Age: 25
Home Park: Melbourne Cable / Hood River
Country: Australia
WHAT MOTIVATES YOU ON THE WATER?
Riding with people better than me and people that are exciting to try something new, talking to friends about what I’ll try next, seeing those friends try and land something new and competing with girls better than me to see how far I can push my riding. Supporting my friends’ success really motivates me and makes my time on the water extra fun.
ANY TIPS TO LEARNING NEW TRICKS?
I watch lots of cool videos and visualize the trick I’m going to try in my head multiple times. My body also doesn’t do what my brain wants it to do until I try it, so I often need to practice the movement and position of my body off the water to understand how it feels. I ask people who know the trick well what I need to focus on thinking about. I think about each body part individually, because what you do with your head, shoulders, arms, core, legs and board will all impact what the trick looks and feels like.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO ANYONE WANTING TO LEARN TO KITE?
Be patient. One thing this sport has taught me more than anything is to be patient, keep trying, enjoy the journey and challenge yourself to learn your tricks in all conditions.
WHAT IS YOUR OFF-THE-WATER TRAINING LIKE?
I’ve never really done any training off the water. I ride enough as it is to stay strong and I hate the gym because it feels forced and boring. In the last year however I’ve become the biggest fan of Pilates classes with instructors that focus properly on technique. It releases tension in all the tight muscles and activates new muscles that haven’t been used properly. I always walk out of Pilates with my body feeling so much better.
