Interview med Kevin Langeree
Hen over vinteren vil vi her på riders.dk sætte fokus på nogle af verdens bedste kitesurfere. I et miks af interviews, fotos og video vil vi prøve at gi’ et indblik i livet som pro kitesurfer.
Første pro rider under vores skarpe lup er Kevin Langeree fra Holland. Kevin har været så flink at bruge lidt tid på at snakke med undertegnede om vinterens rejseplaner, events, hvor kite sporten er på vej hen og ja – så en enkelt rockstjerne historie.
Kevin Langeree er bestemt en af de unge pro kitesurfere som i øjeblikket flytter sporten med progressive tricks og stil. I sidste uge postede vi den første af i alt 6 videoer med Kevin Langeree, hvor han fortæller om livet som pro kitesurfer i Syd Afrika. Længere nede finder du linket til resten videoerne. Vi hørte også Kevin, om der i den kommende sæson vil komme mere af den slags video fra hans side.
Facts:
Navn: Kevin Langeree
Født: 21-07-1988
Hjemby: Noordwijk – Holland
Sponsors: NAISH, O’Neill, USA Vision Eyewear, Holidaycars.com and Ben&Jerry
Ranking PKRA: 2nd
How many years have you been kitesurfing?
Nearly 10 years I started in the spring of 2000 when I was 11 years old!
You travel a lot – but what do you consider like home?
My bag! Hahah no Holland is still my home and I love it to spent time there in the summer and in the winter South Africa feels like my home.
A lot of travel = lot of waiting time. I have to ask – What is on your iPod at the moment?
I love to listen to Reggae! I love music that makes me happy! Bob Marley what a ledgend, Gentleman, Pete Philly, Splendid (a great dutch reggae band) and lots more happy music!
What is your favorite kite-spot in the world?
Noordwijk that’s my home spot, I love to come back home from a trip and ride with all your friends! I also love South Africa because of the good wind and waves and it’s a great place to train.
What are your plans for the winter… any exotic winter training plans…?
The last contest is in New Caladonia I’ve never been there before but I’ve heard lots of good story’s about it so I’m really looking forward to go there. I’ll go there 2 weeks before the comp so I can get used to the conditions. After that will go to SA for 4 months!
Kitesurfing has developed in to being a lot more accessible in recent years… Any good advices on how to get in to kitesurfing…?
Take a lesson and try to enjoy every session to the max.
Events, competitions and sponsors are an important part of the kite-industry and probably also a big part of your life. Is kitesurfing getting to commercial? Are we moving away from the sub-culture of being a kitesurfer? Good or bad…?
I think kiteboarding is growing the right way. More and more people are getting into the sport and the industry is still growing by the day. Witch is great for the sport. Also the media is giving more attention to the sport and that’s good cause those are the ones that could make our sport big.
What kind of kite event do you prefer…?
Freestyle events are great and you can do it in any kind of conditions but I hope in the future that there will be more wave events. We had 2 in Chile and it was an awesome event!
Motivation is at key factor being a top athlete… what do you do to keep motivated?
Riding with friends and other sports like surfing. Taking out a wave board is one of the thinks I really love to do and I learn a lot from it as well. It also keeps me really motivated because it’s different then freestyle and I get a lot of inspiration from it!
I know you have been kiteing with the crazy Danish guy Nick Jacobsen… how is he – (beside crazy)… ??
HAHAh he’s a cool guy to hang out with and he’s a great rider!
I really enjoyed watching your documentary series about South Africa… Are we going to see more of that in the future?
YES we are already making plans to make it even cooler!! It looks like the first episode will be online in the beginning of april 2010! I’ll keep you guy’s updated on that.
(red. tjek de 6 første afsnit her>>)
Can you compare being a pro kitesurfer with being a rock star? Is the a short funny story you want to chare with us…?
Like sighing autographs on chicks boobs and getting G string thrown at you during the finales! HAHHA
Any shout-outs..?
I want to thank my parents for every thing they have done for me. And I want to thank my sponsors: O’Neill, Naish, USA vision eyewear, Ben&Jerry’s and Holidaycars.com for all there support.
Thank you so much for taking the time. We at riders.dk hope that you will have a fantastic winter – hopefully some place warm and windy.
Tekst og interview af Ole Takai