Always Ready
In March of 2017 I was invited to the Philippines to be one of the principal athletes in a kitesurfing travel documentary series for Canal OFF called Downwind nas Filipinas (Downwind in the Philippines). The series was aired in Brazil starting in May/June of 2018.
Episode 1 – password: soulfilmes
Episode 2 – password: soulfilmes
Episode 3 – password: soulfilmes
Episode 4 – password: soulfilmes
Early last year my friend Marco mentioned an idea, a project that he was working on. Not ‘just an idea’ as we often say but an awesome idea, and I said yes!, let’s do it, I would love to be part of it if it happens.
I went into training mode – some flying, running, swimming in the Bay and kiting in Cape Town, the Philippines, Micronesia, Baja, and California – and a few months later I found myself in Taiba, Brazil getting ready to kite 600km down the coast with a small film crew to capture the experience.
This sort of athletic journey is my favorite way to travel, and it was an incredible opportunity and a privilege to be one of the six professional athletes that formed the team. I was the only American and the only non-Brazilian on the team, which made for an additional challenge on top of the long days on the water. The other riders were Guilly Brandão, Andre Cintra, Marco Dalpozzo, Andre Penna, and Marcela Witt — a diverse crew of world-class riders, all game for some long distance adventure!
After nearly a year of post-production the resulting film was released in Brazil by Canal OFF and I am now able to share it here with you.
An intense athletic journey is one of the best ways to bring out the connection between athletics and intuition, and making this film was a transformative experience for me. Not only was this my first pro athlete gig but I was also working in a new foreign language (Portuguese). At first it was hard to find my footing but once I got my board under my feet and my kite in the air I felt right at home. I’m very proud of the result and very happy that the film captures the feeling of this incredible part of the world, and of the long distance experience.
Enjoy the film and I’d love to hear your thoughts!
I made couple of shorter highlight reels — a 1 minute mini reel
and a 7 minute reel of all of my appearances
Production: e-group Hotels & Sports | Surfin SEM FIM | Vídeo com Alma
Director: Bruna Arcangelo Toledo
Camera: Mathias Lessmann | Hugo Valente | Bruna Arcangelo Toledo
Script: Bruna Arcangelo Toledo
Editor: Ronaldo Andrade
Sound: Bruno Frene
Executive Producer: Jalila Paulino | Marco Dalpozzo
Supervisor of images: serginho pasqualino
Colorist: David Queiroz
Assistant colorist: Bruno Bridges
Athletes: Guilly Brandão, Andre Cintra, Marco Dalpozzo, Bowen Dwelle, Andre Penna, and Marcela Witt
My sponsors: Kurtis Eyewear, Alpinefoil kitesurf hydrofoils, and Boardriding Maui Cloud kites!