2015 was a terrific year for kiteboarding videos! If you only watch a handful of videos this year, Kitesurfing Magazine‘s must see list is a collection of the best American and international kiteboarding video’s from the past year. The Kitesurfing Magazine staff are pretty sure you will enjoy this year’s selection. It represents a wide range of riding styles: both surf, wakestyle and big air as well as both professionally produced features like Fly Me to the Moon, and the film Beyond; and shorts, shot and edited by the riders like Allow it, and Triple-S Course Preview with Sam Light.
Have a favourite we missed? Be sure to add it to the comments below.
Fly Me to the Moon
Nick Jacobsen stars in this quirky kiteboarding short. Born in Denmark and groomed for kiting in South Africa he stays true to his crazy roots in this 13 minute film that takes you on an adventure of epic proportions. On his journey to the moon he must survive meteors and surf like a dolphin. With super human power he flies like a bird and walks sideways on walls. How cool is that?
“One of my favorite videos of 2015 is Fly Me to the Moon with Nick Jacobsen. For me, a 10min plus kiting video is usually hard to finish, but Fly Me to the Moon is original and funny enough that it stays entertaining throughout the video.”—Reider Decker
Ewan Jaspan – Allow it?
“3 years later I made it back to Brazil with the aim to push myself to new levels, after coming back a few months ago from 2 years off. I think the break gave me a new lease on my riding and I hope you enjoy watching what I have put together from the last month.”—Ewan Jaspan
“Pretty raw edit without much cinematography but banger after banger. This guy is killing it and coming back super strong after a long string of injuries… I’m betting he’s gonna do big things in the next year!”—Craig Cunningham
How to Make a Kiteboarding Movie
“Over our many years of kiteboarding in Brazil. We have finally come up with the formula to put together a kiteboarding movie. With a little bit of time and effort you too can create your very own kiteboarding master piece, to share with the world. Follow the quick and easy “how to” guild lines we have provided. Can’t wait to see yours!”—Sam Medysky
“Craig Cunningham and Sam Medysky two of my favorites, nailed it with this one. The first time I watched it I was laughing so hard my stomach hurt!”—Colleen Carrol
Westward By Vincent Bergeron featuring Brandon Scheid.
Brandon Scheid gets wild in his wetsuit out West. Shot on location in Squamish, BC and Hood River, OR.
“Brandon and Vincent are good friends of mine so I have seen everything these two have done over the years and this is by far their best collaboration to date! Brandon is on fire nailing all his best tricks and Vincent killed it with the song selection. I get chills every time I watch it.”—Eric Rienstra
Beyond
The North Kiteboarding Freestyle-Wakestyle Team is taking their all new Vegas 2016 out for a first spin. A combination promising loads of fun, unbelievable kiteboarding skills and dream locations! Take part in the cool trip and this exciting experience!
“Probably one of the most challenging video shoots I’ve participated in due to food poisoning, the struggles of attempting to build sliders in a third world country, day after day of almost perfect wind, and other various unforeseen obstacles. However, for me thats part of what made it so special. We had to really work to create this video and in my opinion it turned out really great. Everyone involved had to give everything they could on and off the water and what we ended up with is a really cool action packed video highlighting an amazing destination that is off the beaten path.”—Colleen Carroll
ACQUA, A Kiteboarding Film
Head to a tropical paradise in Patrick Wieland’s newest film featuring Alex Fox and Sam Light as they sail around the British Virgin Islands finding the best locations to kite board. Not a bad life they live…
“Acqua was pretty amazing. Both Sam Light and Alex Fox are good friends and they really knocked it out of the park with this one. Not only is the riding and scenery insane, Patrick’s newfound drone skills made it a winner. Makes me want to sell everything, buy a boat, and cruise the globe.”—Brandon Scheid
Keahi De Aboitiz at Teahupoo (Cabrinha Kitesurfing)
Keahi is no stranger to the well known surf break Teahupo, with it’s heavy, glassy waves offshore, it’s arguably the most dangerous surf breaks in the world. For those brave enough to face it, it’s one of the most intense session of their lives. The waves have a unique combination of size, power and speed. Enjoy this hypnotic show as Keahi’s smooth style with slow mo camera work make it look like a walk in the park.
“My favorite video of 2015 for kitesurfing is Keahi De Aboitiz at Teahupoo. This Tahiti session of Keahi De Aboitiz for the simple fact that it was a epic progressive session of kitesurfing Barrels.”—Niccolo Porcella
Hits 4 Days
“This is a collection of footage from my friends Tobias Holter, Evan Netsch, Sam Light, and Ryan Osmond. I also shot a few selfies by just putting the camera on a tripod and aiming it at the kicker and I edited it myself. Despite having to stop filming because of an injury, I was still stoked on a few new tricks I was able to nail like the G Spot Mute and Mobe 5 off the kicker. I also landed one of the cleanest grabbed Backside 5s I’ve ever done which felt amazing.”—Eric Rienstra
“One of my favourites, Eric Rienstra’s video; Hits for Days because of his commitment to landing every mobe off a kicker when 99% of people won’t even realize.”—Sam Light
Reo Stevens’ – Indonesia Reflections
“Who doesn’t like to get barreled? Reo’s video walks you through the history of getting shacked with a kite and but also gives you in depth information on barrel riding technique from two of the best in the business, Reo and Keahi.”—Matt Elsasser
Barneys In Paradise The Movie II
Following 10 college students through their year of kiting and traveling.
Shot on location at: California, Oregon, Mexico, Vietnam, Indonesia
“Hard not to love a video with a bunch of guys having as much fun as humanly possible. Their stoke for kiting comes through in everything they do.”—John Bryja
Grim-Sitting
“This was a really fun project! The Naish R&D team and I came up with the concept of Grom Sitting and then I took the lead to direct the movie. We had a bunch of rad kids running around and the stoke that they have is so contagious, I remember the days when I was their age and was so focused on having fun and kiteboarding. All I wanted to do is kite, and to share that time with these kids is a treat. They know how to have fun so I got the please of showing them some of the ways I like to have fun…Like jumping over another kite with a kid on your back…. Madness and fun was the goal, we definitely succeed that and I believe that we even came out with a cool video that shared the stoke we felt.”—Jesse Richman
Te Tainui
Once again the F-ONE team went off to discover new landscapes and live an extraordinary adventure.
Raphaël SALLES put on his captain’s hat for the time of a far-off journey to meet his Tahitian team and experience the magic surrounding their idyllic islands. Accompanied by his faithful sidekicks as well as newcomers, they went on to board two catamarans for 25 days of pure happiness in another world.
Tahiti is well and truly as you can imagine: wild, powerful, with the force of the ocean being ever-present and where sharing and wisdom are common values within a whole people.
“The shots in this video are phenomenal. I loved the spirit, videography and variety this full length kite movie showcased. It is a powerful and idyllic video showcasing the best of our sport.”—Sensi Graves
Kite Attack
My favorite video of mine from 2015 is Kite Attack (see above). It’s a compilation of footage from the 2015 Cape Hatteras Wave Classic and other fun days this Fall. I was obsessed with the song ( Shark Attack by Grouplove) I used for this edit for a while before I made the video. The song changes speeds and shifts between different music genres so fast it keeps the video interesting and is fun to pair with different riding clips.—Reider Decker
Best Jump video
Nick Jacobsen Kiteboards Off Richard Branson’s Island
What would a best videos of 2015 list be without some seriously big air? No one better than Nick Jacobsen to push the limits!
Best P.O.V. video
Triple-S Course Preview with Sam Light
Sam Light takes us for a tour of the Real slider park at the 2015 Triple-S in Cape Hatteras, NC. The Triple-S is the world’s premier slider contest and this POV run through the park with the event winner is a real treat. It is just like being there… only without the 7 nights of epic bands and parties.
