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- [00:00]
A
On today's Megapod, it's just me and I'm joined by Jeremy Belando and we are going to talk all things slingshot code nxt v2, catastrophic equipment failure. Going for the boogaloo double just to get the landing. Had a couple of strings and it was extremely dangerous. Guys, I sent the trap and it is gold for Ellie Aldridge and gold for Great Britain. Jeremy Blando. How are you, brother? Good to see you.
- [00:32]
B
Yeah, man, Same, bro. Long time, man. Stoked to be back.
- [00:36]
A
Yeah, man, I'm gutted to have missed France, bro, but I just couldn't get out, man. Too difficult with the war.
- [00:42]
B
We were missing you, man, for real. But you at least don't have to challenge the cold weather, man.
- [00:49]
A
Was it that cold, dude?
- [00:50]
B
My hands were freezing in the comp. Like I was getting. Heading the gloves on the beach and getting in the water for 10 minutes, fighting for. For life and then back on the beach and warming up the hands, man, because dude was cold.
- [01:04]
A
Have you tried to riding gloves and boots before?
- [01:06]
B
I'm not, I'm not really used to it, you know. I'm not really used to riding gloves, so going into a comp straight and trying to ride with the gloves felt crazy to me. Like I tried the day before and the warm up a little bit, but I'm not used to it, you know, I rather have my, my fingers freezing, you know, for 10 minutes.
- [01:26]
A
Baby shark said to me the other day, he said, bro, one week ago I was in the Caribbean then to come to France. He said I couldn't move my fingers, man. He said it was, it was terrible.
- [01:34]
B
Yeah.
- [01:35]
A
How good was it? See baby shark back in competition, dude,
- [01:38]
B
he actually rode amazing, man.
- [01:40]
A
Where did that come from?
- [01:41]
B
It's baby shark, man. Still baby shark, you know, it's still baby shark, man. No, he looks good on the new gear for sure.
- [01:48]
A
I think in general, he, he, he seems better, right? As a person, you know, I mean, dude, we've seen some wild times with baby Shark. It's good to see him a bit more growing up, man. He's getting older. He's 20.
- [01:58]
B
He's 20 already, man. Time flies, dude. There's no more baby shark, dude.
- [02:03]
A
I remember all you guys used to be 15 and now you're all in your 20s. That's pretty hard case.
- [02:07]
B
We're getting old, man.
- [02:08]
A
Come on, bro. You're still young, brother. You're still young, mate. Let's talk about this code nxt, brother. The v2's out. I want to ask you, when did you and Arti start working on the V2.
- [02:19]
B
So basically is actually pretty crazy, because when the NXT V1 came out, I was already riding the NXT V2. So even before the drop of the V1, I was already riding the V2. Because we were on, especially in that time, we were, like, developing crazy, crazy, crazy, a lot of prototypes. Because we know that. We knew that the V1 was not its max. You know, we knew it had way more potential. And on that time, I think by two years ago, already we had the V2 running and it was almost done. And then we pushed it even further. You know, like, sometimes we pushed it even too far. And then we had to step back again and say, hey, we want to base off these qualities of the kite and then move again. So we had it actually ready for a long time.
- [03:10]
A
How do you know when you've pushed the kite too far and have to come back? What does that feel like to you?
- [03:16]
B
Sometimes you get like that crazy good feel in the kite, you know, where everything is working and. But then you're like, hey, I want to have a faster loop, you know, so you push more bridling, you know, lower profile. And we talk together. And then when we pushed it too far, you know, we maybe have a fast looping kite, but then we lose the lift. So then we have to go back again and say we have to balance it, you know, with lift and loop and hang time. You know, sometimes we're getting a crazy fast loop, even double loops on eight. But then all the rest was missing, and we don't want that in. In our kite. We want a best thing of everything, you know, and you need to be balanced. That's how.
- [04:00]
A
So you were riding the V2 even two years ago. But is that V2 the same as that's been released now, or has that been improved again?
- [04:09]
B
No, for sure it has been improved. The one I was riding two years ago, I even. I rode it in Gran Canaria for the world championship with the V1 graphics. You know, the V1 just came out and we had to promote the V1. And I mean, I've been riding V1 two years prior to the release, you know, so it doesn't mean I haven't been riding it. But that kite especially, I rode it in the championship where I won. And of course, there have been several updates, you know, better materials, change the bridle a little bit, but the shape comes originally from there, you know, what
- [04:48]
A
were you writing before you started working on the code? Were you on the machine yeah, back
- [04:54]
B
in the days, actually, I was writing Raptor.
- [04:57]
A
Oh, the Raptor, Yeah, yeah, I remember the Raptor. That's discontinued now, right?
- [05:01]
B
Yeah, man, that. That is not Addi's design. That was Tony's, which back in the days was amazing. Like in 2020, you know, bigger wasn't a thing, so it was hard to find a good kite. And then in 2021, Addy came in and he did the machine on his own in like a couple months, and they released it. And I was a little kid, you know, just riding. And then he saw me and he. He wrote me, hey, man, I want to send you a couple prototypes. Do you want to test them? And there's where he sent me the first code V1 prototype. And there we. We started chatting, you know, and then the code V1 was actually very. A very big upgrade from the machine. And there started with. With the code era, you know, and it was good. It was a good kite. The code V1. And since then, then we started working on. On the nxt, you know, it was a whole comp. Complete different platform of the kite. You know, we wanted something for pure big air.
- [06:01]
A
Man, you must be pretty proud about this, right? I mean, it's pretty rare that you get young guys in the scene who get to work closely with a designer and have their DNA in the kite. I mean, that must be pretty cool, right?
- [06:13]
B
Yeah, man. I mean, I'm very grateful for the guys in Slingshot and Adi, that they put a lot of trust into my hands very early, you know, and that was something that I took really personal, which I put my heart and soul into it, you know. And now, like, at the beginning, I didn't have any, like, say why I didn't even think I could reach to have such a good kite, you know, it was just like, I want a good, good kite for myself, you know, all the rest that came after of one of the best bigger kites and all the hype there is. But behind the kite was secondary. But the first, always the first goal was to have a good kite. That worked for me in competition, you know, and then, you know, step by step, it. It grows and people start talking and the kite works very well. And at the end, the kite does the talking for. For everything, you know, I feel like
- [07:12]
A
it saved Slingshot, especially in the biggest space. You know, when people who have been in the industry a long time, they think Slingshot, they think, you know, the. I think 10 or 11 freestyle world titles. It's got, you know, ranging from, you know, the RPM and all the different freestyle kites ahead is the feeling at Slingshot definitely like we're tapping into bigger now and we're pushing this hard.
- [07:33]
B
Yeah, exactly. I mean, since we started working and we got this new idea around bigger. Because Slingshot has always been a, let's say, freestyle background, you know, with Bebe, Juris, drum and lantern, everybody, all the Carolina. Carolina, of course. And. And that era freestyle was a bit dying, you know, and there is where I came in. And I was. And I was. I came in as a freestyler, you know, and then I saw this. I saw bigger. Bigger was my thing, you know, I had fun doing bigger. Freestyle was kind of laying out, you know, was not dying, but was not the thing anymore, and I was not having even that much fun anymore. So I started big. And then, yeah, basically I told them the vision I had and I was like, hey, bigger is the. Is the future. You know, like, please trust me. Trust Adi. Let's work together and make something really to make Slingshot get back up again, you know, because it wasn't that time where Slingshot wasn't really talked about. You know, it was a bit in the low zone and we got it back back up to the top brands,
- [08:41]
A
you know, what's it like working so closely with Adi? Because, I mean, Adi said to me, you guys have, you know, you guys speak a lot. Are you guys on the same wavelength? Do you have to try and convince him about what you want or does he understand the requirements of the current state of Big Ear?
- [08:59]
B
I mean, our communication goes over work. We just don't talk about where we. We talk in. We talk about everything, you know, about life, about how it's going and how we can improve personally more than just kites, you know, and this is how we created a really close connection on, like, how to understand each other. So, yeah, sometimes we chat along about some. Some kind of products where maybe I have an idea. And he says, hey, man, on the computer. It's. It's kind of bit difficult. Maybe we should do it this way. And I'm like. I think about it and we're like, okay, the. Maybe let's say the shape of the kite is not possible to do because the stitching is not. Doesn't work like this. We have to do it in a different way. And I kind of see some examples in. In my head, you know, or in the water. And then we work it around. But there is never, let's say there's always a good connection. You know, we never have any fights over Anything, you know? Yeah.
- [10:02]
A
Do you think you would like to get into kite design in the future? I know you're working with Adi. Adi's a designer. You're the writer. It's a perfect match. Do you think as you get older, you'd like to cross over into that and start sort of sketching out your own designs and your own stuff on. On the computer?
- [10:20]
B
I mean, I have a very big respect for Adi, you know, and it's impossible.
- [10:25]
A
Talking about taking just.
- [10:27]
B
Just in general to get. To get to the level, that experience, the experience of Addie, it takes a lot of time, and you need to be good at the computer. You know, my strong is not the computer. My strong is the intuition, the water, the bridling, and the ideas, you know, And I think we are a very good team because I have most, you know, a lot of ideas, and I. He can transmit it on the computer very quickly, you know, and for me to work on a computer is really not my thing. I'm not a guy that likes to stay in front of the computer, so I'd rather be on the beach. Yeah. I think like a tester, and mostly the head, you know, of thinking of how the shape should be and everything is my strong, you know, to.
- [11:14]
A
A lot of people have never seen kites being tested. What does a day with Adi look like in Fang Ring?
- [11:19]
B
Yeah, I mean, the setup that Adi has is very nice. In Vietnam, you know, you have a very strong wind, constant wind during the winter season, so you get wind every day, which is a very good thing for testing because you can be on the water all the time. He has the storage right on front of the water with all the prototypes in there. You know, we mostly get prototypes from the factory. When I'm there, every time that I go, I go for a month. So we prepare the prototypes to be arriving in the same time so we can test them. You know, the turnaround time sometimes takes a bit longer. So we don't get, like. Let's say I stay there a month and we don't get new prototypes every week. So we don't work on one thing, and then we design a new one and it comes again while I'm there. Now we do different type of prototypes. We work on them, and then from there, when I go back home, the factory sends them here, they send them there at the same time. So we have the same kites on the same time that we can work on. And like this, have the same feeling at the time, and like this we can have a fast Process of developing, you know, and yeah, Vietnam. Vietnam is sick, man. You know, like, there's a good training. There is really good training. There is. Adi has a nice gym right there in front of the beach. So in the morning, you wake up, warm up, you know, then go kiting, test a couple of kites, go back to his place that is right in front of the water. So it's all really connected. Work on the computer, have a few ideas and smash it out again, go bridling again, test some, couple more and like this for. For a month or how long you want to be there because it's windy every day. At one point, you don't know what
- [13:12]
A
to do anymore at any time. How many prototypes do you have on the beach? And are you working on it? Is it literally take one out, ride it for a few minutes and come back and give feedback, or do you, like, spend a little bit more time on the kites? Because I've seen guys go out and come straight back in and make a change. Go out, come back, make a change. Do you do it similarly or are you. Do you like to spend a bit more time on the kite and put it through different types of kite movements, like the loop or a second lift and stuff like this?
- [13:41]
B
Yeah, it really depends on what level the kite is. So let's say it's a kite that just came from the factory and we have to work on it. I come in and out pretty quickly to, you know, get the bridle in the right shape and one the. Once the kite goes up in level a bit, you know, it's close to be prime. Then I spend more time, you know, I tested in stronger winds, in gustier winds, in lighter, and to see how the kite reacts and how to get a final decision on it to then be able to do the next prototype, you know. And that's a bit how the NXTV 2 also came out. You know, from the early stage, it was a lot of bridling, doing a lot of changes at the. In a small, short time period, you know, and then slowly, slowly, as the kite was evolving, there was not much, much more bridling involved. There was more shape things, you know, which at the beach, you cannot change the shape. You need a new kite, you need a new kite from the factory, you know, because at one point the bridal is. Is limited, you know, you cannot go more. If not, it happens that you lose a lot of qualities in the kite, you know, so then it comes again and the same thing for the new one. And once the bridle is set already. When you get the new prototype, mostly the bridle is already working, you know, so it's more of a test. Shape. Shape testing, you know, and that's what the NXT V2 went through. A lot is different shape.
- [15:15]
A
I remember when you were injured, Zach went up there to, I guess, help Audi. Does he have other testers that he uses in the area, like local guys who also help him out, or does he do majority of the testing himself? If, if you're not. When I'm talking about when you're not there.
- [15:31]
B
Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. I mean, they have, he has a nice team, not big team, you know, they have a, they have a nice team. They have the, the beach boy, he's called Hugh. He's a Vietnamese guy, very humble. He was working in the, in the fields and Adi was like, hey, man, I'm going to give you the kites. You're going to be my beach boy. The guy started as a beach boy and then slowly, slowly, Adi was feeding him with gear, you know, making him go kiting and still working for him. And then the guy, just by like looking at the kites and helping us to test, he got very good. You know, he learned a lot. And believe me, he doesn't speak one way, one word of English. Like, I never spoke to this guy and I've been, I've been seeing him for four years and I never had one conversation that. I mean, there is this guy and another one, but mostly is him because he knows exactly what I, When I tell him, man, you gotta push one knot a bit further up, you know, he immediately knows which one and does it, you know, and he, by the time, he also got very good at kiting. So when Adi gets new kites, Adi tests them and maybe if there's a bunch of work to do on it too, he gives it to the guy. And he helps out a lot, you know, with the bridling and they test it together when I'm not there. And while Zach was there in Vietnam this year too, we were there together. And Zach, me and Zach, we have very similar styles, I think, you know, sometimes we don't really agree on some stuff, you know, and maybe on the bridle like this or brother like that, but we have maybe two different ways of working it. But together we, we, we, we did quite some nice stuff, you know, Zach especially did the 10 and the 12. He likes to ride the 10. I like to ride more than nine. He liked to ride more than 10. So he had a little bit of more input on the 10, you know, and at the end it worked out and I like it too. So we also learn from, from each other, you know, quite a bit. And it's good to have.
- [17:40]
A
If you only have one kite size to ride for the rest of your life, what, what size would it be?
- [17:47]
B
I would say eight. Eight. Eight man. Eight is prime. Every time I have a session on the eight, even if it's mate, there's no light wind.
- [17:55]
A
You can't go out and light wind
- [17:56]
B
on an 8 NXT does it? The range is insane by the way.
- [18:02]
A
I think in my experience riding the nxt, I feel like it rides up a size. Like it's very, very powerful. Quite like, you know, if we ride eights back to back, it feels to me like a 9 or even a 10 at times compared to other eights. Where does that extra power come from and why does it feel like it rides up a size?
- [18:19]
B
It does. So we wanted to have a kite that was, let's say always that had a good range, you know, that even, let's say because it comes from a competition vision side, you know, let's say you're in a heat and the wind drops, you know, and you don't, you don't have the chance to, to change the kite because it's very short in time. That kite needs to still be able to jump, you know, so that's something we really focused on. And to have to have like an, let's say an 8 meter that jumps like a 9 or 10 is from there where the actual power is coming from, you know. And we also wanted to have a good D power, especially on the new code NXT V2. The V1 didn't have that much D power. The V2 has more range than the previous one. I can hold it up in more winds, in stronger winds, in gassier winds and it flies through the window faster, you know, but without taking away that low end capacity. So we found, found that perfect balance for one size kite too, you know, I mean we're, we're doing from 7 to 14 sizes. You know, I, I mean I ride all of them, you know, but for some people that ride mostly the nine that can also keep the, the edge. They can ride it in 40 knots, you know, because not everybody buys a whole quiver of Alula kites, you know, they start to be expensive and so the kite actually works very well for everything, you know.
- [20:00]
A
Let's talk about the Namibia trip because I was in Cape Town and you guys Are like, man, we're driving up there, there's three days of wind. I'm like, man, you're going to do a 20 hour drive for three days of wind. But dude, how epic were the shots and how epic were the conditions for that shoot? I mean, that must have been unbelievable, man.
- [20:15]
B
It's, it's, it's a long drive, but I would go again and do it one million more times with the crew we had with the, how special the nature and the road trip and the whole trip goes. It's just amazing. You know, it's 14 hour drives to go and 14 to come back, but it all lined up, man. We had insane wind condition there on the offshore spot. I had, I just posted this video a couple days ago on Instagram of riding that immense wave for 100 meters and then jumping, you know, and it's, it's paradise because it's like Balnario from Tarifa is one of the best spots, you know, but Balnario can get crowded and that spot there is you. And, and a bit of sand and the wind, you know, and for training is amazing. The wind is nice. It's, it's just been epic for the shoot, you know, and I would actually, would go, like to go back. Really.
- [21:16]
A
I mean, you must be pretty proud when you see all those other team riders kicking ass on your kite too, right? Not just you connecting with it, but you know, Zach's been doing super well and you know, even, even, even Jacopo like riding, you know, it's like, it's like, wow, this is awesome to see the hard work, you know what? It's awesome to see the hard work shining, you know.
- [21:38]
B
Yeah, man, I love to like, mostly I want to upgrade myself. My, my riding, you know, my being, my how I behave in the water, outside of the water. And I wanted to transmit it through this kite, you know, through my riding and through this kite. And when I see that other people get this kite in their hands and how they immediately transform as a kiter is something that I see instantly, you know, and you see like this, this guy knows that this kite can change him, you know, and it's not only in the kiting, it's in, in everything, you know, this, this kite changed my life, you know, it did, you know, and it's gonna, it changes a lot of people lives I think too, especially underwater, you know.
- [22:27]
A
Do you remember that moment where you're like, oh, this is it, we've nailed it.
- [22:32]
B
Yeah, it's been, it's been not many Times, you know, because I like to push it to the limit. You know, at one point I have to be like, I have to accept that it's the one, you know, Because I always want more. I always want, like, hey, man, I want more lift. I want to jump higher, I want to loop faster. I want to reach the impossible, you know?
- [22:52]
A
What were the main areas of improvement between the V1 and the V2? I've never ridden the V2. I love the V1. It's a great kite, you know, but what were the main areas that you guys wanted to work on? Because I know, you know, you say you've been a perfectionist and you want everything to be perfect, but it's very hard for everything to be perfect. Right?
- [23:09]
B
Yeah, that's the thing. So at one point you have to say, hey, this. The kite's working perfectly, you know, and the more you ride it, more you understand why you chose that one, you know, and especially with the. Between the code and xtv1 and the code and xtv2, we got a lot of more stability, you know, that's what I kind of was the downside of the NXT V2, it was, like, always revved up. I mean, Ben said it perfectly in his review. You know, the V1 was always pulling, you know, even if the bar was sheeted out, it was always pulling you a bit. And when you were overpowered, you could feel it. And that's what I wanted to change on the V2 is that also, if you are very overpowered, you can still handle the edge and still get a clean pop in the same time. I think in bigger pop is something very important. You need to get to pop vertical, you know, and if you have a kite that pulls not really vertical, you can maybe not reach the max height. And that's what we changed on the code and XCV2 is that we made the kite fly a bit more up in the window. So when even, let's say your pop is not the best, the kite will still lift you, you know, and because, you know, also in competition, always coming from my side, you're there. You can hit that chop. Okay, maybe in Cape Town. And you cannot. You cannot fail in the. You cannot fail in the heat, you know, you need to be pretty reliable, you know, you need to rely on your kite. So let's say you hit the chop on the board. You're not popping the best. You still have the kite. That is going to put more work into it to have you have the height at least, you know, and that's something that I really like from the kite because every jump is the same, you know, that doesn't matter the condition.
- [24:59]
A
By getting the kite to be a bit higher in the window, does that also stop it from sort of pulling you off the edge or pulling you forward like the V1? Is that the same. The same? It's the same stuff, right?
- [25:09]
B
Yeah, yeah, it's the same thing. Because let's say your kite flies a bit more down in the window. When the wind hits, it's going to pull you downwind, right? Right.
- [25:19]
A
Horizontally.
- [25:21]
B
If it's, let's say, depowering a bit more it making the air flow a bit faster, you know, that it doesn't keep too much air into the kite and like this it's able to pull you more upwind, you know, more to the side instead of pulling you downwind.
- [25:37]
A
Are you using the same alula between the V1 and the V2?
- [25:40]
B
Yeah. So the, the Alula is the. Is the same. What we changed because we had a couple of not say problems, but, you know, we've. We thought that reinforcing the, the stitching on the V2, it was something necessary because Alula is very, let's say, not easy to work on, you know. So we had many prototypes of, let's say, the best ratio of weight and, and durability. And we found this new way of stitching by putting some reinforcements in without increasing too much the weight of the kite to make it be more durable, you know, but also having a more solid shape. So let's say even with a small reinforcement in the leading edge, in the seam, it. If you think about it, maybe you can say nothing changes, you know, but it actually does in the rigidity of the kite itself, you know, so the kite feels way more stable in the gusts, you know, and it pushes through the gusts way easier. You can ride upwind faster, you can sheed in sheet out easily.
- [26:53]
A
What did you guys do to the trailing edge and what performance can you get out by improving the trailing edge?
- [26:59]
B
So the NXTB one had a pretty simple trailing edge. You know, it was cut straight, so we were still getting a bit of flap into it in the V1. So we mostly wanted to kill the flap on the kite, you know, not completely, but we wanted to kill it a bit more because you could feel the vibration in the bar when you were pulling the loop and sometimes that can slow down the kite because it drags. So what we did is we cut a lot of material out from the trailing edge and Made it a bit, let's say, with a new shape rounder in. In order that the kite gets a better airflow through and it reduces drag. And in the same time, it doesn't flap, it doesn't flutter. When you're, let's say, looping, mostly looping, you. You get the flutter, you know. And also we changed to a stiffer, let's say, material on the trailing edge, which is white. It's called code 95. And it's a bit stiffer, you know, so it transmits a bit more of a direct feel to the bar. We also added the new fiberglass buttons to the kite. We've added pretty long ones because we wanted it to be as stiff as possible. So the combination with the new trailing edge material and shape, with these new battens, made the kite super solid, which the NXTB one could move a bit, could flutter, you know. Instead with a new one, it's just staying there. Any wind you have, it's locked in, you know.
- [28:34]
A
Even adding those longer battens, did you still manage to reduce the weight of the kite?
- [28:39]
B
We did. Actually. The kite is lighter than the previous one. We cut down parts that were unnecessary. You know, sometimes with the old construction, we had things that were heavy and we didn't see. And then there is. Where actually most of the work came in also for the NXT V2, is that we really took every single small detail. We took whole kites apart. We looked especially where we can cut down material without compromising its durability, you know. And Adi was very good in that he could make a seam by a half a centimeter smaller or even less. I don't know the exact numbers, but he was very good to see that. And by cutting it down in every single part in the kite, the kite lost 2 or 300 grams, you know, and then like that, in order, we were able to add fiberglass buttons, you know, that are not very heavy, you know, are very light and like this, you can compensate a lot the weight and the performance of the kite, you know.
- [29:49]
A
Could you feel the difference in the weight when you're riding it?
- [29:52]
B
A lot. A lot. Especially like in stronger winds, you know, many people think that it doesn't matter in strong winds if your kite is heavier or light. Instead is. I think one of the most important parts is in strong winds, when you have a light kite, the kite is gonna catch faster, you know, it's gonna fly faster. Everything it's is getting. The performance is getting way better in stronger winds, you know, in lighter winds, I Mean, we are not foiling, you know, our kites fly also without wind almost, you know, but what, what our focus is, is to have it fly very good with the best performance and strong winds.
- [30:31]
A
You know, I mean, you're one of the only three struck kites. I mean, there are others obviously in the competitive space, but most of those guys have gone back to five. It went down to three for a while. It's gone back to five. Did you guys ever think about a five strike kite or. I know in the past, you know, Slingshot had the five strike kites, but was that something that you guys looked at with a code and, and thought about five struts for the code or it's just not on the table at all?
- [30:56]
B
I mean, let's say if in Lords of Strand we still got the two highest jumps against all of the others.
- [31:02]
A
I'm just asking in general.
- [31:05]
B
No, I mean,
- [31:07]
A
dude, we don't have to answer that if you don't want to.
- [31:10]
B
No, no, no, I do, I do for sure. Like we, we have a 5 strut kite in our lineup. We have the machine, you know, it works amazingly, but we wanted to put all our focus onto, onto the three strut because it's the kite that was working the best. There are kites that have Alula that are five strats, you know, but they lack in some capabilities so they have to be worked out with another material. That's why we wanted to focus more on having our 3 strat work very well. And we, we know that a 3 strut kite can go high, you know, it can have hang time. You know, we proved it with the NXTV 2, so we wanted to push that through all the way and have the three shot platform winning. You know, we have prototypes of the five shot kites, but honestly, like I've been out and I, I like the three shot more and it's way easier to do tricks on than a five shot in my opinion. You know, five shot can get a bit more technical and you have to put more work into it. But yeah, that's why, I mean, maybe in the future a five shot kite can come out, you know, I mean, we have it, we have it there ready, we can do it. But until the NXTB2 is better, we are not gonna be releasing anything else.
- [32:26]
A
Do you get to ride other kites on the market just for your feel and for your work with Addie? Do you do that very often?
- [32:35]
B
I mean, in the past we for sure tried other competitor kites, you know, just to Have a feel of what direction everyone is going, you know, and to get a bit of ideas of where we want to go, you know, but we started like this, but we saw, like, man, we need to create something special for us, you know, we. We don't want to follow something that some other brand has already, you know, we want to do our own thing, and we trust the process that we will do something good, you know, and at the beginning was like this. Since the nxtv one is out, I haven't been riding many other kites, you know, maybe just to like, hey, with the friends, hey, I got this new kite, you know, maybe it's a five strut kite. And I'm. I go on it because I never ride five shots, you know, and I feel like, holy, I cannot ride the 5 str. You know, I don't know how to ride it. You know, I'm so used to the NXT that anything else that I touch feels so different to me, you know?
- [33:38]
A
I guess Fang Ring is a great place to do that. Right? Because let's be honest, people in Fang Rang, they don't really care what's happening in the world of kiteboarding.
- [33:46]
B
They don't.
- [33:46]
A
They don't. Right? They. They have no idea. By the way, Fang Rang is a really underrated place. Right. It's a super cool place to come. It's a pain in the ass because it's in the middle of the king of the season. That's its only downfall, I think. Why more people or more pro riders don't go there. Because it's in the middle of the Cape Town season. Yeah.
- [34:04]
B
I mean, I can say it's very gustyrang is very gusty.
- [34:08]
A
Yeah. Especially when it gets more north and comes over the hills.
- [34:11]
B
Exactly. But it's actually insane how that spot grows throughout the years. I went there five years ago for the first time or four years, there was nobody, man. There was no resorts. There was nothing, you know, and since I started posting some videos, you know, people got to know more the spot. And every year, more and more people. Like this year, I've been there in January for 20 days, and it's been. It's packed, you know, with people, but people that ride normally, you know, people that loop, people that have fun, people that are learning. Because that spot is also very great to. To progress from zero to hero, because you have that shallow water lagoon that when the tide come up, which is amazing for learning. And then you go out in the reef where you can do bigger wave riding, where you can do wing foiling, can do windsurfing. There's a lot of stuff to do in that place, you know, and there are many people from different parts of the world, you know, more from the Asia part, more like Russians, Koreans mostly, you know, also there is not many local people that do it, you know, not. Not. It's not the most. It's mostly tourists, but I think there's. That spot has a lot of potential, man. Like, in a future, like, I would love to. To go more there, you know, also because Adi is there, we can work together even better. And also because training, you know, it's cheap, there's good winds, it's a nice place. I mean, you have everything, you know, and it's. The food is amazing. The food is. I love. I love the food.
- [35:52]
A
Speaking of spots, what are some of your other favorite spots you like to ride? Give me your top three biggest spots in the world. And I know. I know Buckarraz is not in them.
- [36:04]
B
I think it's only Jamie's. Jamie's favorite because all the rest. I don't think anyone likes it, man.
- [36:09]
A
How was that watching Jamie Ryder? It was pretty unbelievable, right?
- [36:13]
B
Yeah, dude. I mean, I saw it in the first day. Like, it's his spot, you know, like also two years ago when he got first, I got second. Like, you can see that he could get every. Gus, you know, he see. You see that. He. He goes there a lot more than anyone else. He trains more there more than anyone else, you know, And Jamie is a very talented guy. You know, he. He does it very well, you know, so, yeah, definitely. Barcarus is not my favorite. It's a nice spot. It's a nice spot. I mean, if it could be a bit warmer, it could be actually a very good spot.
- [36:47]
A
You know, I think the cold makes it special, right? That cold wind gives you that lift and. Yeah, that. That punch.
- [36:54]
B
Basically, I would say Balnario. Balnario is classic, you know, progression is amazing. I love Tenerife and Gran Canaria. I would rank them in second, you know, both because they're very similar. They're almost the same spot. You know, we get wind every day. We got left side kicker like Cape Town and my third one. Oh, man, that was. That's a hard one. I would say Namibia.
- [37:21]
A
Namibia is the new spot, bro.
- [37:22]
B
Dude, Namibia is. It's very nice, dude. Unfortunately, it's far. You know, it's very far, but I would drive that far to kite there. It's really nice and the whole scenery is nice, you know, you're in the desert. You have the little town Luderitz, you know, which is super chill. You need a 4x4 car, which is nice. You have to go to the spot. You go on the beach, nobody there blowing 50 knots. And it's a good training spot, you know, it's really good training spot.
- [37:55]
A
Well, Jeremy, mate, congratulations on this V2 dude. I can't wait to try it myself. Looking forward to catching up with you and Mykonos brother and mate again, thanks for your time as always, bro.
- [38:06]
B
Thank you, guys. Hope to see you in Mykonos, man. Like last year we send it, bro.
- [38:12]
A
Last year, all of us in the one house. I don't think that's going to happen this year.
- [38:17]
B
No, man, but for sure it's going to be nice, man. We had a great time there.
- [38:21]
A
Last time when we were there, you were still coming back from your injury, right? You weren't 100%. Is Mykonos a spot that you like to ride? Because people have sort of mixed emotions about it. Personally, I think it's. I think it's a fine spot to ride. You know? What, what. What's your thoughts on it?
- [38:36]
B
Yeah, it's. It's. It's sick. Like, you need to have respect, though, for it. You know, you need to. To. To be careful sometimes when there's that crazy wind, like when we been there that we had three days of insane wind that we could basically almost do nothing because it was too strong and was too gassy coming over the hills. You know, if it's competition, I think it's an epic spot because you can jump right and left, which it's a. It's a good thing. You know, I think the competition is gonna be different there because there are many people, like for example, Zach that jumps better to the right, you know, so there gives a chance to other people that have a better tack to the right to ride good, you know, and the spot itself is nice. You know, you just need to jump very far because I think in the competition as some. Somebody is gonna let someone gonna hit the beach, bro. Andrea, man, is gonna do it like last year almost or kites in the parking lot and disaster, dude.
- [39:39]
A
Thanks, Jeremy.