My Beach: Lo Stagnone, Sicily

Tell us about your first kite session.

I saw my friend Gabriele Garofalo kiting in winter 2010. He was doing kiteloops because the wind was strong, then after an hour the wind dropped and he switched to doing freestyle tricks. From that day I fell in love with kiting. Later that winter I persuaded Gabriele to let me try; he kept saying that it was too cold to learn and I needed to wait for summer, but I insisted on trying anyway. We went to the beach and I started playing with the kite on the sand. After a bit I said I wanted to go in the water. He looked at me like I was crazy because I didn’t have a wetsuit. He took me into the water anyway to try body dragging, but he was right – it was super cold, like 10 degrees Celsius, and I only had on board shorts and a rash vest haha! It was a memorable first time that’s for sure.

Then you moved to Sicily. What were your first impressions?

Finally summer came and I was able to really go for it. By July 2011 I was progressing quickly already. Gabriele was heading to Sicily to train so I went with him for a holiday. When we arrived and I saw this huge lagoon with wind almost every day, I fell in love with the place and decided there and then I wasn’t going back home!´

Who else did you ride there with?

At the beginning I was only riding when I had free-time in between work so I pretty much learnt from the videos I watched on YouTube and would then practice on my own.

What would be your perfect day there?

I have my routine – I wake up really early, like 6am every single day for as long as I can remember, and have an Italian breakfast with cappuccino, a typical cold coffee from Sicily. Then I normally do some work on the computer at home before training a bit, maybe a warm up in the gym or other exercise depending on the wind forecast. Then I prepare myself, my mind and my gear for a kite session. I take my old school van and I go to the Duotone Pro Center Sicily where I spend most of the day. Perfection.

Talk us through one session that stands out for you there.

It has to be the session at the “wall” for my recent video, where I was trying the trick “illusion” and in one of the attempts I crashed so hard that my boots came off the board. I will never forget it! The most beautiful session of the video was the one next to the salina in a very secret part of the lagoon where we used the drone to film – it took me back to the days when I used to go there more often.

Where’s your favorite place to eat or what is your favorite meal after a session there?

I often eat at the Duotone Pro Center because last year we added pizzas to the menu and it has to be my favorite meal. Before eating though, I usually take a moment to stretch after kiting, to use the foam roller and release the tension in my body.

Do you think you would have got to where you are today if you hadn’t moved to Sicily?

No. Sicily to me is the best place in Italy to be if you want to become a professional kitesurfer. Thanks to these conditions I was able to chase my dream and become the world champion. I left my hometown to dedicate my whole life to this sport and Lo Stagnone gave me the opportunity other places could never have given me. I’ve always been very competitive, when I was still sailing I would sail in boats over my category with guys older than me. I believe that you need to push to find the best version of yourself in everything you do otherwise it’s better not do it. I’ve always loved to do sports so it was very easy for me to dedicate everything I had to kiting in Sicily.

When did you last ride there – how was it?!

I am in Lo Stagnone now. We’ve been kiting almost every day and I am training for the GKA events; the season is well under way here at the Duotone Pro Center Sicily and it has been a great start – I couldn’t ask for more. It’s still a little bit too cold for my standards but the wind has been very nice and I’m getting my level back to push new boundaries soon. New tricks are in the making…

If you had to choose another spot that you love, where would it be?

I guess I can safely say that Sicily is my home spot now and I love it all year round. For sure places like Drepano and Greece in general are very nice for freestyling (I might go there for a couple of weeks if all the crew goes), and others like Los Roques and Bonaire are paradise on Earth, but I really have a special place in my heart for Brazil, especially Taiba lagoon. Maybe it’s because I’ve been going there every year or maybe it’s because I won the World Title in that lagoon, but I believe there’s something magical about that place and I really love the fact that I can freestyle there in strong wind and perfect weather.