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A New Host?? | The Megapod
00:44:15
With Colin on holiday, I'm joined by a stand-in host and star of 'Road To Pro', Jason Van Der Spuy. We wrap up Road To Pro and talk about the GKA Youth World Cup. Portrait: Woo Sports: Follow...
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- [00:00]
Adrian
I mean, you were riding lacuna there. You just made King of the Air.
- [00:03]
Jason
Those are big shoes to fill.
- [00:04]
Adrian
He rides in boots and does short line loops.
- [00:06]
Jason
And it's just interesting to hear how I used to think I've got mixed.
- [00:10]
Adrian
Feelings about that short line loop of Jettos.
- [00:12]
Jason
Like you can just. You can really sit into your edge.
- [00:14]
Adrian
20 meter horizontal yank.
- [00:16]
Jason
But you need the wind. That's all it comes down to. Wind and balls.
- [00:18]
Adrian
I guess we can say the same about Leo. Catastrophic equipment failure.
- [00:25]
Interviewer
Going for the boogaloo double just to get the landing.
- [00:29]
Pete
Had a couple of strings and it was extremely dangerous.
- [00:32]
Adrian
I send the trap and it is gold for Ellie Aldridge and gold for Great Britain. You don't know this, Jason, but Colin's not here this week and you're going to be hosting the Megapod with me.
- [00:47]
Jason
That's a big shoes to fill. Not literally because he's got tiny feet, but those are big shoes to fill.
- [00:53]
Adrian
Let's get into it, dude. Let's start off with wishing you a happy birthday.
- [00:56]
Jason
Ah, you know, thank you very much.
- [00:58]
Adrian
Of course I know.
- [00:59]
Jason
I'm honored for you. Facebook comes in clutch these days. Thank you very much.
- [01:05]
Adrian
Mate. What. What's the plans for today?
- [01:06]
Jason
Take it easy. It's actually been such an action packed past two weeks with shooting, so using my birthday as an excuse to do nothing, which is quite nice, I thought.
- [01:15]
Adrian
Oh, I'd look back to when we first spoke and it was January 13, 2020. You'd just been selected for the Red Bull King of the Year and you're on the podcast and. Yeah, I just. I just cut out a little piece then to listen to it. It's kind of funny.
- [01:28]
Jason
I.
- [01:29]
Adrian
This is you and I talking. Wow. Five and a half years ago. Are you going to stick with Big Air, mate, or are you going to go back and do freestyle again?
- [01:37]
Jason (continued)
So what happened with this year? What's happening is I'm going to do King of There, which I'm very happy I got in. And then I am. My lacuna is paying for me to do the gcad, which I'm so stoked about. I've always wanted to do the GCare, because I've done freestyle my whole life. So just to throw that away and start with Big Air, it doesn't. No, doesn't really make sense. So I am going to do the first few stops of the gks, see how it goes. I'm going to be a bit rusty because I have been doing Big Air for the past four years, but, yeah, I'M going to do both. I'm still going to progress at both. I love. I love freestyle and I love big air, so I'm just going to do both.
- [02:12]
Jason
Oh, Jason.
- [02:16]
Adrian
What happened about that freestyle career, Jason?
- [02:19]
Jason
Oh, my God. Did that not plan out? Yeah, but that was 2020 was before. Before everything really took off, you know, like, it was kind of 2021 when Big Air really just, like punched freestyle in the face and then everyone just forgot about freestyle. So I guess that's what happened. No ways.
- [02:42]
Adrian
I mean, you were riding lacuna there. You just made king of the air. Yeah, it was. It was super interesting. But you were a freestyle writer from the past, right? That's where you came from?
- [02:51]
Jason
Yeah. No, 100%. That's. Yeah. Listening to that is quite, quite funny, to be honest. It's before. It's before. Not that I made it now, but it's before anything big really happened. And it's just interesting to hear how I used to think I'm gonna do. Yeah, the first free stops, see how it goes. Yeah, no worries. Yeah. That was when gk, I only did freestyle.
- [03:15]
Adrian
Do you miss freestyle?
- [03:16]
Jason
I do. I miss the feeling of the freestyle community and I do miss just going to more chilled spots, launching a 13, strapping on the boots and just having a fun time with your mates. It's kind of the same feeling as, I guess, going to, like, a cable park, you know, it's just got this special feeling to it where you just have fun with your friends because Big Air is so gnarly. But I don't miss the crashes. So would I go back to freestyle? No. No.
- [03:44]
Adrian
Yeah. It's interesting how the boots bring a complete different world into those crashes, right? Because you get that whiplash. And can you believe people used to do big earring boots?
- [03:54]
Jason
No, it's ridiculous. No, it's ridiculous. I thought I was. I thought I was brave enough to try a bit of freestyle. It was like seven months ago. I strapped some boots on. I honestly did about three tricks before I caught a front edge. Haven't touched him since. I'd like. I can't. I can't fathom how brutal the crashes used to be.
- [04:11]
Adrian
Is there a world where boots could make a return to the Big Air scene? I mean, Adrian Boner, right? And Tarifa, he still rides. He rides in boots and does short line loops.
- [04:24]
Jason
Yeah. I think that's a bit crazy, though. Like, the one thing that with boots, if people don't know, is just you can hold so much more power. Like, you can just you can really sit into your edge, but I don't know, like, it's so limiting in terms of like how you can move and flexibility and then obviously crashes. Like, I think we would see a lot more injuries for sure. We'd see a lot more injuries if everyone was still in boots, like guaranteed.
- [04:49]
Adrian
But you can also hold a lot more power on the landings as well, right? You can stick those landings.
- [04:54]
Jason
You can. You can come down a lot harder and like fall off axis a little bit. But I mean. Yeah, also the problem with the straps these days is because we're doing all these board offs and stuff, generally we ride them a bit looser than what we should. So we actually, we're losing out on that as well because you get straps these days that are actually. They're very good. Like you can hold a lot of power and they're nice and secure, but if you actually tighten them up to what they should be, then you can't do board offs. So it's a bit of a strange situation.
- [05:21]
Adrian
Do you think the WOO record could be broken in boots given the fact that you're holding a lot more power?
- [05:27]
Jason
For sure. It's actually definitely a. I actually never thought of this. That's a good way to look at it. I mean, if you're not. If you don't have to do board offs and you just have to do straight jumps, then why not ride boots, you know? Hey, that's actually a good idea. Huh?
- [05:42]
Adrian
I just watched the. The final episode of Road to Pro. I tell you what, dude, I've got mixed feelings about that short line loop of Jettos. I mean, listen, number one, he did exactly what you told him not to do. Don't pull the bar straight away. He just went straight into it like a Franchesca Manie loop. Dude, the whip around is crazy.
- [06:04]
Jason
No, it's crazy, but on camera it looks insane. But in person it was 10 times as gnarly because then you actually feel how strong the wind is and like you feel how intense everything is. And then to watch that live, I think. Yeah, I just. I just. I actually just went up to him to make sure he was still alive because it was ridiculous. Oh my God.
- [06:24]
Adrian
What was even more crazy is that the kite actually does goes background as a safety loop and then just straight in the water. I mean, we're obviously talking about one of the last scenes in the Road to Pro series that has just finished on Portrait. But man, I tell you what, I was sitting there and it made me feel nervous, you know, and Jetto's like, should I go again? I mean, it's crazy.
- [06:46]
Jason
From Jetta to the fact that he was even out there, the fact that he was doing it alone was impressive because you can't see it on camera. I know a bit like you try to see it in the edits and stuff, but it doesn't do justice of what it really was. It was hectic. It was a lot. And for Jetta to take short lines, which I don't know if he's ever done before, and try some loops on. Not just short lines, like 12 meter lines, that's short. And to do everything wrong every single time and still be willing to do it again. I respect that, man.
- [07:18]
Adrian
I mean, we know pros who wouldn't even do that now.
- [07:21]
Jason
No, no, no. For sure, not for sure. Not this. There's a very small hand. Like, there's a very small handful of pros that have actually ridden 12 meter lines in win that strong. And I've pulled some loops. There's a lot of big names that I've never seen do it.
- [07:35]
Adrian
Jitto's a good kite border, but he is fearless. I don't know whether he's fearless or he just always wants to impress you or the next person. I don't know. There's a. There's a borderline between him just being a bit crazy and always wanting to be the person who did.
- [07:53]
Jason
Yeah, I don't know. I think he's just also. He's just generally just such a happy. Such a happy guy that's always just keen for something. And I'm not sure if he processes danger the way he should be processing it per se, but I mean, he's handled it pretty well until now. Like, I think he knows consequences, but maybe not to like the degree that he should know them, if that makes sense.
- [08:21]
Adrian
We've only seen that loop. Well, the only footage that we've seen now is from the drone. Is there any other footage around that just shows the magnitude? Did he actually get the kite super low? Because in the. On the drone, it's quite a high shot, right? You just see the kite going straight through that power zone.
- [08:34]
Jason
I mean, I have a GoPro clip, I think.
- [08:36]
Adrian
Oh, he's getting yanked like 20 meters. So crazy.
- [08:40]
Jason
That's ridiculous. And I don't think the drone also shows it because when he takes off, he's not. He doesn't have much forward travel. You know, he's actually just going straight up. So his change of speed for going straight up to whatever speed that was forwards was Massive. Massive. Like, I'm sure his entire spine clicked. And with that harness of his, I don't know how it didn't pull up over his head, you know, because he rode it as loose as you've seen in all the other episodes. For that session, he didn't think about tightening as it's Jetta.
- [09:07]
Adrian
We are generally trying to put these guys in positions where we are there to support them and beef with them and, you know, give them the right type of training and the right type of gear, which is most important. But this one felt a little bit like, holy crap, this was a little bit crazy.
- [09:21]
Jason
To be fair. Ben did reiterate many times that he said, jetta, you don't have to do this.
- [09:27]
Adrian
Yeah.
- [09:27]
Jason
And I also told Jetta many times, like, on camera is different, but also off camera, like I said to Jetta, I was like, listen, this is gonna be a lot and really take it slow. And if you don't feel comfortable, like, feel no pressure. But I mean, first. First jump he went in. I think he looped it, so, you know, you can only do so much. But he loved it.
- [09:49]
Adrian
Oh, he loved it for sure. I mean, that's the thing here. Do you want me to go again? We're like, no, no, it's fine.
- [09:55]
Jason
He was loving it.
- [09:56]
Adrian
He was like the amazing thing that, like, for example, we're in. We're in Mykonos and we're doing some short line stuff. And, like, the adrenaline the guys were coming off was just. They were like, just so pumped. It's almost like Jetto doesn't even feel that. Like, he's like, ah. Was it okay? Like. Like, normally in that situation, the guys would come off, but I'd be like, oh, my God, man. They'd just be full of adrenaline. It's almost like he is adrenaline free.
- [10:21]
Jason
Yeah, but that's what I was saying. I just don't think he processes the danger to that degree. He's just such a chilled, happy guy. I don't know if he. I don't know if he feels the same way, but it's impressive. But concerning what about that second loop.
- [10:33]
Adrian
Of yours, bro, that almost just touched the water?
- [10:35]
Jason
Oh, yeah, I know. That was. I didn't realize that I wasn't high enough because when you're doing a short night loop, you have. It may not seem like it, but you have full control over how low, like, you want your kite to go. Exactly. If you use the right technique and generally when you're taking off and you're going up, you can get, like, if you've done a couple, you can get a sense of, okay, I am 11 meters high or I'm 10 meters high. Like, you can get a pretty accurate measurement. And I mean, I guess my kite didn't hit the water, so it was probably as accurate as it gets. But I really did think I was a lot higher than I was. So I'm just glad it didn't hit the water because if it hits the water there, I don't know really what's going to happen. I mean, it's only knee deep, dead onshore. And like, if it hits the water, you're falling most likely, what, into your kites. So, like, maybe you get a line wrap or something. So I'm happy nothing happened from that because it was quite gnarly, to be honest. That's. It's a sketchy spot.
- [11:30]
Adrian
I have seen videos of short lines hitting the hitting tops of waves before. I'm trying to remember the writer from Fly Surface. Yeah, Keenan. Yeah, I saw Keenan. Yeah, like, he just. But almost, actually, surprisingly, the. The kite almost forces its way through the water and gets back into action, right? It doesn't almost. I just think the speed of it.
- [11:48]
Jason
Really, if it hits the right, like, if it hits it at the right time, for sure. But if it's like facing straight down, no bueno. But ideally, like, to be honest, like, with royals, the spot that we're at, it's great for short lines, like, for content. Sorry. But for short lines itself, it's not the best because I feel like if you're doing short lines, you don't want to see. Guys, the only way your kite can hit the water is if you. Lower than what, 10 meters? Right. You don't really want to be seeing short line loops lower than 10 meters. To me, it's not that impressive. Sure, royals, it's good for content and whatnot, but if you're doing short lines, like, you got to go for it, you know, 50 meters plus, that's way more impressive. Even if you have slightly less kite angle.
- [12:26]
Adrian
Why is that spot good for short lines and not good for anything else?
- [12:30]
Jason
Because you only have, like, because it's really choppy. It's onshore conditions, so it's really choppy. So you got to take off within the waves, and the waves break very close to the beach. So you've got about 50, 40 meters of water in front of you before you're on the beach. So if you're doing long lines and you're taking off in the flats, you're landing on the sand, guaranteed you can take off in the chop, but it's not. It's not too ideal. So short lines is kind of the only option because you don't travel too far.
- [12:56]
Adrian
How much further and more extreme can you push the short line stuff? Are we at the maximum with that now? I mean, I know there's always that, oh, we want to be right above it. I mean, how do, how do we make it more extreme where. I mean, I know you're sitting there smiling, but is there a way we can make it even more crazy?
- [13:13]
Jason
You just need the wind. Like with short lines, you can hold so much more power, like way more power than long lines. So the ideal win for short lines is 50 plus. And I know that might sound crazy, but when you get to this area and like this level, you can go so high on short lines and you can put the kite so low, and if you have the right wind, you can use the kite to travel really far. And the thing is, it's just, it's so rare to get the wind for short lines. Like you get it once or twice a year in Cape Town, maybe at Macassar or something like that. And otherwise it's just not strong enough to push further in short lines. But you need the wind. That's all it comes down to. Wind and balls.
- [13:53]
Adrian
Okay, so. So when, when you were teaching jitter, right, you were saying, all right, bring it to the apex and put it right from the other side of the window before looming it. Can the kite be looked earlier for more dramatic yank? And that sort of like we saw Jetto do, is it. Could that be something that can comes into short lines as well? So it's not just about the kite angle. We're talking about like getting seriously like 20 meter horizontal yank.
- [14:17]
Jason
Well, if it's kind of a weird situation, right? So if you want to get yank, yes, you loop your kite earlier and from 12. But the thing with short lines is just because you're riding short lines doesn't mean your kite's going to go low. Yes, it will go lower than what long lines, but it's not going to go under you. You can loop 10 meter lines with your kite still above you. You know, if you're looping from the 12 like you saw with Jeter's loop, he got yanked like crazy, but his kite was. It wasn't below him. So if your main goal with short lines is to get your kite as low as possible, then you got to learn how to take off and take your kite to the side before looping it, which may seem counterintuitive for most people because, like, when you commit to a loop, you just want to sheet in and loop it. You know, you want to get it done with. But it's the wrong way to go about with short lines. I mean, it depends what you want, you know? But for me, if. If the wind's really strong, you're still going to get a proper yank, but it's a different kind of yank, because when it gets to 50 knots plus and you're doing short lines, I'm looping my kite. So this is from my perspective and what I'm saying now. I take my kite, and when I'm looping it and it's going down and it's below me, I'm getting pulled throughout all of this, so I'm getting pulled up, and then when it's next to me, I'm getting pulled sideways, and then when it's below me, I'm getting pulled down. You can feel all of the force, like you're getting accelerated into your kite. So there's one video that I posted that I took off on a wave, and because I looped it to the side and looped it pulled me all the way to the right, and I landed back on the same wave. So it's different kind of forces.
- [15:49]
Adrian
What was Jetto's reaction when he saw the video.
- [15:53]
Jason
Of him getting yanked? Yeah, yeah. He was just as you'd expect with Jet. He's like, oh, man. And laughed. And that's it. There's no more further thought than that.
- [16:05]
Adrian
Hey, where did the name Babu come from? Because I heard these guys starting to call you Babu.
- [16:10]
Jason
I have no idea. It was the first time I heard it as well. I have no idea. They must have brought it up behind the scenes. I don't know. Don't even know what it means.
- [16:21]
Adrian
Maybe it's a sign of respect or maybe it means teacher or something like that. I'll have to have a look up, look at it. Look at what it looks like.
- [16:26]
Jason
Yeah, maybe. But there was a lot of stuff in these episodes that I didn't realize that there were, like, what's going on behind the scenes? Like, when I was interacting with them in person, I got this, like, sense, you know, like that there's actually quite a lot of confidence and, like, you know, that everything's going smooth. And then there's some clips behind the scenes where they're just kind of tweaking out. Like, I had no idea.
- [16:47]
Adrian
I mean, I love the sort of impractical joker scenes where you've, where you've got the sort of earbud in the scene and going, okay, go and talk to the guys and ask for a. I thought that was, I thought that was pretty funny. It was, it was interesting to see how Steezy Pete just completely lost it and went rogue. He's just too nice, right? He's just too nice. When he knows it's going bad, he just breaks into his nice character. Yeah, it was, it was funny.
- [17:08]
Jason
Yeah. The one cool thing about Steezy Pete has that he's, he's got such a good, like, he's got such good wit. He's such a smart man. Like, when you meet him initially, like, you kind of take the piss about him because he's just a funny guy. But then the more you get to know him, the more you realize he's actually. He's an incredibly smart man and he's really good with his words. He's such a funny guy.
- [17:30]
Adrian
And I think that comes out more as he gets to, to know you and gets to trust you and realizes that you are someone that's in his. I mean, he's. Yeah, he's not the kind of guy, he's going to be walking to a party of people he doesn't know and he's going to be the center of attention, right? He's going to, he's going to work through the cracks, you know, that way. And he'll, he'll. By then, you know, we might go run the party quickly and meet everyone. He'll take his time, but in the end he'll have a, A better connection, probably. Yeah. He's, he's a super interesting guy.
- [17:57]
Jason
He's a great guy.
- [17:58]
Adrian
Looking back over the series, is it something you really enjoyed doing?
- [18:02]
Jason
It is. I think I said it in the previous podcast. It's actually really. It's nice to watch myself in a different format and like, see myself exposed to this. And obviously I'm watching it and I know there's like, things I can improve on and whatnot. But it was really an enjoyable piece to be a part of something more fun, humorous, laid back storytelling in a way, with an objective and just being with two really great guys that don't think that, that the center of the universe, you know, it was really enjoyable to be a part of and a great watch.
- [18:35]
Adrian
Were you embarrassed at all? I mean, sometimes when you see yourself on camera and you say stuff, you're like this, oh, my God, what am I saying? You know, I mean, that happens to me. It happens to everyone. Did you feel that at times as well?
- [18:46]
Jason
No, I feel like that was the whole point of the series, you know, it wasn't, it wasn't to look cool or be cool. And even though I'm the pro guy that's meant to be leading by example and be this great thing, whatever it was, I didn't feel this way when I was filming it. You know, I was just one of the boys. Like being an idiot. It doesn't feel like I'm this noble God that is meant to teach and know everything. Like I was just, I was a Jetta and a peach just being stupid. It was great.
- [19:13]
Adrian
Just one of the gang, almost. Yeah. You might have seen the clips of Pete singing the first time, but he actually breaks out some more songs, which is, which is, which is pretty funny. I mean, I didn't know about these, these little musical pieces, but yeah, it was, it was super cool, mate. It was a great series. I, I, I really enjoyed it and I'm, and I'm pretty sure everyone else enjoyed it as well because it was, it's, it's super cool to show that. You know, I think even going back to the first episodes with Pete, what Pete went through in that first one to Road to Megaloop Man, I mean, I'm sure you heard, you've heard us talking about it, you've heard Ben talking about it. There was times when he was just sitting in this room just like, you know, just rocking back and forth because he was absolutely terrified of, of the, of the task at hand. He was like, I just can't do it. You know, I can't do it.
- [19:54]
Jason
Oh, well. I mean, look how far he's progressed since then.
- [19:56]
Adrian
Well, I think he might have gone backwards.
- [19:58]
Jason
Well, now that he's broken his leg. Yes, he doesn't care, that's for sure. No, he doesn't care. He's, he did some cool stuff when he was still intact. Yes, he did some kooky stuff, but he, he can ride. You know, it's not that impressive, but he can ride.
- [20:13]
Adrian
He's the, he's the comic genius on, on the, the talent side, right? Almost. You know, so he's got. Herman Jitter's the writer, he's the, he's the personality. And I think it's a, it's a good balance. It's chalk and cheese, it's yin and yang and it's, you can't say anything.
- [20:25]
Jason
Right, but it's tall and very entertaining to, to be around them and See how Ben and Pete, like, they. They push each other, you know, because they kind of got the same human witness. And then when him and Pete are together, they like, they are so close to being the same person. And it's so entertaining to watch the two of them work together because they love. I don't know what it is with them, but. And I guess I understand it, but they really do enjoy taking the piss out of things that can be taken the piss out of. And it's really great just to be around them, watching this unfold. Same as with, like, the whole song that Pete sang with his injury, he was just taking the piss out of people that always say, oh, greatest comeback ever. I'm injured now, but wait to see what happens. All this, you know. And I know Ben had a massive part in that as well. It's very entertaining.
- [21:11]
Adrian
I think Ben probably wrote the whole thing, let's be honest.
- [21:14]
Jason
Sure, for sure.
- [21:15]
Adrian
And. And Jitto in the background is about as much effort as he put into it as well. Just standing in the background with his guitar. Yeah, it was super cool. No, we.
- [21:23]
Jason
Walking around in circles.
- [21:25]
Adrian
I'm pretty sure everyone who watched the series really enjoyed it. And it's like every time these are over, I'm like, oh, man, I've got to wait a whole year for something else to happen. So, yeah, it was super cool, man, and super co. Matt, let's move on to this podcast. Have you ever been to St. Peter Awning? Have you been up to the. The event there?
- [21:41]
Jason
I haven't been to the event, but I've been to the location.
- [21:44]
Adrian
You never went up there with any of your brands to. To do the trade show?
- [21:48]
Jason
No, no, I haven't been up there yet. It's kind of bad timing because now it's August time when I finally get to Cape Town and I can, you know, unwind a little bit. And then I know within two weeks I have to go back for Negative Challenge in Cold Hawaii, but no, I've never been.
- [22:03]
Adrian
Do you like those big trade events where you got to stand around and talk shop and help people out? Is that tiring or is it sort of fun to do as well?
- [22:12]
Jason
No, I mean, it's great to meet people and it's just great to be a part of the community. If I'm speaking from like a professional side, but obviously me personally, it's not something that really fancy. Like, I don't find it too interesting, but it's great to do for the community. But I mean, if we're being honest, no One really wants to stand around and talk shop for a couple days and it might be cold and raining, you know, but I'd happily do it.
- [22:38]
Adrian
Which it was cold.
- [22:39]
Jason
Exactly. It's the spot itself. It's windy for sure, but it's not the greatest. So, I mean, I kited there last year for. In some 40 knots or something and it was just, it was hard work. It was hard work.
- [22:52]
Adrian
Well, they had this big youth, big air event on in the under 19s. I don't know if you saw Finn flugel beat the Casadi. It was like 16 knots. I mean, I don't think it was something crazy. Can we read into that? Can we read into Finn beating Leo in these conditions?
- [23:07]
Jason
I mean, to be honest, like, Finn's progression, progression over the past years has been out of this world extraordinary. Like, you don't have to me, like, I hardly ever see him training and then every time I watch him kite for, like, over the span of a few months, he's progressed tenfold already. And him on a foil kite is just mesmerizing. He's. He's still got that little bit of a. Like a loose style, you know, he's not tight and everything. But he's, he's progressed so much. Like, he's. I would put him as probably one of the best riders on a foil kite at the moment, to be honest. Like, watching him and St. Peter ODing doing all of that was just mind blowing.
- [23:45]
Adrian
And he still does freestyle and straps, which is even more crazy. Right? I mean, I think he. And he's, he's winning events, right? I mean, he won the Qatar event. He's. I think he got second or third overall in the year for, for freestyle, which is pretty incredible.
- [23:57]
Jason
And he's landing new tricks. He landed with blind nine. The blind front side nine or whatever it was. It's ridiculous. How old is he? Do you know?
- [24:06]
Adrian
No, sorry. He was riding the under 19, so I think he must be 16. Yeah.
- [24:09]
Jason
Can you fathom how powerful he's going to be when he's 19? 20, 21. In his prime, 22.
- [24:17]
Adrian
I guess we can say the same.
- [24:18]
Jason
About Leo Leonardo for sure. And it is Finn and Leo that are those guys, but there's just something about Finn and I don't know what it is. I think when he gets to his prime, 22, it's just going to be. It's going to be years ahead of anyone else. I don't even know if someone's going to be able to touch him for a very long time. It's kind of like Andrea was a few years ago, you know, like he's just got that. He's got the. It. He's just got that.
- [24:44]
Adrian
Do you think that's the freestyle he can tap into? And that sort of spatial awareness that brings.
- [24:50]
Jason
You just get some guys that just understand the sport better than other guys and they just understand the kite and their body and they just have such a deep understanding. Yes, the freestyle played a huge part in all of it for sure. But there's something special about Finn that not freestyle, like not just freestyle can get him to this point.
- [25:10]
Pete
He's.
- [25:11]
Jason
He's just got it. I don't know how else to explain it. Like some guys just have it.
- [25:17]
Adrian
Yeah, I mean I think we could be looking at the, you know, like if we got the Andrea versus Lorenzo here, this could be the rivalry that you know of in three or four years time with the. With these two new guys coming up. Mate, let's listen to Lorenzo Casati talking about that final right now.
- [25:31]
Interviewer
I'm here at the California Kite Surf Masters in St. Peter Oring, Germany and we have just witnessed the GKA youth under 19 big era finale where his little brother Leonardo Casati participated and eventually took the Vice World Championship.
- [25:51]
Lorenzo Casati
I mean it was my first time here and actually it was actually a really big event. Like all the stand here, all the people, there's actually more people than a lot of like the world stop. And actually we're lucky with the win because it was windy and normally it's not so much here still. It was not like proper nuki condition like you know, king of the air and other really bigger events like the boys were mostly doing now, especially in the finals, like really bored off and really air style bigger on big kites. And yeah, for my brother it went at the end pretty well. It actually was ring especially well when the wind was a little bit stronger with some loops, a bit fini. But then in the final fin beat Leo. Nothing to say was riding just amazing. Super, super well deserved. And yeah, it was really good to see all the. The yacht competition year. Like there were so many guys, more than 50 from different nationality. I think it's something good for the sport, you know, especially like for really the bigger discipline to have events like this to make it grow more.
- [26:54]
Interviewer
Yeah, you were talking about the, the testival where all the kite brands are demoing their their newest quiver. It gets pretty busy out there. A couple hundred people out there on the water going left and right. Did you manage to squeeze any time on the water or.
- [27:12]
Lorenzo Casati
Yeah, I was kiting a little bit these days, a little bit on big kites, some hydrofoil, just getting ready for silt. But I mean for me it's. It's a bit cold here. I'm not used to this. No, but honestly was, I was surprised like how many people come to try to kite here. Like the local scene, you know, it's really big.
- [27:32]
Interviewer
Yeah. Welcome to the. The German summer. It's either sunny and warm or it's cold and windy. So you mentioned silt. So I reckon next stop is gka. Bigger hydrofoil. Going to be a pretty busy schedule next couple of months. A lot of competitions coming up.
- [27:50]
Lorenzo Casati
Yeah, it's going to be crazy. Like now hydrofoil and strappling sealed and then. Yeah, in September everything could happen. You know, maybe full power cold Hawaii mega loop then. Yeah, King of the air is coming. Porto polo. Actually, I know it's early, but on the 6th of like September it's saying like 50 knots for the mega loop. So man, if that happen would be crazy, you know.
- [28:13]
Interviewer
Yeah, I think everybody's looking forward to that one, especially with the short line rules changes. How much time have you. Have you spent on the. The 18 meters and what do you think about that?
- [28:25]
Lorenzo Casati
Well, actually a little bit like especially the last week I was in Tarifa, I trained a little bit on it still not as much as I wanted to, but yeah, it's not really been super windy but you know, I started to get the feeling of it, understand how it works and yeah, yeah, it's going well.
- [28:41]
Interviewer
Enjoy the last evening, the last party of the Kitesurf Masters tomorrow. I reckon it's packing off to Sylt.
- [28:50]
Lorenzo Casati
Yeah, yeah, for sure, bro.
- [28:51]
Interviewer
So safe travels.
- [28:53]
Adrian
The other guy I wanted to ask you about is Hugo Wigglesworth. You're talking about being good on foil kites. Hugo's another guy. He just broke the woo world record there. Woo. Record airtime. I should say he's another guy who's really tapped into those four kites and just seems to have, you know, just seems to have that touch that, that, that X factor. Is Hugo a guy that you're keeping on your horizon? First year on tour, you know, doesn't have a lot of experience but man, he seems to be hitting home runs every time he gets on the water.
- [29:22]
Jason
No, for sure. He's also, he, he breathes kite boarding, you know, like it's just, it's just in his DNA he will kite the longest and you'll be on the water like first and he's just everything about him is kite boarding and I feel like with the right direction because he's extremely talented and he's already extremely powerful for his edge. Like you watch him ride and there's a lot of power in his style with someone helping him in the right direction. He's also going to be one of the top three. It'll be Hugo, Fin and Leo for sure. But he doesn't have the freestyle background. But he's in terms of big air and his ability on a hydrofoil and A4 kites, it's so powerful. He's just such a powerful rider.
- [30:05]
Adrian
Let's hear from Hugo now.
- [30:07]
Interviewer
So I'm here with Kiwi sensation Hugo Wigglesworth at the California Kite Surf Masters in St. Peter Ording, Germany. How you like in Germany so far?
- [30:16]
Hugo Wigglesworth
Yeah, I'm enjoying my time here. Really enjoying the demo event here in St. Peter Ording. Super cool. I've never seen a demo event like it, so it's pretty sweet.
- [30:28]
Interviewer
How do you manage to navigate those getting 36 second airtime jumps? Are you just flying over everybody else or how do you manage that?
- [30:37]
Hugo Wigglesworth
Well, I was on a Hyde force so I went, went like 300 meters out. But I did end up flying over three people. So you've got to shout at them below.
- [30:46]
Interviewer
Well that's a, that's a new Woo airtime record. So now you're holding all the records, aren't you? It's airtime and ice jump. How does that feel?
- [30:58]
Hugo Wigglesworth
I think 36 is just my lucky number. Apparently so.
- [31:02]
Adrian
Feels good.
- [31:03]
Interviewer
You did have a 52nd one in New Zealand the other day, right? Just month back.
- [31:10]
Hugo Wigglesworth
Yeah, September last year it was 72 seconds. But yeah, I love the fall kites.
- [31:18]
Interviewer
Speaking of fall kites, the two of us were just watching the GKA youth bigger under 19 men's final which featured Finn Flugel and Leo Casati. And interestingly both of them were on 15 meter fly surfer fall kites. What do you think about that?
- [31:39]
Hugo Wigglesworth
I mean when it's 14 knots, the 15 sonics are just outperforming everything. So I think if they wanted to have a chance at each other, they had to take the best kite.
- [31:49]
Interviewer
And that's what they did with this event. Almost wrapping up last day tomorrow. What, what are your future plans where you're off to next? I reckon the next couple months are going to get really busy with competitions.
- [32:02]
Jason
Woo.
- [32:03]
Interviewer
Worlds Cold Hawaii Red Bull Mega Loop. Hopefully King of the air.
- [32:09]
Jason
Yeah.
- [32:11]
Hugo Wigglesworth
Well starting next week I'm doing the GKA Hydrofoil event in Silt and then. Yeah, not exactly sure, but I've got to keep my eye out the forecast for Cold Hawaii Mega Loop and see where I need to be at the right time. It's going to be busy.
- [32:29]
Jason
Yeah.
- [32:29]
Interviewer
Safe travels and lots of success next week in Silt.
- [32:32]
Hugo Wigglesworth
Cheers.
- [32:33]
Adrian
Yeah, I mean, Hugo, his mental game is what impresses me most. Like, he's just tough, you know, like, even before Lords of Tram, which is the first big event, he's really done. Like that Lords of Tram event, he was like. He's like, these are my conditions, man. I feel good in these conditions, you know, he went out and beat Lorenzo in round one. He was pretty impressive for a guy who's never done big air comps at that stage or done a lot of big air compositions.
- [32:57]
Jason
Yeah, but that's what I'm saying. Like, he breathes kiting, you know, because in New Zealand, the conditions he rides in, I guess it's similar to Cape Town winter storms, where it's just these brutal frontals that come through and you ride in this all the time. And then conditions like Lords of Tramp doesn't scare, you know, like, there wasn't. Honestly, I was with him in the container. Every single rider at that competition, there was fear, of course. Like, it's a natural thing to have. Yugo was chilled. He was just sitting there, I think, on the floor, eating his banana, watching something on his phone, waiting for his et. He didn't give a fuck. Sorry for my language, but, like, really, like, he's just got that thing in his head that he loves power and he's trusting his gear as well as something else. He. There's not a doubt in his mind that something's going to go wrong with his gear while he rides, which is also something that is quite hard to have.
- [33:46]
Adrian
Speaking of new gear, Raleigh caught up with Cohen van dijk@sbo. Let's hear from Cohen now.
- [33:52]
Interviewer
So I'm here with Cohen van Dijk at the California Kitesuf Masters in St Peter Ording, Germany. Is this the first time you're at this event?
- [34:00]
Cohen van Dijk
This is my first time at the event. I'm actually really amazed of how big it is here and how many people there are.
- [34:06]
Interviewer
Did you get any time on the water?
- [34:08]
Cohen van Dijk
I did get a little bit of time on the water yesterday night and the wind kicked in, so I was quite okay on the nine and it was nice, a bit choppy. Wind went up and down a bit because of the clouds, but I had a lot of fun. Yeah, for sure.
- [34:22]
Interviewer
How's that nine working for you? What's the new material doing? What's the new kite doing?
- [34:26]
Cohen van Dijk
I've been testing.
- [34:29]
Adrian
Full.
- [34:29]
Cohen van Dijk
I've been testing full on these days since I got them. And yeah, just testing the durability and testing the performance. And for now I'm really excited and really happy and looking at a bright future.
- [34:47]
Interviewer
Where are you off to next?
- [34:48]
Cohen van Dijk
I'm going to go to Egypt. Windseekers. Super excited. Some party and kiting and luxury boats. So I'm excited to see the people that are joining and meet the whole crew. So off to next and then hopefully no wind for the competitions during that time. And then after competition, competitions called Hawaii Megaloop. Hopefully it happens this year.
- [35:14]
Interviewer
Megaloop. 18 meter lines. That's gonna be quite exciting, eh?
- [35:18]
Cohen van Dijk
Yeah, I don't think anybody wants to miss that. No, we want that to happen. Yeah, we're excited.
- [35:22]
Interviewer
Safe travels.
- [35:23]
Jason
Thank you so much, man.
- [35:24]
Cohen van Dijk
See you later.
- [35:25]
Adrian
Cohen's teammate, Maxwell Dahl, who's part of the Next Gen program, went on to win the under 16 world title. Let's hear from Max now.
- [35:33]
Maxwell Dahl
Yo, Adrian, I can give you a little rundown of the comp. So basically the first day we were on our nines and twelves. So for the most part it was just 12 meter in between. There's a couple of gusts for the nine meter, nothing special. And the next day was finals day for under 19 and under 16. Pretty much no wind. Everyone were on like foil kites.
- [36:05]
Jason
I.
- [36:05]
Maxwell Dahl
Would say around like 15 to 12 knots. It was definitely not like a bigger comp. So, yeah, I went on a foil kite and it helped me win the computer.
- [36:18]
Jason
Thanks.
- [36:18]
Adrian
Aya Casabova. She won the under 19 girls. Aya Casabova, I don't know if you remember, she's been riding in a lot of the GK events already. Only 15 years old, actually. Let's hear from Aya now.
- [36:28]
Aya Casabova
Hey, Adrian, thanks for the congrats. I'm super, super, super happy and super excited. It was a difficult comp, the conditions were a bit tough, but at the end of the day, that's what we trained for. So I'm really happy about it. And yeah, I can't wait for the next one. Hopefully maybe we'll have you in some stronger wind, but it was a good competition even in freezing cold Germany. So I'm happy about it.
- [36:57]
Adrian
I mean, fifth, I think they had 50 registered youth riders for this World cup, right. You know, under 19 riders. Is this a sign that Big Air is still in good position or still in a Good state because, you know, normally it comes in, ebbs and flows, right? Since freestyle, then Big Air comes and then it drops off and freestyle might come in, but hearing that there's more than 50 registered kids for these under 19s, under 16, under 14 big air championships shows that Big Ears in a really good position. Right.
- [37:26]
Jason
I think we can all agree that Big Air is not going to really go away because, like, as you said, yes, for since the beginning of Kai Pointing, it's gone in cycles. It was racing, it was wave riding, it was freestyle, it was airstyle, and then it repeats the cycles. But I think Big Air has made such a big statement now that it's never going to disappear into that, that cyclic motion. It's definitely to stay. And it's also brought so many people to the sport and so many spectators that when people think of kiteboarding, it's what they think of. They don't think of anything else, you know, and that's not to say that freestyle isn't going to make a comeback or waves or everything that I think it's all gonna grow. But I think the circular motion of the disciplines is over. And it's rather just. It's just all growing upwards now with Big Air leading and then the other disciplines will eventually rise afterwards. Because I think the issue, for example, with freestyle is that it just got so. It was so repetitive. It was. Everyone is doing the exact same things and with the youth coming in now, because there's no. Freestyle isn't a big thing anymore. It allows them to be creative in their own minds and recreate freestyle the way that they see fit. And that in turn could bring a whole new audience and bring the sport or that discipline alive again. That's the way that I see it.
- [38:39]
Adrian
I hope so. I mean, I don't want freestyle to go, dude. You know, I mean, we just did that nine Live series on. On Portrait and it was actually one of my more favorite series to watch. Was great. I love watching that freestyle. But maybe that's what freestyle should be. Maybe freestyle should be like expression sessions and, you know, like the way Tom puts out edits, maybe that should be freestyle rather than the competition format where you've got guys going out and just putting on a show. Because, I mean, you've seen Tom ride in Cape Town, you just don't see that, right? Number one, he's a pain in the ass because he's going, he's going all the way through everyone's lines. But I mean, when. When Tom rides in Cape Town, man, it's sick. Everyone watches.
- [39:17]
Jason
Yeah, yeah. It's expressive and that's why I like to have freestyle just locked into one thing is not the way it should be. It's meant to be something because freestyle more than the spg, you can express yourself but there's something about freestyle that you can really, really do what you want to do and be who you want to be on the water and it kind of gives you like, kind of gives this cool dude swagger a little bit if you like, you know, like I don't know what it is about it, but it is an expressive discipline and definitely the video formats where you can see that happening is the right way to watch freestyle. And it's hard will grow for sure because it's, that's, it's so sick to watch. No.
- [39:53]
Adrian
Did you watch Nine Lives?
- [39:54]
Jason
I did, I watched nine Lives. Yeah, I watched a part of it.
- [39:58]
Adrian
How many of those tricks you reckon you can get through? Shall I read out the tricks for you?
- [40:02]
Jason
Give it to me.
- [40:03]
Adrian
Slim chance.
- [40:04]
Pete
Yes.
- [40:06]
Adrian
Rayleigh to blind.
- [40:07]
Pete
Yes.
- [40:09]
Adrian
Flat 3.
- [40:10]
Pete
Yes.
- [40:12]
Adrian
One handed takeoff or one headed anything the way like Kevin used to do it.
- [40:16]
Pete
Yes.
- [40:17]
Adrian
Low mobe.
- [40:17]
Pete
Yes.
- [40:18]
Adrian
Rewind.
- [40:19]
Pete
Yes.
- [40:20]
Adrian
Blind. Front to blind.
- [40:21]
Pete
Yes.
- [40:22]
Jason
Dum dum, sort of poorly executed Crayole mobe.
- [40:25]
Pete
Yes.
- [40:26]
Adrian
Double half cab.
- [40:27]
Pete
Yes.
- [40:28]
Adrian
Blind Judge 7.
- [40:29]
Pete
Yes.
- [40:30]
Adrian
Heart Attack 7.
- [40:32]
Jason
No.
- [40:32]
Adrian
Front Blind Mode 5.
- [40:34]
Jason
No.
- [40:35]
Adrian
This is where they're getting tough here. Right. Back mob seven.
- [40:37]
Jason
No.
- [40:41]
Adrian
Blind judge nine. I think it's no.
- [40:42]
Jason
Right. No.
- [40:43]
Adrian
Back mob nine.
- [40:44]
Jason
No.
- [40:45]
Adrian
And no leash. No leash. Double handed pass. I think you can do a double handed pass, bro.
- [40:49]
Jason
I can. That, that I could do.
- [40:50]
Adrian
I mean that's, that's only six tricks. That's not bad.
- [40:55]
Jason
That, that really ramped up very quickly.
- [40:59]
Adrian
Yeah, yeah. It starts. I think the trick to that and what trip guys up is they get tired. They get tired. They got. They start off in the beginning and then by the time they get to the sevens and nines, they're screwed.
- [41:10]
Jason
So those, those six, I mean you know, it's everyone's, everyone that used to do freestyle would always like to say yeah, I can do all of this. I can do all of this. But the truth is that's not the case. But I do feel now with big air like the way we've trained it, with all that power, I feel like if all of the ex freestyle riders that did big air had an algo back to freestyle, I feel like we would push super hard because we're not really afraid of power anymore. I feel a while ago when you do freestyle, you didn't want to go too high or too power because, you know the crash would be pretty bad. But now I feel like we can handle that a bit better. So it'd be pretty interesting to watch, actually.
- [41:45]
Adrian
I'd like to see some of the big air with freestyle background. Guys do. Do nine lives. I think that'd be something cool because I know that there are actually. Finn would just be a problem.
- [41:55]
Jason
Yeah, Finn would just dominate. Everyone will be ridiculous.
- [41:58]
Adrian
Who's the best freestyle on big air if we take out Finn?
- [42:01]
Jason
I know Jeremy used to do freestyle. Con used to the freestyle. Stoney.
- [42:04]
Adrian
I. Jeremy got. Well, Jeremy was a vice world champion as well.
- [42:08]
Jason
Yeah, I mean, I would say, obviously, I would love to say myself, but I do feel like the right person to call out is Jeremy. To be honest, he's. Yeah, I've seen him do freestyle actually, quite recently before he broke his leg. It was. It was still impressive.
- [42:21]
Adrian
Well, look, I tell you what, Jason, thank you for joining me on the show today. You are. You are much better than Colin, much better looking and. And by the way, enjoy your birthday, mate. I mean, can. Can I ask how old you were?
- [42:31]
Jason
I'm not 24.
- [42:32]
Adrian
How old you are. You're 24. Wow. I mean, it seems. It feels like I've known you for a very, very long time.
- [42:38]
Jason
No, everyone says this and I said myself I should be a lot older. It feels criminal that I'm still so young, but I'm. I'm going to make the most of it. I don't wish my youth away.
- [42:48]
Adrian
Is 24 the right age for. For Big Year? Because it might. They got. I mean, look, when looking at people like Fern Flugel and Leonardo Casadi, Maxwell Dahl, they're all coming there. 15, 14, 16. Do you. Are you starting to feel a bit old in the. In the fleet?
- [43:02]
Jason
That's a hectic question. Am I feeling old? Yeah. Yes, I guess considering how young everyone else is now. I always. It literally feels like a few years ago that I was always the youngest in everything and now all of a sudden I'm knocking on one of the oldest besides Gill, I guess.
- [43:20]
Adrian
Isn't that crazy? I think we'll see Mark back at this year's King of the Year. I think Mark can do one more, you know, I mean, you've got some unfinished business with Mark.
- [43:28]
Jason
Ah, for sure got some unfinished business. He's a dad now.
- [43:31]
Adrian
He's all, dude, if it's not Mark, it's bloody Kevin.
- [43:33]
Jason
I know Kevin's gone, but I can.
- [43:35]
Adrian
Still take on Mark knocking out the goats. Well, look, Jason, thank you so much, man, for coming on today, dude. Enjoy the rest of your birthday. And, yeah, absolutely amazing job on Road to Pro. You are absolutely so good. It was perfect, man. So congratulations that, guys, if you haven't seen Road to Pro, it's available on Portrait. We're super proud of it. It's one of the our most favorite series that people like to watch. If you are an aspiring kiteboarder or you want to be an aspiring pro, definitely go check it out because it's a lot of fun, and it's there for entertainment only, so don't get your knickers in a knot about the situations that boys get into. Jason. Cheers, brother. Thank you, man.
- [44:11]
Jason
Cheers. Thank you.