By Aney Mathew
For most of us, a windy day does not necessarily mean good news and stormy days are certainly not welcomed. But for Reuben Lenten a windy day is a good day, while a stormy day means an exciting day.
As a matter of fact, he has spent the last couple of years chasing down storms and even tempests across various countries — so he can fly a kite on water!
When Reuben is on water he is not merely flying a kite — he’s enjoying high winds and big waves. He’s among the new breed of sportsmen who are looking for their rush of adrenalin from a relatively young, exciting water sport — extreme kiteboarding; he rides the wave with ease, pushing himself to extremes.
With a kite for a propeller, he flies across the sky — jumping, looping, twisting and turning. He has earned several triumphs and is today an ambassador for kiteboarding.
The daring and radical kiteboarder, who is also a kitesurfer, was in Qatar recently as part of a workshop, to share his ‘kite’ and life experiences with enthusiasts — an event organised by Red Bull. Community caught up with the young kiteboarder from The Netherlands to get an insight into his life, passion and dreams.
“I’ve dedicated my life to extreme kiteboarding — some people think I’m crazy, but this is what I do. From a very early age, my friends and I used to fly small power kites on the beach. In 2000, at the age of twelve my parents introduced me to kiteboarding. It totally captivated me and since then, there’s been no looking back. Kiteboarding has only been around for about two decades and I’m fortunate to have been a part of it for 15 years already.”
“Timelessness and freedom are two words associated with this sport. As soon as you hook yourself to the powered kite, you immediately live in the moment. There’s no thinking about the past or the future; there’s no time ... there’s only the ‘now’. Feeling that freedom is amazing! You can use this kite to create movements to your likings — to go extreme or to just cruise. It’s a very dynamic sport and so addictive; it’s great lifestyle!” he says of his favourite pursuit.
Reuben’s performances with kiteboarding have been quite daring — to say the least. He’s earned himself the title — ‘Master of Extreme’. Beyond taking up challenges that look seemingly impossible, Reuben has created new styles, the most famous of which is the ‘megaloop’
“I always ride as hard as possible, and then jump and megaloop with all the power I can find and that too in the most extreme conditions; that’s kind of what earned me that name. My whole style is based on power and flying, so when you combine the two it’ll be somewhat extreme,” he explains, smiling.
“The megaloop is my signature trick; it’s basically accomplished when you ride with maximum speed, take off and jump as high as possible and then steer the kite in a full circle through the wind. This way you produce the most power out of the kite and get an incredible horizontal yank. My biggest one was about 20metres high and 100metres far… landing that full-speed is indescribable!” he adds enthusiastically.
Reuben developed his skills in extreme conditions and today has become known for his radical jumps that are always bigger and aimed at going higher, further and being more extreme. His accomplishments include, jumping over a pier in the South of Spain and off a 100metre high cliff in Norway. He’s also gone riding in some really, strong winds — even about 70 knots!!!
Like most sports, kiteboarding involves several disciplines including freestyle, snowkiting, wave riding, wakestyle, big air, boardercross, race and speed.
While Reuben began with freestyle, which was what the PKRA (Professional Kite Rider’s Association) World Tour was all about, he soon moved on to ‘extreme’ big air. “I am comfortable with freestyle, snowkiting and wakestyle, but I get most joy and fulfilment out of extreme big air; it’s a more go-with-the-flow kind of vibe using the whole ocean as your playground. It’s by far the most challenging for the body and mind; I’ll stick to that,” he says, smiling again.
During his initial days, Reuben competed quite successfully in various tours and competitions, including the PKRA World Tour and the Red Bull King of the Air. Today however, Reuben has stopped competing internationally as he doesn’t want to be confined to boundaries; he prefers to keep pushing himself along with the best riders in the world. He has switched his focus to filming which has given him the license to ride to extremes and push himself for the fun of it.
“Competitions can be fun, but I just lost interest in doing the same tricks over and over again. I felt I could do a lot more — something that meant more to me — going BIG! So I kind of pioneered the way of extreme big airs. There are no competitions for it yet. Competitions are hard because our sport is so weather dependable; it needs to be windy — more windy for big air than for freestyle, so it’s hard to plan. Hence, I’m now committed to my freeriding harder than ever and go find some real wind!”
“I was never really the training type of guy in terms of trying tricks over and over again. Most of the time I’d nail the trick at first try. Once I know how it feels then I can go for it. So my biggest part is visualisation; I just sit there and go through the moves in my head to see how it feels. Then I go for it! Of course, I’d train my body to be ready for some impact,” he points out.
Having moved away from competitions, Reuben has switched his focus to filming which has given him the licence to ride to extremes and push himself for the fun of it.
“Creating content for videos plays a big role in my career for sure. Showing the world all the aspects of my life in various ways is what we focus on. Bringing kiteboarding to a broader audience is what is currently needed, to inspire more people and help the sport. We focus on extreme action clips for the films; but for TV shows we tend to focus on more lifestyle-oriented content, such as training, nutrition, adventure, travel and technology,” he says.
Kiteboarding has been among the fastest-growing water sport, over the past decade and is finding its way across the world. This has meant that training sessions as well as equipment have become easier, safer and more efficient. Ruben’s sponsors have also given him the opportunity to create his own line of boards, clothing, wetsuits and harnesses, which he describes as ‘quality high-tech gear that just works and keeps up with the rider in gnarly conditions’.
“The time that I don’t spend on the water I put into eating as healthy as possible, preparing my body and mind for the next sessions and running my business at LEN10 with several products, events and content productions. Besides kiteboarding I love to spend time listening music and DJ’ing. Cooking is always one of my favourite things to do, not to mention working out. I believe in keeping busy with a smile on my face!” says Reuben.
“My inspirations come from many people but first and foremost from my dad. I learn so much from him as we’re pretty identical. Learning his ways and from his mistakes and stories have helped me a whole bunch.”
“My aim is always to keep enjoying what I do and to always take it a notch further to the extreme. So I’ve set my mind to perfecting more gear in order to fulfil some dream stunts,” he adds.
When asked what Reuben’s next big dream was, the answer was quick and certain. “Jumping over a moving train — to say the least!”
And what would Reuben’s final words to our readers be? “Please go fly a kite and experience the feeling.”