Samantha Chilvers is an artist who moved to the Dominican Republic with a pocket full of inheritance money with a view to creating some new works. She ended up falling in love with kiting and is now a pro on the Liquid Force team!

Sam, we have to ask! How does an artist from Ontario that had never travelled, or seen the ocean, end up living an islander’s life in Cabarete?

Have you ever felt like your life was like a series of Dominoes? Well, that's kind of what happened to me! It was one situation after another, which led me to where I am today. To make a very long story short, when I was twenty-three years old, I inherited some money from my Grandmother, and I knew I wanted to travel for the first time in my life.

As a regular beach and party goer, I thought it would be a good idea to travel to a beach destination, which offered both! However, I had just started to flourish as an emerging artist and had several art projects I was obligated to complete, so I couldn’t just pack up and go backpacking the way I wanted to. As a result, I came up with this crazy plan to rent an apartment on the beach somewhere for four months, and by total dumb luck, I ended up at Kite Beach Cabarete. At the end of the four months, I thought to myself, well I am pretty set up here now, so I either could stay or re-established myself in Canada; so I stayed!

How did you get into kiteboarding? Who was your inspiration?

When I first moved to DR, I had never travelled before, I had never been on a plane, and I had never even heard of kiteboarding. Since I was on the adventure of a lifetime, I wanted to do any and everything that was on offer. I blew the entire inheritance in the four months! I met a fellow on the beach one night, which was a kiteboarding instructor and I signed up for some lessons. Six months later, after spending over $2000 in lessons, and crappy beginner gear, I was barely able to ride upwind, but somehow, I stuck with it!

None of the pro riders inspired me, but I admired the incredibly talented Dominican locals. It wasn't until I started competing that I started being more aware of the pro scene. However, a lot of my inspiration came from wanting to prove to ex-boyfriends that I could be a badass shredder babe too!

Can you tell us a bit about the Dominican Republic scene? 

Although the entire country is incredible, I want to clarify that Cabarete isn’t like anywhere else in DR! It has a community of expats that is exceptionally unique to anywhere else on the island. Even though at times it seems crazy and wild, it still offers an incredibly high quality of life. I often take Cabarete for granted, until I go to another kite spot. We have access to all our basic needs, like groceries stories, public transportation and hospitals. Combine that, with a low cost of living, wonderful travel community and being the water sports capital of the Caribbean, it creates an all-around place that allows you to build a life you could only dream of!

You are an incredible artist! Living on a beach must be very inspirational, especially for your style of art. What sort of obstacles do you face in terms of getting your art supplies, shipping orders etc.?

Now that I have been here over eight years, I would like to think I have it all figured out! I fully understand now that I can't just walk into an art store and buy the supplies I need nor can I buy everything in one place! I buy many raw supplies in a variety of locations. I also keep mental tabs on supplies I may need if I am travelling in or out of the country. You may often see posts on Facebook from me asking if anyone is coming this way for vacations, and has room for a tube of paint in their suitcase! Sometimes I have to think outside the box, but I can usually find a way to get what I am after!

However, I freaking suck at shipping organisation; sorry if you're someone who ordered a painting three months ago, it's coming, I swear! I had employed someone to help me out with this, but I had to let him go recently, and have yet to find a replacement; does anyone want a job?

What is it like living in a little cottage in Cabarete? Can you share with a typical day in the life of Samantha Chilvers, is it as perfect as it seems?

The cottage was like something out of a movie! It had the character and vibe of that from a storybook. However, I am proud to say, after six years of living there, I have recently upgraded! I moved to a beautiful two-bedroom apartment (only across the street) so that I could have a better workspace, and could host guests.

I wake up around 6:00 AM every morning and take the dogs out for a walk. When I get back; I usually paint until about 1:00 PM. I eat lunch, take a nap, and then hit the water around 2:00 or 3:00 PM, and kiteboard until sunset. After that, I have some dinner and work a little more or socialise, and then it’s bedtime; that's pretty much how my day goes!

You always tend to add a bit of humour and reality when it comes to marketing your riding, brand, and art on social media, which is refreshing to see! If you could give other females riders a word of advice, what would it be? 

  1. Don’t give up, tenacity is everything.
  2. Don’t compare yourself to other riders; everyone is on their journey and has their unique gifts to share with the world!
  3. Legit nobody cares nor is paying attention.

It takes courage to move away from home, what do you miss most about living in Canada?  

Taco Bell!

What are the kiteboarding conditions like in Cabarete? What is your favourite spot and discipline?

I have yet to go to Brazil, but I feel DR has it all! Offering countless spots around the island and generally over 300+ windy days a year, it an ideal location for all riders. What makes it unique is the way the locals connect, show off, inspire and help you! La Boca will always be my favourite sport around the world. With warm butter flat water, it’s a freestyle kiteboarders dream! Not to mention the costs of living is incredibly reasonable and the weather is permanently incredible!

La Boca, as mentioned above. It is where the river mouth meets the ocean. (La Boca meaning the mouth in Spanish) It's this small little intimate lagoon spot. Surrounded by trees, it only really allows for advanced riders, which means no students or beginners to get in your way!

Congratulations on coming 2nd at the Kite Clash last year, will you be entering again this year? Do you plan to enter any other competitions this year?

It’s funny, I hate competing, and I had planned to stop! So far, I have done more events this season than any other year! Landing podium twice, once in 1st place and 3rd in the other, and just barely missing it, and landing 4th place in my most recent event. I most likely will go back to kite clash this year, but more because some of my life and travel plans will lead me near the Vancouver area around the time of the event.

I honestly don't enjoy competing, it's incredibly stressful, I always ride terribly, and I rarely feel like I get to prove what I can do. Moreover, often when I do ride my best, the event is disorganised or biased or not run to the best standards, which over the years had to lead me to have to force myself out of my comfort zone when competitions role around!

How long have you been riding for Liquid Force? What is your go-to set up?

I have been a part of the team for almost three seasons now and couldn’t be happier. Sometimes, I have a hunch they sponsor me more because of my art skill then my riding skills, but either way, I love being part of the team, and they do a lot to make my life and “dream” possible! My go-to set up is the HI-FX kite. When they first sponsored me, I was at the level where I could land most of my tricks to blind, but couldn’t pass the bar in the air to save my life. I had probably attempted it over 500 times. Less then a week after being sponsored and switching to the Hi-FX I started to stick my first air handle passes!

Can you share with us a time when you had to overcome a major challenge whether in life or kiteboarding?

Oh, I could easily share about a dozen! Most people only see what Facebook or Instagram portray which is nothing but a dream, but the truth is I have my ups and downs just like everyone else! For me, it would have to be relationships, both personal, family and friends. These are a bit of a struggle, and often have a massive effect on my emotional mood. I find this affects me in my ability to paint and work, and from there, its all connected. If I don’t paint, I don’t have any money, and if I don’t have money, it is difficult to take the highest care of my body. Which then means, I can’t kiteboard to my best ability! This leads to probably the biggest challenges with kiteboarding (for all kiteboarder) dealing with injuries.

Another massive challenge I face with kiteboarding is my age. I didn’t even learn to kiteboard until I was twenty-four. Therefore, when I am competing, I'm usually up against girls ten years younger than I am!

What philosophy guides your life, and what’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

I couldn’t pick a specific piece of advice, but I am obsessed with the book, 'You are a badass', by Jen Sincero. This entire book is the best advice I have ever received.

Do you have any exciting projects in the pipeline for 2019 you'd like to share with us?

Right now, I don’t have anything too wild in the plans. I have a few ideas for videos and art projects I would like to create, and I would like to think eventually, they will all get done! Currently, I am focused on growing some aspects of my business  (like shipping!) as I spent the last few years travelling and competing a lot and am sort of just ready to settle down!

Thanks, Sam! We wish you the best of luck!

Videos

Chilvers Art -- the ocean
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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