Willow River Tonkin has had an interesting if short life so far, the youngster practically learned to kitesurf at One Eye and now he has tamed the beast!

When you spend three years of your life kitesurfing at One Eye you tend to get pretty good at handling everything the wave has to offer! Willow-River Tonkin has been lucky enough to do just that, growing up around the world and spending his formative years on the tropical paradise seems to have done wonders for his riding!

Can you walk us through a typical day in the life of  Willow-River Tonkin?

Well, when I’m at home in Mauritius my day usually starts off with a substantial breakfast, waking up my brother, Talis-Rain and organising our gear for the day. Then the daily adventure starts, walking up to the bus stop to catch a ride until the turn off to Le Morne and then put our thumbs up to hitchhike the rest of the way to the beach.

Straight after we arrive, I head to One Eye to get my satisfaction while my brother is enjoying some freestyle action in the lagoon. A few hours later we come in for a quick refill of power with some fresh coconut water and loads of lekker food. As soon as my body recovers a bit (or as soon as the conditions get crazy), I hit the water again for my second sesh.

Then in the afternoon I’m usually chilling on the beach with my brothers and friends or going skating with them. Always grabbing a roti on the streets of Tamarin before having nice dinner at home.

So yeah, that’s pretty much my daily routine.

How has your childhood, in Mauritius and on the move, influenced your kiteboarding career?

When I was six years old, my family and I travelled to Taiwan. We lived there for four years and loved it; it was a much different lifestyle to how we are living now but still really awesome. To be surrounded by a completely different culture was just so pure and such a cool experience. One of our highlights of moving to Taiwan was adopting my little sister, so that makes Taiwan a place we will never forget for sure!

Seven years ago we moved to Mauritius. This is where it all began for me. Living on the beach, home to one of the best surf spots on the island. That, of course, means all day, every day, I would be on the water surfing.

Growing up never going to school was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. Being able to train every day on the water made a huge impact on my kiteboarding career. I have been kiting almost three years now, and I couldn’t be happier about what has happened to me so far. 🙂

I think one of the biggest influences in my life are my parents. They are very supportive in everything I do and have always encouraged me to follow my passion and they are happy for me that I am living my dreams.

What are your favourite aspects of being part of team CORE?

Riding with CORE is amazing. The team and all the guys at the HQ in Germany are so cool; they are like my second family when I’m with them. There is such a close connection between the riders; it’s a tight team, which I am grateful to be part of!

What kit do you ride, and what do you like most about your setup?

I love riding either the Section or the Free, but it all depends on the conditions. If its quite off-shore at One Eye, I prefer to use my Section because it has all the depower you need to stall for the barrel. If it’s more side-shore, I’ll use my Free because it has that little bit of extra power to keep the kite from falling when racing down the line. For boards, I ride the 5’6 or 5’8 Ripper 2, depending on the size of the swell, for control I use the new Sensor Pro 2S+ bar on 20m lines.

Can you tell us the history behind your name, and do you have any nicknames?

My parents wanted to give us a name that is unique and a little different to most other names.

But then again, I still do have a nickname… Most of my friends have nicknames, so they decided to give me a nickname and that name was Shakes.

What life lessons have you learned from nature and the ocean?

Do not mess with the powers of Mother Nature. It is much, much stronger than you can even imagine. I have been out in some pretty rough and heavy conditions and trust me; it can be pretty damn scary.

Your social media is covered with photos of big, blue waves and crystal blue water; how do you deal with cold or stormy weather?

Well, I have to admit I am very lucky when it comes to spending time at or in the ocean. It always makes me feel satisfied being in the warmth but also in wet conditions. Recently I explored the snow and the joy of 0 degrees and colder. I am a person who loves to discover new things, and I enjoyed the cold weather as well. It’s been great fun to get a sense of how the other elements feel like. It’s completely different but also a fun experience.

If I have to choose, my choice would always be the ocean though. Hitting the water just with my board shorts on is one of the greatest feelings ever. Especially when the water underneath is crystal blue like at my favourite spot, One Eye, then it's pure perfection!

Who inspires you, who are your role models, and what lessons have you learned from them?

Kiting wise, it would be Airton Cozzolino. His style of riding is just so powerful and aggressive. In my eyes, he is pushing strapless freestyle and wave riding to the limits. I had a couple of sessions with him in Mauritius recently and its just so amazing to watch him ride so hard right in front of you. Kai Lenny is another incredible athlete who never stops inspiring me. I think he is one of the best waterman out there. I find it so fascinating that he does so well in every type of water sport. I think my lesson I have learnt from them is just to Go Big or Go Bigger!

As one of the most talented and progressive young riders, how do you see the future of kiteboarding? What do you think the younger generation is capable of?

I think that strapless freestyle is going to get way bigger than it already is. If anyone watches strapless kitesurfing in action, they will be amazed. Strapless Freestyle is perhaps one of the most exciting disciplines in kitesurfing to watch as a spectator. So to see riders going really huge and just using the wind to hold the board on their feet is super entertaining. Strapless kitesurfing is still really new if you compare it to freestyle/wakestyle scene.

There are so many more tricks for the future generation to invent, so with a steady foundation as there already is, I think it will push the future generation to go even bigger and ultimately push the limits in Strapless Freestyle.

How do you balance wave riding with kiteboarding’s many other disciplines?

It's actually quite simple for me. About a year ago I decided that I wanted to commit 100% to strapless riding because that’s what I enjoy the most. One of the main other reasons why I decided to stop freestyle is to avoid injuries. I still do a bit of freestyle now and then during photo shoots, but for now, I want to progress as far as possible within my strapless freestyle riding.

Thanks for taking the time to talk to us Shakes!

By Lindsay McClure
Lindsay is a pro rider from Hood River in the USA, she works for IKSURFMAG as our Features Editor and is an integral part of the team. Lindsay is really into wakestyle riding and can be found in the Hood River Slider Park during the summer months, she also travels all over the world with the World Class Academy helping younger riders develop through kiteboarding!

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