Slaying Giants

Tell us about this giant wave at Nazaré. Do you think it will beat the previous record achieved at Jaws?

The conditions at Nazaré hadn’t really worked out in recent years – it takes a few weather constellations for everything to go well for kitesurfing there. But finally, on the 28th of January the biggest and best day for kiting Nazaré in years lined up and showed some massive waves with perfect cross/cross offshore wind. The wind there is never easy, it’s always too much of this or not enough of that, but this day was definitely the best wind and wave direction I have ever seen for kiting. I have been training there with my team for three years now, mainly surfing so we knew it was time to go when the morning showed what was happening out on the water. Looking from the beach I knew there was a record attempt wave out there. In the morning it was HUGE, so going into the water I had the game plan of waiting and getting that wave. However in the water it’s always different and the waves were hard to see. Thankfully the team was on point and when this set came through, with a round of whistles from the team I knew something big was coming. It was kind of a strange size out there as it was standing up but a lot of waves were not breaking, so I looked at the first one waiting until the last minute to turn as it just didn’t look right. As it took so long to decide if I was going, a tow team turned inside me and went for it, so I went off the back. As soon as I saw what was behind, a monster, I knew it was the wave I was looking for. I actually had to go toward the wave as it broke so far out I wasn’t in the right spot. I turned around, did my best to keep the kite stable and the board in the water.  It turned out perfect. We don’t yet know if it’s the biggest ever ridden with a kite, but damn it was a big wave!

So you’ve been surfing Nazaré for three years, and have become an established and recognized part of the big wave tow-in scene, right?

Yes. I currently live in Peniche, Portugal’s wave mecca, where I have world-class waves in front of me every day. It has become a bit of a new home for me, for living, surfing and kiting, because the coastline here has so many different faces for waves and wind and therefore everything I need! I live in Peniche for about five months a year and the trips to Nazaré are quick because I can be there within an hour and trips to the high wind mecca of Tarifa can be made in about six hours with my van. Nazaré has become a very important part of my life. On days when the huge waves, which we so aptly call “giants”, come in, I’m out on the water with my team. My biggest focus and commitment is still on kitesurfing, because I still want to win world titles! But it is such a great feeling to ride these giants tow-in surfing, such as at the Big Wave Grand Prix, a competition format that takes place in Nazaré. The feeling of riding these giants in Nazaré is simply a drug. It’s hard to explain, but it’s a completely different feeling that you can’t get anywhere else.

I would like to add, it’s crazy to see how much interest and attention we’ve attracted in Nazaré. On a big day, you can hardly drive through the town, and this famous cliff, which everyone knows from pictures, is packed with people. There are also video teams and TV stations, some of which report live from here.

Who is supporting you in your big wave endeavors?

Capital.com helped me to build the perfect setup for me. This includes a team of at least three people who are available to me all year round. I need a jet ski driver on the water, a safety person on a second jet ski or on the beach, and then someone on the cliff who is also equipped with a walkie talkie and can tell us where each of us is on the water, keeping an eye on the big picture. And we have another driver who is available if needed. We also have a large storage room with all the equipment – safety jackets, ropes and so on. The setup also includes my half dozen or so tow-in boards. For smaller waves, I use boards weighing around 3 to 4kg, for medium-sized waves boards weighing 5 to 7kg and for the real giants, board weights of around 9 to 12kg. The heavier a board is, the smoother it runs. This entire setup is on standby, especially in the winter months from October to March.

I’d like to say a few words about my jet ski driver, Alemão de Maresias, who is originally from Brazil. He is one of the best in the world, if not perhaps the best ever. Riding a jet ski in these huge waves takes a lot of skill and an eye for reading the waves. His supports helps make tow-in surfing on these giants a safe sport for me, but ultimately I do have my life in my hands.

Risk is part of the sport. You suffered a serious accident in 2023, and it wasn’t even at Nazaré!

I had just won the final of the Strapless Big Air World Cup in Tarifa in June 2023. I managed to win in a way that I hadn’t expected, because without Airton it was easier for me to take the crown. Immediately after this victory there was a 10-minute break until the Twintip final. I grabbed a 6m kite, which according to the guys around me was supposed to pull a bit to the left, but I didn’t care, because I wanted to do something crazy, because this final was so safe, or too safe, for me. I did a jump with a double kiteloop, crashed it, did a second jump with a double kiteloop and at the top I realized that my kite was suddenly pulling completely differently, because three of the four lines broke and I landed in an area that was far too flat. On impact, I immediately realized that both legs were in crazy pain and my hips were hurting like hell. What a horror accident! I let go of the kite, dragged myself onto the jet ski, and on the beach a team of medics were able to make an initial diagnosis.

What fractures did you sustain and what happened next?

The contact with my legs and hips was terrible for me, but maybe it was a blessing in disguise, because if I had hit my backside, I might have suffered a fracture to my spine. I don’t even want to go into the details, but to start with, I had a torn cruciate ligament and meniscus damage. I went to a total of five doctors, who gave me at least five different and unclear diagnoses and recommendations for necessary operations. It was only through my sponsor Duotone that I found a doctor in Munich, Germany, who was able to give me a clear diagnosis and then operated on me. Six weeks later, I had a second operation in Vienna, Austria. I then worked in Tarifa with Kuki, a physio who works with other Duotone riders. And so the next few months dragged on with the program of rehabilitation, sleeping, eating, training, physio, fitness… These months were an emotional rollercoaster for me.

And was 2024 the comeback year you hoped for?

It wasn’t until March 2024 that I was able to slowly get back on the water. I made my first attempts on a boogie board just to be on the water again! Of course, the boogie board wasn’t a kiteboard or surfboard, but it still helped me to improve my mood. And only then did I slowly start kiting again. I went on to win in Sylt, Dakhla and Jericoacoara, taking the crown in Surfboard Big Air. But in the Kite-Surf championship final in Ibiraquera, Brazil, I had an infection that I couldn’t shake off for a fortnight – 15 minutes of exercise and I had to sit for the rest of the day. So I couldn’t put up enough of a fight against the other riders and only managed a ninth place, and second overall in the championship. I will aim to be World Champion again in 2025, with no ifs or buts.

So is your main commitment still to kitesurfing over surfing big waves?

I am still 100% a professional kitesurfer who wants to become World Champion again and again in the coming years and win more titles. Professional kitesurfing, on the strapless board and even more so in the Duotone team, is the best job in the world, that’s for sure. And if I were to choose any job in the world, it would be exactly what I’ve been doing professionally for several years. But I also have the financial means to expand my big wave surfing into a 100% commitment. Everything I need for my big wave commitment, I get thanks to the support of Capital.com. I want to get really good waves, and not just the one, the biggest wave, but to keep improving. I know that Sebastian Steudtner is aiming for the biggest wave, but I want to keep improving and really ride these giants and not just surf down them.

With kiting, what is your greatest passion: waveriding or strapless freestyle? If you ask around within the World Cup scene, it is clear that you are seen as the leader in the strapless discipline.

Five years ago, surfing was my biggest passion – with or without a kite – and I only did strapless freestyle for the world title. But this has now changed, I love surfing without a kite so much, but for kiting, strapless in the waves and freestyle has now become my number one. When we spoke in Icaraizinho five years ago, there was no reason for me to push my kitesurfing in the waves anymore. Three years ago in Sylt, together with Airton, I pushed strapless Big Air to a new level. We were practically on our own level. Now there’s a bigger group of young riders who are pushing Big Air in strapless freestyle and doing really high jumps and trying more and more double loops, for example. This young generation is doing it much more aggressively than the older generation in the World Cup. The jumps that were difficult two or three years ago are now the standard. Now is the time to keep pushing, and the sport will improve a lot to reach the next level.

Even though you’re pushing strapless, you’re still a ninja waveriding. Philipp Becker, marketing manager at Duotone, said that he sometimes almost fears for the wave when he sees your powerful, almost brutal style in the waves, for example in Mauritius!

Which I take as a compliment! My waveriding can still become so much faster, I can get more speed on the wave, with much more power and flow at the same time. We will see a new level in 2025, and Nazaré, I’m not done with you yet…