I am happy to be working with several new sponsors for this and the upcoming season.

Stan from Takoon, the product and team manager, contacted me for a partnership in May and I finally met them last week in Montpellier, France.  Two friendly and motivated men recently bought the company  and they wanted to start a new adventure with the brand. They invited me to be part of the movement and to start a new Takoon Family with plenty of new exciting projects to be done… I definitely accepted the challenge and I will therefore be working with this friendly family and riding their kites for the next seasons!

I take advantage and thank the NKB team with which I have been working for many years.

Three other brands will be my sponsors and will supply me with some good material for my daily rides. The well-known international brand NPX for specialized water products. They pamper me with the most technical gear for riding such as wetsuits, tops, boots, gloves and harnesses. NPX is definitely on top of the game in specialized accessories and I am happy to join the team too.

The second brand will keep my kids warm out of the water: Seven Underwear is a newborn US-French brand that designs some cool underwear and will soon start with some other cool accessories.
And finally, a sunglasses concept I really love, Gloryfy Unbreakables. I’m not the most careful guy but with their sunglasses I can crush and twist them any side and they’ll come back to their original design… They got stylish products for the beach and the mountain for snowkiting!!

A few shots I’ve done last week in Tarifa with the excellent photographer Ludovic Franco.

Here the 2 first videos from the kitecamp I held in Fuerteventura this summer with Pro Training Fuerte. I had a great group of guys and I’ll upload a video each day for the guys to keep a good Souvenir from our Kite coaching holidays!!!

Here the young rider Liam Whaley who I beleive has many chances to become world champ in a few years if he continues riding that good. We had him training on a base of 7 minutes heats in order to get him ready for the PKRA in the south of the island. Running up the beach with his kite, spinning, running up the volcano… He is a tough boy!

and to best friends Willy and Adrien who came to ride the perfect spots of Fuerte to learn some new tricks, they both did a good job too:

English version:

After a succesful kitecamp in Dakhla in June we decided, together with Fun&Fly and Hotel Océan Vagabond, to repeat the camp in September (23rd until the 30th). I was surprised by the perfection of the spots, wind, and specially the nice and perfect location of the hotel… It’s a luxury to have a nice bungalow with delicious food in the middle of the desert, and a Morrocan tea or a beer after 4-5h of riding.
So I’m again going to help the trainees to improve their riding, from a single jibe to power handle passes, any level, any gender, so if you’d like to come and join us for an intense week of kiting, stretching, good food, holidays and meeting people in a relaxed environment, don’t hesitate to contact myself or Loic at loic@fun-and-fly.com or 05 67 31 16 20.

French version:

Après un succès lors du kitecamp en juin, en partenariat avec Fun&Fly et l’Hôtel Océan Vagabond, nous avons décidé de renouveler cela du 23 au 30 Septembre. J’ai été très agréablement surpris par la perfection des conditions et surtout par l’emplacement de l’hôtel sur le spot… C’est tout un luxe de pouvoir manger un délicieux tajine avec la vue sur le spot, ou de boire un bon thé à la menthe ou une bière après 4-5h de nav.
C’est donc avec plaisir que je retourne encadrer des kiters qui souhaitent apprendre de nouvelles figures; du simple jibe aux handles en puissance, il y en aura pour tous les niveaux. Si vous souhaitez vous joindre à nous dans une semaine de kite à fond, d’étirements, de rencontres, le tout dans une bonne ambiance sportive et détendue, N’hésitez pas à me contacter ou alors à Loïc: loic@fun-and-fly.com ou au 05 67 31 16 20.

Fuerte was full of kite, work, waves, parties, training, surfing, friends, volcanoes, dunes, reef, rocks, broken boards, etc…
I spent 3 months in Fuerteventura to help my trainer Luis de Dios “Kuky” to build up a training center (www.protrainingfuerte.com), an exciting project full of new experiences.
I was surprised by how good Fuerte is for water sports too. Wether in winter or summer there are always great conditions for kiting, windsurfing or surfing. Summer is great for kiting so I could ride almost everyday in perfect and difficult spots. I say almost everyday because I was lazy to do so, not because the wind was lacking since I think we had 2 months with wind every single day.
The center is nice, just by the kitebeach in hotel Caleta del Mar, and we had plenty of kiters training there already. Alvaro Onieva, Reno Romeu, Florian Daubos, Forest Bakker, Liam Whaley, Ariel Corniel, Gianni Aragno, Soufiane Hamaini, Alex Bournay, blablabla… all enjoyed training from a few sessions to months with Kuky. It’s entertaining, funny and efficient for improving your riding, so we obviously all liked it.

I also did kitecamps and coaching lessons on the water. The first kitecamp was particularly funny and we had a great group of motivated guys in and out of the water. We trained also pro riders during the camp to help them get used to the competition intensity of doing many heats in a row. This was hard to Liam and Ariel but they did a good job. As for the other trainees they did some insane backloops, fronts, blind, railey to blind… All in a fun environment full of sport, just what we want to provide with Pro Training Fuerte.

Now I’m back in Tarifa, testing some material and will drive up to France soon.

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This summer was time for new little projects… I have just opened my Training Center in the north of Fuerteventura (Corralejo) together with my partner Luis de Dios “Kuky”. Kuky has been my and other pro riders (Cesar Portas, Jo Ciastula, Gianni Aragno, Soufiane Hamaini, Alvaro Onieva, Alex Pastor, Ariel Corniel, Thomas Paris…) trainer for several years now and he has helped us loads in every aspect of our professional career as competitors, and as persons. He has also been North Kiteboarding team trainer for several years… He is an amazing source of motivation for training and pushing the limits in every aspect of life and also very helpful not only as a physical and mental trainer but as a best friend.

After these years training with him and a new project he had in mind, we decided to join forces in order to create an athletic center to propose personal and adapted physical conditioning to sportive people and specially, to water sport enthusiasts. The idea of proposing a place where amateurs and pro riders could have a physical conditioning alongside with their main discipline (kite, windsurf, surf, sup…) was so attracting to me that I was 120% into helping him… This concept doesn’t really exist yet in water sports. There are no such places where the trainers are themselves long time riders and therefore know exactly what your needs are to improve your riding capacities and skills. Moreover, the perfect conditions and climate of the island of Fuerteventura makes it the perfect location for combining water sport and a training routine. A few training sessions a week combined with hours of daily ride is just the perfect combination to improve your riding. Within a few weeks the results are just amazing.

Pro Training Fuerte is therefore a riders driven coaching center in the North of Fuerteventura specialized in high performance and personal physical conditioning to sport amateurs and professional athletes who seek to excel in their disciplines. Water-sports oriented (kite, windsurf, surf), yet not neglecting sportsmen from other disciplines (fighting, ski, thriatlon, etc.), the coaches at PTF help sportsmen to develop and improve their skills, technique and physical condition (power, strength, coordination, flexibility, endurance…) in addition to avoid injuries.
The physical training is personalized and adapted to the level and discipline of each person and the sessions are characterized by a great atmosphere and ludic training. Wether individually or in small groups, the coach leads the session and marks the rhythm, a great source of motivation that people lack in their training routine. Sessions vary between outdoor (running up the volcano and the dunes, swimming, outdoor exercices, etc…) and indoor training at the center where different exercises such as TRX, spinning, pliometry, core, proprioception with bosus and swiss ball are used in routines to make the session the most entertaining and efficient possible.

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One of the main activities of Pro Training Fuerte, and my part in the company, are the Kite Camps or clinics. These camps are made for enthusiastic kitesurfing amateurs who seek to improve their kiting level with the advices from a pro rider. I will be doing several camps along the year, where together with the entertaining activities Kuky will add during the week, I will coach the trainees in the water to boost their kiting level. The idea is to spend an entertaining week with us with exciting exercises to improve your ability, and learning loads of new tricks in a perfect spot such as the pristine and warm waters of Fuerteventura, and specially, in a fun and sportive environment.

Our website www.protrainingfuerte.com will be out soon but if you like the concept don’t hesitate in Liking us on our Facebook page and start making the Buzz!! For any info and if you’d like to join our summer Kite Camps to improve your kite level in July and August contact info@protrainingfuerte.com or myself.

Our moto is Effort, Sacrifice and Constancy!