Up close and personal with Steven Akkersdijk
"Things just need to line up for me on the day - proper winds, and a litttle bit of luck as always."
Steven Akkersdijk is a ripper from the Netherlands. He started kiteboarding in 2007, and was hooked as soon as he had a kite in his hand. After 2 years of kiting, he swopped roles and started as kitesurfing instructor at Kitemobile in the north of the Netherlands. He was there every summer, to teach and of course to have fun on the water. In his third year of kitesurfing, he finished high school and became 5th in the Dutch championships. He chose to go travelling afterwards and kickstarted his journey with Aruba in the winter of 2010 and stayed there for 5 months. He cites that immense amounts of travelling have happened afterwards. It certainly comes with the territory.
The L.A Dosage caught up with Dutchie at the Mystic House to get know what he is all about as an athlete and his plans for Red Bull King of the Air. He is set to join Frenchman Aurelien Petreau and current King of the Air, Aaron Hadlow in Heat 6. A tough heat indeed.
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| Red Bull King of the Air crown: Craig Kolesky |
The L.A Dosage: How does kitesurfing compare to other sports like surfing and windsurfing?
Steven Akkersdijk: I have to admit, windsurfing is a lot more difficult than kitesurfing. You need a lot of experience with surfing as you need to be able to read the waves - definitely more technical of the three.
The L.A Dosage: Let's go back to the basics. What kind of weather do you need to learn the first steps?
Steven Akk: Firstly, you don't want strong winds. You need moderate winds which can range from 16 to 18 knots; bigger kites because they're a bit slower and they don't have such an explosive power buildup and remember you also need flat water because it gets a lot more difficult when you have waves.
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| Steven Akkersdijk |
The L.A Dosage: Tell us a bit more about your training regime. What does it take to stay at the top of your game?
Steven Akk: I personally prefer not to use the word training; it's just about having fun in the water and that's how I choose to stay on top of the game. It motivates me to want to try out new stuff. A big part of that is just riding in the water with a group of friends and motivating each other to do better and simply having fun.
The L.A Dosage: You are known for the shortline megaloop trick. Can you tell us more about that?
Steven Akk: Basically you have the kite loop, that's the first part of that trick. You jump and steer your kite in a loop; instead of being pullled up you get pulled forward and that gives you an excelaration which also can give you a bit of a freefall because of the kite not pulling you up. If you steer the kite too low, it might not catch you again and that's where the megaloop comes in. You steer it right in front of you, so you are hanging horizontally behind your kite and you have a long freefall but there's always a higher chance of the kite not catching you and. . . . you. . . just fall down. (giggles)
The L.A Dosage: How does it feel when you have to showcase your signature move in front of masses of spectators? Is there some sort of fear or do you generally feel like you are in your element?
Steven Akk: It's always weird when there's so many crowds especially with King of the Air and the Red Bull Megaloop challenge. There's always a massive crowd that comes to watch. Majority of them are kiters and they always know how difficult it is. When there's a crowd like that, I just forget about my fear and do stuff I generally don't do in training sessions because I am cautious about those tricks. Events like this require you to step out and pull off your tricks, because if you don't you'll be remembered for that but it works the same way when you pull off the tricks. It's a 50/50 possibility.
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| Steven Akkersdijk: Harry Winnington Photography |
The L.A Dosage: We've heard of three terminologies; safety-system, depower and relaunch. Could you enlighten us further?
Steven Akk: Safety system - the kite has a lot of power and with that power comes a lot of danger. The kites these days come with safety systems so if you want to get rid of that power, it can be very easy. You start with the bar, and you have depower. The kite gets less power in that aspect but if its in the wind, you might still have power. If you get tangled or get pulled in the wrong direction you can always pull your safety system and completely release your kite. Relaunch comes in when you crash your kite. The kite is in the water and you don't want it in the water because there are waves and you can't do anything about that. Nowadays, if you pull a line the kite moves towards the wind and you can easily get it out of the water.
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| Steven Akkersdijk |
The L.A Dosage: What is your favourite gear setup?
Steven Akk: My favourite is definitely the 8m or 9m CORE GTS 4. I am always riding the shorter lines. I used to wear boots a lot but I decided to let them go and use straps as I wanted to try new tricks. I can definitely say that I am feeling pretty good about that decision.
The L.A Dosage: Let's talk about King of the Air. How do you (the pros) prepare for such a competition?
Steven Akk: Majority of the process starts off mentally. For me, the mental part only kicks in on the day and the adrenaline starts pumping. Otherwise, before then I am still relatively chilled and taking it all in. You have to be confident in yourself and your own riding. I aim to have fun and be confident in my abilities. You also have to make sure you are fit and avoid injuries.
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| Steven Akkersdijk |
The L.A Dosage: Talking about injuries, do you think it's relatively easy to avoid them?
Steven Akk: Injuries are always just around the corner because we are jumping so high. During training sessions, we try to avoid the risks but you have to take the risks anyway and learn to step out of your comfort zone, otherwise you will never progress. The minute you step out of your comfort zone, you should already know that injuries are just around the corner. It's really easy to get injured.
The L.A Dosage: COMPETITION. Who do you think is your biggest competition going into King of the Air?
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| Aaron Hadlow |
Steven Akk: Well the biggest competition already went out on injury, in fact two of them (Kevin Langeree and Jesse Richman). Of course Aaron Hadlow is the current King of the Air so he is already the main guy to look out for but anyone can be your competition because the level is so high that everybody needs luck on their side in their heats. It can be good but it can also be bad. Everybody is a big competitor.
The L.A Dosage: In your opinion, what do you think will make you a better rider compared to last year?
Steven Akk: Weeell. . . first of all I hope I made the right gear decisions (laughs). Last year I really messed up with that. I just feel confident in my riding and I have been receiving good feedback from those who have been watching me; and I know if I'm on top of my game I can be someone to look out for. I have been on the podium before, so I know I can do it. Things just need to line up for me on the day - proper winds, and a litttle bit of luck as always.
Facebook: Steven Akkersdijk
Twitter: @SAkkersdijk
Instagram: @stevenakkersdijk
Till next time. . . .
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