Risk vs. Reward: Interview with Pippa van Iersel
Features / Tue 22nd Feb, 2022 @ 3:00 pm
Dutch kitesurfer Pippa van Iersel has been at the top of her game in freestyle and big air kiteboarding. While travelling the world to compete and ride with her fellow Duotone international team riders, she still finds time to film and produce one of the most popular kitesurfing vlogs on the internet. We spoke to Pippa as part of the No Pain, No Gain? article, recently featured in IKSURFMAG. How does this talented 22-year-old manage the risk vs. reward that comes with competitive kitesurfing? Read on for the full interview!
Being a top-level athlete in any sport comes with significant risk; kiting is no different. Is this something you’re always conscious of?
To be honest, I have never been really scared of getting injured. I saw lots of people around me getting injured, but this didn’t necessarily effect me in a bad way. I didn’t have fear. Which helps me being able to constantly push myself without overthinking what could maybe go wrong.
Do you accept potential injury as a side-effect of your career choice?
I do accept getting injured is part of it. If you want to be at the highest level you need to give your all. No hesitation.
How old are you, how many years have you been kiting, and how many injuries have you had?
I am 22 years old and started kiting when I was 14 years old. So far I had an AC dislocation (shoulder injury). Broken wrist (football), knuckle (kiting landing in sand), elbow (skateboarding, fingers (kiting) and toes (several). And now unfortunately the hardest one so far, an injury on both knees.
Tell us a bit about this most recent injury in Cape Town?
As we all know, Cape Town is known for its strong winds. I went out on a very strong day with my 7. I took a wave but got a bit out of control. I didn’t feel very uncomfortable and thought I could stick the landing. I wanted to make a downloop to make a smoother landing but the timing was off and it only made me go down faster. I saw the white wash under me and tried to land. I landed flat on the board, both knees over bended way to much which brought me into a very uncomfortable deep squat where my ankles touched my ass. I partially teared the ACL in both knees and got a lot of bone bruising in both of them too. I don’t need surgery because the ACL isn’t completely through. Luckily just 2/3 months without impact and walking in braces.
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As a pro rider, how does a serious injury impact your life?
It really depends what kind of injury you have and how you deal with it. If it’s an injury I recently got, you have to take care, listen to your body and train your ass of to get better and stronger. It also made me realise once more how much I love kiting and that I can’t live without it. In the beginning everyone told me: “you’re gonna get stronger from this and you will be fine”. At that point I also didn’t know what was wrong with my knees yet and only thought: “how would you know?!” It took me a couple of days to let it all sink in and I started to not wake up or fall asleep in tears. Because yes, I had fear and for sure was scared I was out of the game for a long time, not being able to do what I love most for a while. But once you get a clear view of what the damage is and know what you’re facing, you start to make a recovery plan and do everything to get back as strong as possible.
Now it’s been 4 weeks since my injury and they first gave me 2/3 months walking with braces and no impact. I’m working with a great physio and knee specialist and I’m already able and allowed to walk well without the braces most of the time. I’m happy with the progress I made and getting to know my body better. In the process I found out some other small weaknesses that are good so I know what to work on. For me it’s very difficult to take it ‘easy’ and not wanting to go too fast. I have a lot of people around me that know me very well and make me aware of when my body tells me to rest. I feel blessed having all those people around me.
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In your opinion, is the risk of injury worth the reward?
There’s no doubt in my answer. It is definitely worth it. I would never want to change the life I’m living right now. The risk of injury is part of it and makes me the person I am today. Without having to face the downs, your ups wouldn’t be as high. But that is from my experience and point of view. I get so much happiness from what I do.
Has your perspective on this changed over the years?
My perspective didn’t change much. I’ve always had the mentality of going 100% without having fear, willing to take the risk of getting injured. But where my perspective did change is that I’m more aware of what I can change to reduce the risk percentage of getting injured. Before I was very reckless, doing tricks in very shallow water, trying stuff right above the rocks. This stupidness brought me far but it also caused me unnecessary injuries. So I got more careful. The more serious injury I got now, is not about being unlucky with the crash. Although in some people’s opinions it is. But I just didn’t know what my weaknesses were exactly. I already learned a lot about my body from all those physio appointments and trainings. It made me very aware of the need to have a proper personal gym plan and it feels good to know where to work on, so it’s less likely to get injured again. I know there will always be the risk of getting injured, but for me it’s all worth it, every bit of it.
It’s clear that this fearless rider has learned some important lessons in her already impressive career, continuing to focus on training and listening to her body. We look forward to seeing Pippa back on her feet, and on the podium!
Profile photo by Svetlana Romantsova, GKA.
By Crystal Veness
Editor at IKSURFMAG, Crystal Veness hails from Canada but is based in South Africa. When she isn't busy kitesurfing or reporting on the latest industry news for the mag, she is kicking back somewhere at a windy kite beach or working on creative media projects.
