Hi Alberto, let's talk a little about you. Even if you are out of competitions for some years now there is no doubt that it remains one of the symbolic faces of Italian kitesurfing and not only. Would you like to tell us your story briefly?
When did you approach kitesurfing? What did you do before? Was it love immediately? What were your best achievements?
Thanks guys, well it was love immediately, even if my sporting "story" starts much earlier. Thanks to the passion for the sea of ??Then during the winter with the cold of Riccione I started with artistic gymnastics with a group of friends. I did full-time gymnastics for over 8 years, with many competitions and even 3 Italian titles;)
Then I tried the kite in 2002 and from 2004 I decided to stop with the gymnastics competitions to try the first kite races! I won the first Italian championship in 2006, then I started to do more and more competitions in Italy and abroad. I finished high school so I started doing all the world championships in 2009; so I realized my dream of traveling all year and always being warm;)
I was 4 times Italian Kitesurf Champion, I won the first European Championship in 2010, then I came 3rd Overall in the PKRA World Championship in 2012.
Then later an injury in 2014 I had the opportunity to be an Agent for Cabrinha kites in Italy and I immediately liked the idea!
The last project I follow, in order of time, is my new kite center in Sicily, theProkite Alby Rondina , where I live almost all year round from 2016 .... so you find me more in Sicily than in Riccione now;)
Have you always been with Cabrinha from the beginning? Would you like to talk about your role in Cabrinha kites yesterday and today?
Cabrinha has always been the brand of my dreams, I don't know how to explain the reason, but since Martin Vari and Andre Philiip there was no company so cool, modern and in the style of Cabrinha in my opinion. I have had so many offers from the beginning, but I have always remained faithful to Cabrinha (I am so in person) and it was the best decision I ever made. I was a national rider, then International when I started the world championship, and now I continue to be one in addition to being an agent for Italian distribution, so I took all the steps! ;)
Cabrinha is one of the brands that literally wrote the history of kitesurfing, thanks to its founder, Pete Cabrinha, a waterman who really needs no introduction. Yet in the spots of our peninsula it is not always among the most widespread, why do you think?
Perhaps you are not well informed: D
Since I started distribution, sales numbers have tripled! : D
The style and feeling of the Cabrinha kites is a unique thing in my opinion: from the cleanliness of the profiles, to being able to find the best performances while maintaining the simplicity of use of the materials, I think they are among the best qualities of a brand that certainly made the history. The first bowkites like the Crossbow and the Switchblade have literally revolutionized the kite world from many points of view: range of use, performance and above all safety, which has always been a priority for Pete.
Pete is for me the Steve Jobs of the kite, he doesn't just follow the market trends but he concentrates on what he believes and we dive in 100%.
In these years sails and boards have made great strides. From your point of view, what were the decisive turning points, the fundamental innovations?
Well the bow kites have certainly been the biggest change of the last decade. Compared to the performance of an old C-kite, the bow shapes, then SLE have made learning kites incredibly easy, thanks to their re-start, depower capacity and range of use. For freeriding, wave riding, big air the performance of kites has increased exaggeratedly, allowing you to do things that were previously unthinkable! The boards have become extremely light, the straps and boots, more and more comfortable and the one pump system has made the world easier for everyone;)
How are the new Cabrinha products born (sails and boards)? Where are they developed, tested and where is the production?
The basis of Cabrinha has always been Maui, in Hawaii, which is Pete's home. Maui is a bit the "melting pot" of innovation in the world of water sports, when there is something new concerning kite, windsurfing, SUP or Surf, well there is a very high probability of seeing her come out of Maui! So the whole research and development team is based there, while kite production is in China. So designers and testers often travel to China to control production and produce prototypes, which are tested in Maui. Pete, as many may not know, is still a Brand Manager, so he decides on each project and line to follow for the brand. If we talk about surfboards, Pete shapa himself, for kites, the prototypes arrive in 3 days from China and any other piece, be it a bar or a foil, is produced in the office with 3D printers! Then the spot is 2 minutes from the office and that's where field testing starts!
The product that has been most successful or which you are most proud of? and why?
The Switchblade is the trademark kite of Cabrinha, is at its thirteenth edition and is still the most sold model of kite in the world. It's really an incredible kite, simple and intuitive, but at the same time with the top performers. For this reason it is an all-around kite that anyone can use, from the beginner to the freerider and freestyler. A new kite released this year, the new Moto , has all the features of the Switchblade, a great shot and a great range but with a 3 strut design, so much faster, perfect even in wave riding and very light on the bar, try it to believe!
Have we already reached maturity in this sport or can we still expect surprises?
Every year there are news, targets to be reached and small changes to improve the world of kite in general. The materials are lighter each year but at the same time more resistant ... they will still be beautiful in my opinion!
And how do you see the situation in our country in Italy? How is the general level in our peninsula compared to the world scene?
Italy compared to other countries is less homogeneous, for what I have seen! There are spots where hydrofoils have arrived and people have been using them for 10 years, others where they have never tried them before. But this is also its beauty, we have many different conditions, from the lakes, to the strong wind like the bora on the Adriatic or the mistral in Sardinia and Sicily, flat water, waves ... we are really lucky;)
And the hydrofoil: how do you see the future of this discipline?
The foil is really changing things and not just in the kite! They will always become easier, also accessible from a price point of view, so that everyone can experience this incredible feeling! Cabrinha has another 3 foil models coming out, just to satisfy every need and discipline, from light wind to speed to wave riding!
Let's talk about security. Cabrinha has really contributed to the safety and handling of this sport. Yet despite recent progress we have seen too many fatal accidents in Italy. Is there still something you can do in your opinion to further improve security?
Yes for Pete it has always been the priority nr1 and still Cabrinha is, on the market, one of the few brands that has no type of stopper on the depower. In this way, when a person leaves the bar to go to depower end, it is already in the first safety stage and the kite will foil until it falls to the edge of the window.
Of course in the end it is the task of the kiter to know its limits, to study the weather conditions and to know when it is safe to enter the water.
Hello!
Alby
Pubblicato il 07 maggio 2019 | Blog > Equipments: KITESURF