I was able to attend my first world championship in Puerto Rico which was another fantastic experience. 

Then in 2023 I made another small leap internationally, with races such as the Eurotour in Seville, the ISA World Championship in France, the European Championship in Portugal and finally, good performances at the ICF in Thailand.

Your win in India was in the long distance, is that your favourite discipline?

I like racing! I have always liked beach races coming from surfing, but I also love long distances and long distances in the ocean are best.

Antonio at EuroSUP 2023 – Image Miguel Sacramento Photography

Your results through 2023 are impressive and your reaction crossing the line in the EuroSUP 2023 relay shows your passion for the sport. When you are at home where you do train? 

Normally, I train in Los Caños, together with my partner and friend, Fernando Pérez. But if I’m in weeks of exams and so on, I have to train in Seville, in the river, at the Deportivo Triana club.

Sometimes I usually go to train with my coach and the team at training camps, in summer we go to Cantabria and winter to Fuerteventura.

Cross training with Antonio!

You are racing on NSP equipment, we know you like your Ninja but what else are you using from the NSP range and can you tell us what you like most about your race kit?

I like to use all the NSP boards! The team at NSP have created the best boards for every different race and I think knowing how to choose the board well on race days can give you an advantage in a race.

Normally in Seville I use the NSP Ninja 20, a board that works very well for flat water, although it also works well in technical racing due to its new tail, and sometimes I use it in the open sea.

If I have to choose a favourite then I would say my NSP Carolina 20.5. I use it whenever I can, downwinds, choppy, small beach races, technical races. It works everywhere.

Then the new NSP Cheetah 21, you already talked to Christian about this new board and without a doubt it is a very versatile board. It works very well in choppy conditions and especially in beach racing. Having less cockpit makes it very stable and fun and you can easily move around on the deck, an advantage in technical races.

And of course the NSP Puma 22, this is the one I used in the ISA and European world championships.It is fast, agile and very manageable, not having a cockpit makes it the ideal board for beach racing with waves.

NSP SUP Racer Antonio Morillo

Wow, you really do like to use all of the NSP range! 

And don’t forget that I love to surf too, I also use the 6.10 x 23, 68L sup wave board, which I love. Then there are the NSP paddles, I like to use both the 76 and 81 blade sizes with 26 mm shafts. 

Your season has had a fantastic start with your performances in India, what’s next for you after India

Now that I am home it’s time to get back to training and get ready for the next championships of the year. My schedule is

• Spring sup race April 6-7
• Battle of Hercules April 12-14
• Spanish Championships
• Eurotour: Sancti Petri and Barcelona

Then, it’s time to stop to take university exams. 

Thank you, Antonio, for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk to TotalSUP. We all hope your exams go well and everyone on the team here is looking forward to seeing you race this season. Paddle fast! 

Antonio Morillo is one of the fastest SUP racers in the world and with his full set of NSP SUP Race boards, we are bound to see him on start lines and podiums through 2024. You can keep track of Antonio through his social media and that of his sponsors – NSP, NSP Europe, NSP Surf, Surfcoud, ORTrainig and CRW.

You can keep up with all things NSP through their social media on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube and on the NSP website . The full range of NSP SUP Race boards are available to order on the NSP Website.

Images from the APP Tour and from Antonio.