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£4.85 ISSUE #17
CAPE TOWN CONFIDENTIAL: STRIKE MISSION MIRACOLOSE SESSIONI INVERNALI: L’AURORA BOREALE BRANDON SCHEID: NEL SUO DNA
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The Features 056
// I N H I S D N A Brandon Scheid was pretty much born with a pump in his hands. Kiting has been his thing for as long as he can remember and – having worked at the iconic REAL Watersports for many moons – he has been at the sharp end of the scene for the last 15 years… Here is his story.
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// C A P E T O W N C O N F I D E N T I A L Managing to avoid the mid-season crowds, James Boulding and pals headed to Cape Town to tick off some classic spots and seek out a few less sessioned ones too… It’s a high density of ‘top level pro’ riders and, unsurprisingly, the level is through the roof.
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// W I N T E R W O N D E R S E S S I O N S Kari Schibevaag and friends head off into a blizzard in the hope that – when the storm passes – it will all be worthwhile… This being Kari, it of course all works out perfectly, and they get to tick off ‘kiting under the Northern Lights’ as well.
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// I N T E R V I E W Steven Akkersdijk is a big man. A big man who spends a lot of time going big. But, as Axel Reese finds out, he’s not ‘all Megaloop’ and generally likes to travel with four boards for four different disciplines… A man of many talents. Here: A great angle from west Wales in the UK. This shot is of Sarah Rowley, and is taken by her husband Marc. Here’s what he had to say about it: “This past winter the winds have been a bit fickle to say the least, November saw us in the middle of another wind drought and we decided to head west as it looked like there was slightly more there. So we checked Google Earth, loaded up the van and set off. This is a beach that rarely works but we hit it just right with only the three of us out in decent cross-shore conditions.” Cover: Well it’s the first beast-ofburden we’ve ever had on the cover… And it would of course be courtesy of Dimitri Maramenides, mid-loop in Brazil. Photo: Gustav Schmiege
The Regulars 0 3 2 // Gallery… Ninja Bichler 0 3 6 // I’m On It… Eudazio Da Silva 0 3 8 // Pro Tips… Getting the shot with Noè Font 0 4 2 // Tangled Lines with Ruben Lenten 0 4 4 // Profile… Irina Veremyeva 0 5 4 // On the List… Australia with Alex Lewis-Hughes 0 9 8 // Technique with Matchu Lopes 1 0 0 // Tell Me About It… Liquid Force Hippy Sticks 1 0 4 // Tested… 1 0 8 // Behind the Clip… Sam Light’s England 1 1 4 // Kite Sista… Award Season 1 2 2 // Meteorology with Tony Butt 1 2 4 // Wrapping up… Tom Court
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Un ragazzo motivato. Jacob Howard in uno spot canadese piuttosto freddo, sembra, con Mount Baker (negli USA) come panorama. Foto: Jay Wallace
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W E L CO M E
Benvenuti al primo TheKiteMag del 2017! Prima di cominciare, buone notizie – vi sarete accorti che ci sono ancora più pagine in questa uscita! Per fare ciò, abbiamo deciso di lasciare più parti della rivista in inglese, ma ovviamente le parti principali sono state tradotte. Parliamo di 25% in più di materiale, non male... Fatto: il kitesurf è uno sport costoso, e questa sicuramente non ti suonerà come una novità. Prima che iniziassi a lavorare con il kite e con questa rivista passavo un mucchio di tempo su ebay cercando nuovo materiale (adesso non è più necessario, non voglio mentirvi, ma non passa quasi giorno senza ricevere materiale per testing). Ogni nuovo materiale era destinato a durare anni, ed era un evento. Ogni nuova uscita consideravo sempre gli eventuali danni al kite, e come un taglio, anche piccolo, avrebbe causato un forte deprezzamento del materiale. E questo è un problema, spiega perchè il kite non sia uno sport popolare come la mountain bike, lo snowboard o il surf – sport dove basta spendere 300€ e sei a posto. Sfido chiunque a spendere meno di 300€ all’anno nel kite... Non ci sono molte soluzioni a questo problema (anche se il mercato dell’usato è una buona opzione, perchè basta cercare nei posti giusti per trovare buoni kite intorno ai 500€), il costo elevato rimarrà sempre un blocco per molti potenziali kiters. Interessante quindi che Carlos ‘Bebe’ Mario abbia vinto il WKL l’anno passato. Bebe è cresciuto a Cearà, nella laguna di Cauipe. Non poteva comprarsi il primo kite, impensabile quindi aggiornare il proprio kit ogni anno. Il lavoro duro, il talento e la convinzione alla fine però hanno pagato. E, potete chiederlo a tutti, lui è uno dei più umili e felici riders del circuito. Una fonte d’ispirazione. Auguriamo a lui e a tutti i riders il meglio per il WKL freestyle tour del 2017. Senza dimenticare i riders del GKA Wave e il KPL Park tour! Spero che questo numero fra le tue mani sia anche fonte d’ispirazione, abbiamo intervistato un altro ragazzo non più giovanissimo con il kite nel suo DNA, Brandon Scheid, e siamo andati ad esplorare Cape Town a inizio stagione, per poi scoprire com’è fare kite con l’aurora boreale ad accompagnarti, grazie a Kari Schibevaag. Ed è solo l’inizio. Spero che il tuo 2017 sia iniziato alla grande, e che il resto dell’anno ti porti molto altro. Goditi la rivista. Alex
*a causa della caduta della sterlina, questa rivista ha lo stesso valore in euro e dollari...
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S U B S C R I B E TO T H E K I T E M AG The Team:
S E V E N I S S U E S P E R Y E A R (that’s more than any other kiteboarding magazine)
D E L I V E R E D
to you before it gets in the shops
F R E E
top quality tee and Mystic Rashie!
Editor: Alex Hapgood (editor@thekitemag.com) Sub editor: Cai Waggett Art Director: Louise Kelly Assistant Art Director: Andy Gimson Contributors: Gustav Schmiege, Ellen Leplae, Samuel Tomé, Mo Lelii, Sablen Wedman, Jan Bowden, Quincy Dein, Steph Fournet, Irina Veremyeva, Vincent Bergeron, James Boulding, Lars Terkelsen, Tom Magne Jonassen, Lars Erik Tunby, Brendan Pieterse, Axel Reese, Toby Bromwich, Mike Smith, Marcus Gracien, Marc Rowley, Jay Wallace. TheKiteMag is… Published by M E D I A in Hayle, Cornwall, United Kingdom. WATER BORN
Advertising enquiries: advertising@thekitemag.com. All material in TheKiteMag is subject to copyright. Reproduction without the express permission of the publishers will result in prosecution. Submissions: Online: If you have a clip or would like to get something on the website please send it over to us: media@thekitemag.com. In the mag: TheKiteMag welcomes both written and photographic submissions. Photography should be submitted in both RAW and edited format. Please note that the publication of written content is generally dependent on the provision of high quality photography, so in the first instance please send photographic samples and a 150 word synopsis of your writing to: checkmeout@thekitemag.com You can find TheKiteMag on: N MISSIO STRIKE TS NTIAL: RN LIGH CONFIDE NORTHE TOWN SIONS: HIS DNA CAPE R SES EID: IN N SCH WONDE BRANDO
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iteMa
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This magazine is printed on paper sourced from responsibly managed sources using vegetable based inks. Both the paper used in the production of this brochure and the manufacturing process are FSC® certified. The printers are also accredited to ISO14001, the internationally recognised environmental standard.
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FOCUS
RIDER SAM LIGHT
LOCATION HAYLING ISLAND SECRET SPOT
PHOTO DAVE WHITE
SL: This was taken on the first day of our England shoot. I must have driven past this spot thousands of times as it’s right when you come onto the island, but I have never ridden it before as it’s a really sketchy launch and it only works on an unusual wind direction and a really high tide. We had a really short window as Patrick had landed in London two hours before and it was the only day of wind and sun on the forecast, so I lined up the photographer and just went for it. Luckily it all lined up and we scored some of the best shots of the trip on the first day.
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FOCUS
RIDER ABEL LAGO
LOCATION SCARBOROUGH, SOUTH AFRICA
PHOTO SAMUEL TOMÉ
AL: Every European winter the RRD team move to CT to do the year’s photo shooting… This session was right at the end of the trip and we shot from the water in Witsand on a very windy day. Local photographer Sam and myself worked hard to get a different picture which combined a strapless jump with the sun in the same photo. It was an amazing effort from Sam who spent a few hours on the frozen Cape Town water working to get the best angles and managing not to get eaten by a Great White Shark.
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RIDER WILL PALMER
LOCATION FORT DE SOTO PARK, ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA
PHOTO MO LELII
WP: I’d like to first give credit to the creative brains behind this super fun feature that belongs to Billy Parker. When you want to kite park features it is not a simple task. On top of the normal time allotted to setting up your kite, you have to build, carry, drag, and set up the features. It is certainly a substantial time commitment most days we decide on this kind of activity, especially since after each session we also have to remove the features and take them home. However, the days the stars align and the feature is set up correctly with good wind meaning no driver necessary for a boat/ski, nor an operator for a winch/cable, plus a friend like Bill to ride with and a photographer like Mo to shoot, it is hard to find better times!
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FOCUS
RIDER GIJS WASSENAAR
LOCATION SOUTH AFRICA
PHOTO SABLEN WEDMAN
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GW: This was a private lagoon session taken during a road trip to Jeffreys Bay. While passing Mossel Bay for some waveriding and freeride sessions in the middle of South Africa’s poorer areas, we arrived at Jeffreys Bay for some good surf sessions. Then one day it was blowing 20 knots straight into the lagoon – shallow, warm water… perfect for some freestyle action!
RIDER LEE ‘PASTY’ HARVEY
LOCATION PORTHLEVEN, UK
PHOTO JAN BOWDEN
TKM: If you kite in the UK then you need to be two things: 1) patient, and 2) not fazed by the cold… For this spot to come alive you need a solid south westerly swell (which is rare) and a north westerly wind (which is cold). You also need to launch behind a windless harbor wall and make it through the relentless shorebreak before you can sail upwind to the reef. It doesn’t stop the locals from committing a lot of time to checking charts and waiting for the elements to all line up though, and when it’s on it’s usually worth it and – unsurprisingly – crowds are rarely an issue…
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FOCUS
RIDER JESSE RICHMAN
LOCATION MAUI
PHOTO QUINCY DEIN
JR: Often it’s the little things in life that make it so sweet. Sure, one may do a simple Stalefish and be content, but I say NO! Never settle for the norm, strive to make things your own. So I spiced this one up a bit by jumping over a small rock pile while doing the Stalefish; then it gets exciting. This is an idea that my brother gave to me when he would spend so much time on simple tricks. He would go out kiting and only do front rolls for hours, more and more forward rolls, damn did he never get tired of them?! But wow, they looked sick and so different. He took a simple thing and spiced it up with a bit of his personal flavor. This is the way we personalize and create our style. So, my spicy flavor for the day is this Stalefish: simple and sleek mixed in with a splash of danger.
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FOCUS
RIDER JOSHUA EMANUEL
LOCATION BIG BAY
PHOTO ELLEN LEPLAE
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TKM: Josh has grabbed the headlines with his World WOO record jump of 27.5 meters. Yup, that’s big. Here’s what he had to say about it: “The session I had that day was amazing, the wind was strong and the waves had some size, providing some awesome kickers. There is always one jump that stands out and you feel it in your stomach. Some serious butterflies of excitement and the “ooo shit I’m high up!” and that was the record jump. Cape Town has just been providing some of the best conditions day after day and I am absolutely in love with it!”
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GALLERY
I grew up be tween moun tains and oceans, and sports ha ve always been an importan t part of my life. Aft er tra velling around th e world, I discovered Mauri tius in 2005 and immediat ely fell in love wi th this island. I wa s windsurfing in wa ves before and start ed to focus on wa ve ki t esurfing in 2010. Th ere are many amazing spo ts in Mauri tius and th e great thing about this place is th e di versi ty; you can find condi tions for all le vels wi th differen t wa ves and wind directions. Th en th e h eadline spo t of One Eye ha s se veral faces and con tinues to surprise me each day. This year, wi th El NiĂąo, we didn't ha ve many big wa ve days, but we were blessed wi th this epic day. Although shoo ting from th e wat er in th ese solid condi tions wa s really challenging for St eph . He is a pure wat erman. Words: Ninja Bichler/L eena Ballack Pho tos: St eph Fourne t
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NINJA BICHLER
Alexis Redelsperger ha s been my friend since early childhood. We grew up toge th er and h e inspired my ki t esurfing a lo t. He is a multi-sport man and ha ving fun toge th er is a blessing. Alexis ha s been working for ION CLUB for many years, in se veral destinations around th e world.
For weeks we were looking for that specific day: sun, wa ves and wind. Th e combination is no t always a vailable, but on this day our paradise fulfilled i ts po t en tial and Mo th er Nature offered us a perfect gift.
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GALLERY
To ge t th e perfect picture requires symbiosis be tween th e rider and th e pho togra ph er. O ver h ere we say that One Eye means you need to always keep one eye on th e wa ve behind you a s i t might ge t you in trouble if you fall.
Im ' pa ssionat e about ki t esurfing but especially about big wa ves. It's much more challenging and I love th e hun t for adrenaline. On th ese big days, th ere are only e ver a handful of people on th e spo t...
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NINJA BICHLER
Wat er is my elemen t, I couldn't li ve wi thout i t. It fa scinat es me so much ! Riding in wa ves makes me feel like riding on energy wi th all th e powerful movemen ts of th e wat er. It's th e only way to swi tch off my mind from th e rest of th e world. It's my way of medi tation.
Depending on th e direction of th e swell i t can be ea sy to manage many turns, but oft en riding One Eye requires a lo t more atten tion. You need to read th e wa ve properly and hun t down th e line to ge t around th e sections and be able to hi t a nice turn...
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BOARD: 50/FIFTY 138 X 39.5
Eudazio da Silva is at the heart of the pack of Brazilian riders who have been pushing the freestyle scene. He is three time Brazilian champion and has been a solid contender on the freestyle tour for the last few years. A knee injury kept him out the water for a few months, but he is now back training and planning to come back stronger than ever for WKL events in 2017. So, what’s he on? I have been working with Nobile for a number of years now and this is the fifth version of the 50/Fifty board that I have worked on. In five years I have seen a lot of how board technology has changed and improved – older boards used to be very hard and would hurt my knees a lot, but now they are very comfortable and flexible. This has contributed a lot to my evolution as a rider! The board has a hydrodynamic rocker and channels in the base which make it perfect for all conditions and mean that I can ride it with smaller fins if I want. Although I ride with 55mm fins. I would describe my style of riding as ‘aggressive’ but with a good awareness of what I am doing. The board works very well with boots. When I first started riding in them it was very strange, but once I had adapted I could not imagine riding without them. At the moment I mainly train on the coast of Piaui, and at Lagoa do Cauipe.
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AGE: 23 | WEIGHT: 63KG | HEIGHT: 5’4”
When I test a board the main things I am assessing are the comfort, stability, flexibility and pop.
The new colorway is all black which I love very much, I always liked black!
I like this year’s graphics and every year I am more impressed and look forward to seeing what will be next.
When I am competing it feels like the combination of the 50/Fifty board and kite was made for me: I feel completely confident with both the board and the kite
I also ride the 50/Fifty kite. From the first version until the latest version the kite is totally different – currently the kite is more stable, responds very fast, and for me it is the best kite in the world!
After my injury my knee is now recovering and after a lot of hard work I am feeling much more confident. I have had to fight and suffer to get where I am but I know
I am doing my best and am stoked that I will be competing in 2017. At the moment I am working hard to improve my maneuvers and am focused on giving them more style and on learning some new things… For me Nobile are like my family. I have been with them for a long time and they always try to do the best for me so I always thank them for believing in me!
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PRO TIPS
PRO TIPS With Noè Font Photos: Toby Bromwich
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PRO TIPS
Here we were looking to have a bit more going on in the foreground with the grass, and we also used a flash to get a darker sky and a different vibe to the shot.
Well there isn’t much to say about this one, Toby was playing around with his new flashes while we were sat in the hot tub waiting for the meat on the BBQ!
I’ve been digging the look of these superinverted hand drags lately. On this one Toby wanted me to glide right in front of him in order to have the gorge as a background. Using the scenery, background and light, Toby turned what is obviously not a hard trick into a really beautiful photo.
What makes a photo special? How do you make it stand out from the rest? How can you get your shots into magazines or doing well on social media? I’ve learned a few things over the past few years on my travels as a professional kiteboarder where I have spent many hours chasing the perfect shot. Here are a few of my reflections on how to get ‘that’ shot. We don’t always have the budget or the tools to organize photoshoots but even then you can still get the goods. Nowadays everybody has a camera, even if it is just the one on your phone, and getting stylish shots isn’t just about having the most expensive equipment or best production team. Sometimes with just a GoPro you can get the best shots. It’s easy and simple and it forces you to think about the creative side of things, to be different and to look for inspiration. You might surprise yourself and come up with the photos everyone looks for.
I enjoy the whole process myself and I enjoy taking photos as much as I enjoy being on the other side of the lens and I think this helps me a lot when it comes to riding and understanding how a shot is going to come out. When it comes to planning a shoot with a photographer you can either go out and let the photographer do the work, which will probably just get you average shots, or you can get involved and help to plan the best angles and set ups for a shot. Nobody said it was going to be easy and getting those golden shots is hard (and things can get very frustrating when it’s not going as planned!). Remember that communication is key and the rider and photographer have to know exactly what they’re looking for. There are a lot of variables to getting the perfect kite shot, and these can get in the way when you least expect it. The wind, waves, light, other kiters – so be patient, keep trying and that perfect shot will happen eventually.
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PRO TIPS
This is something I’ve wanted to try for a very long time. It’s very sketchy to grab your board while on a rail since you can clip your fingers very easily, but on a pipe there is a slight chance to do it. The photo is a close-up from the danger zone and if things had gone wrong, Toby was in the right place to get hurt. Sometimes you have to put yourself in danger to get those new angles…
This is Craig in Hood River this summer, nose pressing the North Rail, and Toby getting creative with the different lens flares his housing would create with the sunset. We ended up with very beautiful shots that day. The flares and a dark background like that only happen in The Gorge.
One of my favorite photos from our team shoot in the Magdalen Islands. The sunset that evening was epic, the clouds were insane, I remember I was freaking out every time I looked at the sky. That’s probably what makes a big part of this shot. We travel so far, ride for so long and try so many times for photos like this. Then when it comes together it’s all worth it.
HERE ARE A FEW THINGS YOU NEED TO KEEP IN MIND WHILE SHOOTING You want your photos to be special, they need to stand out from the rest. Be creative, try new things, they don’t always work but it’s worth the try. A new grab, angle, obstacle or background can make a photo much better. There is a huge difference when the rider is facing the camera, it makes it personal, people picture themselves doing it. Some tricks look a lot better in photos. Most of the time, the craziest/hardest tricks look
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the worst. Grabs, slides, stalls are smoother and usually slow down the tricks, which gives the photographer an extra bit of time to capture them. Make sure your photos are as crisp and sharp as possible, no one likes blurry shots. Remember kiteboarding is a water sport so don’t crop your shots too much… it’s good to have some water in the shots, plus it’s good to show the height of your jumps.
Think about magazines and how they layout their pages, which helps a lot when framing. Look for other elements to be a part of your photo, backgrounds and foregrounds (we’ve all seen the blue sky). Good branding will make your photo worth something to the brands. Try to get those logos visible! So get out there, try new things and think about fresh concepts and new points of view.
PRO TIPS
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TA N G L E D
L I N E S
RUBEN LENTEN A MAN WHO NEEDS VERY LITTLE INTRODUCTION, RUBEN LENTEN HAS CRAMMED MORE INTO HIS 28 YEARS ON THIS PLANET THAN MOST OF US DO INTO OUR LIFETIMES. WITH PLENTY OF HIGHS AND LOWS, T H E R E ’ S A L O T TO TA L K A B O U T …
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AARON HADLOW
You have always embraced and got excited about crazy and strong wind conditions. Now you’re close to being 100% physically fit again has your mindset on the water changed after your battle over the last year? More fearless? Confident?
A
That’s true, I love a good ol’ sesh when the wind is nuking. That’s when I enjoy kiteboarding most as that’s when I feel most powered. After my battle against cancer it was my main goal to flush all the poison out of my body and get back to full strength. I was fortunate enough that this process went smoothly and I was back at it six months after my last treatment. Getting my groove back wasn’t as easy as I hoped for… I knew that my body was strong but my mind was like, hey, easy now. The last place I want to be is the hospital so I really had to break some mental boundaries to get fully confident and be hucking Megaloops again. Once I did though I had tears of joy right after landing a proper loop again. I knew I was back and could do what I love again and I was so intensely happy and grateful. So I think I ride a lot smarter and still harder ha! I’ve used my time to test a lot of different gear as I wanted to ease into it and see what fitted my riding most. Now I’ve got some epic new boards and I’m riding the North Vegas which feels pretty damn good. So let’s see where that’ll take me…
Q
NICK JACOBSEN
So Ruben, we go way back… I still don’t get your level of stoke and excitement in your daily routines. I admire that a lot. You’ve been down the darkest alleys in life, and you are still the most energetic and positive person out of all my friends. HOW?
A
Haha, thanks brother… So flattering. I do have dark days and can get quite grumpy and shitty too. Trust me – poor Nikki! But overall I tend to be happy, outgoing and rocking it. I am a people person and what helps me to feel energized is doing fun shit with fun people. What helps me is to just get on with things as they are, or if I don’t like them, I change them. When something doesn’t go your way, see it as an opportunity to do something else. You’re drawing on a blank canvas. Use it wisely and happily! It can always be worse… So just keep it chilled.
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Q
GRAHAM HOWES
So, Ruben, you just got hitched in Cape Town. In true rock star fashion, I was drunk for most of it, so please remind me how it went down again...
A
You were the most sober one there! As long as you remember that it was ‘in true rock star fashion’ and that nothing beats love you’re all good. We really had the best day and night ever and enjoyed it so much. Thank you for being there bru.
Q
YOURI ZOON
So Ruubs I have known you for a long time already, and it seems like you had it all. You won big titles, you had major setbacks , you defeated cancer and found the love of your love and got married! It almost seems like you ticked all the boxes of life. So what’s next?!
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Yeah, I haven’t been sitting still that’s for sure. I’m always ready to learn and to push myself and I’m sure that life will take me on an amazing journey. So I’ll just sit back and enjoy the ride whilst working on my LEN10 brand, and on projects that will push and promote the sport worldwide. I’m excited to fly! And maybe make some babies…
Q
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ALEX VLIEGE (KOTA JUDGE)
SAM LIGHT
When is the Big Air tour happening?! I reckon Cape Town, Tarifa and Australia.
You inspire loads of kiters around the world, who inspires you the most?
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A
That’s a good question. It would be amazing to have a solid extreme Big Air tour. And then a really cool format and a betting website to go with it?! If I find the time… Who knows! I don’t care much about competing though, so I think you’ll see different projects coming from my end. Competing – why? I love to freeride. I mean if they finally up the prize money and it would be worth it then hey, sure, let’s take some risks and show them what we’re made of. But I’m not a freerider in the sense of I will ride for free in contests! That said, I do see some of the proper industry partners interested in our side of the sport, so maybe it won’t take long…
Q
A lot of different people inspire me. There’s something to learn from everyone who you meet. You just have to feel, hear, see or smell it. I’ve learned a lot from my parents, good and bad! And that’s how it goes for a lot of things. Aaron Hadlow has inspired me a whole lot in kiting. Riding together has been a blast and learning from each other has always been beneficial. And I love seeing little kids, they inspire me to be free.
TKM
As one of the most iconic riders in the sport there is obviously lots of chatter around where you are heading now in terms of sponsorship/starting a brand etc. Is there anything that you can share with us?!
A
Haha yes I can imagine! I have always been a bit of an unpredictable rider – I like to be different and feel like it helps to grow the sport and the athletes. In kiteboarding it’s very hard to make a proper living and I definitely don’t want to depend on a company that might change strategy or budgets two years later. As a kid you throw your whole heart and life into the sport and when a company messes with that it hurts. So I’ve taken all of last year to try all sorts of gear to see what fits me so I know which company to talk to. It turns out I only like three or four companies and am talking to some now. I’d love to be part of a big brand again and really move forward all together. Then to create more structure, control and stability I am also growing the LEN10 with more specialized products. There will be some epic boards and goods available soon…
Q
TOM COURT
Nikki and yourself are a power couple! How does marriage work into such an unconventional lifestyle of travel and adventure?
A
Nikki is the best. Without her I would be pretty sad, lost and lonely… She is the one that keeps me sane. My life hasn’t been anywhere near normal and to have a partner that just keeps her head cool when things explodes is priceless. We balance each other out well. I couldn’t think of another person I could be with 24/7. She used to be a paralegal but I convinced her to quit her 9 to 5 to go explore what she really loves. Now she’s developed her creative skills as a graphic designer, she enjoys doing interior design, and she helps me with my business big time. It’s not easy and when things heat up communication and respect are key! The better we work together the more fun we have.
Q
JALOU LANGEREE
What have you still got on your Bucket List?
A
I’d love to sail everywhere one day! I’ve never been to Tahiti, the Maldives, Argentina, Patagonia, Antarctica and many more places… So I’d like to tick some of those off and then keep riding, flying and traveling the globe until I drop.
Q
JESSE RICHMAN
Bud, we all know you have had some serious ups and downs, and we can clearly see you have grown stronger from it. What I hope you can share with us is what it was that picked you up and gave you the motivation to keep on going when times were the darkest?
A
The main thing is that it’s not over until it’s over… I believe positivity is the number one thing that keeps you going. When you’re positive everything is good, even when it’s not. You crack a joke, talk shit or just get on with it. The power of love is amazing. I’ve received so much love and support from around the world, so who am I to let anyone down? TheKiteMag | 43
PROFILE
Irina Veremyeva I’m an architect and interior designer and have been fond of painting from a very early age. I love to travel and to meet new people and this has always given me the material for everything I create. When I learned kiteboarding, the more I practiced it, the more I fell in love with the sport and with the ocean – its power and its beauty. I was on the Cape Verdian island of Sal when I first really felt the connection between me and the ocean during kiteboarding – the strong feeling of being in-the-moment in the turquoise water, with the speed of the board and with the wind blowing. There I saw Mitu Monteiro, Matchu Lopes and some other guys who had this complete “connection” while riding the waves. Then I met photographer Maria Enfondo, who gave me the idea to combine two of my passions: ocean riding and painting.
The process of creation It starts with finding a shot that captures the moment of a trick, a beautiful wave, or just a good combination of the wave and rider. It could be my shot, or could be made by any photographer. But it needs to be a photo so that I can make detailed and precise graphics, which is impossible to do ‘live’.
My first drafts were taken from the pictures of Maria Enfondo, who was also on Cabo Verde. So I was doubly inspired as I was listening to and riding the same ocean that was in her shots. I use paper, pencil for the initial draft, and then liners of different thickness for the final picture. When I need to make a colorful drawing, acrylics are my favorite for their brightness and saturation. Then, when the picture is made, I scan it and do vector graphics from it if needed, or just treat it a little bit in Photoshop. It’s a special feeling I get when I see a photo and can visualize how it will become a graphic. I feel the power of the moment which has stopped in a photo, then I see what I want to focus on, which details could be used to best transfer the power of nature in correlation with the rider’s movement, and how to add the color if needed. And then the process starts, and I am fully inside it. I find it is always best to draw between kitesurfing sessions – then the feeling of the moment and the feeling of what you are doing is at its strongest. 44 | TheKiteMag
I R I N A V E R E M Y E VA
1
2
1.Matchu From Maria Enfondo’s shot. It seems like the Cape Verdian riders know more than others about the ocean’s power and how to deal with it. The color of the Atlantic Ocean is essential as well…
2. Fishing in Ponta Preta This is from a picture of Gabriele Rumbolo. As always the photography out of Cabo Verde has a special meaning for me, and the huge powerful waves in Ponta Preta inspire regardless of whether there are any kitesurfers or not…
3. Vasco
3
This one was made thanks to meeting Vasco Santos – a Portuguese rider. The photo was already very graphical with the jump and colors, so as soon as I saw it I immediately understood how it should be painted.
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PROFILE
4
5
6
4. Egypt
5. Mitu
The original photo was given to me by Maria Enfondo (I don’t remember whether it’s hers or somebody else’s, but for sure she was there, in the boat). I liked the bright colors of the Egyptian summer together with a nice combination of the yacht scene, which served as a frame for the picture, and the rider in the background. This one was very close to the original photo as I was looking forward to giving it as much detail as possible to make it as realistic as I could.
I did several drafts of this with the same shot. This one is the most graphical, showing the power of a Mitu Monteiro jump.
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6. Kite jump Besides the super energy of the shot, I liked the fun of the idea itself: to jump in the water in sneakers!
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STUFF
S T U F F W E L I K E T H E L O O K O F
AXIS Division
It’s been overtime central at AXIS coming into 2017 and they have gone hard out reworking a lot of their shapes. One of the boards receiving the full treatment has been the Division. AXIS took the good bits from last year’s board and then added in some of the features of the higher end boards such as the Vanguard and the Limited – so they laser cut slots in the wood core, and then pressed the features into the board afterwards giving the board improved handling and ride. Top-end tech at a competitive price point…
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North Vegas
A kite which needs very little introduction, especially in this season of Big Air and high risks… For 2017 North have focused on improving its in-flight traits, with particular focus on super-precise handling. The middle section of the kite has also been revisited with extra panels, a Dacron frame and the new 3D shaped canopy. The outcome: an extremely stiff and durable kite with better lift and even more aggressive pop. If you’re serious about freestyle then the Vegas has all that you need – and probably a little bit more…
Flysurfer PEAK3
Flysurfer tore up the rulebook with the PEAK, and it is now onto its third incarnation. It’s a single skin kite so there is no inflating or pre-inflation required: just roll it out and you’re ready to go. Plus with less cloth there is significantly less weight giving the PEAK3 turbocharged performance and with the Reef Line Safety system you can have it out of the sky in seconds ready to pack up and boot it back down the hill…
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STUFF
Nobile Infinity Split While twin tip riders have been able to stow away their boards in golf bags and take some of the pain out of the oversized baggage sting, there is no pretending that a surfboard is anything other than a surfboard… Unless you’ve got an Infinity Split. The board splits in two and then comes in at 110cm. So you don’t even need to worry about a golf bag – you can just slot it in your normal luggage and be through passport control with a beer in your hand while your mates are still digging out their credit cards…
Liquid Force Solo V3 The Solo set the benchmark for lightwind ease-of-use and performance when it first landed on the scene a few years back. For V3, profile design improvements reduce flutter in the critical areas of the wingtip, increase stability in gusty wind and create even more engaged power delivery… We’re looking forward to getting our hands on one.
CrazyFly Bags It’s not all about top quality European-produced board and kite action from the CrazyFly team, they also do a fine line in well-styled functional baggage. Pictured here we have the wheelie Golf Bag, the Single Board Bag and – so you’ve got somewhere to put a bottle of water and a banana for mid-session – the backpack.
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STUFF
EPIC Oxygen V3 The Oxygen is EPIC’s lightwind machine, but is also happy to stay on the water when the wind picks up. So there is a nice flat rocker, a wood core and flexible tips to provide maximum comfort, even in chop. Then the predictable control and refined rails provide plenty of stable pop for enjoying powered moves. So it’ll get you going in eight knots and you can focus on much more than just mowing the lawn… Ocean Rodeo Jester The Jester has come into OR’s board line up this year as a livelier companion to the well-established and much-loved Duke. It’s got a relatively low volume but a flat rocker so will get you going nice and quickly and is then just asking to be chucked around... Oh, and that green doesn’t just look great in print, it is just as fresh in the flesh.
Slingshot Turbine What do you do when everyone loves your ‘lightwind’ kite? Why not try making it in smaller sizes too. That’s what Slingshot did and they found that what made for a super-efficient light wind kite, also made for an insanely highperformance ‘normal’ wind kite. So you can expect massive air, incredible hangtime and raceworthy upwind angles for foiling. Who would’ve thought it…
RRD H-Flight foil RRD put plenty of R&D hours into the H Flight. They wanted to spend the time refining the set up to ensure they were offering a top quality all-round foil first time. They decided on a cost effective aluminum foil (available in three lengths) coupled with a full carbon fuselage and changeable rear and front wings. The result: A well-priced and well-balanced foil that will take you from your first few shaky runs through to ‘foiling legend’ status. 52 | TheKiteMag
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ON THE LIST
O N
T H E
L I S T WITH ALE X LE WIS-HUGHE S
Making your own fun. Alex and Ewan build a rail... Photo: Paul Smythe
It’s fairly accurate to concede that a blunder in the land down under could potentially cost you your life. If you’re not eaten by a Great White kiting or surfing it’s likely because you didn’t make it down the track to the beach in the first place as you were bitten on the leg by a brown snake… Of course that’s if you were lucky enough not to get attacked by a spider packing your kite gear into the car, or mauled by a drop bear whilst walking under that low hanging tree. Jokes aside: Australia’s great. Just don’t touch or look at anything. If you mention Australia most kiters will likely bring up WA/Perth as it’s well known for its strong consistent sea breezes (the doctor) throughout the summer months. Sadly, what WA isn’t well known for is practically everything else… If you were to compare WA to the rest of Australia’s states and capital cities, WA is basically a barren desert, great for kiting and surfing but pretty boring for much else. The East Coast. Well known in surfing culture for having a competition in the most crowded spot in the world (Snapper Rocks), probably not too well known in the kiting world for much
at all. Truth is the East Coast is full of hidden gems, from as far south as Melbourne all the way up to the very tip of Queensland (past Cairns) there’s a ton of unique and exciting spots to explore. There’s actually so many spots that you’re never going to see them in one trip and likely wouldn’t kite them all in 20 trips. So what’s the catch? The catch is it isn’t always windy every day. Sometimes it’s
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windy two weeks straight, sometimes there’s nothing for two weeks straight. It’s the luck of the draw. However, if you compliment your kite holiday with sightseeing/adventuring and surfing there’s no way you can’t be impressed by the East Coast. The Sunshine Coast and below are great in the summer months, whilst above the Sunshine Coast (Townsville and Cairns) have great consistent trade winds throughout the winter. The difference in climate from north to south (Cairns to Melbourne) is what most would expect from traveling to completely different countries. Melbourne could be eight degrees in winter, whereas Cairns would still be sitting at a toasty 30 degrees that same day.
So where to go and how to do it? There’s no right answer but I think renting or buying a van/car is the best and coolest way to do it. You can get to the spots and see things you would never see otherwise.
AUSTRALIA - A BLUNDER DOWN UNDER
So you’re probably thinking, “What can I eat and drink over there?” And I guess there’s actually not too much that doesn’t exist elsewhere apart from Vegemite and Timtams. Just be sure that you eat them in that order. Australia also has a ton of good beers, but if you really want to experience true Aussie life you’ve got to drink the sh!thouse ones. Start with Victoria Bitter and move down from there, if you’re lucky you’ll finish with a sack of goon (the cheapest cask wine) so you can blow up the bag afterwards and use it as a pillow in whatever bush you sleep the rest of the night in. Next morning you’ll no doubt be feeling rough, best bet is to stop at the servo (gas station) and pick up a dog’s eye (meat pie). These fun things are a great source for all your essential vitamins and minerals, scooped up straight from the abattoir floor into a neat little self-contained pastry petri dish. Just a heads up, beer and ciggys aren’t cheap, average cost of a six pack of beer is about 20AUD and cigarette prices are through the roof… Better you quit smoking and start doing meth instead.
VITALS: GETTING THERE:
Obviously you need to see Koalas and Kangaroos whilst you’re here, I’m not a tourist so I would have no idea where you would search them out, but I’m sure there’s a ton of sanctuaries up and down the coast where you can prod and poke these violent critters. So, a big country – if I only had a few weeks what would I do? Well I’d drive from Sydney to the Sunshine Coast (or the reverse). It’s a great trip with hundreds of spots along the way to stop into and check out, many of which will have absolutely no one else kiting. You want to go in the summer months, October to February are the best chances for wind and my personal tip is to go before Christmas as I think it’s usually more windy then.
Big country, a lot of airports… Decide where you’re heading and take your pick.
IN THE BAG:
You kind of need it all but if you’re really stretched a 9 & 12m should cover most days.
NOT IN THE BAG:
Fosters lager. Nope, we really don’t drink it over here.
RUBBER:
3/2 or shortie for most days.
BEER:
€4 | $4.15 |£3.50
M O S T L I K E LY T O H E A R : “It’s a 16 hour drive!” L E A S T L I K E LY T O H E A R : “Another pie?”
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F E AT U R E N A M E
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F E AT U R E N A M E
Il suo dna: brandon scheid Ci sono poche persone in questo sport che hanno iniziato giovanissime proprio agli albori del kitesurf. Queste persone sono letteralmente cresciute con il kite, con il kite sempre fra le loro ´ sempre nel loro DNA. In questa lista abbiamo uno dei piu ´ prioritA, attivi riders del circuito: Brandon Scheid, uno che ha sempre vissuto il kitesurf al massimo e che ha collaborato a costruire quello ´ che il kitesurf eèoggi. fotografie: Vincent Bergeron
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IL SUO DNA: BRANDON SCHEID
Hey Brandon, grazie per dedicarci parte del tuo tempo. Per quei pochi che non ti conoscono, ci puoi parlare di te e dei tuoi inizi? Ok, cominciamo. Mi chiamo Brandon Scheid, e sono nato a Grand Rapids, nel Michigan. Sono pro da circa 10 anni, ed ho iniziato a fare kite grazie a mio padre, che mi ha trasmesso la sua ossessione per il vento fin da piccolo. Facevamo volare di tutto al parco, oltre ad essere appassionati di sport da tavola e degli sport estremi in generale – skateboard, snowboard, scalata, mountain bike e trampolino. Qualunque cosa di adrenalinico su cui potessi mettere le mani. Tutto ha avuto un senso di completezza con il kite: ho iniziato con i laghi ghiacciati del Michigan, con lo snowkite. Avevo già tutta l’attrezzatura, a cui avevo di recente aggiunto un Wipika Hydro 9m. Un inizio facile, di cui ho ottimi ricordi. La primavera seguente siamo andati in vacanza a Cape Hatteras, ed abbiamo trovato un lavoro per me in un centro di sport acquatici, nel mantainance... In pratica beach boy. Iniziai a lanciare kite per i migliori riders, e contribuii a modo mio nel costruire il primo fisso slider park al mondo. Mi ero trovato nel centro della scena wakestyle, che nemmeno conoscevo. Non male.
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Che effetti ha avuto nel tuo stile? Quando ho iniziato a REAL, ero 100% wake, una cultura in cui mi immersi senza conoscerla: Raileys, Front Rolls, Indy Grabs, “I’m lit”, raffiche, lulls, steeze, le presse, e gli indimenticabili: boots. Era come un codice intricato. La prima cosa
che imparai è che le barre classiche da kite sono per bambini, ed i boots sono obblicatori. Quindi subito restituii la mia Proof 151 per una LF Drop 136 e due boots, sperando che tutto andasse bene. Questa prima estate è stata chiave. Ore e ore passate in acqua piatta, con il top del wakestyle: e questo ha contribuito a creare il rider che sono oggi.
Con chi eri in acqua a quel tempo? Ho avuto la fortuna di navigare con leggende del kitesurf come Jason Slezak, o i classici Dre, Moe, Bertrand, Norman, Stone, Hamish, Hadlow, Best, Morris, e molti altri. Mi sembrava incredibile passare così tanto tempo con persone che avevo visto solo su video, REAL era veramente il posto dove volevo essere. L’azione in acqua era eccellente, e fuori dall’acqua erano tutte ottime persone. Non importava quanto eri bravo in acqua, l’umiltà era una caratteristica fondamentale, e se eri un idiota fuori dall’acqua era un problema. Dre era ad un altro livello – velocità, tecnica, stile. Le sue sessioni sul Red Bull fun box sono per me indimenticabili. Una bestia.
LA PRIMA COSA CHE FACCIO IN ACQUA QUANDO ARRIVO IN UNO SPOT NUOVO È PENSARE CREATIVAMENTE ALLE POSSIBILITÀ FOTOGRAFICHE. QUESTA SESSION AL SECRET SPOT NEL GORGE ERA ESATTAMENTE UNA DI QUELLE. ABBIAMO PASSATO LA PRIMA PARTE DELLA SESSIONE A FARE FOTO, PER POI SPOSTARCI VERSO UNA SCOGLIERA CHE AVEVA CATTURATO LA MIA ATTENZIONE. L’HO COLPITA SOLO ALCUNE VOLTE, MA CON LA FORTUNA DALLA NOSTRA, VINCENT ERA PRONTO A SCATTARE ED AD IMMORTALARNE LA BELLEZZA.
VINCENT PUÒ FINALMENTE VEDERE LA BELLEZZA DEL
FONDO
DELLA
ECHO
NELLE
ACQUE
PIATTE DEL GORGE.
IL PARK CON L’OSCURITÀ IN ARRIVO È UNO DEI MIEI MODI PREFERITI PER PASSARE UNA SERATA A HOOD RIVER. DI SOLITO C’È MENO VENTO, E TUTTO È PIÙ COMODO A MINOR VELOCITÀ, ED IL PARK È SEMI VUOTO. UN BEL BASCK LIP È QUELLO CHE CI VUOLO.
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OGNI ANNO ALLA HOOD RIVER SLIDER JAM CERCHIAMO DI COSTRUIRE QUALCHE NUOVA FEATURE PER ACCONTENTARE I NOSTRI RIDERS PIÙ ESIGENTI E RADICALI. QUEST’ANNO UN NUOVO TUBO CORRUGATO, DAL SUONO VERAMENTE SODDISFACENTE UNA VOLTA CHE CI SI RIESCE A SALIRE (ANCHE SE ALCUNI COMPETITORS SONO FINITI TRA LE GAMBE DI QUESTA FEATURE).
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IL SUO DNA: BRANDON SCHEID
REAL è da sempre all’avanguardia nella creazione di nuove features – ce ne puoi parlare? Con Jason Slezak alla guida, REAL ha una lunga e solida tradizione negli slider. Ottimi rails attirano come mosche gli amanti dei rails. Ci sono stati dei momenti
leggendari nel park, sicuramente molti di più di quanti me ne possa ricordare. La prima grande feature costruita è stata il Red Bull fun box, mi pare costruito per il Red Bull King of the Air qualifier, un anno prima del Triple S. Ci abbiamo messo un mese. La cosa migliore (o forse la peggiore) è che qualcuno ha sbagliao il calcolo del peso, quindi non era abbastanza profondo in acqua. Quello che doveva ussere un transfer style box, finì per diventare un ollie on alto più o meno un piede. Non facile. Il momento storico seguente fù l’arrivo del primo rail HDPE, costruito dal leggendario wake guru Pat Panakos. Ricordo ancora il giorno in cui lo mettemmo in acqua, REAL aveva noleggiato una gru per posizionare il tutto, e avevamo scommesso se sarebbe stato potente abbastanza per posizionare il rail. Persi la scommessa, visto che non ci furono problemi di sorta. La sorpresa fù quando si mosse in avanti quasi a toccare l’acqua, Non tutti erano molto convinti. Al giorno d’oggi, Joby Cook at Jibstruction ha costruito molte features. Tutte in HDPE, hanno una durata di 50 anni. Ne è passato di tempo dagli albori del kite, e sono contento di sapere che Cape Hatteras è destinato a rimanere.
2016 è stato l’anno dei park events – come mai tutto questo successo? Il 2016 ha visto nascere parecchi eventi per i kite park – e questo è il motivo per il quale tutti stanno parlando di kite park in questo momento. E sono contento di vedere tutto questo movimento. il 2016 è stato l’anno
del boom, e ciò penso sia dovuto a diversi fattori. Anzitutto i riders, che si sono uniti in una federazione, la KPL, che ha facilitato e di molto l’organizzazione di un tour che potesse definire un campione mondiale alla fine degli eventi. Questo ha permesso di dare legittimità a piccoli eventi, che hanno così avuto più facilità nel reperire fondi e risorse per la loro organizzazione. Questo come riflesso ha portato ad altri riders a vedere il park come una possibilità di carriera e di crescita nel nostro mondo. Penso inoltre che il collasso di PKRA e del WKWC ha spinto molti riders a riconsiderare cosa vogliono dal kitesurf. Abbiamo visto molti freeriders affacciarsi alle nostre competizioni, e penso che questo aumenterà nel 2017. E il tutto ha reso gli sliders e i park molto più interessanti a livello di marketing – ed i brands se ne stanno accorgendo, e sicuramente aumenteranno i loro investimenti in questo settore. La stagione 2017 con la KPL si presenta super interessante, e non vedo l’ora di vedere tutte le facce nuove che entreranno le competizioni!
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IN HIS DNA: BRANDON SCHEID
MOON PATROL NELL’ARIA...
I riders nei kite park sembrano molto affiatati – siete tutti amici? E come va con i ragazzi più giovani? La scena park è iniziata come un gruppo di amici che volevano costruire e uscire in acqua nelle features fatte, questo è tutto, quindi è naturale che sia evoluta come una fratellanza. E’ come un gruppo di amici che viaggia per il mondo. Ci vediamo spessissimo, e ci divertiamo. Creare features, mantenerle attive, e competere, tutto ciò richiede motivazione e lavoro, e tutto questo non ci manca. Fare un evento park richiede un mucchio di lavoro, quindi è veramente importante andare d’accordo. Ovviamente si discute spesso, ma una volta finito l’evento, è tutta una festa. Parlando di giovani riders, ultimamente sono sicuramente aumentati, e questo è
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bene, una ventata d’aria fresca nel nostro mondo. Aiutano anche a mantenere all’erta la vecchia guardia, che altrimenti avrebbe la tendenza a dormire sugli allori.
Chi sono i migliori riders al momento, e quali tricks ti hanno maggiormente impressionato? Negli anni, ci sono stati diversi dominatori. Anzitutto Dre, che ha vinto il Triple S tre anni di seguito. Dopo di lui, io ho vinto per 3 volte, e Sam Light ha seguito i miei passi. Adesso le cose sembrano cambiare, con la nuova generazione che sta veramente impressionando. Il mio rider preferito ora è Evan JasPan, è convinto, ha stile, e la sua progressione sembra inarrestabile. Uscire in acqua con lui mi mantiene motivato, visto che è probabilmente quello che spinge di più sui kickers in questo
IL SUO DNA: BRANDON SCHEID
momento. Sono i tricks sui kickers quelli che più mi stanno interessando in questo momento, dopo la stagione di Hood Rivers. Ho visto parecchi 900, ed anche degli handle pas molto tecnici. E modestamente, il mio Mobe 720 non è affatto male, come potete vedere nel video del 2017 Echo come il tricks più progressivo del anno. Non male per la vecchia guardia.
Sei con Liquid Force, e si dice che a Hood River hai lavorato molto sul loro brand? Com’è la tua relazione con loro? Sono con Liquid Force da sempre, e mi sento a casa con loro. Mi sono spostato a Hood River 5 anni fa per essere più vicino al core del kite team, ed è stata una delle migliori decisioni della mia vita professionale. Abbiamo un piccolo team e siamo tutti grandi amici, dentro
e fuori dal lavoro. Siamo spesso in acqua insieme, e cerchiamo di uscire in acqua il più possibile. E’ la passione per il kite che ci ha spinto a lavorare per il kite, e la passione è importante per me per sentirmi motivato. La mia responsabilità principale è il marketing e lo sviluppo del brand. Mi occupo anche del planning della parte media, e del marketing online e sui sociale. Lavoro molto anche con Julien Fillion (il nostro designer) e Jason Slezak nella parte R&D. Ci sono molti prodotti da testare, sembra che non si finisca mai. E’ bello lavorare con un brand disponibile a lasciarti dare il tuo input, per avere
prodotti come piacciono a te. Lavoriamo molto e duro, un mucchio di risate, e mi sento veramente privilegiato e fortunato a lavorare con questo gruppo di persone e di amici.
MOON PATROL IN ACQUA...
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IL TRAMONTO A HOOD RIVER È MAGICO, DORATO COME NON HO MAI VISTO IN NESSUN POSTO. PENSO SIA PER LE MONTAGNE, VISTO CHE QUANDO VI CADE DIETRO È ANCORA MOLTO LONTANO DALL’ORIZZONTE. SE LA LUCE È BUONA, A VOLTE NON HAI BISOGNO DI UN SUPER TRICK PER FARE UNA FOTO INCREDIBILE. BASTA UN POCO DI SPRAY.
Hai la tua signature board, la Echo. Ce ne puoi parlare, e spiegarci dove si posizione nel range Liquid Force? Alcuni anni fa sono stato baciato dalla fortuna – Jimmy Redmon, voleva collaborare con me per shapare la mia pro model. Siamo partita da prototipi molto basici in cartone quella sera stessa nel mio carage. Siamo poi passati ai prototipi veri e propri, a passare ore al telefono, a discutere sul nome e sui test, fino ad arrivare alla LFK Echo. L’obbiettivo? Wakestyle/freestyle al top, ma alla portata di tutte le tasche. La Echo è veloce, aggressiva, con una coda ampia che permette un pop esplosivo ed un core in legno per un flex in grado di perdonare qualche errorino. La tavola è costruita con un legno profilato, e con alcune tecniche di
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shaping siamo stati in grado di aggiungere un mucchio di shape anche al fondo, per aumentare il grip e la tenuta. E’ la mia tavola ideale, e sono veramente contento di aver contribuito a farla nascere. Parlando del suo posizionamento nel range LFK, è fortunatamente al top con gli altri due pro model, la Element e la Legacy. Tutte queste tre tavole offrono una ottima performance, ed ognuna è leggermente diversa dalle altre, per andare a soddisfare i gusti di diversi tipi di riders. La Echo perdona gli errori sicuramente di più della Element, è più aggressiva della Legacy ed è la più economica fra le 3. Ci piace segmentare le nostre tavole, per dare diverse opzioni di prezzo, per tutti i livelli di abilità. Penso che le Echo sia il giusto compromesso fra prezzo e prestazioni al top.
LA MAGGIOR PARTE DELLE VOLTE QUANDO FACCIO KITE, SONO ABBASTANZA SERIOSO. QUANDO PERÒ SONO AI ARIA, TUTTO CAMBIA. IN QUESTO CASO LA MIA FACCIA È UNO SPECCHIO DELL’INTENSITÀ DELLA MANOVRA CHE STO TENTANDO, UN MID FLAT PASS DAL KICKER. C’’ QUALCOSA DI MAGICO IN QUESTO SCATTO VOLANTE, IN ALTO NEL CIELO BLU.
A VOLTE FAR FUNZIONARE UNA SESSIONE NEL GORGE È PIÙ DIFFICILE CHE IN ALTRI POSTI. LE FORTI CORRENTI, I SANDBAR CHE SI MUOVONO, LE ACQUE PROFONDE, QUESTO E ALTRO PUÒ ESSERE UN PROBLEMA NEL MOMENTO IN CUI BISOGNA FOTOGRAFARE. MA CON OTTIMISMO E PERSEVERANZA, I RISULTATI POSSONO ESSERE STUPEFACENTI.
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IL SUO DNA: BRANDON SCHEID
Liquid Force ha alcune interessanti shape in ballo per il 2017 – cosa ci puoi dire a riguardo, e ti piace uscirci? Quest’anno abbiamo introdotto le Hippie Sticks, un qualcosa su cui abbiamo lavorato da parecchio, e di cui siamo entusiasti. Prendono l’ispirazione dalle tavole fatte in stile surf del mondo dello snowboard. Volevamo reintrodurre il concetto di twin tip direzionali. Qualcuno di voi forse le ricorda agli albori del kite: queste tavole sono un omaggio a quei tempi. Parliamo di due tavole, la Spacecraft e la Moon Patrol. Entrambe ottimizzate per avere una direzione specifica, anche se si può andare in entrambe le direzioni come in una twin tip. La Spacecraft assomiglia di più ad una classica tavola, mentre la Moon Patrol è più simile ad un surf. Le tavole lavorano bene con onde piccole o con il mare con vento onshore. Ottime nelle curve, con un mucchio di spray. Mi fanno sorridere e mi rendono felice ogni volta che le uso. E’ una novità nel mondo delle twin tip, e penso che a tutti piaccia provare ed avere qualcosa di nuovo e veramente divertente. Hanno quel feeling delle curve smooth del surf, con la comodità di non perdersi la tavola se si salta. Costano anche la metà di un classico surf da kite, un ottima opzione quindi per il kiter intermedio.
Il kitesurf ha la reputazione di essere uno sport “tropicale”, ma a Hood River fa freschino, così come nel Michigan! Dove hai avuto le tue sessioni più fredde, e ti piace uscire sotto zero? Penso che si esageri con le ambientazioni tropicali nel kite – la realtà per molti di noi è la muta. Abituarsi al freddo e capirlo ci può aiutare a trovare nuove location, io personalmente sono pronto. Le mie più fredde sessioni sono state qui, a Hood River. Lavorando nel testing tutto l’anno, non ha senso spostarsi per alcuni mesi l’anno sono per approvare dei prototipi, quindi molto più pratico per me e per Jason sfidare coraggiosamente le condizioni del
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nostro inverno. Ricordo pezzi di ghiaccio galleggiante, con la neve che entra in acqua. Fare kite in queste condizioni è duro, richiede un focus mentale notevole e può essere pericoloso. Mai fare kite da soli, non solo aiuta ad essere motivati, ma anche per garantire maggiore sicurezza (l’ipotermia è una realtà a 4° in acqua). Ovviamente come tutti preferisco le sessioni calde, ma mi piace sempre essere uno dei pochi in acqua, e la bellezza del Gorge in Inverno merita lo sforzo.
Hai viaggiato molto con il kite – qual’è la location che più ti ha impressionato? Sono stato molto fortunato nei miei viaggi, ed ho visto molto. Ci sono alcuni spots incredibili, ed ognuno ha qualcosa di diverso da offrire. Dalle spiaggie desolate dell’Australia del sud, ai venti ululanti di Cape Town, fino alla bellezza tropicale dei Caraibi, o le dure isole Magdaline: ho incredibile memorie di tutti questi posti. Ad ogni modo, quando il viaggio volge al termine, sono sempre più che contento di tornare a Hood River. La versatilità, il Park, lo stile di vità ed il paese rendono Hood veramente speciale per me. Quindi è casa la mia location.
Questa è la nostra prima uscita nel 2017, e siamo ovviamente molto elettrizzati! Cosa hai invece tu in programma per questo 2017? I miei piani sono in divenire, ed è difficile pianificare un anno in anticipo. Inizierò con il Blue Palawan Open, sarò a tutti gli eventi KPL per tentare di vincere il titolo. Ed ovviamente sarò al lavoro con la linea di LFK del 2018, alla ricerca del meglio del meglio per i nostri prodotti. Avrò tempo per foto e video e per alcuni viaggi con Vincent e gli altri, e dovrò lavorare a Hood River per mantenere il park in buone condizioni. E se tutto va secondo i piani, avrò tempo per neve, mountain bike, shuttle e sessioni con la hydrofoil. Sarà un anno pieno di kite, non vedo l’ora!
IL NOSTRO FIUME È VERAMENTE DI UNA BELLEZZA MOZZAFIATO.
ROCCIA
ATTORNO
E
VERDE
DAPPERTUTTO, UN PANORAMA PERFETTO PER LA FOTOGRAFIA. L’ACQUA GELIDA ED I VENTI FORTI NON PIACCIONO A TUTTI OVVIAMENTE, MA SE SI IMPARA AD ACCETTARLI ED AD USARLI, È IL MASSIMO.
AVERE IL GIUSTO SETUP È FONDAMENTALE
ECHO 2017 – GRANDE TAVOLA!
PER UNA BUONA SESSIONE, QUINDI MI PORTO SEMPRE DIETRO DIVERSI KIT E DIVERSE MISURE DELLA ECHO, PER ESSERE SICURO...
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QUESTO
FIUME
OFFRE
MOLTISSIME
SITUAZIONI UNICHE. ROCCIA, ALBERI, NAVI, TRENI, E MOLTO ALTRO PUÒ APPARIRE, SE LO CERCHI NEI POSTI GIUSTI. IL PANORAMA È UNICO NEL MONDO DEL KITE, E QUANDO IL MIO FOTOGRAFO PREFERITO, VINCENT BERGERON, SI È FINALMENTE PRESENTATO A HOOD RIVER, SONO RIUSCITO AD AVERE LE CONDIZIONI PER IMMORTALARE QUESTO SPETTACOLO. DA SEMPRE VOLEVO QUESTA SCOGLIERA IN UNA FOTO, PER MOSTRARE AL MONDO LA COMPLICATA NATURA DI QUESTO SPOT. E’ RISCHIOSO, CON IL TRENO, LE LINEE, ED IL PONTE: MA È ANCHE TREMENDAMENTE DIVERTENTE. LA COSA CHE PIÙ MI PIACE DI QUESTA FOTO, È CHE CI VUOLE QUALCHE SECONDO PER TROVARE IL RIDER. E’ UNO SCATTO COMPLICATO.
IO ED IL KICKER SLINGSHOT, AMORE E ODIO. MI PIACE ANDARCI SU OGNI GIORNO, MA CIÒ NON PIACE ALLE MIE GINOCCHIA E ALLA MIA SCHIENA. NON C’È NIENTE DI MEGLIO PERÒ CHE SENTIRSI SENZA PESO NELL ARIA, CON VELOCITÀ E STILE. NON ME NE STANCO MAI, ANCHE SE IL MIO CORPO SI LAMENTA.
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LE AVVENTURE CON IL KITE SONO SEMPRE DIVERTENTI,
MA
A
VOLTE
NON
MOLTO
PRODUTTIVE – SICURAMENTE PERÒ TUTTE HANNO DEI MOMENTI SPECIALI. IN QUESTO SPOT SI È FATTO KITE UNA SOLA VOLTA, E NON C’ERANO FOTO. QUANDO VINCENT MI HA CHIESTO DI USCIRCI, C’ERA SOLO UN ALTRO RIDER PAZZA ABBASTANZA DA SEGUIRMI: ERIC RIENSTRA. CI ABBIAMO MESSO UN PO’ A TROVARE UN POSTO SICURO DOVE LANCIARE I NOSTRI KITE, E DOPO VARI TENTATIVI ABBIAMO TROVATO
UN
SANDBAR
RAGGIUNGIBILE
PRATICAMENTE CAMMINANDO CON L’ACQUA ALLA GOLA, CON TUTTA L’ATTREZZATURA PER LE FOTO ED IL KIT DEL KITE SOPRA LA NOSTRA TESTA. NELLE ORE SUCCESSIVE, ABBIAMO USATO CI
TUTTO
FORNIVA
QUELLO
COME
CHE
FEATURE
LA –
NATURA ISOLETTE,
PILONI, ROCCIE, TUTTO PER AVERE UNA FOTO PERFETTA. PENSO CHE FRA TUTTE LE FEATURE, QUESTA SIA LA PIÙ DIVERTENTE, UN LUNGO SLIDER NON
SOPRA
PER
LE
TUTTI.
ROCCE, MA
CERTAMENTE
SICURAMENTE
IL
PARADISO PER ERIC.
NON CI SONO MOLTI POSTI DOVE PUOI FARE KITE CON UN TALE PANORAMA MONTANO. CI VUOLE UN CERTO TIPO DI RIDER E DI FOTOGRAFO PER FARE QUESTA FOTO, ED IL VENTO DEVE ESSERE PERFETTO COME DIREZIONE E FORTE PER RIEMPIRE BENE QUESTO LATO DEL COLUMBIA RIVER. E’ STATA DURA, MA NE È VALSA LA PENA.
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C A P E T O W N CONFIDENTIAL
Prima che la follia della stagione di Cape Town abbia inizio, un roster di all stars si è presentato in città ... James Boulding era presente, e ce ne parla. Fotografie: James Boulding e Lars Terkelsen
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Keahi, una forza della natura. Eccolo in azione.
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CAPE TOWN CONFIDENTIAL
L’unico modo per guadagnarsi una birra al tramonto, è uscire con il kite al tramonto
Keahi contro la gravità
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CAPE TOWN CONFIDENTIAL
Graham Howes ci mostra alcuni secret spots con acqua piatta, stiloso con il suo classico ballet hand drag
Nel mondo del kite ci sono alcune migrazioni fra i diversi kite spot. Cape Town è sicuramente fra i primi posti della lista, e a buon ragione. Costa poco da vivere, onde, acqua piatta, panorami mozzafiato, ottimo cibo e vino, e la possibilità, nel King of the Air, di ambire al titolo di evento kite più spettacolare al mondo. Facile capire perchè la gente si presenti qui in masse. Per un brand ha anche senso - portare il team Cabrinha internazionale qui non è forse la cosa logisticamente più facile da fare, ma Cape Town è forse una delle poche location al mondo che offre condizioni abbastanza varie da soddisfare i gusti di tutti i riders in azione. Famosa per i venti molto forti, le onde, i kickers e l’acqua piatta, sembra il posto ideale per permettere ai riders di allenarsi e per documentare il tutto. E già che ci siamo, abbiamo provato il kite forse più adeguato in termini di versatilità nel range Cabrinha, e questo vuol dire Switchblade. Si può usare per il surf, il freestyle, il boosting, li oops, i kickers e praticamente qualunque cosa si possa fare in acqua. E non pianificato all’inizio, abbiamo pensato di fare una macchinata e tentare la sorte nel leggero vento termale e nelle acque infestate dagli squali (e gelate). Nick deve ringraziare Keahi per l’aiuto (e capirete perchè prossimamente all’uscita del video).
Tornando a Cape Town, si parte dal forecast, chiaramente un forecast ventoso. Una bella mareggiata in arrivo a Cape Point per completare l’opera – abbiamo quindi pianificato il nostro giro degli spots. Keahi de Aboitiz è abituato alle grandi onde, essendo cresciuto in Australia con gli inverni passati a Oahu, costa del nord – niente lo spaventa, nemmeno le mareggiate più imponenti. Il panorama del sud di Cape Town è piuttosto duro, l’acqua è ancora più fredda ma più turchese. Ci vuole una muta, e che sia pesante, e anche stare fuori dall’acqua non è assolutamente piacevole con il vento che taglia la pelle... Esplorando la costa alla ricerca dell’onde perfetta, ci siamo resi conto che la mareggiata rendeva non navigabili gli spots che ci eravamo prefissati di visitare. Dopo averci provato per un paio di giorni, abbiamo preferito sfruttare la mareggiata quando girava dietro Table Mountain. Nessuno si lamentava sicuramente: c’era onda. A questo si devono aggiungere oltre 30 nodi di vento (forse anche di più), e rieccoci di ritorno al classico ritmo di Cape Town. Una riflessione di Keahi, “la cosa migliore di Cape Town è che ha condizioni praticamente per ogni disciplina, ed è sempre ventoso durante la stagione. Cape Town non è perfetta per le onde, non è l’Indonesia, ma alcune onde sono veramente divertenti, ed è la consistenza che rende
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CAPE TOWN CONFIDENTIAL
Liam di prima mattina a Big Bay. Cape Town è famosa per i suoi kickers con il sinistro avanti
Keahi prende gli sci per qualche manovra aerea
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Ero un filo preoccupato per Nick, la mareggiata era enorme, ed il minimo errore o incidente avrebbe lasciato Nick con qualche problema
CAPE TOWN CONFIDENTIAL
il posto veramente ottimo. Ci siamo stati solo 3 settimane, ma abbiamo fatto kite praticamente tutti i giorni. Puoi trovare acqua piatta, onde, fare downwinders o cercare il massimo del tuo range con i salti, ed è grande abbastanza da non essere affollato.” In condizioni normali, venti oltre i 30 nodi rendono le acque choppose, ma grazie alle onde qui fra le diverse sezioni, l’acqua è molto piatta. Anche oltre i 40 nodi, è perfetto fra le onde, esattamente ciò che ti serve per saltare, e alto... E quando si parla di big air, c’è un uomo che viene in mente: Nick Jacobsen. Al top da molto tempo in questa specialità, recentemente ha raggiunto i 26.7m con il suo 9m FX nel bel mezzo di una tempesta nella sua nazione natale, la Danimarca. Queste sono le sue condizioni. E’ veramente a suo agio e in controllo a oltre 20 metri di altezza, come il suo front roll invertito dimostra. A volte può sembrare spericolato, ma è un vero calcolatore e stà ben dentro i suoi limiti... Con così tanto vento, il freestyle sembra improponibile, ma questo solo per noi comuni mortali – molti fra i top riders passano qui l’inverno per allenarsi. Se riesci a chiudere un trick qui, sarai un grado di cjiuderlo dovunque. Sentiamo Liam, “Le condizioni a Cape Town non si adattano perfettamente al mio stile, che richiede venti un filo più leggeri; tuttavia, vivendo a Tarifa, ho imparato ad adattarmi a praticamente qualunque condizione. In Cape Town posso fare freestyle la mattina, con il vento più leggero. E’ divertente affrontare i kickers con il sinistro avanti, diversamente da casa. Nel pomeriggio di solido quando arriva il ventone, si passa ai big air e ai mega loops!”
James, lo Switchblade, ed un kicker
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CAPE TOWN CONFIDENTIAL
Parlando di versatilità, è questa la caratteristica che mi ha fatto scegliere Switchblade. Dovunque vada e se sia una sessione al park, di freestyle o big air, è ultra stabile in qualunque circostanza. Lo posiziona in aria e praticamente me ne posso dimenticare, spostando il focus su quello che stò per affrontare. Vedere Nick saltare oltre 20m con un 9m è a conferma di tutto ciò che stavo dicendo, come anche lui conferma poco dopo al bar sorseggiando una IPA, “Non conoscevo bene bene lo Switchblade prima di Cape Town con il team Cabrinha. Normalmente uso l’FX, e ci ho messo un attimo per riabituarmi, considerando che ho aiutato nello sviluppo dell’FX negli ultimi 3 anni. Ma ci ho messo poco ad imparare. Adoro l’hangtime ed il pull di questo kite, anche considerando quando depower ha. Esco sempre con kite grandi con venti forti, quindi è fondamentale avere un depower veramente buono per permettermi di posizionarmi in aria nella posizione corretta.” Rider locale a rockstar Cabrinha, Graham Hower, vive a Cape Town ed è testimone del boom turistico del kite, oltre a essere l’anima di tutte le feste in città. La sua filosofia è “live hard ride hard”, sia dentro che fuori dall’acqua – è contagioso! Con la sua crew Dirty Habits ci ha portato a conoscere quello che fanno ogni giorno: la vita è bella a Cape Town, ottime vibrazioni e gran divertimento. Non dobbiamo però scordarci che eravamo in missione, e che il forecast era il nostro pane quotidiano per capire dove e quando uscire in acqua. Anche se la maggior parte dei kiters naviga a Table View, c’è spazio per avventurarsi in esplorazioni nel tentativo di sfuggire la folla. E non bisogna spostarsi di molto per essere quasi da soli con condizioni simili a quelle appena lasciate. In fin dei conti, quello che più mi piace di Cape Town sono quelle sessioni indimenticabili con i miei amici, seguite dalle chiacchere e dal riassunto della giornata al tramonto con una birra in mano. Non bisogna esagerare con quello che ci si aspetta, ma sapersi accontentare ed imparare a godersi ogni momento.
Ancora una volta, il kitesurfer più decorato si mette in posa con il suo kite, un’onda, e Robben Island, per una classica foto di Cape Town
Il momento più strano del viaggio Liam: Incontrare i ragazzi di Dirty Habits. Facevano volare peni finti, bruciavano i capelli e si dedicavano ad elettrificare i genitali. Non esattamente quello che mi aspettavo. Anders: A Dunes, quando una raffica improvvisa ha buttato Nick nelle acque gelate ed infestate da squali bianchi, senza che Nick potesse farci niente. Keahi è uscito in acqua con una tavola senza pinne al salvataggio. Una crew di produzione di film, che ha visto la scena, ha chiamato i soccorsi convinti che i due sarebbero morti di ipotermia: la nave soccorso è arrivata esattamente quando lui è tornato a riva. James: Una volta capito che i rasta di Anders erano estremamente infiammabili, abbiamo iniziato a dargli fuoco. Bruciava veramente velocemente, e la puzza era notevole. Keahi: Inseguendo 100 Rand sulla spiaggia per 500m, sicuramente tutti si sono divertiti a guardami correre fuori dalla macchina. Sempre attenti al vento a Cape Town, e ricordarsi sempre di tener ben stretti ciò che si vuole conservare.
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CAPE TOWN CONFIDENTIAL
Quando il dovere chiama, Nick J risponde
3, 2, 1: cheeese ed ecco una bella foto sull’onda
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WINTER WONDER SESSIONS NAME
WINTER W O NS ED E R SSIONS Potresti pensare sia solo fortuna per Kari Schibevaag, con i suoi diversi sport e con le esperienze uniche vissute che ha giĂ passato con il kite. Ti sbaglieresti. La fortuna non basta, ci vuole il coraggio di dedicarsi a qualcosa al 100%. E a Kari questo coraggio non manca... Fotografie: Tom Magne Jonassen
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WINTER WONDER SESSIONS THE Q UICK R O U TE DO W N . . .
Presto sarà inverno in Norvegia, e le belle e fredde giornate con le aurore boreali e la neve saranno una certa realtà. Ed io sono pronta nelle mie montagne, con il kite e gli sci, ancora una volta. E la domanda si pone anch’essa, come al solito. Dove andare? Quali montagne? Che kit portare, e quando? Su internet le scelte sono centinaia, così come sono molte le foto dell’anno scorso. Lo scorso inverno è andato alla grande, con condizioni perfette, tenendo conto che a volte inseguire il vento può essere semplicemente una questione di fortuna... Alla fine siamo andati a Husbykollen at Vesterålen, un posto incredibile. Abbiamo affittato un piccolo cottage nelle montagne, dove letteralmente potevamo lanciare il kite fuori dalla porta di casa. Un paradiso per gli snowkiters, con piccole colline innevate tutt’attorno. Husbykollen è su un isola chiamada Hadsel, nella regione del Vesterålen, Nord della Norvegia. Per arrivare al cottage ci vuole un’ora di cammino, e con un po’ di fortuna si riesce a scroccare un passaggio dalla Croce Rossa del posto. Il cottage è 513m sopra il livello del mare, con una vista stupenda in tutte le direzioni (quando non è nuvoloso).
CR UISING S PEED . . .
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THE CALM AFTER THE S T O RM
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WH IT EO UT
Appena arrivati però, niente vista. Ci aspettava una tempesta di neve che per i primi giorni non ci ha dato tregua, lasciandoci in casa in attesa di condizioni migliori. Il forecast però ci spingeva all’ottimismo, quindi l’umore era più che buono nonostante la tormenta! E finalmente il sole, il cielo azzurro ci attendeva di buon mattino, accompagnato da un vento perfetto e da tutta la neve lasciataci in omaggio dalla tempesta dei giorni prima. L’attesa era finita, ora di buttarsi in un paradiso di neve immacolata! Husbykollen non ha alberi, solo alcuni picchi tutti da esplorare, quindi le possibilità sono molteplici. Si può andare dal picco al livello del mare in maniera molto naturale, come se si fosse in uno snowpark. Al tramonto era ora di cibo e sauna, con i kite pronti fuori dalla cabina, visto che sapevamo cosa attenderci in Norvegia con un cielo così limpido, ed era ancora molto ventoso, perfetto per raffreddarsi dopo la sauna. E lì fuori lo spettacolo che sapevamo sarebbe arrivato – l’aurora boreale ci attendeva per una sessione assolutamente insolita, con quella luce verde ad illuminare il nostro cammino.
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K A R I A N D N O R W EG I A N CO M PAT R I O T LO N E H E L L E TA K I N G A B R E AT H E R
PA R CO G I O C H I P R I VAT O
Queste montagne erano state incredibili, ma eravamo pronti per una nuova avventura, alla ricerca di nuove nevi lasciateci dalla tempesta di prima. E di nuovo in macchina. Dyrøy kommune si trova fra le città di Harstad e Tromsø, ancora più a Nord. Le condizioni sembravano eccellenti. Siamo arrivati alla montagna di Børringen, che volevo provare a scalare con il kite. E’ più o meno a 800m sopra il livello del mare, ottimo per i kiters e per gli sciatori. Me ne aveva parlato fino allo sfinimento un mio amico: ora di vedere questo spettacolo con i miei occhi. Faceva freddo, e c’era anche una tempesta ad accompagnarmi nuovamente. Ma nuovamente il sole è apparso in tutta la sua gloria, sicuramente la fortuna ci ha accompagnato in questo viaggio e sicuramente tutto è andato per il verso giusto. Adoro l’inverno, così come l’estate, ed a volte mi è difficile dire cosa preferisca: quel che è certo è che ho bisogno di entrambi!
T H E V I E W BY N I G H T
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T H E V I E W BY DAY
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Steven Akkersdijk is one of the world’s best Mega-Kiteloopers. He is always a contender at the King of the Air event as well as the extreme European events. But it isn’t always ‘all about the loop’, he is actually a very versatile kiter and, in addition to his boards for Megaloops and wakestyle, he always travels with a surfboard and a skimboard. Axel Reese sat him down on a recent trip to Brazil and we were also stoked to get some fresh Cape Town shots in just as we were going to print… Photos: Brendan Pieterse (unless stated)
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INTERVIEW: STEVEN AKKERSDIJK
Do you know what most of the entries under your name in Google are related to? Yeah, big crashes and Megaloops. Due to my crash at the Red Bull Megaloop Challenge in 2015 the first two hits are videos from that day. I guess people just love watching crashes! Then let’s start from scratch. You are one of the world’s best Megaloopers. Did this simply just happen? And when did you first think, ‘I can make a living out of this!’? My entire “career” is built on fun. I love riding and I love what I do. For me kitesurfing just started as a sport/hobby, but after a while I noticed I was good at pulling kiteloops and above all I enjoyed them. The realization that I could actually be “someone” in this scene came up after I won the Kiteloop part in Red Bull Boven N.A.P.. What is the kick you get from jumping so high and then turning the kite so slow and deep when it is blowing 40 knots? The speeds and the acceleration that you get from pulling a loop in strong winds are just incomparable. This together with a freefall and high speed landing make this move addictive for me. What is the biggest event for you? Red Bull King of the Air! This competition is just insane and already taking part is a lifetime experience. I can call myself lucky enough to have competed in this competition four times now. My results have been all over, but the impression this event leaves on me stays the same every time. Is your body size and weight an advantage? It’s hard to say as the conditions aren’t always the same. With low winds I am at a big disadvantage. Because of my weight I have to take a bigger kite and they don’t jump as high or loop as fast as the smaller kites. When the wind starts to pick up it’s a different story. I can hold my kite for a lot longer and should have a slight advantage over the smaller guys. What are the necessary factors to pull kiteloops? Kiteloops are actually very simple. You need to go high and just pull the kite in a circle. But it’s very important that you go
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high enough so that your kite can catch you again. The amount that you steer has a huge impact on the turning circle of your kite and the pull that you get. The bigger the circle the more power you will feel. Also the moment of pulling your loop is very important. If you pull early (on your way up) you’ll get a lot of pull and forward speed. This will result in an aggressive loop where the kite doesn’t recover as fast as it would with a loop that you pull very late. Megaloops are an increased risk. How did your accident at the Red Bull Megaloop Challenge two years ago come about? That crash was just bad luck. I pulled the loop in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong wind. Just as I took off I caught a big gust, this gust took me up faster than expected and threw my timing for the loop off. Instead of looping close to the apex of the jump, I looped the kite too early and got a massive acceleration downwind. When the gust ended (just after my loop) I was flying faster than the wind and my lines became slack. From that moment on there was no recovery. Keyword “recovery”. Were the accidents by Lewis Crathern and Lasse Walker “inevitable”? I wouldn’t say crashes are inevitable. Both crashes have been human error like mine. Lewis seemed to over rotate his kite making for a long fall down with no chance of the kite catching him again. When I looked at Lasse’s crash I got the feeling it was fairly similar to mine; steering the kite too low too early and flying close to the wind speed. On events like Red Bull King of the Air, riders take a lot of risk. This is their own choice as they want to go bigger and higher than the rest. One mistake though and you’re going to end up on a stretcher. At your accident you ended up on a stretcher as well. And what you first said when you came round was, “oh, I had a beautiful dream”! I was talking with the guys who dragged me out a few weeks later, and they’ve told me their side of the story. It was funny to hear from them that the first thing I said when I got my consciousness back was something like: “I had such a nice dream”. I got knocked out on the impact and probably had a low oxygen level, this often makes your brain trip. You hear this a lot from people who have almost drowned.
Checking out the competition
Steven breaking cover...
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INTERVIEW: ALEX NETO
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Mixing it up... I N T Reese ERVIEW: ALEX NETO Photo: Axel
A ‘straps and shirt’ session Photo: Axel Reese
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Where are the limits and how do you see a further development of Megaloops? At the moment there are a lot of guys riding in their boots when they do Megaloops. I did as well as I prefer the steady feeling on the landings. With boots you really narrow down your options though. I’ll probably start riding straps again so I have a wider range of options that are possible. Hopefully with that I’ll feel a bit safer as well to try out new stuff that hasn’t been done before. We have been watching you riding a lot here in Brazil and you have proven your multiple talents more than ever. How many boards do you take on a trip to have fun? I love to ride everything out there. Kiting is so diverse, so why only stick to one part of it? I always take my twin tip with boots. I love to perform some unhooked, wakestyle tricks and sometimes hit the cable park. Next to that I take a board with straps. Sometimes it’s just nice to go big and be capable of taking a foot out on a big jump or even kiteloop. In the strapless department I always love riding my wave board in the waves and my skimboard in the flat or choppy water. It’s crazy how quick you can progress in these riding styles and how different the tricks are. What type of competitions do you compete in? I am not the biggest fan of competitions as they are so in the moment. You have to wait for your heat and then you have to show your skills in seven minutes. For me this is not enough. I participate in competitions when I happen to be around, like the Dutch nationals (I’m actually a former Dutch champion) and wave competitions. One event that I always travel to is King of the Air though. This event is so special for me and the kiting world that I can’t skip it. Would you consider entering any of the strapless freestyle competitions? To be honest I just love riding strapless, because there is not really a certain way how you should do it. It’s all very open and free. I don’t really plan to compete as competitions just put your riding style in boxes. That’s exactly what I don’t want at the moment.
What are the advantages of this riding style? Strapless freestyle is a riding style that is actually coming up a lot. Because you’re riding a surfboard you can kite in lighter winds as you have more surface area. In the end it’s more fun though with stronger winds. I just love it because the crashes are less hard. When you crash with your boots you can catch a backside edge and this results in a hard hit on the water. With strapless freestyle everything is more like playing, and as you are not attached to the board the crashes are less hard. The trick in making the board stick to your feet is angling them in the right way so that the wind pushes it against your feet. And we still see you pulling off wakestyle tricks on the water. Are you still enjoying it? I still like wakestyle a lot. But to be honest I don’t like it nearly as much as I did a few years ago. This riding style is so heavy on the body if you want to progress at a high level and I would still like to walk when I’m 40 without crutches or pain in my knees! How did your riding style become so diverse? I started traveling around the world six years ago. In this time I’ve seen many places with a lot of different riding conditions. Low winds, strong winds, gusty. When riding at these spots you have to adapt to the conditions you have. If the wind is strong you won’t be unhooking that much, so I started pulling kiteloops. If there are good waves I prefer to hit them on a surfboard instead of trying to freestyle on my twin tip. You have told us that your father and mother did have a lot of influence on your current life. Your childhood and the environment you grow up in always has a huge impact. My mother unfortunately died when I was eight-years-old, due to a heart attack. Since then I’ve always handled my frustrations and anger by going out and doing sports. I started windsurfing at the age of nine and a few years later I gave kitesurfing a try. I was hooked from the first taste. My dad has always encouraged me to travel and do what I love. In that way I ended up where I am now.
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INTERVIEW: STEVEN AKKERSDIJK
All this traveling isn’t cheap, how did you finance it from the start? Kitesurfing isn’t a cheap sport but when you know the right people it can become a bit cheaper. I’m super lucky with my group of friends and colleagues that I have known for many years now. I started working for Kitemobile (a kitesurf school in Workum, The Netherlands), and have been teaching there for many years. The owner provided me and the other instructors with a free place at the campsite just a two minute walk
from the beach. In the winters I would travel over to a different spot in the world and teach for the season to earn my ticket and some spending money. After that one of my friends started “Core ‘n’ More” (a kitesurf shop in Workum), he offered me a little contract so I could get my kites cheaper in return for some local promotion. This really gave me a good boost. I’m super grateful that I got to know the people I did in those times, it makes all the difference. Today you are a “professional” rider with CORE. Can you live from your sponsorship income? Although kitesurfing is an expensive sport there is not a whole lot of money in it. Despite this I can call myself very fortunate to be capable of actually living from this sport and my sponsors. The more work I put into the media the more money I get out of it. Next to that, CORE also offered me a part time job within their company. This really is a lifesaver! Finally, you have mentioned about a new “project”, a new kiteloop. What can you tell us about this? Kiteloops are always done in a circle. And at the moment there is not much more to it. Maybe a rotation or the size of the circle is different but the principal is the same. I would love to try some different varieties of steering. Ruben was talking about steering the kite back the other way on the lowest point (like an S). I would love to give this a try…
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Ticking all the ‘Cape Town shot’ boxes
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TECHNIQUE WITH M ATC H U LO P E S S T R A P L E S S
S U P E R M A N
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This is a full commitment move as you need to spend some time without your hands on the bar. So you need to be get plenty of height and be confident of where your kite is before you grab the board‌ As you can see here it is a great way to make a transition and impress all of your mates on the beach!
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PHOTO: GABRIELE RUMBOLO
T H E ‘ H OW T O ’ For all strapless airs speed is really important so generate as much as you can before you start to send the kite. Send the kite up to 12 O’clock and then pop the board up as you would for a normal strapless air.
you can then take both hands off the bar and grab the board. You also us the momentum here to begin to rotate your body and the board.
Get as much height as you can and then bring your knees up and get ready to grab the board.
As you start to come round and you pass the top of the jump, take one hand off the board and get it back on the bar – then begin steering the kite and powering up ready for landing.
This is the main bit as timing is very important – you need the kite to be just going through the top of the window and
Once you get close to the water, let the board drop down and ride away.
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TELL ME ABOUT IT
TELL ME ABOUT IT
HIPPY STICKS Liquid Force’s Gary Siskar takes us through a couple of the most head-turning boards we’ve seen for a few years… photos : vincent bergeron It’s super nice to see some truly fresh boards hitting the market, and your Moon Patrol and Space Craft are certainly eye catching! Can you tell us first of all how you arrived at (or returned to!) the concept. Yeah! So, the idea came to life when Jason Slezak and myself came off the water on a particularly big wind day in Hood River. It was super gusty, blowing into the low 40s with sizable river swell. But, due to the crap wind quality, the water was choppy and all over the place making it hard to stay connected
to the surfboard sans straps. Almost simultaneously both of us blurted out “wouldn’t it be rad if we could ride a directional, carvey, snowboard out there?” So there you have it. The revitalization of the directional or “mutant” kiteboard. It is crazy that everything always runs in full circles! Snowboards back in the day started as directional and then evolved into some pretty funky shapes that became easy to ride all over the mountain and to ride switch. Snowboard brands such as Avalanche, Barefoot, Sims with the Kidwell, and Look with the Lamar Trick Stick, were introducing shapes that started to break the mould, progressing to functional weird shapes. Then snowboards evolved to twins, boring... Now, fast forward to the past couple of years, the directional oriented, functional snowboard shapes have come back along with a rejuvenated passion by snowboarders to carve, search for pow and shred the entire mountain. Brands like
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Spring Break, Gentam Stick, United Shapes, Korua shapes and Arbor have been making directional boards that perform no matter which way you are riding. That is where we pull our inspiration from… Making a modern day directional that carves both forward and switch off the heel or toe, boosts huge and handles a wide range of conditions. So is the construction the same as your twin tips? Yes, so the construction of the Moon Patrol and the Space Craft share our “profiled” wood core construction that the Drive and Aloha twins use.
And which elements of your twin tip range do they borrow from? Besides the profiled construction, both the Moon Patrol and the Space Craft have an asymmetrical rocker or “surf ” rocker line. What this means is there is more nose rocker than tail rocker. The nose of both share the rocker line of the Legacy twin and the tail rockers are equal to that of the Drive kiteboards. This allows for smooth heel to toe turns, and also soaks up the pesky chop. How is the stance set and what are the options here? To talk about the stance, we do have to talk about the outline shape. The wide point of the outline is slightly oriented towards the tail. This allowed us to give a set back stance option to get a very surfy / snowboardy, carvey feel, or you can still run a centered stance for a more traditional twin feel.
HIPPY STICKS
Space Craft
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TELL ME ABOUT IT
What are the fin options? The boards are designed with four standard fin placements. However, the board comes with six fins. 4 x 4cm and 2 x 5cm fins. We did this so you have the option to step up the rear fins to give a bit more drive and hold if you find yourself ripping in the surf or some heavy slashable chop. Would you look at switching your feet around when you’re riding then? Nah… the boards are still meant to be ridden with straps and they are still pretty small to be switching the feet. At first glance they may look a bit daunting to ride switch (tail first)
but actually the way the tails are designed and with the Drive rocker they ride tail first pretty much just like your twin. Also, come on: everyone loves to jam a toe to heel slash transition! What are the sizes? Both boards are in a singular size. The Moon Patrol is a 146 with a roundish nose and moon tail. This board I would equate to your side country or back country powder snowboard. Good for drawing big floaty lines, smooth, stylish straight airs, and chop domination. The Space Craft is a 144. This board would be more like your inbounds all-mountain board. The Space Craft makes the water feel like fresh carved corduroy and is snappy for quick tricks.
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Where have you ridden them and what would you describe as optimum conditions? We have been riding these boards all over the place and in all types of conditions. First rides were in Hood River in messy, sloppy river chop and swell, and they make the rough stuff a blast. There are a few stand out session memories at a location called Rufus, which is notorious for its sweeping river swell. The Moon Patrol made these big lumps of water feel like bounding off snow pillows! We have also used the board extensively in surf! I personally have had a few stand out sessions on the Oregon coast where getting though the inside on a surfboard was hectic, but on the Moon Patrol boosting over the white water walls and carving the open wave faces brought me a whole new appreciation for a board that is so manageable with straps. Also in Cape Town, where Jason Slezak, Jarrod David and myself would fight over who would use the board in the nuking wind and super messy surf in our Dolphin to Doodles downwind shred sessions. I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture: the Moon Patrol and Space Craft deliver smiles for miles. Did you see any other brands with their binoculars out when you were testing them in Hood River?! Hood River is great to test gear in general – other than surfboards of course – and yeah there are plenty of other
HIPPY STICKS
brands here putting future product through the paces. So we did keep them a tad under wraps as we knew we were onto something special! These are obviously going to be super-fun boards to ride – do you see guys taking them on as their main board? For sure people are going to adopt either a Moon Patrol or Space Craft. The boards have versatility that reach beyond a standard twin. If you are one of these riders that spends most of the time in choppy conditions in a lake or bay, with a once in a while jaunt into the surf, these boards will be the 100% call. They’ve been available for a couple of months now – how have sales been and what has the feedback been like? Every Moon Patrol and Space Craft that we have made has been sold! So that is GREAT news! The retailers are bringing in a small selection and for the most part if they are in their wind season they have sold out! The “want to try” is off the hook and there are a lot of people who remember the old “mutant” days who naturally equate these boards to the past mutants and to the negative aspects of these so they want to demo. After the first run their minds are all changed and blown away!
How are the boards different and who is going to want to ride which one? Both boards share the same design concept in terms of a slight set back wide point that allows the ability for a setback stance, also the asymmetrical nose and tail rocker. The boards have a slight increase in nose rocker over the tail, and both boards use the same profiled solid wood core with a nice single concave tip to tail. The Moon Patrol however has a more “organic” shape and is in a 146 length. Works great for riders looking for longer drawn out turns, smooth upwind carving, and lofty airs with a large platform landing. I equate the Moon Patrol to a backcountry or side-country snowboard. The Pow searcher. The Space Craft is a 144 and has a more geometric shape. The shape lends itself to tighter more snappy turns and technical style trickery. As for the sizes and people’s size. I would not let the length scare off smaller riders. Give them a try! They will add a new dimension of fun to anyone’s riding. So will there be more Hippy Sticks in the range for next year?! Oh time will tell… But I will say that we are having a blast on these and with the current success of the Moon Patrol and Space Craft, we have been exploring what the next step would be for the Hippy Sticks line…
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CRAZYFLY ATV No, your eyes do not deceive you, this really is a pure ‘surfboard’ from CrazyFly with no additional bamboo reinforcements through the deck. And, if you are going to
have a ‘pure’ surfboard, then why spray it up – keep it clean and white. Which is exactly what CrazyFly have done, and
we think it looks great. This is the third version of the ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) and the shape has
been refined once again. It has also lost the 5
x finbox set up and is now a pure thruster.
The outline is relatively full through the nose with plenty of volume between your
feet and it then comes into a relatively tight swallow tail. We had the 5’10 on
are Futures and there are additional
The 15-19m remain focused on lightwind riding, the 11 and 13m
as well as carbon patches on the
option on moderate days for regular riders, and there is then
things nice and solid here and to
freeride machines – they are designed for boosting big and for
are riding it strapped. On the water
range is also designed with an eye on the foiling market.
get you up and going and powering
take a few sessions to fully appreciate its potential, but once
rode it on a couple of decent cross
the Turbine could do... Hacking big jumps on the Turbine
high range and were very impressed
recent antics in Cape Town you can see its real ‘top end’
its carving abilities. Although the
the bar sheeted it gives a superb secondary lift and plenty of
performance board we found that you
tricks – it isn’t twitchy at the bar and doesn’t show any signs
commit to your turns. The construction
easy with Slingshot’s compact bridle systems. For foiling you
have gone hard out and introduced a whole new range of sizes.
reinforcements around the finboxes
sizes work as lightwind kites for most guys or as a ‘nuked up’
final quarter of the deck to keep
5, 7 and 9m versions which are now high-octane performance
give you plenty of confidence if you
riding hard. And – with the upwind performance – the whole
and the ATV has plenty of volume to
We were intrigued. We rode the Turbine for a while and it did
out through the whitewater. We
we were there we became ever more impressed with what
offshore days in the shoulder to head
is a great experience (and if you take a look at Sam Light’s
by how well it held an edge and by
potential), it gives you a proper pull off the water, and with
outline is fuller than a real high
float and hang time. The Turbine is also good for un-hooked
could have real confidence and fully
of the backstall or overflying. Relaunch is also quick and
means that the ride is smooth without
really do appreciate the upwind performance and the smooth
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sections…
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and philosophy of the ATV for
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the last couple of years, and
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In a sentence: We’ve liked the shape
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of depower. You can get up and
you like on tap. We have really enjoyed the larger
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light days, but the smaller
sizes are very well refined for more moderate days.
In a sentence: It’s a different
is significantly improved.
you have it tuned you can get a
way of flying a kite, but once
whole lot of white-knuckled performance out of the new smaller Turbines.
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sizes for foiling on super-
in the new construction the performance and responsiveness
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as much or as little power as
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going easily and then you have
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working with it to seek out the right kind of
power delivery and massive amount
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conditions the width and float keep it ticking
over nicely and you can keep it moving and keep on
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Last year they thought they would experiment with
weights 3kg. Very respectable. Fins
‘performance all-rounder’. In more onshore
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range for a while as their lightwind kite.
downsizing it… And they were impressed. So for 2017 they
well balanced and we would class it as a
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The Turbine has been in the Slingshot
test which comes in at 22.5 liters and
any ‘slappiness’ and overall the shape is
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SLINGSHOT TURBINE 9M
LIQUID FORCE NV For the eighth incarnation of their iconic ‘do it all’ kite Liquid Force decided
it was time to revisit the name as well as the design, so from 2017 we are now looking
at the NV rather than the Envy. (So in years to come you can tell those whippersnappers at
the beach how you ‘remember the days when the NV was the Envy’ and they will give you confused
looks…) In terms of what has changed on the kite, there is a completely new profile and airframe geometry
and there have been changes in the wingtips as well. Pumping up and you will also notice that the LE has
shed some volume. The NV is supplied with the new Mission Control Bar and a lot of thought
has clearly gone into this, with a simple push away chicken loop with easy reload, a really
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can immediately feel the changes that LF have made. Firstly the stability of the kite has been massively
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not over complicated and moves LF right up towards the top of the ‘quality bar’ table. Once in the air you
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good swivel, and a clean clam cleat depower system. The whole thing is very well engineered,
improved, and with the reduced weight in the canopy the NV stays parked in the neutral zone with no signs of overflying. The power delivery from the NV once hitting the water has also been improved and is now smooth but with plenty of power and feedback at the bar, and with the forgiving nature of the NV you
can correct any mistakes without getting a spanking. Unhooking the NV is also a pleasure – then there is
some pretty epic pop and great control on landings. For jumping, the NV has got some great lift and, maybe
slightly unexpectedly, whilst you’re up there you get a really nice floaty boost which is assisted by the mid-AR
of the kite. Then the NV is at home looping, where its smooth progressive power and improved sheeting ensure
that it catches you on the up stroke. Depower on the new NV has also been improved, with previous versions the ‘Envy’ did seem to lose steering when fully sheeted out, but the NV steers well even when completely sheeted out.
In a sentence: The Envy was a great kite, but for us the new “NV” really is an exceptional kite and will meet the needs of 99% of riders.
throughout before the wings pull it in towards a more high
performance swallow tail. The Spade also has a step rail enabling
the board to have the higher volume and float but to still offer hold
and performance characteristics in the rail department, and it also has a deck concave to really give your feet something to grip on to
and to keep you stuck to your board… On the water OARD TE RFB BUIL S T and the Spade is a truly great board to cruise SU D S Q F
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around on. The width and volume mean that
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you are easily up on the plane and can hold
your speed nicely even when the wind is
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marginal. For riding in sloppy surf this also pays dividends as you are able to maintain plenty of speed through weaker sections.
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Where the Spade’s outline really works for
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you though is when you put it into a turn.
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In more high performance waves the stepped rails engage
balance between ‘versatility’ and ‘performance’ just right…
air and our initial thoughts were that it was surprisingly quick
around the window for such a large and powerful kite. It was also pretty responsive to steering input which was a nice surprise
as many kites that sit in this category tend to be ‘all power’ and give you very little performance or ability to do much other than mow the lawn. The low end was excellent with smooth power delivery – it did get windier while we were testing and it is fair to say that it is then time to come and change down as it didn’t like being overpowered. We found that boosting was good and if you wanted to get stuck into some big jumps and old school moves on a lighter day then the Emotion MK2 would deliver. Another obvious purpose for the Emotion is
foiling – as it is so light, it will stay in the air in a super-light breeze so you
could easily get out on this kite in less than eight knots with a foil.
In a sentence: Very well-tuned lightwind
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kite which will get out in minimal wind but still see you pulling a few moves.
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In a sentence: The Spade is a true ‘one board quiver’ which gets the
few kites now and are yet to find fault with: it’s a great bar. In the
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what you need to fully commit to your turns.
The Emotion flies on the Global V7 which we have tested with a
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nicely for plenty of grip, and the tail and fin configuration give you
due to the fact that there is no additional support through struts.
END
the board round tightly and keep it in the pocket.
addition as there is more stress placed on this part of the kite
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You can feel the transition from rail to rail and
the tighter tail means that you can really snap
additional reinforcements on the LE panels. For us this is a good
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The entry point is wide and the board then holds this width
towards the tips to improve upwind performance. There are also
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is a pretty wide board (the 5’6 comes in at almost 20 inches).
what has changed, the profile has been updated to make it flatter
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well thought out kite-specific fin. In terms of the outline, this
sized Emotion, the 14.5M (there is also a 12 and a 17). In terms of
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up and ships with Cabrinha’s Hex Core RTM fins which are a
to see what was new for MK2. For this test we had the middle
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bamboo and cork reinforcement. The Spade has a thruster set
delivered a ‘pure’ feeling of power. So we were excited
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Construction wise and there’s an EPS core wrapped up with
to a 5 strut kite), pumped up in seconds, and then
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rest of the team riding when they aren’t charging Pipeline…
down to virtually nothing (certainly compared
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all board’, and also the board that you will see Keahi and the
you have taken it out of the bag. It packed
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Spade which we had on test. The Spade is a crossover ‘do it
The benefits were immediately clear – before
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Squid Launcher (freestyle and mushier conditions) and the
of the first ‘strutless’ kites on the market.
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now three pure surfboards, the S-Quad (quality waves) the
RRD’s first version of the Emotion was one
RE SU ES
range having been simplified and trimmed down. So there are
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It’s all change in the Cabrinha surf lineup for 2017 with the
RRD EMOTION MK2
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CABRINHA SPADE
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SCAN ME FOR THE FULL TESTS!
The Whip is now into its third year
It has been around for many years and the
this whole genre of boards has and for
the standout feature for us is F-ONE’s HRD
rail which is unique to their board line and delivers precise rail response depending
on the part of the rail that is engaged at any
particular time. So the tips have a thin rail
for precise take offs and landings and plenty
of grip, then between these and the mid-
section of the board – where your feet are –
the rail is thicker and inverted. This prevents
the board from bouncing around and also
generates additional lift for early planing. The
mid-section is then thin and sharp to maximize
grip and hold on the water. It’s clearly not the
simplest or cheapest way to put a rail together
but it is great to see that F-ONE are prepared to
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grip is fantastic, and we rode this in some
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serious chop in the UK and for a board
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above the water. For all elements of freestyle, the Trax can deliver –
the pop is impressive and there is
plenty there for wakestyle trickery
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and for really getting some height. For
boosting you can really load up and hang
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on to the edge giving you a great launch pad
for some serious airtime, and landings are then nice and smooth with the rails and bottom contours dispersing the water nicely and preventing any unpleasant jarring…
strikes a good balance between durability,
responsiveness and flex. The Whip has
always been a popular board with the team
at TheKiteMag, particularly when testing in
the UK when we get our fair share of smaller
onshore days. Looking at the shape there were
some concerns that with the relatively flat rocker
and the large tail, the board might lack a little maneuverability so we were pretty surprised that the opposite was the case – with the fin placement and the bottom contours, the Whip is actually a much looser board than last year. We had the 5’2 on test and found that there was plenty of float and volume for
getting
around
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but
that the short length really
enabled you to maximize what
you could do with the wave and
to really jam in some turns. The
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– it really feels like you are riding
well established within their range and
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moves it is a very comfortable ride
North’s ‘classic’ construction which is now
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that is capable of top-end freestyle
it trucks upwind. The construction is
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performance’ board to cruise around on. The
maintain momentum and ensure that
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thing and it pays dividends on the water, where you
would be hard pushed to find a more comfortable ‘high
rail line is also even straighter to help
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put the R&D time and money into this kind of
to keep the board moving, then the
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into the lineup… In terms of construction
plenty of float under your back foot
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pleased to see a bit of color introduced
in marginal conditions when you need
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from the graphics department. We’re pretty
planing and improve the performance
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and the graphics overall have had a visit
tail is much wider to promote early
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continuing to add a bit of bling to the Trax
particularly with the outline. The
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better each year. This year sees the Lite Tech
2017 there are some obvious changes,
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meaning that the Trax just get a little bit
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changes each year are always incremental
as a noseless board. It has evolved as
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that have achieved pure ‘legendary’ status.
FREE
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The Trax is one of an elite number of boards
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F-ONE TRAX HRD LITE TECH
wider outline of the tail and the swallow
tail also ensure that you don’t get stuck in the foam and have the float you need to get around sections. If heading for the air is your thing then the even swing weight and the fact that you can really load up the tail ensure that this will tick the right boxes
for the Matchus of this world. We also rode the Whip in some
decent conditions and it really held its own with plenty of grip and some nice drawn out carvy turns. So if you are looking for a true all-round board in anything up to head high conditions
In a sentence: For top quality construction and performance in
then it ticks all of these boxes.
continues to be right at the top of the pack.
livened it up considerably and it is now a small to medium wave
all intermediate to advanced freestyle departments, the Trax
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In a sentence: Some significant tweaks to this year’s Whip have specialist.
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Photo: Mike Smith
BEHIND THE CLIP
Sam Light’s England When you reach the level of ‘super stardom’ that Sam Light has, you can hope for a bit of flexibility when it comes to your media options. With that in mind Sam proposed a ‘UK video’. Tough sell. And with only two weeks to get it in the can an even tougher sell… Thankfully – with a bit of help from M&S service stations and the Volvo’s heated seats – they put in the hours and got the job done. Hey Sam, thanks for taking the time to talk about your clip. Why did you decide to put together something about England? Wadup! Having grown up kiting in the UK I know how good the conditions can be. I have wanted to do a proper video from the UK for a long time but I also know it can be very hit or miss as we get frontal wind which is not as consistent as places with trade winds like Brazil. But all those tropical places have been done so many times and you see the same tricks from Brazil every year in the same lagoon, so this year I decided to stay home and bring the photo shoot to me and do something different. I have so many ideas of places and things to shoot at home; we literally only touched the surface of what is possible, which is exciting! Was it a tough sell to your sponsors and to Volvo? I put my neck on the line and told them I could deliver. I had to sell to them somewhat, as any shoot is a considerable investment and companies naturally want to see a return on their investment. Plus Slingshot needed marketing assets by a certain date to keep the
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wheels moving so it was a big call. But I went for it and it worked out.
There’s some great work on the drone – do you know what set up Patrick had?
Did you plan the trip based on the forecast or was it more of a hit-and-hope mission?
He was using a DJI Inspire drone with the upgraded 4k camera, he’s got some skills! He’s working with a company called Drone Nerds producing a lot of their videos so he’s always got his hands on the latest and greatest drones.
I planned to shoot in the autumn before the clocks went back as it’s normally a great time of year for wind, autumn colors are amazing, and the light is great provided it’s not cloudy. Also the days are still long, and it’s not too cold. I had a huge list of things I would like to do near where I live, and plenty of options I could do condition dependent. That time of year you can normally find wind somewhere in the UK, you just might have to drive all over the country! We got pretty skunked for wind, we didn’t get one day of prevailing SW winds during the two weeks – I was hoping for those classic stormy south westerly’s at my local, but there was a high pressure system sat on top of the UK which meant we were getting strange NE winds. Thankfully I had plenty of great back up plans and it actually worked out really well as it meant we got some amazing scenery shots driving around the country to places we wouldn’t have gone otherwise.
Then did you have someone else shooting on the beach or did Patrick mix it up? Patrick was the only videographer, then we shot with a few different photographers including Dave White and Mike Smith. One photographer I was going to shoot with fell off a ladder the day before the shoot! How did Patrick find filming in the UK compared to some of the more temperate spots he is used to? The colder temperatures actually didn’t bother him. He is from Florida so I was impressed by his resilience. I did make sure we had plenty of warm clothes and I always made him put on full waterproofs and thermals if I knew he would be standing in the wind for a few hours. It’s fine as long as
“Did you get that?!”
you’re prepared, it’s when you’re not prepared it sucks... Even in Brazil when we have shot flash at night, quite often I get cold because I’m only wearing boardshorts and the temperature suddenly drops off and I’m not prepared. My dad always stressed how important the five P’s of preparation are, and it’s stuck with me. Some pretty competent looking dinghy helm work – what type of craft was that and are you partial to a bit of dinghy sailing? That was not a dinghy! It is a beautiful British built 22ft Drascombe Longboat! It’s actually got a lot of history, my grandpa bought it new about 40 years ago, and they passed it down to me so now I look after it. It requires a lot of maintenance as it has wooden rigging but I use it loads in the summer. It’s great for taking out friends and I even have a custom build tent that fits over the top for camping trips! I did a lot of sailing growing up so I have always enjoyed wind power. Did you kite or cable every day or did you pencil in some downtime? We went hard but it’s impossible to keep going full tilt for the whole two weeks so you have to find a balance. I always give it everything I have during a shoot and I probably gave it more than ever for this one because it was my home turf so I wanted to make it as good as I possibly could. However, it can get to a point when it’s just not productive. We did a few silly missions. One weekend, for example, we had a big night on Friday, filmed sunrise Saturday morning, cabled Saturday afternoon, went to the BKSA awards Saturday night in Brighton then left there at midnight and drove six hours through the night to Cornwall to ride the sunrise there. It was too much; your body needs sleep! It’s important to keep the energy levels and morale up, especially if you want to land your best tricks. Normally we did a few big days and then needed a day off to check the footage and charge the batteries and plan the next mission. So we did four or five pretty big missions over the two weeks including riding at home in between. We can see that you’re flying the new Turbine a lot – how is that? I was helping test it while in Hood River and I’ve been using it for big air ever since. It’s an amazing kite that has so much grunt and power, while still being incredibly efficient. It’s so different to anything else I have ever tried; it actually took me a few sessions to really get my head around it as the technique to flying it is completely different to the Fuel. It boosts bigger than anything I have been on before, I have definitely done some of my biggest jumps
ever on it, plus it also goes upwind like crazy which makes it great for foiling. Did you kite some spots that you hadn’t been to before? I mostly kited at places I knew would be good but I did try out a few new places. There were a few spots I kited in the local harbors near where I live which I hadn’t done before as kiting is not allowed and it’s super sketchy, but we just went for it and got lucky! With the NE wind I checked out a few spots in Norfolk that I hadn’t been to before such as Sea Palling which was an awesome spot with great waves! I’d imagine you have a pretty good network in the UK – did you put in a few calls when you’d seen the forecast and work out the best plan that way? I mainly made my own decisions because I knew what we needed but I did call Rob from CBK Hunstanton as I don’t know Norfolk that well. You have to be careful calling people during a photo shoot because everyone thinks their spot is the best and wants you to film there! But they only remember the epic sessions. We have been on shoots before and when people sell their spot to you and tell you what you want to hear and most of the time it’s very different to what they described. 2567 miles in two weeks… You must have got through a good amount of motorway service station food? How was the diet? Indeed! We ate a lot of service station food but it’s actually not too bad in England, it’s a lot better than other countries we go to – American service station food is so bad! M&S service stations are awesome. I had just moved into my own apartment before Patrick arrived. It’s right in the center of Portsmouth so there’s loads of nice places to eat just on my doorstep.
Did you run out of conversation with Patrick?! We actually got on really well as it was just the two of us – media people aren’t always the easiest going but he was great company during this trip. When there’s a huge team on a trip with lots of different personalities, everyone thinks they know best but we were very much on the same page during this shoot and he was actually really excited about seeing as much as he could while in the UK. Plus not many Americans understand drum and bass but luckily Patrick loves it so we had the D‘n’B cranked during the long drives. Plus it made it much easier battling the elements in the Volvo with heated seats, heating steering wheel and a nice sound system! What are your plans for 2017? Are you hitting up all of the KPL events? I will compete on the KPL tour while doing a few photo and video shoots. This shoot in the UK has inspired me to do more while I’m at home. There is so much to offer, you just have to be ready to go at the drop of a hat. Plus I’ll be attending dealer meetings and getting more involved with the R&D process at Slingshot. So it looks like it was nice to be home for a couple of weeks but I’m guessing you’re pretty stoked to head to Cape Town? Funnily enough I actually wasn’t going to go to Cape Town this year. I decided to have a break from the King of the Air for a year, partly because it’s very close to the first KPL event in the Philippines. So I decided to focus on the KPL as that is my best discipline and it’s really tricky trying to compete in multiple disciplines so close together. However I knew Ruben’s wedding would be a belter and I found a cheap flight and somewhere to stay so I just went for a week which was really fun. It was nice to see everyone and get a few jumps and loops out of my system, and it was really nice to be in Cape Town and not be worrying about the event…
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READER’S CHOICE
AWARDS 2016
It was a whirlwind year for female kiting with the freestyle bar being raised thanks to the World Kiteboarding League and more importantly the progression of the level of female riding. That, coupled with the creation of the Kite Park League, successful Junior World Championships and the continued growth in reach of KiteSista means that the presence and profile of female riders in our sport is at heights not yet seen and continuing to move upwards. It is time to say thank you and give credit to those making a difference and putting their hard work and effort into the cause. This leads to inevitable awards which 114 | TheKiteMag
often come down to an internet vote of popularity but you cannot remove the need for you the pubic to have your voice. The nominations however are up to us so this year rather than just throw the same winners and big names into the nominations we decided to look a little deeper and find riders and those involved in the industry who deserve credit for their hard work. We created the categories, proposed the nominations and spent the time to justify each nomination on www.kitesista.com and after a popular voting process we are very pleased to introduce you to the winners of the KiteSista Reader’s Choice Awards 2016.
THE BEST
FEMALE BRAND
AMBASSADOR
LILOO GRINGA For Crazyfly
The role of a female brand ambassador in kitesurfing can be a difficult path to tread with critics ready to punch from all sides regardless of the hard work and dedication you put in. No longer is being a competition winner, product tester, lifestyle blogger, social media superstar, magazine contributor, media generator, sales person, coach and inspirational speaker enough, now you must excel at everything to really be a great ambassador. The ambassador voted for by our readers was Liloo Gringa of CrazyFly so we sat down to talk to her.
DO YOU OFTEN FEEL PRESSURE WHEN YOU RIDE AS A FIRST LADY OF CRAZYFLY?
Actually I don’t feel pressure because I’m the only professional rider in the team and competing for the tour. However, I feel some pressure when I’m competing or doing photoshoots, because I want them to be proud of me and I want to give them my best. HOW MUCH IMPACT BASED ON YOUR FEEDBACK GOES INTO THE DEVELOPMENT OF BOTH THE FEMALE AND FREESTYLE
WHERE ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO RECENTLY?
PRODUCTS FROM CRAZYFLY?
I’ve been at my home spot in Venezuela for the last month. After
Giving my feedback to enhance the products is part of my job and
the event in Germany, I spent three months doing shoulder rehabilitation because I spent all of last year with an injury and I couldn’t handle the pain anymore - crazy, but I did’t want to take a break until I finished the 2016 season. So I decided to stop kiting for a few months to focus on my recovery. I feel much better now and am starting to train again, combining my kite training with
they pay very close attention to it. Also a lot of distributors and clients ask for my opinion before buying the products. CrazyFly is the first and only kiteboarding brand producing all of their equipment in their own factory based in Europe. Having their production and R&D department right next
rehabilitation and cross-fit to be more than ready for 2017!
to their offices allows them to be really reactive in product
HOW DID YOU END UP IN YOUR POSITIONS AT CRAZYFLY?
very quickly.
In 2014 I did a few stops of the kite tour paying for myself, but I could’t afford to do it again in 2015, even if I wanted to so bad. So I was in France, asking myself what I was going to do with my life and CrazyFly showed up like a miracle! They told me that they had selected me from the list of riders in the PKRA and were looking for a professional rider to become the main face of CrazyFly and to compete in all PKRA freestyle events. When I read that, I could not believe my eyes so I said YES and a lovely adventure with CrazyFly began. I have a great relationship with them, I feel part of the family and I’m rea ly grateful for what they have done for me.
development and applying innovation in serial production
WHAT DOES 2017 HAVE IN STORE FOR YOU?
2016 has been an amazing year apart from the injury and I hope 2017 will be even better! I’m starting to train again here in my home spot to be ready for the World Kiteboarding Tour. I want to take advantage of being in Venezuela to get some good media for my sponsors and travel to others spots like Adicora and Los Roques. I’m also organizing kiteboarding camps and will be doing the CrazyFly photoshoot for the 2018 products plus some other projects that I can’t talk about, but stay tuned for more!
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THE BEST
FEMALE RUN BRAND
BIANCA BIKINIS We wanted to reward the girl putting in the hard graft off the water to create a brand and products for you the kiting masses. Taking a dream and working hard at it, mastering commerce, marketing, accounting, logistics and a lot more to make it a reality. The winner was Bianca Bikinis and so we sat down with founder and owner Bianca Forzano. WHERE ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO RECENTLY?
Right now I’m in Cabarete. After a full autumn working hard in the city I’m finally in my Caribbean house enjoying the water, warm weather and my friends. I spent last month in Italy working on the 2017 production of Bianca Bikinis. We are an Italian brand and all production is hand made in Italy in a little factory with 12 women cutting and sewing all pieces with their hands. I wanted to offer a high quality product and “Made in Italy” has always been synonymous with good quality, and I also wanted to support the historical “sartoria italiana” of my country instead of escaping to other countries for cheaper production. Now the Surf Capsule collection is ready and soon will be available online for all the water-girls. FOR THOSE WHO DON’T KNOW, TELL US HOW BIANCA BIKINIS CAME TO BE?
I love to tell this story because it is a story of a radical change and still now sometimes I wonder how it all happened. All my “first life” I was career oriented. From primary school to MBA to business consulting work, I worked hard to be the first to reach my goals until eight years ago something made me doubt that life was just that. I was feeling that I was missing something important: I was missing time! For me, for my hobbies, for my family and friends, for discovering the world, or just for chilling. Kitesurfing definitely helped me to jump into the new adventure of my “second life” and as I started traveling around I discovered Cabarete. I loved it so much that I decided to make it my base! After some years doing many different things I started sewing bikinis with the style of the Mediterranean islands where I grew up for myself but all my friends were loving my designs so I started to make more 116 | TheKiteMag
and sell them at the beach markets. Then some fashion shows, shoots with friends and improvements to be durable and stay in place and Bianca Bikinis became a real business.It’s easy to think that it is just fun and sun but it is definitely hard work and I’m happy that I was well trained for that from my previous life. So now I’m still success and goals oriented but my goals and ways to define success are just different. HAVE YOU SEEN A NOTICEABLE CHANGE IN STYLE OF FEMALE KITERS AND THE NUMBER OF BIKINI BRANDS SPECIFICALLY AIMED AT THIS MARKET?
When I started to kite I could not even imagine doing it in a bikini. Most of the time I was wearing the oversized board shorts of my instructor or when water was cold a terrible wetsuit I was ashamed to be in. I was a beginner and I needed to concentrate on the kite and not on the little tiny piece of fabric covering my butt or not. After starting Bianca Bikinis and as a kite girl I am more aware of the market and I can say that definitely now there is more demand in the market.The girls are more extreme than the average sun bather but don’t want to lose their cheeky style when they are in the water so each year new brands and new styles appear which is great. WERE YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS AFFECTED BY THE RECENT STORMS IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC?
I was lucky not to be in Cabarete during the storm as my business is almost fully based in Italy. Cabarete is the magical place where the business was born which gave me the inspiration, the idea, the beautiful kite girl friends that now are ambassadors of the brand, the playground where we ride and test the new samples in action, and definitely the wonderful backdrop for all the pictures and videos. WHAT DOES 2017 HAVE IN STORE FOR YOU?
A teaser for the new Surf Capsule collection is already online for a few months and we have been testing the products surfing and kiting in Cabarete. Now the production is ready and soon will be online and available to buy on the Bianca Bikinis website which should keep me busy.
THE BEST FEMALE VIDEO RITA ARNAUS
Ready to bloom
There has been a huge increase in the number of videos coming from the girls this year which combine both quality of edit and content. So many in fact that we had trouble narrowing the nominations down. However the winner we will not disagree with as we know she also put the hard work in and edited the video
This is how Ready to Bloom came to be! I was very motivated and I was also enjoying my kite career to the maximum so I wanted to capture it and show it to the world! WE SAW HEARTBREAKING PHOTOS OF YOU AS YOU
herself, so we sat down for a chat with Rita Arnaus.
NARROWLY MISS GETTING INTO THE FINAL AT THE LAST WKL
WHERE ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO RECENTLY?
MUCH EMOTION WHEN ALMOST EVERYONE AROUND YOU
I am in Cape Town and have been having a lot of fun as I just joined the Brunotti team and we are all together shooting for the next season and it has been a really amazing experience with a cool team. IS THIS YOUR FIRST TIME IN CAPE TOWN?
Yes! Since last year I really wanted to go to Cape Town but somehow it didn’t happen so I’m super excited to be here and really looking forward to getting to know this place better
EVENT IN NEW CALEDONIA. HOW DID YOU DEAL WITH SO WAS FULL OF JOY CELEBRATING?
I was also full of joy and celebrating!! 2016 was a really good one for me, I learned a lot and I got loads of experience. I’m actually very grateful of how things went, everything happens the way it has to be for a reason and from everything you have to take a lesson. I was really happy that I was able to do such a great performance in the water in the New Caledonia competition but also disappointed that it wasn’t enough to make it to the final. I have
as it is all very beautiful and breathtaking!!
been through a lot in the past years, sometimes actually thinking
WE KNOW THAT YOU DIDN’T JUST STAR IN THIS VIDEO BUT YOU
I worked really hard to make it where I am today.
ALSO DID ALL THE EDITING YOURSELF. HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO GET TO A LEVEL YOU FELT COMFORTABLE PUTTING OUT ONE OF YOUR OWN VIDEOS?
I really like to edit videos although it takes a lot of time to do. I think it’s a nice way to really show how you experience the moments and how you see them. The first kite video that I edited was from the Caribbean three years ago. It wasn’t very good but you have to start somewhere. I knew I had a lot to learn and big scope for improvement. The kite video that made a big difference was my first video from Brazil two years ago as I got great feedback from people so I knew I had to improve it and make an even better one the next time!
that I was too late for this as I only started kiting five years ago but
My passion and love for this sport is endless and I know that I have so much more to give so I am really sure one day the results from all my efforts are going to show. WHAT DOES 2017 HAVE IN STORE FOR YOU?
As I mentioned I have joined the Brunotti team for 2017. I will keep riding Best kites so I have the perfect combination for a great year. I have some video projects in mind and new travel destinations and of course I’m looking forward very much to start the 2017 competitions. I have a good feeling that this year is going to be a good one. TheKiteMag | 117
THE BEST
FREESTYLE COMPETITOR THERESE TAABBEL
Winning does not make you the best competitor. A great competitor
a good balance between having fun on the water and pushing
is just as good at taking a loss and being a worthy adversary. We have
myself. I think back to the reason I started kiteboarding and why
stood on the sidelines and watched as the year’s competition unfolded
it makes me so happy that I am willing to sacrifice different things
showing the true spirit of competition of the top female freestyle riders
to work on my goals. That is also one of the things that keeps me
as they battle it out. This is why we were in complete agreement with
motivated, thinking about why I love this sport and that really makes
the public vote having watched this young rider show exemplary
me happy being on the water feeling the adrenalin.
sportsmanship in competition and are pleased that we get to sit down with the winner, Therese Taabbel.
WE SEE YOU HAVE BEEN GETTING INTO THE SLIDERS QUITE
WHERE ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO RECENTLY?
EVENTS THIS YEAR?
I am just back from Brazil which is always a perfect place for training
We will see where 2017 is gonna take me. I love mixing up my training
for the upcoming season. Good wind, flat water and always people to
on the water; wakeboarding, kitesurfing, freestyle, foiling or sliders. It
kite with followed by celebrating Christmas at home with my family.
keeps my motivation going, and also there are hundreds of different
WE HOPE YOU REMEMBER THE MOMENT IN GERMANY WHEN YOU WENT MID-HEAT TO HELP RITA ARNAUS WHO WAS IN TROUBLE WITH HER KITE. DID YOU WEIGH UP YOUR OPTIONS OR WAS IT A PRETTY NATURAL REACTION FOR YOU?
She was struggling with her kite as it had inverted and she had gone
A BIT RECENTLY. WILL YOU BE COMPETITNG AT ANY OF THE KPL
things that I want to learn within the different aspects of our sport. Freestyle will still be my main focus for 2017 but I can’t count out competing in the KPL if it fits in. I have been practicing a bit. Will see where the wind will take me. WHAT DOES 2017 HAVE IN STORE FOR YOU?
very far downwind. I went straight to her because the kite just needed
2017 has just begun and I am sure there is plenty in store. The World
that little push to get into the right position. To be honest I did not
Kiteboarding League is kicking off in April and there will be some
even think about it, I went there straight away as I had a few minutes
pretty amazing tour stops around the world. I am so excited for the
until it was my turn to perform my trick. If I had been in a situation
tour to begin as the girls are really pushing the level. It’s so cool to
like that I would have been so grateful and happy if my friend helped
be a part of a new kitesurfing generation of rockin’ powerful women.
me. Even though we are tough competitors - you have to be able to see a line between competing and still being there for each other. It did not
WHICH NEW TRICKS ARE YOU WORKING ON?
influence my own result and I know Rita was very happy for my help.
I have been trying to focus on a different direction by doing some tricks
DO YOU FIND YOU HAVE TO SACRIFICE CERTAIN ASPECTS OF FREERIDING TO TRAIN FOR COMPETITION AND IS IT A CONSCIOUS CHOICE FOR YOU?
most other girls could not do. This winter I started to work on some toe-side tricks and so far I landed the Pete Rose (toe-side back-to-blind), but there are many more tricks to learn so I better keep practicing.
Sometimes of course I need to focus more on training as I need to do
Thank you to everyone that voted for me, I am full of gratitude and
that to push myself and try to reach my next level but I try to keep
very thankful. Also thank you to my sponsors for your full support:
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Cabrinha & Lindberg DK.
THE BEST
JUNIOR FEMALE RIDER
AND ROLE MODEL
MIKAILI SOL These days just being a good rider is not enough, you have a responsibility through the exposure it allows you to also be a role model. We often look to the older riders to fill this role, but as the media coverage of the junior riders grows there is a new generation of young riders looking to the best of their peers to inspire them. We are lucky to have an inspirational group of young female talent emerging. Topping this group is the young Mikaili Sol, dominating her age group and those above in the Junior competition and off the water she is a real pleasure to spend time in the company of. WHERE ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO RECENTLY?
At the moment, I am packing my suitcases and getting ready to return to Brazil. I have spent this past month experiencing snow, sleet and rain for the first time while visiting my family in the United States. Remember my mom is American and my dad is Brazilian. So even though I was born and raised in Brazil, I am half American. While in the States, I hooked up with Sadie Morway, an amazing athletic trainer, and spent three days a week for the month learning about the physical aspects of my body and how it relates to kitesurfing. She helped me with so many exercises in order to improve my flexibility, strength and endurance. I also had the opportunity to do gymnastics! Wow, you think kitesurfing is hard? Well, in my opinion, gymnastics takes it to another level! I learned to do the kip on the bars. This trick uses so much of your lower abdominals that it is kind of like doing a Slim Chance where you have to get your board above your head… If you didn’t know, the Slim, well, it is ALL lower abs and timing.
I really don’t feel the pressure to compete on the “big stage” as you call it! Yes, I am excited to do a few stops on the Pro Tour this year if possible because I think it will be a great experience not because I have to win and be on the podium! Don’t get me wrong, I love to win, too. But, I am young and I have time on my side! Just having the opportunity to travel around the world, meet new people and kitesurf with the best is what is the most important for me right now. It is all part of my life and my adventure. And one day when I am a little older, being number one on that podium will surely be one of my goals! AWAY FROM THE WORLD OF KITESURFING, WHAT INSPIRES YOU IN LIFFE?
There are a lot of people that inspire me in my life but my mom is a different kind of person! I think she is the most inspirational of all because she is a really good example of what she preaches! She always tells me I am capable of doing anything as long as I am dedicated, honest, hard working and have a good education. She always tells me that nothing comes for free! My mom has had an amazing life. She tells me that life is all about your experiences and adventures, not only being number one on the podium! When my mom was around 30 years old she traveled alone around South America for two years on her motorcycle with a tent! I don’t know about you guys, but to do that, it takes a lot of courage! She was also a very high level competitive gymnast and at my grandparents house, she has a lot of trophies, medals and plaques. She was also a school teacher, so she stresses the importance of a good education and how invaluable it is. She too is always reading and studying and working! So those are just
THIS MIGHT BE THE LONGEST YOU HAVE SPENT AWAY FROM THE
a few reasons why my mom inspires me the most. She inspires me
WATER (WELL, IN LIQUID FORM AT LEAST!)... HOW HARD IS IT FOR
to be brave, strong and dedicated to whatever choices I make. She
YOU TO BE AWAY FROM THE SUN, SEA AND KITING?
supports and encourages me to follow my dreams, believe in myself
Actually, being away from the sun, sea and kiting was a nice change of pace! I live on the beach in Ceará, Brazil where the wind blows everyday. Kitesurfing is my true passion but it is nice to experience new things and take a break every now and then. Remember, I am only 12 years old. But now, after freezing for a month, I am really anxious for some Brazilian sunshine, warm water, and an epic kite session!
and do what I love most… Kitesurfing!!! WHAT DOES 2017 HAVE IN STORE FOR YOU?
I have lots in store for 2017! But, let’s take it one day at a time. Once I am back in Brazil, I will train and prepare myself for the Jr. Kitesurfing Championship in France. Then, I will see how things evolve. One things for sure, I can only thank my parents for believing in me and
DO YOU FEEL PRESSURE TO COMPETE ON THE BIG STAGE NOW
sacrificing so much in order to give me the support and opportunities
YOU HAVE WORLD TITLES UNDER YOUR BELT, WITH A LOT OF
I need to become the best that I can be!
EXPECTATIONS ON YOU?
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THE HARDEST WORKING
FEMALE CONTRIBUTOR
TO THE INDUSTRY
CRYSTAL VENESS This is an award we want to give out to the unsung heroines of our
That’s a bit of a mixed bag. In kiteboarding media, I think women
industry who are responsible for the furthering of female kitesurfing
are very well represented thanks to sources like KiteSista and fans
through continued hard work and support of the industry even when
of kiteboarding who are connecting with us on social platforms.
it doesn’t always come with praise and accolades. Our winner may
There’s definitely still an imbalance in competition and prize money
not be a household name or hold a lucrative sponsorship deal, but
for the pro ladies, though there’s typically less kite chicas competing
she knows how to contribute to projects, be professional in all that
and registering for events in general. What I really love seeing is how
she does and in the times we have collaborated together has always
many girls are showing up at the beach - often solo - and ready to throw
impressed us with her professionalism and work ethic. So we are very
down as hard as they can on the water. I see the number of ladies riding
pleased to introduce you to Crystal Veness.
on the up and up, and that is seriously awesome!
WHERE ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO RECENTLY?
WE SEE YOU HAVE BEEN GETTING REALLY INTO THE CABLE PARK
It seems like I’m constantly on the move these days... depending on the
RECENTLY, WAS IT A PRETTY NATURAL PROGRESSION FROM KITING?
week, I’m in San Francisco, Seattle, La Ventana (Mexico), or looking for
Cable park and snowboarding have both been massive sources of stoke
some fresh powder in Banff (Canada)! Lately,I’ve had my head down
for me. The board skills that I learned from kiting make learning and
launching the next phase of my small business consulting company
progression easy, and nothing feels better than nailing a new trick or
and developing a 24 hour ‘Concept-to-Completion’ web design
technique, whatever the sport. So yes, one board sport inevitably leads
business. That, and searching for every adrenaline rush I can find
to others, and all the good times and confidence I pick up in other
wherever I happen to be!
sports add a lot of joy to my kiteboarding. More excuses to strap on
HAVE YOU ALWAYS BEEN SUCH AN AMBITIOUS PERSON AND WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO BRING THIS AMBITION TO THE KITEBOARDING INDUSTRY?
a board and go for it? Hell yeah. WHAT DOES 2017 HAVE IN STORE FOR YOU?
2017 is the year of balance. I’ve been very focused on my priorities and
Yes! I grew up working an obscene amount. Nothing really existed in
conscioiusly trying to align every action I take or decision I make with
my life outside of work, and while it was certainly worth it, it wasn’t
them. When trying to juggle my businesses, full time travel, kitesurfing
always fun. After selling my business shares, I finally got to choose
progression, and personal relationships, finding my footing feels like
my own direction, and I was excited to learn that it is, in fact, possible
a constant challenge. But the best things in life are rarely handed to
to love what you do. I put passion and energy into everything I do,
us, so it’s always worth the battle. I plan to be traveling to either a kite
because I only do things I love. It’s only natural to bring the ambition
spot, cable spot, or snow spot every month,and really taking time to
and energy to this industry, because that’s how I approach everything
appreciate my friends and family. 2017 is already delivering in spades,
that’s important to me! Kiteboarding is in my soul.
and I’ll be out there crushing it every single day!
DO YOU FEEL THERE IS STILL AN IMBALANCE OF THE SEXES IN THE INDUSTRY OR HAVE THE SCALES BEEN REDRESSED?
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THE MOST
“ STEEZIEST ”
PARK RIDER
JULIA CASTRO
2016 has certainly been the year of park riding. With the formation of the KPL and a host of events around the world we have had a chance to see a number of girls stepping up to the challenge of kickers and sliders. Park riding is however all about ‘steez’ (‘style with ease’ in case you were wondering) and this girl has got it. It gives us great pleasure to talk to Julia Castro. WHERE ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO RECENTLY?
I am in Denmark right now. For the past six months I’ve been at university... No, I didn’t go to Brazil or Australia... I stayed at uni studying and having a boring life. It is quite difficult to be able to attend lessons, pass exams and so on at the same time as traveling the world, training and competing... So I thought I would be happy in the future if now I passed my whole first semester... So yeah, it’s been pretty tough and boring but... I hope I won’t regret it in the future. HOW HARD IS IT TO STAY AT HOME BURIED IN BOOKS WHEN YOU KNOW SO MANY OF YOUR OTHER FELLOW RIDERS SKIP SCHOOL (OR HAVE FINISHED) AND ARE OUT HAVING FUN?
Well, you just said it all. It’s been really hard on my mind... Social media makes spotting where everyone is and how much fun they are having really easy. I hope in the long term this will have been a good decision. I do know that while everyone else is getting more and more new tricks I am home working on my brain... but let’s not rush 2017 and let’s see how my late winter training goes. HOW MUCH OF A CHALLENGE WAS IT FOR A ‘KITER’ TO ENTER INTO THE EUROPEAN WAKE CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR THE FIRST TIME?
The thing is that in 2016 I discovered that wakeboarding was way less painful than kitesurfing for my shoulder, so I focused a bit more on wakeboarding and on doing sliders with my kite. When I appeared at the Spanish Champs I had a pretty good level and winning gave
me direct access to the Wakeboarding European Championships in Tel Aviv. I honestly didn’t think I was going to make it to the finals as the level was very high as all the other people live for wakeboarding and do it every day. So there was I, Julia the kitesurfer. In the end I managed to pull out a pretty decent heat and managed to get 6th place. I was crazy stoked but also had a bitter sweet feeling knowing I could have done better with more training. DO YOU FEEL THERE IS A CONVERGENCE BETWEEN KITE AND WAKE GOING ON, OR WILL WAKEBOARDERS ALWAYS VIEW US KITERS A BIT DIFFERRENTLY?
Well, wakeboarders don’t want to admit it but they all want to try kitesurfing. Actually, I feel there is a lot of respect at cableparks for us. I hate to speak in the “they” and “us” way but everyone recognizes that I am a kitesurfer with my North Gambler board but if you are respectful in the water, everything is fine. Like everything in life I guess. WHAT DOES 2017 HAVE IN STORE FOR YOU?
I sincerely have no idea. 2016 was a year full of ups and downs and 2017 is supposed to be the year where I don’t remember I had a surgery on my shoulder anymore so I won’t have any mental block stopping me. You’ll see me trying to get up there on the KPL events and maybe the new freestyle tour! Let’s see! Stoked for my kite life to begin again. Can I add something? BIG thanks to everyone who’s there supporting me (sponsors, family, people all over the world), including you, KiteSista! You guys are the fuel of what we do! Thank you! Danke! Mange Tak! Merci! Obrigada!
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METEOROLOGY
METEOROLOGY WITH TONY BUTT
PHOTO: CARLOS TORO W W W.W H I T E WAV E S.E U
CO L D WAT E R , PA R T 2 When we get cold in the water, we shiver and our hands and feet go numb. These processes evolved as involuntary defense mechanisms against the cold. In the last article I came to the conclusion that those mechanisms are mostly inadequate to guard against the cold. We have been out of Africa for such a relatively short time that evolution hasn’t had a chance to give us the efficient colddefense systems that we see in other mammals. Polar bears or seals, for example, have spent a lot longer adapting to the cold than we have, and rely on an impressive array of built-in central-heating mechanisms, not just hair and blubber. The only reason we humans are able to survive in continuously cold and wet climates is because of our large, clever brains, which have harnessed fire and invented shelter and clothing – including wetsuits. However, we do seem to have an inbuilt capacity for short-term adjustment against the cold. This can be seen quite clearly in various modern cultures around the world. For example, until recently the Ama women divers of Japan and Korea regularly spent many hours a day diving in waters of around 7ºC using only thin cotton outfits. Then, of course, you have a whole sub-culture living right amongst us: the cold-water swimmers. Lewis Gordon Pugh spent months training in ice-filled pools before swimming around the Cape Peninsula, and then, unbelievably, performed a one-kilometer swim in minus 1.7 ºC degree water at the North Pole wearing just a pair of speedos. (Seawater freezes at about minus 2ºC). 122 | TheKiteMag
C O L D WAT E R K I T E T E S T I N G W I T H THE PEAK3. FACT: THE EXCITEMENT CAUSED BY UNPACKING A BRAND N E W K I T E M E A N S YO U C A N S TAY O U T IN THE COLD FOR AN HOUR LONGER...
So how do we do it? Well, there is evidence that we temporarily adapt ourselves to the cold by simply conditioning our bodies to function at a lower temperature. There are two ways in which we do this: hypothermic habituation and cold-induced vasodilation. Hypothermic habituation is where we let our core temperature drop a small amount, and then learn to operate our bodies at that lower temperature. Members of some modern huntergatherer societies such as Native Australians and Namibians sleep outside on the ground with little or no clothing in the desert where temperatures fall to around 0ºC. If you or I went straight out and tried to do this, we would probably spend all night shivering. However, these people are able to let their core temperature drop a couple of degrees, which allows the shivering threshold to drop to a lower temperature. But the important thing to realize is that we all have the potential to develop the technique. Given a few weeks of sleeping outside, most of us could probably ‘teach’ our shivering threshold to creep to a lower temperature. But then once back in a warm environment we would quickly lose that ability. In fact, observations of Ama fisherwomen and desert nomads have shown that their ability to withstand the cold comes and goes with the seasons, and has to be ‘relearned’ every winter. The second mechanism is cold-induced vasodilation. In the previous article I talked about cold-induced vasoconstriction, which evolved to shunt the blood away from the extremities towards the inner core, in order to preserve the vital organs. Well, it turns out that the blood vessels don’t actually shut down continuously; they intermittently open and close, or dilate and constrict. If you repeatedly expose your hands and feet to colder temperatures, the vessels tend to stay closed for shorter periods
of time and stay open for longer, meaning that your hands and feet don’t go so numb so quickly. This can be clearly seen in people whose hands are continuously cold, such as those who work in fish factories. Cold-induced vasodilation might at first seem contradictory. Why close the blood vessels to protect the vital organs but then start to open them up again? At first, the body is not used to dealing with the cold, so it overreacts by closing the blood vessels right down so that the vital organs are protected no matter what. But then, once it becomes accustomed to the cold, it can start to risk opening them up a bit more until it finds the right balance between open and closed phases for a particular outside temperature. In the same way that you can train yourself to shiver less, you also can train your hands and feet to not go so numb, by gradually exposing them to the cold. Experiments have shown that about half an hour a day over about a month can be sufficient. So, even though evolution hasn’t given us very efficient ways of insulating ourselves from the cold, it seems that all of us have the ability to become accustomed to the cold by training our bodies to function better in cold conditions. In the same way as half an hour of jogging a day will increase your heart and lung capacity, half an hour a day in cold water will bring down your shivering threshold and stop your hands and feet getting too numb. So, if you are planning a trip to a cold-water destination, obviously remember to take a good wetsuit. But if you are really serious, maybe try a cold bath every day for a few weeks before you go… TheKiteMag | 123
TO M
R E A P I N G
P H OTO :
TO B Y
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T H E
R E WA R D S …
B R O M W I C H
A P PIN G
W
R
U P R I S K
V E R S U S TO M
R E WA R D
CO U R T
So after reading Sam Medysky’s lament a couple of issues back about the inherent risks within our beloved sport (whether you had previously considered them or not) it got me thinking... Dealing with the risks of the elements is always something to consider, and when you are talking about wind, water and the ocean, control is very rarely in your hands. It is an interesting topic and I feel that there is an increasing focus on risk in modern day life. There was a time that if you broke your leg, then the consequences of that action were yours to deal with in terms of the associated pain and recovery time. However, I feel that modern life has come somewhat disconnected from that and has cocooned itself with an increasing pile of, dare I say, bullsh*t for risk mitigation,
risk assessments, blame passing and every method possible of reducing potential hazards. Well, I am not here to say that this sort of ‘pampering’ is wrong, however I am going to play Devil’s Advocate in this article. I think that taking risks is what makes us tick – if you ask any business man, sports athlete or successful person, then taking risks will be at the core of their mantra. It makes us feel alive and it is those risks that we take each time we go on the water which make kiteboarding such an incredible sport. When I first started kiting, I was about 11 years old and the first kite that we had was a 5m Wipika Classic two line kite with no safety system. I was shackled to the chicken loop with no quick release. Each time I turned up to the beach I remember the fear and sense of trepidation. I was afraid of the gear, afraid of the water, and afraid of the wind. It was those fears that I needed to overcome in order to learn the sport that I now love. Once I had learned to harness those risks and persisted with the learning process and overcome the fear, it was that same adrenaline that stayed with me throughout my progression in the sport. To this day I think that it was that first respect for the dangers of the sport that led me to revolve my life around it. Ever since those first emotions, I think I have been chasing that same risk factor that I felt then. It kept me pushing the limits and searching for that next progression – whether it was learning kite
loop handle passes on a Wipika Wip at the age of fifteen, or jumping off the Cuban Castle, or pushing the limits of riding rails, bigger setups and taking bigger chances. It has all been in the pursuit of that risk that has always motivated me, whether I knew it or not at the time… I am currently coming back from a knee injury. Blowing my ACL ligament has always been my worst nightmare as a pro kiter. Although it is never good to injury yourself, it has had its positive sides. It is an incredible learning experience to come back from injury, both mentally and physically. Forcing me to educate myself on the physical implications and also dealing with the psychology of a recovery and, although there are plenty of negative impacts of an injury of this scale, you can take some positives for it if your mindset is right. So I would say to think about the virtue of taking risks, of pushing your limits and keeping yourself engaged, and of not being afraid to push yourself and to chase the reward of accomplishment. For me this is what makes kiteboarding so great: playing with elements that are out of our control, letting go and immersing yourself in enjoyment. That’s not to say you shouldn’t make every effort to keep safe out there, think about others, wear a crash vest and anything else that makes you feel comfortable. Just don’t let the risk put you off!
I T I S A N I N C R E D I B L E L E A R N I N G E X P E R I E N C E TO CO M E B AC K F R O M I N J U R Y, B O T H M E N TA L L Y A N D P H Y S I C A L L Y.
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