Surfersblog

Lina Eržen (Fanatic / Duotone) and her brother - Val Eržen (Fanatic / Duotone) - spent their summer together with their father in Greece enjoying the Meltemi trade winds and pushing their freestyle to the next level. 

Balz Müller (MB-Boards / Severne Sails), who edited the clip: “Great to follow the amazing progress of the young Eržen team! They had an amazing summer holidays in Greece, here a few of their latest Windsurf Freestyle Tricks they've learned! 
Enjoy!” 

You can see Team Eržen’s latest video @ youtu.be/gFq2E7C64ZI

Next up in our Siblings feature are two more young guns - Julien Flechet (Tabou / Hot Sails Maui) and his younger brother Titouan (Hot Sails Maui). Julien competed in the U19 Wave Youth division in 2019 finishing in joint 23rd place, while Titouan was in the U17s fleet - where he earned 8th place. Over to Julien to tell us more about their sibling relationship.

Who are you, how old are you and who is your sibling? 

We are the brothers Julien (19) & Titiouan Flechet. We live in Brittany (France), just in front of the beach! So we are every day in the water together… surf/paddle/windsurf.

- At what age did you start windsurfing? 



We started windsurfing when we were 5/ 6 years old, in Moulay Bouzerktoun! 

- Were your parents also windsurfing? 



Yes, our father is also windsurfing, he teaches us everything since the beginning! My mother also sails but on the beach, she doesn’t sail but she follows us everywhere! 2 years ago she came 1 months to Pozo during the summer with my brother and me.. Do you know somebody who come to Pozo for 1 month and doesn’t sail?!?!
- Did you both work towards competing at a high level in windsurfing? 

Yes for sure! We have the same dream to be world champ one day! And to share it with our family it’s just perfect!! And now we started to live our dream! 

- How is it to travel to the same events all over the world? 



It’s pretty cool, except when you arrive at the airport with 5 board bags haha! It's reassuring to travel with someone from your family, or a friend, you are never alone, and especially if you have a problem. When we arrive at the competitions, the fact of being two, allows us to film each other, take pictures and this is really very important for all our sponsors, and this allows us to have an outside vision for our navigation of the day…

- Are you helping each other during an event or are you focusing on your own event only? 



Yes, of course, we are primarily focused on our competitions, but we also have an eye on the competition of the other! We are a team so we put our strategies in place together, we help each other.

- What’s a weird habit of your sibling?



Joker !! haha

- What do you both have in common?



The same passion!! The same sponsors except the fins.

- What is the funniest thing that happened on tour together with your sibling?



All the sessions are fun together! Especially when you heat up and have good big crashes!

Only one word answer possible!

- Who is faster?


It depends… (now that’s not one word is it?)

- Who takes longer to get ready to go on the water?



Julien!

- Who has more windsurfing gear?



Both haha

- Who has won more windsurfing medals?



Titouan

- Whose room is a mess?



Julien

Thanks, Julien.

Photo Credit: Eric Bellande / Michel Brehonnet

Lennart Neubauer (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins), Carlos Kiefer Quintana (Fanatic / Duotone) & Alexia Kiefer Quintana (Fanatic / Duotone) may only just be at the very start of their windsurfing careers, but the young guns are often some of the most hungry when it comes to competing… so what do they miss most about not competing?

Lennart Neubauer 

1. competing is one of my favourite things about windsurfing.You meet new people or just see your friends again. Also during competition I feel like I learn 4x as fast compared to when I’m training alone.

2. The only thing that’s not my favourite about competing is that after competing all day long, there isn’t enough time for all the food that I want.

Carlos Kiefer Quintana

1 I miss all the kids I play with on the water and land.
2 I hate the feeling when its over and we have to leave.
 
Alexia Kiefer Quintana

1 i miss most my friends from the tour
2 i dont miss the tension during the heats
 
And Alexia’s & Carlos’ Father - Florian 

1 I miss the entire windsurf family and the ambience.
2 i don’t miss the traveling expenses with two kids.

Thanks Lennart, Alexia, Carlos & Florian

When it comes to windsurfing names there’s still none bigger than Robby Naish (Naish / Naish Sails), who completely dominated the 80s era of windsurfing. 

The now 57-year-old continues to have passion for windsurfing running through his veins and the American was on hand to tuck into the first swell of the swell in Hawaii in early October. Naish still links together smooth fluid line, whilst also still stomping pushloops and tabletops. 

You can see Robby Naish’s latest video @ youtu.be/5gwtJxNMN3M

Adrien Bosson's summer may not have consisted of competing in the Canaries like normal, but the Frenchman has still been enjoying plenty of time on the water at home in France.

The Frenchman, who finished the 2018 season as the PWA Freestyle Vice-World Champion, has just released some of the highlights of this summers Freestyle sessions and it's well worth a watch with 3 minutes of radical freestyle.

You can see Adrien Bosson's latest edit here.

In our new series, we will be delving deeper into the siblings, who compete on the PWA World Tour. First up are two of the most gifted youths on the PWA Wave World Tour - Carlos Kiefer Quintana (Fanatic / Duotone) and Alexia Kiefer Quintana (Fanatic / Duotone). In 2019, they both were both crowned Youth World Champion in their respective age categories and look set for a bright future within the wave sailing world. Read on more to find out more about Carlos & Alexia.

Introduce yourself! Who are you, how old are you and who is your sibling?

Carlos: I am Carlos Kiefer, 13-years-old, I’m the brother of Alexia. 

Alexia: My name is Alexia Kiefer I am 15-years-old and Carlos is my brother.

At what age did you start windsurfing? 

Carlos: I started windsurfing at 9 years of age.

Alexia: I started windsurfing when I was 10 years old.

Were your parents also windsurfing? 

Our father was windsurfing already, our mother learned windsurfing together with us.

Did you both work towards competing at a high level in windsurfing? 

No, we were just windsurfing for fun. In 2017 we saw the juniors competing in Pozo and we had already more or less the same level. Next year we started competing too.

How is it to travel to events all over the world? 

Carlos: I love to travel even though I don't like to fly. I like to see new places and try other food. I also like to meet the people I met on tour again on different spots around the world.

Alexia: I really like to travel and get to know new spots, meet new people, visit new places ...etc.but I hate to fly.

Are you helping each other during an event or are you focusing on your own event only? 

We help and support each other in all events where necessary, but our father is always there to help us.

What’s a weird habit of your sibling?

Carlos: We always fight whose turn it is to hang up the wetsuits from all of us when we get home.

Alexia: When we eat eggs my brother always eats all the egg white first and leaves the yolk for last.

What do you both have in common?

Carlos: We both love and practice the same sports and both love wave windsurfing the most. Last year on Sylt when I was 12-years-old, I was not competing but I took the lycra from my sister and went windsurfing in these heavy conditions, I was very small and many people wondered about me. I ended up in the hospital because I cut my feet on a shell.  

Alexia: We are good at all types of water sports. The first time we competed in GPS Speed Challenge, I was 12 and Carlos 10, on the first day there was a huge shore break and the head Judge who didn't know us thought we are not able to manage the situation. He wanted us out of the water and to not compete anymore. I was crying a lot, but luckily Björn Dunkerbeck saw me and he talked to the judge. We could go back and prove that we had everything under control and were fast too.
 
Carlos, only one word answer possible, your siblings' name or the word ‘me’.

Who is faster? Alexia, in slalom conditions
Who takes longer to get ready to go on the water? Me
Who has more windsurfing gear? Alexia
Who has won more windsurfing medals? Alexia
Whose room is a mess? Alexia

Alexia, and now the same for you…

Who is faster? Me
Who takes longer to get ready to go on the water? Carlos
Who has more windsurfing gear? Me
Who has won more windsurfing medals? Me
Whose room is a mess? Mine

Thanks, Carlos & Alexia.

Next up to share what they miss most about competing, and also what they don’t miss, are Italian freestyler - Giovanni Passani (Tabou / GA Sails / AL360) - Norwegian freestyler come wave & slalom sailor - Oda Brødholt (Starboard / Severne / Maui Ultra Fins) - and French wave sailor - Marine Hunter (KA Sail). 

Giovanni Passani

1) Adrenaline rush, advancing, losing, the voice of Ben Proffitt, motivation, reason to live.

2) German food, German weather, German sea, much love to Germany

Oda Brødhot

1) I am missing the competition excitement and the sick feeling after a good heat! And that you push yourself outside the comfort zone every contest, the strong wind and the good vibes on tour with all my friends! 

2) The board bag checkins at airports... 

Marine Hunter

1) Competitions set deadlines and goals which motivate me to push myself much more than when I simply freesail. I think I miss those deadlines to get more motivation for improving my sailing, especially for jumping which is the thing I'm the most scared about. The conditions are not always easy and it's a great learning experience every time. I also miss everybody! For me competitions mean seeing friends again, meeting and bonding with new people, discovering different places, getting good vibes, creating good memories! I also love watching really intense heats when my friends are on the water or when two sailors are going all out and bring magic into these 12 or so minutes. 

2) Long days outside in the cold, the stress from the travel especially when I have to take the plane, the fatigue I accumulate throughout the year while juggling with work, training and competing, the pressure I put myself under which is not always very productive, early skippers’ meetings, being bound by a heat order, and what I do not miss at all is freesailing on a spot packed with super efficient pros ^^ it's super inspiring and at the time I have to stay focused all the time to be able to catch a wave or find a free spot to jump which gets a little tiring. 

Thanks Giovanni, Oda & Marine