The Interview - Alex Fox

Alex Fox has worked his way up the ranks of the kiteboarding world, from Pro Rider to graphic artist, and now Brand Manager at Slingshot he’s had an incredible journey. Find out what makes him tick and how he got to where he is.

Alex Fox has gone from pro rider to board graphics artist to Brand Manager, always leaving his mark in the kiteboarding world. In this interview, Alex shares how it all began, the Slingshot ethos, his thoughts about the pandemic, what the future may hold for kiteboarding, and more!

Kiteboarding has been a part of your life since you were a kid, who got you into it, initially? Were you interested in other sports?

Like most kids getting into kiteboarding, it was my father who was the initial spark, I would say. He was a long-time windsurfer and scuba diver, so we were used to going on windy vacations to the Caribbean. Once he saw kiteboarding for the first time, I pretty much knew we were going to get into it. It was clearly different than the other sports I was doing at the time. I was really into scuba diving at the time, but more so interested in team sports. I played a lot of baseball and basketball growing up, and then I also ran cross country and track. Kiteboarding was the perfect antithesis to all those sports, though. It was pure freedom. I didn't have to rely on anyone else to do it, and it was actually less stressful than team sports.

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Where did you grow up, and what was your family like? Have they always been supportive during your career within the kiteboarding industry?

I grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida. It's a fantastic underrated kiteboarding location. I have been extremely fortunate to grow up here, travel the world, and then return here with my fiancé. My family has always been my best friends and my heroes. They were always very supportive of my kiteboarding. The "career" aspect of it, they were definitely skeptical of! I just don't think they knew you could actually be "pro" until I started showing them the checks! They were always really supportive of the extracurricular parts of my career, though. They knew I had talents outside of strictly riding, so they always pushed me to get more involved behind the scenes. When Slingshot started pulling me deeper and deeper, I think they knew I had found a real home and a real career.

You've always represented Slingshot; can you tell us how that all began? We believe the first board you ever owned was a Slingshot one!

Well, I have ridden for some other brands, but I was never really a part of a family until Slingshot. Slingshot, like many riders my age, was always my favourite brand. I remember when we went to my local shop before we even took lessons and I saw all the boards on the wall. There was a 2004 Slingshot SX 141 on the wall, and it was hands down the sickest thing I had ever seen. It was black, sleek, and had this piercing red spikey ball on it. It's probably the one board that I wish I still had in my collection. I didn't keep it because I didn't know what it would do for my life. If anyone has one, hit me up on Instagram, I will buy it!

Tell us a little bit about your art; you did quite a few board designs, do you still do that?

I have done quite a few, yes. I still do some graphics occasionally, not as much as I used to, however. It really comes down to time. Board graphics can be rather labour-intensive, and my job is pretty demanding. When I was just a pro rider, the graphics were a perfect way to help supplement my income. I had nothing but time; those were the days! I still love to do it, it’s a fantastic feeling travelling to another country and seeing your art on the water, especially hearing the positive feedback. I have learned how to cope with negative feedback better now. I always say: "if the work you have done isn't loved or hated, then you really haven't done all that much." There are a lot of board graphics out there that haven't really done all that much!

What's it like having Hood River as a hub? How does that work with testing equipment, riders visiting, and the conditions Hood River offers for both kiteboarding and wingfoiling?

Hood River is a home away from home, for me. Most of my best friends in the entire world live out there as well as all of my work buddies. I can't really say anything about it that no one else has, but it really does hold such a special place in my heart. Not only have I had some of my most exceptional sessions and memories there, but just growing with Slingshot out there, while couch-surfing on Rich Sabo's living room floor, it was a special time!

Hood River is basically a wind sports microcosm. With all the riders visiting, the great weather, and the constant wind; the sports just progress there faster than almost anywhere else; it is incredible. Both kiteboarding and wing foiling have found such a great home in Hood.

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Naish Kiteboarding | View in Mag

What does your role as Brand Manager entail, can you share with us 'a day in the life of Alex Fox'? What are the challenges you face?

As the Brand Manager, I'm in charge of the brand direction. This includes but isn't limited to the marketing, product line offering, product check off, and the brands look and feel. Everyone at Slingshot wears lots of hats and has more roles, but on paper, that is what I do. A typical day in the life… well, nothing is ever ordinary around here! I usually wake up at 7:30 and start by answering emails and posting on social media. Once those tasks are complete, I make my daily task list and my weekly task list, basically what I need to finish before the end of the day or week. Daily, I manage media, sit in meetings, talk with the product development team, create graphic files for various projects and products, but really each day presents new challenges. With the pandemic, no two days are ever the same, and it's really changing how we do business and every day is a learning process. That is the obvious challenge that we have been facing lately, but I'm proud to say that Slingshot has been incredibly agile when dealing with the pandemic and its roadblocks. We have a fantastic team from top to bottom.

You've got some seriously talented riders, in a variety of disciplines representing Slingshot, what kind of riders match the Slingshot ethos?

The Slingshot ethos for everything that we do is simple; Do everything we can to create and motivate, and our riders must do the same thing. We look for athletes that innovate and inspire. Innovate new tricks and new styles of riding, but also inspire the next generation of athletes as well as your everyday kiteboarders. All of our athletes do this, and that's why they are a part of our family. We love every single aspect of kiteboarding, so we try to find the athletes that represent this ethos in every single category; we love our team!

Wing foiling, future or fad?

Future! Future! Future! For Slingshot, wing foiling, or wing surfing has always represented a catalyst to get more people into wind sports. It's easy and straightforward to explain to the average rider. It's awesome to see the sport explode, and it will continue to grow for years to come.

We are just at the tip of the iceberg. Anyone who says that wing foiling or wingsurfing is a fad has absolutely no vision of the future. I would even go as far as to say that wingsurfing has a larger participation potential than kiteboarding.

Besides travelling, what sort of changes, good and bad, have you noticed within the kiteboarding industry since the pandemic started?

I think the good is that kiteboarding is an independent sport that is done outside in the elements. It's good to see that kiteboarding participation, as well as other action sports, is on the rise. Most likely, the team sports and these sorts of activities that require multiple people to participate will experience a decline, yet the action sports much like kiteboarding will grow. This has been evident lately, but we hope to continue to see that improve. The bad, unfortunately, is a long list. I'll keep it concise and just say the uncertainty—the uncertainty for what lies around the corner. Businesses everywhere have been affected. We have seen friends and families lose loved ones, lose jobs, lose security, and lose faith that "normal" will ever come again. Our thoughts are with the ones who have been affected by this awful virus.

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What is your favourite piece of Slingshot kit you've ever owned?

Oh wow, that's a really tough question! I think overall the RPM. I have had a quiver of RPMs in my possession since the kite was released in 2009. For the past 11 -12 years, regardless of where I have lived, I have had that product with me — that’s kind of crazy, once I think about it! However, lately I'd say the UFO. I have gotten pretty into foiling recently as we just have such light wind in Florida, especially during the summer months, so the UFO has really been my go-to kite!

Can you talk us through the UFO?

The UFO has been one of the most fun and rewarding projects we have worked on recently. We knew we wanted to produce a strutless kite for foiling and the design brief was extremely simple. We challenged our design team to produce the most effective LEI kite for foiling. The UFO was the result. We had a few development code names, but the more and more we looked at the kite, it just looked like this flying orb, and that's when it hit me; the UFO - Unlimited Foiling Object! I'm really proud of the team for producing such a well-received product. I think both Tony Logosz and I were super passionate about this project as its the kite that we have wanted to use for so long. We're both really excited about foiling, and we have such a great foiling team led by Fred Hope, that we wanted something that hit on all levels. Fred is exceptionally particular about kites and foils, so once he told me the UFO was his "favourite kite ever," I knew we were onto something pretty special.

Can you give us a hint on what constructional and design changes we might be seeing in the future for Slingshot?

We aren't stopping anytime soon - that’s all I can say! I would tell everyone to brace yourselves. Slingshot is really hitting its stride, and we have so many exciting products that are releasing soon as well as some huge projects in the works. I'm incredibly proud to be a part of this team and can't wait to see what we accomplish in the near future!

Thank you, Alex - It’s been a pleasure!

Thanks, Jen!