Features

The Whiteleys

When I (TKM Editor Sarah) met a 16-year-old Hannah Whiteley back in 2009, she inspired me to start doing the British kite competitions and pushed me to progress. Turning up to the comps, her entire family would be there, including her legendary father, Peter Whiteley, who was an inspirational kiter and top competitor himself. He always had a huge smile on his face even in the most adverse weather conditions. His legendary pre-comp mantra ‘pump up your kite Hannah’ (delivered in a broad Mancunian accent) became a catchphrase amongst many involved in the tour during that era. Sadly, he passed away suddenly earlier this year, a huge loss to the British kite community, to his family, and to Hannah. She would like to dedicate this article to him. He is the reason she kitesurfs today.

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Storm has Passed

Big Air aficionado Cohan van Dijk spent time in Tarifa this summer, where he took part in the Full Power Tarifa competition. While there photographer Storm Jansen snapped these shots of Cohan and also spoke to him about his kiting career, what life is like as a pro kiter and his recovery from a knee injury last year. So covering all the bases…

Tell me about it: Lieuwe

Lieuwe hit the headlines last year when they signed hotshot Lorenzo Casati and his brother Leonardo. We caught up with Director Roel de Weers, as well as Lorenzo and his father Renato.

Home Sweet Home

When the GKA Freestyle-Kite World Tour was held for the first time ever at Cauipe Lagoon last year, Brazilian Bruna Kajiya was over the moon to win the event, at a venue she calls her second home. But once the season wrapped up in Brazil, Bruna swapped that lagoon for a different one in Portugal where she is also making the most of the country’s abundant waves.

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Profile: Eleveight Young Guns

Every time we watch a Big Air event, the participants and podium winners seem to get younger and younger… We chatted to three upstarts from Eleveight’s team who are making their competition debuts this year: Martin Rahnel from Estonia, who just competed at the Lords of Tram GKA Big Air Kite World Cup, Omar Ahmed from Egypt, and Luca Lüdke from Spain. Fellow team rider Thibault Mounier, who has been on the scene for a while, is looking forward to going up against them at Full Power Tarifa.

The Mission: Tread Lightly

We all have a responsibility to think about the environment and the impact we have on the places we travel to for kite trips. Kari Schibevaag tells us about the current issues facing one of the world’s top snowkiting destinations, Hardangervidda in Norway, where she recently spent a week out in the wilderness.

Behind the Clip: Tern Sandbar

The Hel Peninsula in Poland is the country’s most popular kite spot and can get quite crowded, so when Nobile team riders Jan Korycki, Karolina Gorazdowska and Katarzyna (Kasia) Lange needed to shoot a video and photos, they headed to a harder-to-reach spot nearby which luckily they scored all to themselves. Check out the vid via the QR code.

My Beach: Lo Stagnone, Sicily

Gianmaria Coccoluto started out as a professional sailor and only took up kiting at the age of 18. Making a bold move, he abandoned sailing, relocated to Sicily without telling anyone, and embarked on a long journey towards becoming world champion. You can watch this tale in the recent video “Don‘t worry Dad, I‘ll be number one”, part of ION’s “Write Your Own Chapter” video series. We quizzed him about his journey and the spot he now calls home where he’s worked hard to pursue his dreams.

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Tangled Lines: Stijn Mul

Stijn (Stino) Mul has competed in some of the most prestigious competitions in kiteboarding, from Red Bull King of the Air to Red Bull Megaloop, as well as currently being a part of the GKA Kite World Tour and one of the founders of SpaceX Kitesurfing. We put him under examination from his fellow Cabrinha team riders and Big Air compadres.