Le mois passé Kitesurfeur.be était en kitetrip à Dakhla, la semaine juste après le PKRA. Chance pour nous, Aaron Hadlow, un emblème dans le milieu du kite, 5 fois champion du monde en freestyle, était dans le même camp que nous et nous a accordé une interview exclusive pour KITESURFEUR.BE!
Hi Aaron, thank you for giving us a bit of your time before leaving for your next trip. What is your plan for the coming month before going to Mondial du vent (next PKRA stop)?
Since leaving Dakhla, I’ve spent 10 days in the UK, I will head to Tarifa where I hope to get some riding time in before the event. There is about 3 weeks before Mondial du vent, I’m gonna get my head down and practice my Blind Judge 7’s on my 6 meter so I am prepared for Leucate :p
You just finished the second tour stop of the PKRA 2014 here in Dakhla, and you came 4th. How do you feel this year in the competition? Are you 100% back after your injury?
So far I have been disappointed with two 4th places, I have not ridden my best at these two stops so I can still feel good and confident about getting better results for the rest of the year. I’m definitely recovered from injury so that is not an excuse anymore, but for sure I have some work to do on consistency and a few certain tricks.
Here at Kitesurfeur.be, we are proud of our Belgian Rider, Christophe Tack, performing quite well at the moment as he came 1st in Panama and 2nd in Dakhla. What do you think about him?
The level of the PKRA now is really high, there is a handful of riders that could win the title this year, all the heats are difficult, even in the first rounds. Towards the finals you can’t make a mistake otherwise you are out.
I think Christophe has done really well and deserves his good start to the season, he has really improved quickly and worked hard to get where he is. He is one of the title contenders this year so it will be an interesting season but there is no way I will go down without a fight 😉
28th of March, you announced recently: “The end of an ERA”, So it’s official, you are leaving Flexifoil after many years of collaboration. How will this move affect your carrier path for the coming years? Which brand do you will ride?
(See Official announcement: http://www.aaronhadlow.com/end-of-an-era-for-hadlow-by-flexifoil/ )
It’s sad news after so many years together. We planned on making Hadlow its own entity but unfortunately the financial backing was not enough to support both companies. Now I am left with a few other options, my initial thoughts was to get investors for my own brand but knowing the ins and outs of running the business at Flexifoil there is a lot more to it than meets the eye. Since I got the news at the end of last year, I have explored options and tried to find out what direction I will take, I have ridden a few different kites from other brands, talk to some designers, investors and had meetings about creating another Hadlow by …?. Many people recognize the brand of kite that I have been working with most, but it is yet to be unveiled what will come of everything. Yes I do now have a plan for the future, which I am happy and positive about, but you will have to wait to find out exactly what it is 🙂
Fast questions:
- you like: Good friends, family, sport, happiness.
- you don’t like: Intrusive questions 😉 crowded days on the water, cold, rainy weather, disorganization.
- favourite drink: Tea, my juicer and Redbull of course!
- favourite trick: Blind pete, but in Cape town I was trying to add another 180 but yet to land it (I don’t know the name of it)
- favourite spot: Big bay Cape Town, Encuentro DR
- favourite conditions: Dead flat water, or kickers, kite size doesn’t matter, but strong winds suit me better.
Thanks Aaron for this interview ! We wish good luck for the PKRA this year and hope you will find the best road in order to have the new Aaron Hadlow Kite Collection!!
You’re welcome, it was a pleasure to meet you and hope to see you soon on the water, Cheers 😉
Aaron
You can follow Aaron hadlow on his official website and official facebook page:
http://www.aaronhadlow.com/
https://www.facebook.com/AaronHadlowOfficialPage
Aaron Hadlow – Interview April 2014 – Flexifoil end of an ERA
