PROFiles: Noah Flegel

PROFILES – Noah Flegel. Give this man a wake foil contest and he’s instantly odds-on favorite. And for good reason…

Photos: Slater Neborsky

Age: 27

Height: 6’0

Weight: 200lbs

Sponsors: Armstrong, Nautique, Mañana, Fatsac, Olukai, Statik

Competitive foil disciplines: Strapped/Strapless, Wake Foil, Surf Foil, Pump, Race

Biggest achievement to date: Strapless backflip at Fingal!

Hey Noah. Let’s rewind a bit – what first sparked your interest in foiling, and when did you come to it? 

I started seeing some clips of people doing it on Instagram, and I knew I had to try it! That was almost seven years ago now.

You’ve got a strong background in multiple surf-based sports – how did you settle upon wakeboarding, and more recently wake foil as your main focus? 

Wakeboarding has piqued my interest since I was two years old, watching the teenagers ride through my backyard since I can remember had a huge effect on me. Wakeboarding feeds the adrenaline junky inside of me and gives me a strong feeling of physical accomplishment after a good ride. Foiling is very different, but also shares a lot of similarities and feelings of overcoming fears and adrenaline, especially in big waves. I have really loved getting to adopt the sport so early on and be able to learn tricks that have never been done before, drawing inspiration from all of the other sports I love to do. It is also a lot less physically damaging than wakeboarding! Foiling is almost like therapy for me.

I think you’ve won pretty much every foil contest you’ve entered, right?

I’m proud of my undefeated record in foiling, although I must say it is getting tougher and tougher to maintain. It also feels like I have a massive target on my back and everyone wants to take me down! I love that though, and it motivates me like crazy to keep pushing further into the unknown.

Out of all those you’ve entered (and won) is there a particular event that stands out to you?

The Nautique Wakesurf / Foil series is responsible for hosting the most legit events in wakefoiling! I’m currently on a plane back from Spain where the European championships were held.

How does your mindset shift when you're competing, compared to when you're just riding for fun?

When I’m competing, I’m usually dialed back a couple of notches, making sure I put everything down – not maxing out at any point early on – but trying to get closer to reaching my full potential every time I compete. When I’m free riding, I’m almost always trying to think of and try new tricks that have never been done. That’s what excites me the most in foiling.

Switching to kit, and you’ve recently been working closely with Armie Armstrong on your own signature board, the NF Pro – can you tell us a bit about the design process and what you wanted to achieve with the final product? 

What a pleasure it was to work on this project with Armie! He is so dialed in with the design process, I loved getting to sit at the computer with him and type in a bunch of different dimensions and designs as we came up with the first prototype. I think we made a great team with our combined skill sets and knowledge of foiling. I’ve designed a lot of different boards in my career, primarily for behind the boat, which helped us come up with the board I’m so proud to call the NF Pro! The goal was to produce a board better than anything out there for wake style foiling, while also aiming to make sure it was also going to be the perfect option for my other favorite forms of foiling, towing and downwinding.

What specific design features in your board do you think will really elevate a rider’s performance, especially in a competitive context? 

The rail design and simple bottom features of the board paired with the perfect amount of surface area make this board release from the water so effortlessly. That’s the most important part in my opinion, especially for doing aerial maneuvers where you’re going to be touching down from foil to board everytime. We packed just enough volume in (19L) to give it the float we wanted, while still keeping it as thin as possible, which gives you more control and connection with the foil. I aimed to keep the board as small as possible, without sacrificing too much surface area.

Give us a little advice for other riders looking to get into the wake foil scene. Where’s the best place to start for someone who’s into it?

The best thing you can do to immerse yourself in the wake foil scene would be to come to any of the Nautique WWA wake foil events. There are divisions for amateurs as well. Also attending any foil event or demo is always a great way to make more friends in the community. I do a lot of one-on-one coaching with people on the wake and in the ocean, you can learn a lot in a short period of time that way as well.

And what would be your top three dos and don’ts for anyone starting out in wake foiling?

Do: enjoy the process, foil strapless more than you do with straps, and learn the mechanics of your equipment. Don’t: give up, fall on a deep sea prone in downwinder, or forget to screw your mast on all the way before a contest run – I fully did this at Foil Fest and my mast was sliding all around the track the entire time!