Pippa van Iersel has been on a tear recently, both at the World Cup, and taking second place at the Queen is Born competition in Cape Town. She’s only young but she can send it with the best of them, check out her interview right here!

Born in Schellinkhout, Netherlands, Pippa grew up with the sea at her doorstep, literally. She's been kiting since she was fourteen, and she has already been on the podium several times, including claiming 3rd place in the recent World Kiteboarding Championships.

There's no stopping this talented musician/sports addict/kiteboarder! We got the chance to catch up with Pippa, while she was at the Kiteboarding World Championships in Dakhla earlier this month, and we are super excited to have her as our "Female Focus" for this issue!

Pippa, it's great to meet you! Tell us about yourself, describe where you grew up, your siblings, your pets and what your hobbies were?

My name is Pippa, I was born in 1999, and I grew up in a small village called Schellinkhout in the Netherlands. When I was younger, I had four chickens and two rabbits, but now I don't have time to have pets!

Before I started kiteboarding, I wanted to be a professional football player. I played for many years and got chosen for the Dutch youth nationals two times. Besides playing football, I enjoyed skateboarding, wakeboarding and snowboarding in the winter.

My father always said, “you have to do sports, play a musical instrument and go to school”, and so I played the saxophone, the accordion and the piano, I did many sports, but I have to admit, school was not my strong point!

I didn’t finish high school, but I studied for a year and a half and later on joined the Dutch Film Academy. Filming became my passion, and I started creating promotional videos for my sponsors in kiting.

Who introduced you to kiteboarding? Did you master the sports from the very start or did it take a little encouragement to keep you interested?

Growing up, I could see the water from my bedroom window. So whenever it was windy, I saw kites up in the air. My father is the most enthusiastic kiteboarder I know; he's been kiting for over 18 years. When I was fourteen years old, he took my sister and me out for our first session, and I fell in love with the sport from the first moment.

You started kiteboarding in your early teens, how did that affect your social life? Were you distracted at school, always checking the forecast or were you able to have a healthy work/ play balance?

Yes, it did affect my social life, but in a good way! I made so many close friends, and now I’m travelling the world with some of them, but of course, there are friends back home that I can't often see, as I'm away most of the time.

In high school, I found it challenging to focus when I knew there was wind. My father always sent me text messages like “skip school and go kiting!” So, of course, I listened to him, and I used to sneak out of the classroom! Later on, when I started competing, the school allowed me to leave when it was windy; in exchange, I had to get good grades and do my homework; which sounded fair!

You seem to lead a very active lifestyle kiteboarding, wakeboarding, teaching, filming and competing. If you had to take a day off from all that, how would you spend a day at home?

That’s very true! I would probably invite all my friends over and play card games. I enjoy playing games, especially around Christmas time!

Congratulations on coming 3rd in the GKA Air Games that must have felt incredible! What did you like most about the Air Games format? What changes would you want to see in future events?

Thank you! It did, and still does feel incredible! What I like the most about the GKA format is, that I can do freestyle and big air, as I love both disciplines. It’s exciting that there’s an event for girls now to be able to show what we can do in big air; there has never been a big air discipline for girls previously! I would love to attend a competition in Cape Town, as it’s known as THE big air spot.

You’re in Dakhla right now getting ready for the World Kiteboarding Championships. How do you like the spot over there? What is your mindset for the event?

Yes; I’m in Dakhla now right now competing in the Kiteboarding World Championships. The speed spot is fantastic! It is the most incredible flat-water spot I’ve ever visited. We've been here ten days already, and it has been windy every single day. I stayed at Dakhla Evasion; it's reasonably priced, and they offer a variety of other activities besides kiteboarding like surfing, horse riding and playing pool.

I went into this competition with the mindset to learn. This is my first competition in the Elite, so I didn't have my hopes set too high! However, I put a lot of pressure on myself; I knew if I landed my tricks, I would progress. I can tell you, putting pressure on yourself doesn’t work at all! Now, I want to learn from the experience and become comfortable competing, pushing myself to the max and most importantly, to enjoy myself!

All the girls competing seem to be very supportive, genuine and encouraging towards each other, which is great to see! Once you are in competition mode, does the vibe stay the same or is there a slight shift in the mood?

Of course, there’s a different vibe when that green flag is up! We all want to win the heats, and we all are competitive. I wouldn't say it's a negative vibe at all; it just shifts to pure concentration. Everybody is fair to each other, and if you lose a heat, you can only blame yourself for that.

In your opinion, who are the most talented up-and-coming riders, and who are your favourite riders, that inspire you on and off the water?

Valentin Rodriguez, Mikaili Sol and Claudia Leon are some of the most talented up-and-coming riders I've seen. I trained with Valentin in Cabarete, and his progression is unbelievable. He just turned sixteen, and he's already throwing Heart Attack 7’s during competitions. There’s a huge difference between landing your tricks in training versus in a competition.

During the competition, there’s a lot of pressure, and the conditions are never perfect. He already managed to get 4th in the 1st stop of the WKC tour; this is why I chose him as the most talented young shredder.

I have to mention Mikaili Sol! I trained with her in Taiba, and she’s pushing the level in women's kiteboarding to a whole new level, which is inspiring to see. I’m sure we will see her non-stop on the podium during the tour for a long time, as she’s already claimed her first Freestyle World Title, and she's only fourteen!

Claudia Leon is a very talented rider as well; she’s super consistent with her tricks, in most conditions. The first time I saw her kiting in the Youth World Cup, I was impressed by her solid tricks and style. Her riding always looks super clean, and she's incredibly confident and comfortable when she performs her tricks.

I don’t have one favourite rider, so I will have to mention a few! In my opinion, Liam Whaley has the best style. His tricks are always well executed, clean, powerful, and he adds some incredibly stylish grabs. He proved that during the King Of The Air, and of course during the freestyle tour. Carlos Mario is super technical and has by far the most outstanding freestyle tricks in his pocket, and he has a great personality.

From the girls, my big inspiration was always Gisela Pulido. She pushed women in freestyle to the next level! I got to know her well in Tarifa, and we managed to have a few sessions together; I learned a lot from her. Her technique is not only fantastic, but her lifestyle and training are what keep her in such great shape.

I have to give credits to my all-time inspiration though, my father. The first time I saw him doing jumps, rotations and going so fast on a kite, I was in awe, and I wanted to kite just like him! I always had so much fun kiting with my family.

We've heard you also work as a videographer, and that is also how you finance all your training, competitions and trips; that's incredible! Can you tell us more about that?

Yes, that’s true! I studied at the film academy in Holland. Once I finished that, I got in contact with a few companies and started making videos for them, and that's how it all began. It's getting a little more difficult now as I travel very often, but I still edit while I’m abroad for a few companies, although I can’t do all the camera work anymore, unfortunately. It’s my all-time dream to be able to combine work and kiteboarding.

To finance all the costs, I also organise coaching trips with Bas van Duijvenbode; we are close friends. We managed to rent a big house and cars so we could offer an all-inclusive trip for our guests, which worked out great; we had a full house. I enjoy coaching other people because I learn a lot from it.

We've heard about your coaching and clinics, are those mainly based in the Netherlands or do you travel around the world? Are these clinics targeted towards beginners or in a specific discipline? What do you enjoy most about teaching?

I haven't tried coaching in Holland yet, but when I travel around the world for training, it’s the perfect combination to coach as well. We recently visited Greece for a month, and during our trip, we ended up coaching for about two and a half weeks. We mainly coached advanced beginners (people who want to learn their first tricks) and this worked out better for us, as those people already knew the basics, and had their equipment.

I enjoy coaching because it's rewarding to teach motivated kiters, and I feel proud when they landed a new trick that they may have struggled a lot with at the beginning; you somehow share their happiness!

We've got to ask you, what is your favourite trick and what trick do you aspire to land this year?

My most consistent trick is a Blind Judge 3, and my favourite trick is a KGB. I would love to land a Blind Judge 5 or Double Heart Attack!

If you had to go up against a male rider, who would it be, what discipline and why?

That’s a great question! I don't think anybody wants to go up against Carlos Mario in a heat, purely because he lands everything, regardless of the conditions!  However, as he motivates me when I see him riding, I would choose Carlos in a Freestyle heat. If you are against a flawless, consistent rider, like Carlos Mario, there is no space for error. You need to go for it, as hard as you can, and I would enjoy the challenge!

For big air, I would choose Jesse Richman, because he’s insane and I love his style; he's fearless, and that inspires me. I prefer to see huge and risky tricks, then safe ones and that’s precisely what he does.

Can you describe one of the best sessions you've ever had? Where you were, whom you were with and what made it so memorable?

There is one session that comes to mind last year in Brazil, in a perfect flat lagoon with Stijn Mul. We were kiting every day, and he was coaching me. I remember I was trying to pass the bar in the air, but it was so painful and then all of a sudden, the day arrived where it all came together. I learned from all my blind landings to pass the bar in the air. It was then and there that I started to progress rapidly, and I immediately learned how to land a KGB and heart attack; that felt insane!

You've recently joined Duotone? How do you like your new set-up? What are the main differences in the equipment you've noticed most?

I’m so grateful to join this fantastic team, and the kites are excellent! In the beginning, it took me a while to get used to the new set up, but now I understand the kites well, and I figured out the set up that works best for my riding style.

When comparing the Duotone Vegas to my old kites, the main difference I've noticed is the slack and the bar pressure. The Vegas offers perfect slack, so it makes it easier to pass the bar during your trick. I'm used to having a lot of bar pressure before; I like bar pressure a lot, but it’s even worse for your arms, and I got a tennis elbow a couple of times. You can change your setting on the Vegas to have a lot of bar pressure, medium or low and I have it on medium now to avoid tennis elbow.

Where do you plan to spend the winter?

The Netherlands can be good in winter, but it’s freezing! Last year, I spent the winter at home but didn’t manage to kiteboard very much. This winter, I want to go to Cape Town to improve my loops! I love to go big, so Cape Town is the place to be.

With 2018 coming to an end, what are your plans for 2019? Are there any projects you'd like to share with us?

My plans are pretty open for 2019 beside the competitions. I will attend the GKA Tour for sure. There are going to be many events, so I will travel a lot and probably train at the competition destinations.

Thank you, Pippa, it’s been great talking to you, and we wish you the best of luck during the GKA!

Videos

KING OF THE AIR ENTRY PIPPA VAN IERSEL
Addiction
By Jen Tyler
Italian/Egyptian Jen Tyler grew up on the sandy beaches of the Red Sea and has been on the IKSURFMAG & Tonic Mag team since 2017.

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