The Committed | Lieuwe

For many kiters, Cape Town is a special destination. For our team, like many others, it has become much more than that – it feels like a second home. Since the very beginning of Lieuwe in 2010, our team has returned to Cape Town almost every year. 16 years later, that feeling is still the same. By the end of September, you already start looking forward to the months ahead – to the wind, the ocean, and the long summer days on the other side of the world, but most of all, to the people. 

Friends from all over the world return every year. Some live in Cape Town, others stay for a few weeks or several months. Riders from South Africa, Europe, the United States, and many other places all find their way back to the same coastline. Everyone arrives with their own story, but it is the same shared passion that brings us together again.

For years, this simply happened naturally. We never really gave it a name. You arrived in Cape Town, sent a few messages around, and before you knew it there was a crew standing on the beach. We rode together, traveled together, shared meals, and made plans for the next day. Sometimes that meant a perfect session somewhere along the West Coast. Sometimes it meant a road trip in search of wind. And sometimes there was hardly any kiting at all, yet the day still became one of the best memories of the trip.

Every year, the group grew. And without ever being formally planned, this group also became an important part of the development of Lieuwe. Boards were brought along and tested. New ideas were discussed. Materials were tried, designs were challenged, and feedback came not only from team riders, but from friends, locals and riders from many different parts of the world. Cape Town therefore influenced far more than just our winters.

Over the years, it has helped shape Lieuwe itself – our identity, our designs, our material choices and the way we think about the brand. What has always made this group special is that Lieuwe was the connection, without everyone necessarily having to ride a Lieuwe board. There has always been a strong attraction around the brand itself. People connected through the same love for kiting, adventure, traveling and everything that happens around the sport.

That idea became the foundation for the Lieuwe Chapters. Not a traditional club. Not something you need to sign up for or officially join. The Chapters are about the people who make a place special. And there is perhaps no better place to show that idea than Cape Town. The Cape Town Chapters are built around a local group of riders, joined every season by people traveling to Cape Town from all over the world between November and February.

People who might never meet at home, but suddenly find themselves standing on the same beach, waiting for the same wind.

That is exactly what makes Cape Town unique. One day you might be riding with someone from South Africa or the Netherlands, the next with someone from Italy, Spain, Poland, Germany, Scandinavia or the United States. New people join the crew, old friends return and every season creates new stories. In that sense, the Cape Town Chapters are not really something new. They simply give a name to something that has already existed for many years – a community that keeps finding its way back to each other through a shared passion for the sport and a connection with the Lieuwe brand.

This season, we once again invite everyone travelling to Cape Town to become part of it.

Through the Cape Town Chapters, you can meet other riders, join sessions, and take part in some of the trips and adventures organized throughout the season. You will also have the opportunity to test a range of Lieuwe boards through, among others, High Five. Rather than simply seeing the boards in a shop, you can experience them where they belong: on the water, in real Cape Town conditions.

So if you are visiting Cape Town this winter, get in touch with Lieuwe or find one of the Cape Town Chapter members. Maybe you come for the wind. But there is a good chance you will return for the people. ■