AGE: 21
HOME: NANTUCKET, MASSACHUSETTS
SPONSORS: DUOTONE
Heroes:Chad Otterstrom, Dave Redden, my friends and those who inspire me.
Music: Rap, rock, and live music. Listening to music live is an entirely different experience, especially when you know the artist.
Kite Video: The Bubble. If you haven’t watched it, you’re blowing it.
Favorite Riding Spot: At home on Nantucket. The crew is pretty small, but they are always motivated to get out and make the most of the conditions.
Favorite Trick: Nose press or front board.
Dream Hookup: Margot Robbie
Dinner: Sushi
Influences: Snowboarding, surfing, music, art, my friends.
Best Trip: Whistler, British Columbia last winter.
Bucket List: Surf trip to Indonesia, snowboard trip to Japan, buy a sailboat and sail it around the world.
“While you may not recognize his name, it’s likely one you won’t soon forget it. Hailing from Nantucket, Massachusetts, Xander practically grew up with a board in one hand and a camera in the other. A semi-pro snowboarder for market leader, Burton Snowboards, Xander has been riding in the park and sliding sideways as long as he can remember. But his aptitude for athletics doesn’t stop there: anytime he’s at home and it’s not blowing, you can find him chasing waves at one of his local breaks. However, it was only recently that he really started turning heads in the kiteboarding world. Soft spoken with a unique style on the water, Xander easily made friends amongst the Kite Park League crowd on his annual family trip with his dad to visit Real Watersports in the OBX this past spring. Xander jumped at the opportunity to come out for the WCKA Junior Jam where he could earn a spot at the Hood Jam KPL event. Competing against 18 under-21-year-old kiters, Xander went on to win the Junior Jam. He then competed alongside seasoned pros at this year’s Hood Jam where he made an impression executing tricks with a flare unto his own.
As the competition came to a close, Xander was frothing to kite more and changed his ticket to stay in Hood River, Oregon for the rest of the summer. He also had the chance to work on a project with Noè Font and Craig Cunningham. It was his first opportunity to ride and shoot with other kiters who were on the same page in terms of style of riding and focused on producing the same quality of content. For a long time, Xander has loved to shoot both video and photos to share his snowboarding exploits; now his goal is to do something similar in kiteboarding.
Keep an eye out for projects from Xander, both in front of and behind the camera as well as his hopeful KPL debut for the 2019 tour.—Colleen Carroll
