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TheKiteMag 50 featureSunset by Toby Bromwich copy 1200x800 - Top Gun

Top Gun

Young kiters can learn a lot from pro riders, coaches, marketing managers, photographers and others in the industry to guide their future careers. Knowing this, Duotone gathered together some of their newest hot shots at a camp in Egypt, to share the knowledge and stoke, and with KOTA around the corner for some of them, they would soon be putting the lessons they learnt into practice at the most significant competition of their lives yet.

THEKITEMAG ISSUE #50
WORDS: Nathalie Lambrecht
PHOTOS: Toby Bromwich
TheKiteMag 50 featureGroup by Toby Bromwich - Top Gun

In July, Duotone once again held their Young Blood Camp, an initiative founded in 2006. The concept of the camp is to offer a platform, provide the tools, and prepare the next generation for what it takes to become a professional rider. Topics covered included mental and physical training, kiting technique, social media, knowledge about the brand’s products and how to be part of a successful photo and film shoot. Many of today’s accomplished riders like Reno Romeu, Tom Court and Marc Jacobs came out of previously held Young Blood Camps. Having been part of the first camp in 2006, and joining this camp now to share his knowledge and experience as a pro rider, Reno was able to add a true insider perspective on how the industry has changed over the years – in particular the degree of growth within the industry as well as social media, which didn’t even exist when he started out but now plays a major role in the portfolio of duties of a pro kiter.

This year, the camp was held at the Makani Beach Club in El Gouna, Egypt. Makani stands for ‘my place’ in Arabic and ‘wind’ in Hawaiian, and combined these words beautifully express the needs of a passionate kiter. Together, the invited young bloods, plus the Duotone mentoring and coaching team which included a film crew, a number of pro riders and off-the-water content mentors, amounted to over 24 people from 15 countries.

Most of the young bloods arrived a few days prior to the official kick-off. The forecast was looking exceptional for the first couple of days, but less promising for the rest of the week. Not wanting to waste any time or wind, everyone went straight into action. The young bloods were divided into smaller groups and took turns with the videographers Julien Leleu, Carlos Guzman and Christian Mueller, as well as the photographer Toby Bromwich. After receiving some valuable feedback and pointers, the riders went straight into another shoot at sunset. The second day was action-packed and mainly spent shooting at a really special spot, Bayoud, which has crystal-clear blue water. Fabio Ingrosso, coach to World Champions like Mikaili Sol, shared his vast knowledge with the keen shredders of tomorrow. Guilherme Costa was pumped: “Fabio is a really great coach. Having all our moves recorded and analyzed had a huge impact on improving the tricks we struggled with.”

Inspirational talks and questions with Aaron Hadlow and Reno Romeu on day three gave insights into the highs and lows of a pro career, plus ample opportunity for the young guns to ask any of the questions they have always wanted to ask. Aaron said of the camp, “When Duotone asked me to join the Young Blood Camp I was immediately interested. When I was a kid learning to kite, there was nothing like that available. In fact, worldwide there were not even many other kids my age kiting. This camp represented a great opportunity to share my knowledge and tips with the next generation. Losing focus and motivation and dealing with injuries are some of the issues I have experienced first-hand throughout my career, so I felt it was important to focus on these things with the group. I felt strongly about the need to point out to the young guns the importance of having other interests off the water such as art, writing, photography, IT, editing, engineering and so on, and how that can really improve your career and value as a rider later down the line. With regards to motivation, other disciplines or even other sports can influence your progression in kiting. Sports that work on your fitness and improve your board skills and coordination are perfect as long as the injury risk is low. Finally, injury prevention and how to look after your body was another topic that I felt was crucial to discuss. All these points of course are not that easy to take in at a young age, and typically you have to experience them yourself to really learn, but I truly hope that sharing my experiences with the group will allow them to understand and deal with things better when certain situations arise.”

TheKiteMag 50 featureBeto Gomez by Toby Bromwich 1 - Top Gun

Beto Gomez:

“I really enjoyed the interaction we had with Aaron and Reno, my two greatest idols. Knowing what they had to go through to get to where they are today as athletes, I can see myself in them! I learned that we are not only a brand, we are also a family, and this connection with all the riders, the good friendship, and feeling part of something in my career as an athlete was incredible. It helped me see what I want for my future and where I want to go. I learned it is important to have fun and be happy regardless of the results, that the most important thing is inside and it is what you have to expose to the world: your essence!

Max Tullet

“I learned so much about editing photos and how to be in the right position for the person shooting. Super interesting also was to learn the difference in ideal angles for certain tricks as well as how crucial the communication with the photographer and videographer was for getting the perfect shot.”

TheKiteMag 50 featureMax Tullet by Toby Bromwich - Top Gun
TheKiteMag 50 featureEdgar Ulrich by Toby Bromwich - Top Gun

Edgar Ulrich

“For sure my favorite part of the week was the shoots that we had with the whole team in the water and with all the young bloods performing in their favorite discipline be it strapless, Big Air or freestyle. Sharing the stoke with everyone and learning from the professional photographers and videographers was so awesome!”

and how that can really improve your career and value as a rider later down the line. With regards to motivation, other disciplines or even other sports can influence your progression in kiting. Sports that work on your fitness and improve your board skills and coordination are perfect as long as the injury risk is low. Finally, injury prevention and how to look after your body was another topic that I felt was crucial to discuss. All these points of course are not that easy to take in at a young age, and typically you have to experience them yourself to really learn, but I truly hope that sharing my experiences with the group will allow them to understand and deal with things better when certain situations arise.”

The fourth day saw us training with Luis de Dios Mellada, nicknamed Kuky, who was part of the very first Young Blood Camp in 2006. With decades of experience in working with some big names in kiting, such as Mallory de la Villemarqué, Alvaro Onieva, and Deury Corniel, Kuky has also helped the Spanish Snowboard Olympic team, a number of top-level skiers, and Iballa Ruano Moreno, multiple windsurf and SUP World Champion. Furthermore, Kuky is also a GKA judge in the strapless discipline and works with Duotone and ION training some of their top riders like Matchu Lopes. Everyone loved Kuky’s training, pushing each other and working out as a team was something the young bloods thrived on. Kuky said: “My objective for the camp was to comprehensively inform the young bloods about the physical needs and demands on a pro kiter, explaining exactly the science behind movements and making them aware of their very personal physical strengths and weaknesses, plus giving them the right tools to work with in order to improve. I see Duotone’s Young Blood Camp initiative as groundbreaking. It’s almost like a time travel for the kids. There is so much crucial information about so many aspects packed into the camp, and the learning experience is immense. There is no other kite brand that supports and invests so much into young talents and the future of our sport.”

On one of the last afternoons, young bloods Edgar Ulrich and Camille Losserand were given some homework consisting of preparing a presentation about Duotone’s strapless boards and twintips for the next day. Edgar’s message that he sent through the camp’s WhatsApp group, “doing my homework, maybe the coolest I’ve ever had to do”, put a big grin on everyone’s face. Edgar and Camille delivered an awesome presentation which was the perfect opportunity for other riders to learn more about the products. The next assignment went to Andrea Principi and Beto Gomez who had to role-play working in a Duotone shop, with Duotone’s marketing wizards Philipp Becker and Craig Cunningham playing the interested customers. The main lessons from this exercise were to be attentive to the customer and their needs, and to match that with knowledge about the gear and its suitability for different needs. Beto even went the extra mile in his approach by offering a coffee and free test rides with him at the beach to his customer.

A sunset yoga session with Lucia Pele was the perfect end to another perfect day, then day five brought more yoga and a social media presentation with Duotone’s social media guru and international team rider Craig Cunningham. After a few days of no wind, finally, a little breeze came up in the afternoon and a lightwind photoshoot was on. More kite-specific training and injury prevention with Kuky finished off the day nicely. A nurturing early morning yoga session kicked off day six, followed by a very interesting talk from Porsche race driver Simona de Silvestro, in which she shared her insights into her routine before races, mental preparation, the importance of recharging batteries and racing against good friends. Concluding the day, there was more training with Kuky and learning about the Wim Hoff method including breath work and ice baths.

With a boat trip on the menu, day seven turned into the highlight for most young bloods. The wind gods came to the party and wild ideas could be lived out, including jumps off the boat and tow-ups behind it. Tasty fresh fish landed in the hungry bellies of the future generation with Max Tullet summing up the common sentiment of everyone at the end of this epic day: “This camp was one of the best experiences of my life”. Coming home, everyone had a lot to digest on what just happened in only one week. Every participant took home a lot of great memories, things to work on, ways to become an even better athlete physically and mentally, and maybe also will become an even better person…

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