Wherever I Lay My Hat

We are now based permanently in Brazil apart from when I’m traveling to competitions and events. So where is home? Do I consider France home? We still have a house there. But every time I go back I find myself bringing more of my possessions to Brazil. I still have friends in France, but of course I don’t get to see them much and we have very different lifestyles, so we’ve grown apart. So there is less and less pulling me towards France. So is Brazil home? Having done home schooling and now online university, I can’t say that I’ve made that many local friends in Brazil, and again our lifestyles are very different. I mainly end up hanging out with other international kiters who tend to come and go, or the few locals who also kite. So the draw of friends isn’t pulling me all that strongly to Brazil. Some people live in the same place and have the same group of friends all their life, and I definitely don’t fit in that box! Do I miss that? No… I have learned to make friends quickly with people that I meet on the road or who are in Brazil for just a short time, and doing that helps me to feel at home quickly wherever I am. 

Language is an important part of identity, and while my first language is French I don’t end up speaking it very much, apart from with my family. And I don’t speak that much Portuguese either. I actually end up talking mainly English with other kiters and while traveling. I’ve had to learn the nuances of humor in English and now consider it my mother tongue as much as French. So I can’t say I’ll ever feel Brazilian, but my family is with me in Brazil and they are very important to me, and help me to feel that Brazil is home for now. 

I’m very lucky that my sister Capucine is also a kitesurf wizard, and shares my lifestyle. We get to travel a lot together. We went on a trip to Maui together earlier this year and had an awesome time hanging out with fellow North team riders Karlie Thoma and the absolute legend Jesse Richman. We spent a month there making the most of the conditions. There are so many options on Maui… if you’re willing to drive a little you can be on the water everyday either kitesurfing or surfing. The North Shore is where you have the best spots: Ho’okipa, Lanes, Kanaha, etc. It’s very varied with epic wave riding conditions in Ho’okipa and great strapless conditions in Kanaha. If the swell is good, you can drive to Honolua and surf a world-class wave. There are of course plenty of other spots that are perfect for strapless; the possibilities are endless… 

For the first time since moving to Brazil, I think I’ve found somewhere else that I could live. The lifestyle in Maui is easy-going with varied conditions for kiting, and everyone is into the sea in one way or another. I feel very lucky to live in a beautiful kite spot like Prea, with bars and restaurants not far away in Jeri. And for now it feels like home. But Maui has things that don’t exist in Prea, that many people take for granted, like cinemas, malls, varied international cuisine and so on. I don’t know what the future will bring; most likely Brazil will not be home forever. I can definitely see myself moving to Maui and calling that home instead. Let’s see… I love traveling and the experiences I get from it are priceless. For now, I’m still enjoying my freedom… 

The preparation has been intense – a lot of crashes and long days on the water. Before Tarifa I wasn’t really into Big Air so I’ve been training kiteloops hard for the event. When I’m working on a new trick I like to focus on it and not do anything else until I land it. Sometimes it takes just one session but most of the time it takes some days to land it perfectly. I was already doing some loops before coming here but with a 5m and 20 knots of wind… Let me tell you it’s very different in gusty 30 knots wind! For me a kiteloop is the scariest trick; it’s a very engaged trick but when you land it perfectly it gives you an indescribable feeling.

I’ve also been spending a lot of time in the gym. I work out every day and have done since I started kiting. On no-wind days I spend even more time at the gym. I have a coach for my physical preparation. We plan the workout according to my upcoming competitions and my weaknesses. I haven’t had an injury yet – touch wood – and would say that all the physical preparation helps. Luck obviously enters the equation though. There are athletes with very good physical preparation getting injured so I hope I will continue being lucky in the future!

My luck nearly ran out in Maui… I was enjoying a wave session there with Camille and teammate Jesse. At some point the wind dropped, I missed the beach to get out of the water, my kite fell, I lost Jesse and the wind turned offshore… I did a self-rescue but I got tangled in my lines and my kite was pushing me even further offshore so I had to release it and swim for a good kilometer. I really had to stay calm and not panic to conserve my energy… 

It’s the same with competition; there can be a lot of pressure. I’m always very nervous a few days before a competition; all my doubts come up. What really helps me is to go on the water and land my tricks – it helps me remember I have the situation under control. Just before my heat I like to get in a ‘bubble’, put on my headphones and clear my mind. I’m also very lucky that I always have my dad by my side; I would say he’s the one who deals with my pressure because he always finds the right words to help me release it.

Despite the pressure I do love competition; I’ve always been very competitive, ever since I started competing in skiing at the age of six. I like the pressure you have before a race in skiing or a heat kiting so competing has always been a thing I enjoyed doing. Plus, since very young I’ve loved board sports, so I always appreciated being on the water or on the snow. I also loved being the youngest rider on the World Tour when I started. All the riders were very kind to me, giving me a lot of tips, especially the girls who welcomed me very warmly in the kite world. 

I think competition is a good life lesson – you learn so much while competing. You can learn a lot from the other riders; you learn how to fail and get back on your feet, but you also learn a lot about yourself. When I’m competing the best and worst parts of me come out; I ride better than I’ve ever ridden before but I also doubt myself a lot, so I would say competition taught me how to deal with all these emotions at a very young age. Competitions don’t always go as you expect, and I try to turn my weaknesses into a strength. When I have a result I don’t like it motivates me to go back on the water and train harder so it doesn’t happen again… ■