Innholdsfortegnelse for #37 i TheKiteMag

If you had to show someone who had never seen kitesurfing before one picture to perfectly capture what it is all about then surely this would be a great contender… It’s got it all. The location has that ‘not my home spot’ vibe which perfectly encapsulates the freedom we have when we look at the map and choose a place to visit on the planet just because of its wind stats. The rider, Christoph Hesina, perfectly illustrates the freedom that kitesurfing gives us. Can you jump this high in ANY other sport? No. Can you get in a cheeky nose grab while you’re taking in the view? Hell yeah. Can you pull on the bar to eek out another couple of seconds of airborne ecstasy? Sure, why not. So yes,…

ALEX MAES I have always loved that Slingshot stayed true to its identity. What was the biggest challenge when creating your own brand compared to the challenges the brand is facing today? The challenges are not a lot different today than when Slingshot was being created back in 1999. Never enough financial resources, and everybody wearing a lot of hats! I’m happy we have stayed true to our identity and hopefully we can continue to do that as I think it is so important to the brand. REED BRADY How was it going from brothers, to brothers in business? Like a lot of brothers, we have our share of moments. Families working together can be a struggle because of the history that sometimes follows. Being the big brother might make…

AND GET SIX ISSUES OF THE MAGAZINE PLUS THE ULTIMATE TEST GUIDE 2020 AND OUR DESTINATION GUIDES. Not enough? Okay, how about a free tee and cap? And we will even throw in a 10% discount! Just head over to our website and hit the Subscribe button and enter the code GET10. SUBSCRIBE NOW THEKITEMAG.COM STOKE WAVE - FREESTYLE 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 12 // INTUITIVE HANDLING // MASSIVE POP // AWESOME DRIFT The STOKE is explosive, versatile and dynamic. This all rounder off ers sporty performance, reacting fast to rider inputs. The kite has an awesome barfeeling and is suited to enthusiasts shredding waves or stomping freestyle moves. Get stoked! Rider: Johanna-Catharina Edin Photographer: Jonathan Strömberg, Benni Geislinger FOLLOW FLYSURFERKITEBOARDING ……

A Colombian, an Italian and a Dutchie traveling the world separately as a team and competing on the World Tour A Colombian, an Italian and a Dutchie traveling the world separately as a team and competing on the World Tour. Coming from three completely different cultures, chasing the same dream with different visions in life. Gianma, the oldest at only 26 years old and the most experienced rider of the three saw Val and I as groms coming into the tour. He took us under his wings during training and competitions and taught us some useful life lessons. I sat down with him to talk about how things have played out between the three of us… It all started in Greece when I saw Val on the side of the…

From her secret Scandinavian hideaway, Kari Schibevaag spends more days on the water (or snow) with a kite in a year than most of us manage in 10… So when the Wind Wing appeared on the scene she had her doubts, would this young pretender get in the way of her one true love? Well, she tried not to like it but – as many are finding – it’s hard not to… And of course - this being Kari - she has been up to much more than just ‘winging it’, so we thought would take the chance to load up some more quality Scandinavian photo content while we’re at it… Since I was young, I have always dreamt of flying like a bird. And kiting has made my dream…

THE MOVE: The KGB 7 is one of my favorite tricks. It is one of those tricks that can get you a full score in a competition which is important to me! I love this trick so much because it brings me so much adrenalin and it makes me feel like a superhero – it is a very technical trick and it requires a lot of effort in order to land it. But once you get it, you truly feel amazing! THE STEPS: • Ride fast and at a constant speed with the kite at 1pm. • Fully commit and you will need to make a great pop. Remember you need to be high enough to then pass the bar twice around your back. • Keep your kite low as…

If you thought you had seen all that could be achieved in the world of ‘surf’ boards then think again. While most boards pretend that they would like to head out on a lip-seeking mission, the new Magnet Carbon from F-ONE only has one thing on its mind: airtime. It is the skinniest and stealthiest surfboard we’ve seen, so what is going on?! Raphaël Salles explains himself… WE ARE SUPER INTRIGUED TO SEE SUCH A LIGHT AND THIN-PROFILED SURFBOARD. WHY DID YOU DECIDE ON THIS AND WHAT TECHNOLOGY HAS GONE INTO DEVELOPING AND CONSTRUCTING THE MAGNET CARBON? We were finding that our pro riders had technical needs which were becoming more and more similar to those of a twintip freestyler – specifically they were looking for more rigidity and comfort.…

Although Essaouira may not be known for easy kiting conditions – though it did host the Kiteboarding World Cup for over 10 successful years – there is so much to do here, that each day is another adventure. The wind can be gusty and strong, but each session offers so much incredible scenery, so many different spots to adventure to, and alongside that the enchanting “medina”, the heart of Essaouira, where you can get lost for hours on end browsing the shops and market stalls, tasting the delicious food, and taking in the most historical part of this magical city. Essaouira is known as the windy city, and it is often windy all through the year, but the north-easterly trade winds are strongest from April to September, where you will…

As a professional kitesurfer, you are constantly traveling from the most beautiful locations to the next. Training as much as possible to improve yourself and to create as much content in the process. Normally I would be in Morocco during this time of the year for coaching and a competition. Afterwards I would fly to Mauritius and Indonesia. Unfortunately, this season is a bit different. At the beginning of 2020 we were all still planning our trips for the season, but around March it became pretty clear that we could throw our entire schedule in the bin and focus on having some quality time at home… I was planning to be in Iceland to shoot another documentary and photo series with Rein Rijke for The Last Line. The Last Line…

Before this year’s GKA competition I was able to take photos of almost all the riders. Although conditions were not good for the actual GKA event (which was moved to Kite Beach), Ponta Preta was on fire for the two weeks before the event, and many of the competitors arrived early to familiarize themselves with the wave and enjoy some perfect conditions for practice time on the water. It was during this time that these photos were taken and I was stoked to see the improvement and skill demonstrated by all the riders on what is one of the best waves in the world for kitesurfing. Without the pressure of the actual competition, each rider appeared in their element and were determined to try out and practice new skills, techniques…

Seeking to escape the cold and grey British winter, Olly and I headed out to Perth on a 16-hour direct flight from London. We chose to visit Western Australia for a number of reasons: consistent wind, unchartered spots, the Red Bull Lighthouse to Leighton race, but most importantly, we both really wanted to visit the one other place on the planet also named Exmouth (the same as our hometown in the UK). Arriving in Perth, our first challenge was to find a vehicle we could call home for two months to take us on the 9000 km round-trip, all the way up to Exmouth and back down to Esperance. Rental companies proved way too expensive and had low daily distance limits, not ideal when traveling a country almost as big…

You can have a trip pre-planned and all figured out. And then the unexpected happens. The one thing you wouldn’t see coming in a million years. A global pandemic. So you adapt. And in the midst of crisis, the magic happens. We stepped aboard the Action Cruise in Grenada, an island situated in the Eastern Caribbean. Nine days of sailing on a catamaran, with only one goal: kiting in some of the most picturesque spots imaginable. Hosted by the positively spirited Italian captain Federico and amusing French Masterchef Jordane, the trip was already set up for success. All in all, we were six people aboard the catamaran, ready to go and explore. From the port of Grenada we set sail towards the Grenadines, a group of islands that are a…

2014 APEX V1 The original Apex Ad featured a young Oswald Smith framed by a 16 x 12 canvas, an evolution of the geometric board graphic hand painted by artist Tim Goodman. The background was prepared in the workshop and reassembled on the waters edge. APEX V2 Extending the theme of geometric line art, the next generation Apex was shot with Bas Koole. Two massive mirrors were installed in the water and shot through the day until the reflections and light were perfect. Seven years of massive bad luck awaited if we got this wrong during setup! 2016 APEX V3 So how do you evolve that idea? Combining the original geometric theme of the wall with the mirrors created a whole new set of engineering challenges but the outcome created…

THE MOVE: The One Foot Front Roll is a move that I really like, as it is not very difficult to do and you can add a lot of style to it. It was one of the first moves I learned after the Front Roll and it is a great one to have for those light wind sessions. Grabbing the board is challenging, but once you have it dialed it is easy to keep rolling it out! THE STEPS: • To do the trick you have to have good speed, so the board sticks to your feet. Then make sure you make a good pop by pressing down hard on the back foot before taking off. • Pop hard and bring the front knee towards you, allowing the board to…

RRD have dropped their new Y25 harness line up. It’s a little different to other harness collections and is definitely worth getting your head around before you make your selection. Thankfully, RRD’s Product Manager Reinier Korstanje was happy to take the time out to walk us through it… CAN YOU EXPLAIN YOUR PHILOSOPHY TO HARNESSES AT RRD? YOU DON’T BELIEVE THAT ‘ANY’ HARNESS WILL WORK FOR ‘ANY’ RIDER – IS THAT RIGHT? We believe that no one is the same. We all have a different back curve, prefer different styles of riding and favor different levels of flexibility and stiffness. Therefore, the shape, support and materials used for harness design varies between models, and so does the price. CAN YOU TALK US THROUGH YOUR Y25 HARNESS LINE UP AND WHAT…

For the first time in history, the snowkite season was terminated by the government, and not by the warming spring sun. After this unexpected and abrupt end, it took a never-ending amount of time until the thermal winds were finally kicking in again. Definitely time to start the kitesurf season with a trip to the lake of Uri in Switzerland and get feet onto boards again… The spot at Lake Uri is in the middle of breathtaking scenery, but getting on the water is tricky. The lake is surrounded by cliff walls that don’t offer many options to enter, but, even worse than that, there are almost no exits. Last but not least, the winds can be strong close to the cliff walls, but then it cannot reach the launching…

I DIDN’T DUCK MY HEAD ENOUGH AND BANGED IT HARD ON A POINT WHERE THERE WAS A BOLT STICKING OUT! HANNAH, TELL US ABOUT THIS TRIP? It was really cool! We traveled all over the Caribbean by boat to Martinique, St Lucia, St Vincent and The Grenadines. I was with the best company, my team mates Francesca Bagnoli, Pippa Van Iersel, Paula Novotná, and of course you Colleen! WHAT WAS IT LIKE LIVING ON THE BOAT? To be totally honest with you, I was excited to come to the Caribbean but I was not really looking forward to living on a boat for two weeks. I can get really seasick so I knew if the weather was rough, it could be a challenging trip. It turned out quite differently, we…

The Ultra campaign was a composite image, created with the mountains from Kenya, star-filled sky from the Cederberg, and a few different shots of Gijs in Langebaan. We reached out to Craig Kolesky with the brief of “Light Years Ahead”. Combining the technical challenges of shooting in near darkness for the correct mood along with the consideration of the final composition. The outcome was the blend of Gijs on the Ultra, blasting through the night in another world. THEN YOU HAVE YOUR “DESTINATION STORES”, WHAT IS THE PHILOSOPHY HERE? That has been another really fun project where we worked with key partners in Hood River, Cape Town, and Tarifa to offer a complete brand experience, showcasing our full range. Customers can talk to staff who have a deep knowledge of…

The man behind Eleveight’s current twintip line up has shaped more boards than you have probably had kite sessions… It’s fair to say that Franz Schitzhofer knows his stuff. Here he takes us through what has been keeping him busy with with the new line up. FRANZ, YOU’VE BEEN IN THE INDUSTRY A LONG TIME, AND YOU’VE MADE SOME CLASSIC BOARDS FOR VARIOUS BRANDS OVER THE YEARS. TELL US ABOUT YOUR BOARD MAKING HISTORY AND HOW YOUR WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE HAS INFLUENCED THE ELEVEIGHT BOARD RANGE? Yeah – I’ve been in the kiteboard industry since 2001 and before kiteboarding it was the windsurf industry, and I’ve shaped more than 3,000 boards. On the side I’ve also done some snowboards and skis. So basically, the journey started in 1980 and you…

For their latest surfboard lineup, Spleene have commissioned the services of one of the best in the business… Gero, from Fatum surboards in Portugal, has been shaping top class surfboards for more than 30 years and embraced the challenge of shaping two new boards for the Spleene line up, the Cross and the Zone. We caught up with Linda Schuppan from Spleene’s marketing department to get the lowdown on the new project… SPLEENE HAS A WELL-ESTABLISHED REPUTATION IN THE WORLD OF TWINTIPS – WHAT MADE YOU THINK THE TIME WAS RIGHT TO MOVE INTO THE WORLD OF SURFBOARDS? Our board history actually began with the ‘Door’ which is – to this day – our bestseller, and a term that has shaped an entire sport. We are extremely proud of that.…

After an awesome season in Cape Town I had to change my plans due to the corona virus. It was hitting hard in Europe and it seemed like they would close down air travel for a while. So after looking at our options: Europe, Cape Town and Mauritius, we decided that we would go to the best location we could imagine for kiting during the virus. Europe was still cold and corona was all over the place, so a tropical island in the Indian Ocean where the season was about to start seemed like the perfect location. Two days later, my girlfriend José and I decided to fly over to Mauritius for a three month stay. Three days after we had arrived they decided that a lockdown of the entire…