Tell us a bit about Cyclone kiteboarding. How did you start the business, and how long have you been running Cyclone?
In the early days we were getting our Kiteboards shaped by the Surfboard manufacturers and I felt we were having difficulty explaining to them what was needed, so what better solution than to make it yourself. I have been making boards ever since - about 6- 7 years now.
It is a known fact that you and your brother used to be on the World Surfing tour. How long were you on the tour for, and what sort of trophies did you bring home? Also would you say that the world tour gave you an edge in terms of gaining valuable experience that you can apply to the kiting industry?
Yeah I was on the ASP world tour for about 4 years , my highlight was probably my first event outside SA , at Lacanau, France where I beat Tom Carrol the current world Champ at the time in the 1/4 finals and then lost to Gary Kong Elkerton. The experience gained by competing against the best surfers in the world definetly gives you an advantage when competing at
Kiteboarding events - I suppose the most important thing to learn is heat management.
What sort of conditions do you guys have in Durban - what's the biggest swell you've managed to charge on a kite?
The conditins here in Natal are really a lot more intense than elsewhere in the world, probably more like Hawaii than anywhere else. There are always waves and therefore our style and equipment varies from say Cape Town . Myself and
Alwin Van Breda kited the Mound during the Cyclone swell @ about 12ft, pretty sick conditions.
How would you describe your kiting style - what sort of styles are you into (Surfing, new school, old school, etc.)
Probably a mix of all three hey ! Surfing obviously plays a big part , no handle passes yet though.
More recently a whole bunch of Slingshot riders went up to Madagascar. Can you tell us anything interesting / funny stories about the trip?
Must have been the look on the faces of the more conservative CT guys when they arrived at base camp to find the DBN crew already at full tilt at the bar.
What is your preferred board of choice at the moment?
I currently have 2 boards , the 135x 39 Destroyer for waves and then a 125 x 38 Odyssey for freestyle kiting.
What do you prefer at the moment - surfing or kiting?
To be honest I hardly have time to go surfing , kiting takes up most of my time but it is really hard to beat a perfect 6ft Cave Rock barrel on a surfboard.
It seems like big wave surfing is the thing at the moment. Everyone's surfing and towing into them. Kiteboarding is following that trend and by the looks of it we are able to pull into places where others can't. Have you or any of your team riders been charging big waves on kites lately?
We have been getting some good swell here lately but not 15 - 20 ft that the guys get in Hawaii . There is a spot that I would love to kite when it breaks , Aliwal Shoal is about 7 kms out to sea and when the swell gets up that place is where I would like to take a kite . I have towed in there with a surfboard once , pretty gnarly , must have been about 20 ft but need backup though.
Picture Credits : Al Nicol