Monday, September 19, 2011, while doing one of the things he loved most in the world, surfing, Mathieu Schiller disappeared at sea after a bull shark attack, about twenty meters from Boucan Canot beach, Saint Gilles. It’s still hard to believe.
And the one who is considered, on the island of Reunion, as a child of the country, is also a child of Nice, since his paternal grandparents and some of his cousins live here.
Many tributes are being paid to him around the world.
A 32-year-old young man, full of life, known for his titles won at sea on his bodyboard, loved by all and doing only good around him.
Angelic hair, a gaze full of love and tenderness, a hypnotizing smile. Mathieu Schiller—was he destined to keep this freshness, this youth, which suited him so well, for eternity? Everything we try to say to console ourselves will not work, but let’s keep intact this image of the magnificent young man he was.
As a child, teenager, and adult, he would return whenever he could to the Côte d’Azur, to hug his grandparents tightly, let them taste and discover flavors from elsewhere, stroll around Cap Ferrat, swim in the bay of Saint Jean whose beauty he knew how to appreciate. The same goes, of course, for other regions of France, such as Orsay, where he found refuge with his family, with a great family spirit and exceptional values that great champions must have.
“A sound mind in a sound body.”
- 2007: Finalist of the Reunion Island Bodyboarding Championship
- 2001: Runner-up of the Reunion Island Bodyboarding Championship
- 1996: 9th at the Hollywood Bodyboard Pro (45th worldwide following this competition, invited to participate in the Pipe Master)
- 1995: 7th in the Individual European Championship and Team European Champion
- 1994: French Bodyboarding Champion
- 1993: Runner-up of the French Championship in Guadeloupe
- 1993: 3rd in the Junior Reunion Island Championship and Runner-up of Reunion Island for under 14s.
And he shared his passion. His desire to pass the torch to younger generations and his protective nature led him to become a lifeguard, then a sports educator in surfing and bodyboarding, and finally to open his own school, “Boucan Surf’S Cool,” where even the very young enjoyed themselves, taking advantage of the waves under the protection of their beloved Mathieu. The images speak for themselves.
- 2008: Opening of the Boucan Canot Surf School, Boucan Surf’S Cool
- 2007: Obtained the State Certificate of Sports Educator, Surfing and Bodyboarding
- 2004-2007: Lifeguard on Reunion Island beaches
What is perhaps less known is that Mathieu, beyond the great athlete he was, also had a keen taste for cooking. A cuisine worthy of the greatest gastronomic restaurants when he let us taste, for example, his avocado cocktail sauce or shrimp rice, vanilla sauce. A taste of paradise.
The taste of all these beautiful things, the ocean, the waves, natural foods, travel, life, he shared with everyone. These are the kinds of testimonials found on the net since the tragedy. Since time stopped. Since his family is in a parallel world, inconsolable.
Because above all, what Mathieu brought was his help and support, to a family already in mourning. Present for his own and also for others, he gave everything, all the time, to everyone.
He must be near his dad, Patrice, today.
Of the same mold, this equally wonderful, generous father, full of imagination, created extraordinary memories for his family before leaving for other skies in 2003. Since then, Mathieu was even more present for his loved ones.
That’s why this deserved tribute continues.
The first took place on the beach, on the sand that felt his steps for the last time, at Boucan Canot, in white, during a silent march, on September 21 at 5 p.m. (i.e., 3 p.m. in the mainland):
It continued on Sunday, 25th at the Manapy Surf Festival.
And the next tribute is expected to take place at the Archers site in Saint Pierre, during a competition (Nissan Reunion Bodyboard Pro, from September 30 to October 9), which might bear his name, at the request of his surfer friends, particularly Amaury Lavernhe, the 2010 World Bodyboarding Champion.
We continue. A graffiti was done the day before yesterday in his name at the entrance to Saint Leu, at the level of the paragliders. Thanks to Cedric Lai Shun Man and Rémy Barthélémy:
And it’s online that this endless tribute continues, as a page (“RIP Mathieu Schiller“) created by Guillaume Louapre-Pottier, a friend, continues to gather his family, his “brothers and sisters” of the country, his students, the entire community of surfers from various backgrounds, artists, but also the “ordinary person” touched by this tragedy that tore Mathieu from our solid ground, taking him away into his element that selfishly wanted him only for itself.
To extend this tribute, please join us on: https://www.facebook.com/pages/RIP-Mathieu-Schiller/178669282207297
Your testimonials will be welcome.
