As a kitefoil transplant who’s steadily working his way up the wingfoiling competitive ladder, Lucas Matthes is representative of several European young guns who are looking to move out of the national pro scene and into the international realms.
Photos: Andreas Diekötter
RIDER STATS
Age: 20
Height: 179cm
Weight: 73kg
Sponsors: CORE Wingfoil, Soöruz
Competitive foil disciplines: Wingfoil (freestyle, wave, race), Pumpfoiling, Kitefoiling
What’s up Lucas! First up – have you been in the water today?
Unfortunately not, because I’m in the mountains right now for some skiing, which isn’t too bad either!
We noticed on your social media that you're big into kiting too. Was it quite a natural progression from that and into wingfoiling?
Yes, I started with kitefoiling as I was already into kiting. And then when wingfoiling came along, I wasn’t that interested at first. But the kite school where I was working at the time wanted me to learn wingfoiling so that I could teach it. And that’s how I got hooked because I loved the feeling so much. I would say that it was quite a natural progression for me, yeah. It’s a bit like skateboarding on the water, but you’ve got an endless skatepark that’s constantly changing and that’s what made wingfoiling so interesting for me. Of course I still love to kite as well…
Fair enough. So how do you decide which you’re gonna do on a windy day?!
That’s a good question and not always the easiest decision. Usually I just look at the conditions and decide which sport or discipline suits best. If there are waves, I’ll definitely go for a wingfoil wave session, but if it’s really strong wind I’ll usually go for a Big Air kite session.
💎 Premium Content Ahead! 💎 *You will receive our weekly Friday Pump newsletter, plus the latest features, gear tests and giveaway announcements. So you’ve done some national level competing in wingfoil – are you looking to start competing on the international tour? Yes for sure I would be interested in doing international competitions. As of right now, it’s expensive to commit to the tour. But in the near future, if the timing and location is right, I would love to ride on the international tour as well. And not only wingfoil events – I’d also like to compete in kitefoil Big Air contests too. Tell us about your training and preparations when you’re gearing up for a contest. I try not to stress myself and still do multiple disciplines and sports because it helps me to get even more time on the water and more varied training. But mostly I just go out and have fun doing my tricks I know I want to show in competition. Would you say you’re a naturally competitive person? Yeah I’d say I’m a naturally competitive person, I always like to push myself to new limits and I love the challenge of riding against the top riders. And I really enjoy riding in front of a crowd, it’s such an awesome feeling and it pushes me to try new things for sure. For others who are looking to start getting into competitions, where would you suggest they start? I would definitely recommend starting with small local competitions to see if you enjoy it or not. And if you enjoy it, you can go on to train and compete at a national level, which isn’t that expensive, and you get great competition experience, which will help you a lot. In terms of foiling, what’s your biggest goal that you’d like to achieve by the end of the year? Being amongst the top guys in all wingfoiling disciplines in Germany, but that will be difficult because the level is constantly rising! But not impossible. And what would you say is the most technical trick you’re working on right now? I really want to commit to the front flip, I have been thinking about it for quite a long time and I think it’s time to try it and add it to my trick quiver!
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