Tom Villa remembers his internship at Le Parisien: “In any career, there is a first helping hand”

The young boy in the photo is me. I’m 15 years old, half a pot of concrete fixing gel in my hair, a mini-board around my neck, even though I’ve never surfed. I’m a pretty good student (it’s after that things get bad) and, what the photo doesn’t show: I’m super shy. We are at the end of 2004, my third year internship is fast approaching. I’m no different from other children, discreet in public, always ready to laugh with friends, but never do anything really stupid (one hour of detention during my entire schooling).