Tell me about it: Lieuwe

Renato, how did the relationship with Lieuwe come about? Why did you choose Lieuwe as the board sponsor for Lorenzo and Leonardo?

When we changed brands, we were looking for a dynamic, young board brand with the desire to evolve quickly and adapt as best as possible to the new Big Air maneuvers. Knowing that Lieuwe had long been a pioneer of customization, and after seeing that they also had the same visions and ambitions as us, it was easy to start this relationship. In the unique collaboration with Harlem, Lieuwe and Appletree, we have the opportunity to ride the best gear, which was not possible in any other setup. Compared to standard boards, the guys at Lieuwe have developed a board that is incredibly light and easy to handle, but at the same time super robust, and this allows incredible handling in all wind conditions, managing full speed landings in the best possible way.

Lorenzo, could you see it become more common for riders to choose different sponsors for their kites and boards?

Like many sports, we are going towards extreme specialization in kiting too. We saw in France how Jamie used two kites from two different brands, to gain the best performance in every wind condition. I therefore believe that the ability of dynamic brands like Lieuwe, to rapidly innovate with the best riders, could in the future enable riders to better select their gear. In this respect, I feel like a pioneer in my choice with Lieuwe, Appletree and Harlem.

Roel, Lorenzo and Leo joined your team even though they were going to be using Harlem kites. As we saw earlier in this mag, Aaron Hadlow is now riding for Harlem Kitesurfing too. Does this mean he will be riding your boards?

Aaron is riding the full Harlem set-up – boards and kites – we have not partnered up with him as a Lieuwe rider as we operate independently from Harlem Kitesurfing in the market; it is not the case that all pro riders from Harlem must use Lieuwe boards. The collaboration with the Casati family since last year was a unique opportunity to get one of the best kiters in the world on Lieuwe. It was unique because Lorenzo was looking for the best suppliers for his equipment, and in the triptych with Harlem (kites), Lieuwe (twintip) and Appletree (directional), we embarked on this adventure together. The fact that this was possible for us is remarkable because pros typically have to ride under contract with a single brand. Whether this benefits the athlete is always in question. In any case, they have sent a signal with this decision, especially now that Jamie Overbeek has also gone in this direction.

Given this contractual problem, how do you as a board-only brand attract riders?

It is very challenging for us to connect pro riders to our brand and our aim is not focused on attracting them, because we simply cannot compete at that level. However, we have made a name for ourselves in the industry when it comes to twintips, and we are seen as a good first step towards a professional future. We provide young talent not only with the best boards we can make for them but also with a lot of exposure through film and media, including magazines, which puts them in the spotlight. Often we see these riders eventually continue their careers with another brand that has the budget to sponsor them and cover long-distance travel expenses. We are always grateful for the time we have spent together, and looking at our legacy, it is something to be proud of.

How would you like to see the market developing in the future, from a sponsorship and gear perspective?

The last two years have seen the interest of the media and market focus particularly on Big Air, and the evolution of the maneuvers requires brands to keep up if they want to benefit from competitions. This goes through very rapid evolution, in close strict synergy with the riders. However, budgets are reduced, partly due to the poor media coverage that kiting has unfortunately had in recent years. The market globally is going through a phase of stalemate after the boom following Covid, so obviously the budgets of every big brand have undergone significant cuts or reductions. It is not an easy moment, but it is part of the cyclical nature of the market, so we hope that there will soon be a reversal. I feel there needs to be a drastic change of mentality. It would be nice for brands to pool their resources to try to increase the media visibility of kiting in the main media channels such as Eurosport, Sky, Netflix and so on. Without this economic and strategic effort, kiting will unfortunately always remain a niche sport with few returns for everyone…

What percentage of your boards are ‘custom’? Is that a big selling point for you guys?

The number of really full custom boards is limited; the designing process can take up to a few weeks depending on the requirements from our customers. Therefore we try to help our customers with some nice special edition launches where we have created the coolest artworks with one of our designers. Making the custom boards can sometimes be challenging as once something goes wrong you always have to redo the board. But having said that, it’s also part of the handcrafted process.

Other than Lorenzo and Leonardo, who else makes up the Lieuwe team for you?

Our team consists of many people worldwide with whom we have built a personal relationship over the years. These are not necessarily the pro riders you see in competitions. This year, we have had a lot of exposure in that area with the Casati family, but it is still uncertain how long we will be able to keep them with us. Additionally, we have a wonderful collaboration with the SpaceX and BAKL teams, which ensures that we have a nicely diverse team. Input from the team is very important to us, and when we need to make adjustments, we will implement them in our products.