Hanglos meets Andy Yates.

Andy Yates is just crowned PKRA World Champion 2010.
The 20 year old Australian pro kiter always dreamed to own the nr. 1 spot, and now after
3 years of competing PKRA events he has got that spot!
I asked Andy some questions during last week in Australia:

Andy Yates, the 20 year old PKRA World Champion 2010, is how you can call yourself now. What's going on in your mind if you think of that?

It’s going to take some getting used to, that’s for sure. I’m so stoked to be 2010 World Champion. This year has been an amazing year for me. I said right at the start of the year that I’d like to finish in the top 3 overall, but to be already guaranteed World Champion before the last event on the Gold Coast is something I never imagined. I’m frothing.

This season has been totally different than other seasons. Aaron's absence and Kevin getting injured.. How do you look back over this season? What will be the best memory of this season?

Yeah, so Kevin Langeree was the World Champion going into this year. I was ranked number 1 on the tour after the first two events before he got injured.
I look back over the season as a dream year for me. Everything went my way. When I needed the heats, I had them :). There are so many things that I look back on as awesome moments, but the best moment was when I was announced as the winner of the New Caledonian event and therefore the 2010 World Champion. That was amazing!!

What do you think about next season, do you expect Aaron and Kevin to come back, if yes, what do you expect of them?

I’m not sure about either of the two. I really hope Kevin gets back to 100% as soon as possible. However, it doesn’t change the way I will train and prepare for next year during my summer at home.

I can imagine that a rider has a lot of stress during competition, on what moment is stress really hitting you, and what do you do about it?

Nervousness is important for competing. It’s important to manage my anxiety just right. I always compete better under pressure. I always seem to pull out the heat when I need it.

Are you superstitious?

Kinda haha. I always do things exactly the same every time. It’s good for consistency. I do little things when I’m setting up my kite and little things when I hit the water. Not telling you what though haha.

As we all know, 2010 was a nice busy year with 10 tour stops, what was your favorite and your most challenging tour stop this season?

It was a very busy year for me. The tour took me all around the world all year. I enjoyed competing at every event this year, but I did have a particularly good time in Thailand. In the Thailand event, I had my first podium finish after beating 2009 World Champion Kevin Langeree. It was probably at this event when I realised that World Champion is within my grasp.

Do you ever get tired of competition?

Not really. When I get a good result I get really motivated to train up and do better and better. Pretty much this whole year I’ve been thinking and aspiring to be crowed World Champion on the Gold Coast. So this always keeps me really excited to train and compete at every event.

The holiday of a pro kiteboarder, how does it look like? Is there a 'not kite' holiday?

Haha if I went on a holiday it would probably be to where the surf is amazing!! And then some wind and good flat water spots in the afternoon. I love kiting and I do it as much as I can, but surfing is great too as a bit of a change. Sports aside, I just love to chill on the beach or by the pool and just generally do nothing sometimes haha.

Being a pro kiteboarder looks really nice, but every coin has another side.. You probably had to give up a lot of things, what is the thing you regret the most that you had to give up?

I regret nothing ever, I’d choose the same path every time. I am studying at the moment, but I can’t study full time and travel and compete on the tour. I am doing Part Time University and I fit in my studies and exams around the events. As far as studying is concerned, it’s not ideal, but I am having such a good time on tour and am experiencing so much, so it makes it so incredibly worth it!!
Apart from that, I do spend a lot of time away from my family and friends when I’m away, but I always find ways to talk with them, so it’s all good.





On Hanglos there came a question about how a pro kiteboarder lives financially. Is it possible to live from it, or does all the money goes to traveling?

You need to have support when initially competing on tour. It’s impossible to just start competing without any sort of support. After a few good results, I was fortunate to get some sponsorship from Slingshot. They supported me a little bit when no one else would. Now being the World Champion, everything is going great on the sponsorship and money side of things!!

About the future, what do you see yourself doing in 10 years? Do you follow any studies and is it possible to do both kiteboarding and studying?

10 years is such a long time. I only started kiting 5 years ago, and so much has happened in those last 5 years. It feels like a long time ago now since I had my first kiting lesson. I’ll definitely be kiting in 10 years. I want to be multiple World Champion in the next years. So I’m just going to keep doing what I’ve been doing so far this year, competing at my best and fitting in as much studying as the traveling permits. This year has been the best.

Is there something you want to say to young talents that are heading for a pro career?

Don’t let the dream snatchers bring you down.
When I left school and said to people I wanted to start competing internationally on the world tour, I had a lot of negative responses. People said that I’d be wasting my time pursuing my dream. Now I have achieved my dream and experienced more than everyone else my age has.
So yeah, you just have to do what you want to do. If you can dream it, you can become it.

As you probably know the sport is having a hard time in some countries. For example in Belgium they want to make a kite certificate with an exam, what is your opinion on that?

Haven’t heard of that. That sucks. We haven’t got anything like that in Australia. Anyone can buy a kite and start kiting straight away without any lessons, which is a bit of a worry. We need something in place to keep it safe, but still make it easy for people to get into the sport. Don’t know what that is yet.

Next to that there is also the discussion to become Olympic, do you see that happen, and if yes, will you do course racing if that will be Olympic?

Haha no thanks. I think course racing is cool but it’s not something that appeals to me. Maybe when I’m older I’ll give racing a try to see what it’s like, but for now, I’m so stoked on freestyle. I think course racing will be included into the Olympics at some stage, but not for a while. It will be good for the sport if it is, even if it is course racing and not the main discipline in freestyle.

How do you see the sport in 5 years?

I see the sport in 5 years similar to where it is now. I think we’re at the perfect balance of everything now. Obviously it will progress a lot in 5 years but I think the fundamentals are in place now. There is a good emphasis on going big and high with power, with as much technical difficulty as possible. I like this and think it will stay in place for quite some time to come.

Answer in a few words what comes in your head when you read:

Wave: straps or strapless: surfing :)
Single or girl/boyfriend: Girlfriend
Most expensive ticket: Ummm European around the world ticket!!
Megaloops: Meh
Sliders and kickers: Yeww, heaps of fun occasionally!!
Best spot ever: My home spot, Caloundra Rivermouth
Favorite music: Bit of everything really. Ou Est Le Swimming Pool. Anything electronic

Andy is sponsored by Slingshot, Mystic, SolrX Extreme Sunscreen, Suncoast Cable Watersports.
You can see more about this rider on: www.andyyates.com.au