LAND OF THE FREE(STYLE)
No messing from NKB this year. They went for their product shot (and just for the wake/freestyle goodies) US stylee. Complete with muscle cars and a US Navy Aircraft carrier (yes, you read that right). So Budweiser’s, burritos and badass riding all round.
Relatively recent North acquisition, and the man charged with adding some more park/wake goodness to the crew, Craig Cunningham, takes us through it with the rest of the riders who were on the shoot. “YEEHAA!”
(This feature originally appeared in the Nov Dec 2013 Kitesurf Magazine. To read more features like this first, Print and Digital subscriptions are available. Prices include delivery globally for 7 x issues a year!)
The 2014 North Vegas shoot went down for almost three weeks in Cape Hatteras and Corpus Christi, Texas, this past May with team riders Stefan Spiessberger, Reno Romeu, Mario Rodwald, Colleen Carroll and myself, Craig Cunningham. We had all the fresh 2014 gear, a huge waterfront house with an elevator, theatre and personal rooms for each rider. Classic muscle cars and big SUVs sitting in the driveway, and helicopters buzzing about, with Toby Bromwich (photographer) and Carlos Guzman (video) followed us around. It was pretty epic.
New frontiers?
In the past North have been known to do their team/product shoots in some pretty remote/exotic locations. But for 2014 they choose the east coast of the USA? Having a huge piece of the pie within the kiteboarding industry, North felt that they still have a lot of room to grow in North America. And with the addition of two new riders to the North International Team (Colleen Carroll and Craig Cunningham) from the continent and the idea to push North American sales, heading somewhere in NA seemed like a pretty good idea. With the shoot needing to happen in May famous US spots likes the Gorge in Hood River and Sherman Island in Cali just weren’t firing enough yet to go there and we were trying to stay away from the tropical type shoot, so Maui was out as well. With Colleen and Craig already on Cape Hatteras Island in North Carolina we started talking about some more ideas with Flo (marketing NKB) and Tommy (team manager NKB) about how it might actually just be the best idea to do the shoot there. So it was planned, the Euro’s and the Brazilazy (Reno) would fly into Cape Hatteras. We would shoot there until we were happy with the footage and we then had to fly to Corpus Christi, Texas, to try and round out the shoot with some more urban shots.
We sat down and worked it all out – and it looked like a pretty fun packed itinerary: Insane flat water, land gap rails, ridiculous “back country” downwinders, sliders, concrete ledges, kickers, riding in marinas and jumps off a US Navy aircraft carriers were all booked in. Three weeks later, when it was all done and we had caught our breath, we thought the time was right to switch on the Dictaphone and reflect on how things had shaken out…
First up, have you ever been to North America before?
Stefan: North America was pretty much the only big country left on my travel list. I was stoked to get that opportunity and to see the country.
Reno: Yes, US is one of my favourite places in the world. I have been in places like HI, CA, FL, NY!
Mario: I have been to Canada once for the world cup but never to the USA. This is why I have really been looking forward to travel around what they call the greatest country of all. North Carolina actually is one of the best spots I’ve ever ridden and we had the sickest villa in front of the slick.
Colleen: Sure have, born and raised in the USA!
After normally doing the Team Shoot in exotic/remote locations were you surprised NKB picked the East Coast of the USA for the 2014 Vegas shoot?
Mario: Turquoise water and white beaches can be impressive but also repetitive. The landscape in Hatteras is unique with its brown water and the green grass. It was not only about nailing the best tricks and pushing the limit it also was about the team spirit in our huge house. O, and the big SUVs, BBQs, helicopters…
Reno: Yes, we normally go to some paradise island and places like that. But this time North changed for an American shooting… I really liked it! In Hatteras we had relaxing weather and landscape, and in Texas fully urban…
Stefan: The Vegas 2014 shoot was actually my first shoot I did with NKB. It was kind of the big dream for me from the beginning to be one of the riders in those videos and pictures! To pick the USA for that shoot was definitely a great call from NKB as not many people from Europe really know about its insane spots and perfect conditions. And of course the unique lifestyle which made the whole trip pretty special!
Colleen: This was my first team shoot and I was a little surprised that we weren’t being whisked away to some remote isle surrounded by turquoise waters but Hatteras is one of my most favourite places to kite so I knew that we would have a great shoot.
Craig: Ya to tell you the truth I thought we would be going somewhere exotic, somewhere never shot before type of place but doing the shoot on the east coast turned out to be a great idea for North. We we’re ballin’ out on Cape Hatteras island pretty freaking hard for a few weeks! Somebody had to do it. We ended up being super productive together though, and really got a lot of great shots plus a well-rounded product video.
North do a different shoot in a different location for each kite in the line, while many other brands do all their products at once. What’s the point of doing separate shoots?
Craig: Our product line is huge and so is our team. With so many products in the NKB line it makes more sense to do a few different shoots focusing on certain riders for specific products to get the most out of the time and resources we have. Even on the Vegas, most of the time we would shoot freestyle with Mario, Stefan, Reno and then shoot park stuff with Colleen and myself to make sure Carlos and Toby always have time to set up for the shot and we’re not like a bunch of bees buzzing around them.
Stefan: For a product shoot you really need the best conditions to push the limits and to get the maximum out of it. I think it’s almost impossible to find one spot that is perfect for wave, race, freeride, freestyle and wakestyle. This way we can really push each side of Kiteboarding.
Reno: I think it is great to make photo shoots in different places for each product. This we have more variety, and we can show more about one specific product each time. And having a lot of photos and videos in different places is really nice for the entertainment. It’s nicer for people to watch I think.
Colleen: Like the gear that we ride, North’s athletes are really diverse in their riding styles. I think North likes to choose riders who will complement each other for a shoot and who will be looking for similar conditions. I don’t think there would be any one place where we could get all the ideal conditions to best showcase all the different styles which then means multiple shoots.
Mario: Each kite has its own niche and style. We are really lucky that NKB is the worldwide leader and gives us the opportunity to really push every kite into the direction we want. The Vegas is about wakestyle and hitting obstacles, Cape Hatteras was perfect to show what this kite is about.
What was the highlight for you?
Stefan: The whole trip was pretty epic! The moment I’ll probably remember for a long time was definitely the helicopter shoot. The setup was just unbelievable. One of the best Freestyle spots I’ve ever seen, a slider park with the best obstacles you can imagine, a helicopter with a photographer and a videographer inside and a jet ski following you was just insane. I think you could still see the smile on our faces the next morning!
Reno: It was pretty awesome, I mean, the US is the place for making this kind of thing happen. For me the best part for sure was the jump from the US Navy Aircraft.
Craig: For me, I would have to say the highlight is the fact that we did the shoot on such a crazy level in a spot I’d been to so many times before. In the past I’d slept on couches, rode a longboard around and ate a lot of burritos… Now I’m coming home from heli shoots, taking the elevator to the top floor of the biggest house in town, with my burrito! It was pretty crazy for the locals to see how NKB does things I think.
Colleen: The biggest standout for me had to be having the entire real slider park out in a slopestyle setup for a private session with Craig and the chopper. It was so much fun and very intense to hit all the features in one run with the vibration of the helicopter propeller thumping just out of reach of your kite.
What do you think of the US kite scene?
Reno: I think is one of the most popular countries in the world and the US is pretty big, so you have many, many places to discover and make the kiteboard scene even bigger!
Craig: It’s growing and has a lot more room to grow for sure. We have a few legit kite parks setup in the US and random features all over the place so that’s probably why you always see the NA Blend Crew really pushing the park/wakestyle side of things.
Stefan: Pretty much everyone I met in the US was super nice and friendly, especially in the kite scene! Everybody was trying to help us out and stoked at the same time to have us there.
Mario: The scene in America is really diverse with all kinds of different people and style. It´s funny how these people have totally different heroes than we have. Nevertheless everybody is really nice and open-minded.
Colleen: The US scene is still pretty small but has been growing rapidly over the last few years. We’ve also seen popularity rise around areas with slider parks lately which I think is a great thing for the sport. A lot more kids are interested in this type of kiteboarding, likely from the crossover of cable wake boarding and skiing/snowboarding in terrain parks.
Pretty much the whole crew knew each other before this shoot but didn’t know the new North American team riders – how did that go, do you guys work well together? Is anyone an asshole?
Reno: Everyone is very cool in our team! But I have to admit that Craig and Colleen did pretty much all the hard work… Maybe because they knew everything there but Mario, Stefan and myself, we didn’t do much.
Stefan: We all knew that their kiting was really good, not only in freestyle but especially on rails and kickers. I was impressed by their obstacle skills for sure, but also as people. Both of them are pretty much locals in Cape Hatteras and I think without them helping on organising that trip it only would have been half as good! I’m super happy to be on the same team with them!
Mario: Before arriving in North Carolina I only knew Craig and Colleen from videos and articles. They turned out to be very nice and we connected right away on our project to get some sick footage. Both of them did a lot of preparation and made big parts of the shoot happening. Despite that it´s really chilled to hang out with the two of them.
Colleen: The only person I knew before the shoot was Craig so I didn’t know what to expect when meeting the other three guys. Was really fun to get to know them on and off the water and we all ended up getting along really well. A few jokesters for sure but no assholes in this crew!
Where do you see North pushing kiteboarding in the next few years?
Craig: I’m obviously super excited to help them push the park/wakestyle side of things but I’m even more excited to be with a brand that pushes every discipline in the sport be it waves, freestyle, park/wake, race, snow: whatever it is North is helping grow the sport as a whole.
Reno: US is one of the strongest potential of kiteboarding in the world, so it was great to push it over there. I think another big country but with not so many kiteboarder for how big the country is, is in Brazil… So maybe there.
Colleen: North has historically been known for pushing their innovation and design in all directions but lately I feel that they are really stepping it up in the wakestyle side of the sport. They’ve brought on Craig and myself to help them do this and have shown us huge support over the past year. What I’ve seen so far is that North is constantly developing and evolving gear to make it the best possible pull or ride. It’s been really cool to be a part of this process and I think the end result will be one that we’re all very proud of.
Mario: This is the best team we ever had, I guess we can go anywhere. For sure we will go bigger, but it´s also about keeping the team together and doing projects together. We are working closer together with the team manager now and I hope we can live some other ideas of ours.
Stefan: I think especially in the wakestyle and new school sector, we will see a lot of innovations and good products!
And I’m sure everyone wants to know… How is the 2014 gear? Anything that you’re really excited ride?
Colleen: The Gambler! I’m riding the Vegas as well which is a rock solid kite that I really wouldn’t change a thing about but I am just so excited about the new Gambler! There’s been some drastic changes to the board this year and I am having a ton of fun riding it.
Stefan: The new gear definitely rocks! Of course the 2014 Vegas, which has insane pop and the perfect slack to do handle passes. But also the new Team Series is even better than the years before. The carbon construction gives it the best pop I have ever experienced on a freestyle board.
Craig: I’m super happy with how the new Gambler turned out! One board for me, be it kite/cable. Tom, Colleen and I had a few ideas for Till and he came back with a masterpiece! The board is a little thicker and stiffer than previous and with quite a bit more rocker it presses out just like a cable/wake board. It isn’t a complete noodle like a lot wakestyle kiteboards, you can really lean into the flex and rocker. Aside from the new flex/rocker the new bottom shape has some really thick channels which has me leaving my fins at home and thanking my knees.
The NKB crew would like to thank everybody in the office at NKB and Ion, Real Watersports, Coastal Helicpoters, the USS Lexington and all the NKB fans for making this possible.
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