SUP Interviews »Maikel of Surf + Kite Club

Hey Maikel, please introduce yourself first.

Maikel has been surfing excessively since 1986! He taught hundreds of students with great success. No matter windsurfing, kitesurfing, hydrofoils, SUP or surfing – Maikel surfs in the front line.

Traveling with the family and his surf crew took him to France, the Dominican Republic, the Canary Islands, Morocco, the Caribbean, Mauritania, Hawaii, Spain, Portugal, Canada, Peru and Denmark. Maikel’s favorites are longboards between and 9ft and 10ft.

The big passion is surfing.

His motto:  “Every hour on the water is an hour on the water!”

How did you come to the SUP and what makes you so passionate about Stand Up Paddling that you even spend some time working on it?

Through his friends Dave Kalama and Robby Naish, he was enthusiastically introduced to Maui SUP and never let go.

Can you explain why a leash is important when surfing? How did you come to SUP? And you had something to do with Robby Naish?

My life took me from windsurfing to kiting and surfing at the same time. I worked 4.5 years for Kiteboarding.de. Since there nobody wanted to drive to the importer and dealer meetings, I took over this task with pleasure. That’s how I met Robby Naish, Michi Schwaiger and later also Kai Lenny.

I met the today’s Sail Designer of Naish – Damien Giradou – at takoon in France in 2002. Yesterday, I had a nice two hour session with Robby surfing in the port of Kahului.

Some years later I was fishing with Peter again. I had already seen some American videos from SUP Fishing. Together with Peter, I went out with some fishing tackle without further ado and tried that too.

And it should not have been the last time.

My website is all about SUP boards. I would be interested to know what makes a good Wave SUP Board for you.

For the beginner can not be big enough. Will you do better then you need smaller and, above all, lighter material. This is where carbon worlds come together.

Can you recommend concrete models for beginners?

Yes, big Air Tourboards and big Air Sups for the wave. It does not hurt so much at the first falls.

We have had very good experiences with F2, Red Paddle and Tabou. Are you better and want to build a custom SUP contact Sean Ordenez or Keith Taboul on Maui Hawaii. These are currently the most innovative shakers. You can get contact via us.

A leash on the lake is standard, while river surfing can be very dangerous. Can you wear a leash with the Wave SUP? Does it have to be a special model?

Yes, a leash is vital!

Golden rule of thumb: length of the board = at least the length of the leash.

So for example on a 10’4 “board = 11 ft leash.

Do you need more equipment besides the board and leash? If so, do you recommend special models?

Personally, I recommend beginners if they have a full wallet Red Paddle: best material, for years great service, extremely light, very robust and very accommodating in warranty cases that would have rejected many other companies.

If the wallet is not so full F2 is one of the best brands. An old seasoned company that knows what it does! In addition, extremely cheap for a good quality. Unfortunately a bit heavier than RedPaddle.

Not to forget the company Naish with the largest selection of SUPs, from the 21 ‘Race SUP up to the 7’ board you will find everything in Hawaiian quality.

Should you get better and increase your claim to the material further, nothing passes by a Custom Made Board. However, then with prices from $ 2000 upwards.

Here are outstanding shaper “Sean Ordenez” from SOS, “Keith Taboul” from KT – Quattro and Matt Kazuma from Kazuma. Here on Hawaii was also the birth of the SUPens. This can also be read on our SUP website  www.surfandwave.club .

In the course, participants first learn the basics of SUP surfing and ride the first waves standing on the same day. Can you tell us something about your course?

We not only teach you the basics of SUP surfing in our course, but we also value the fun in the group. We believe in our concept and would like to respond individually to our participants in small groups and use targeted tips to ignite the passion for SUP surfing.

“All we do is surfing”   our attitude to life and that’s exactly what we want to give you on the way! At the latest when you are on your board, then you will feel it too!

Maikel thank you for the great interesting conversation!

More about Maikel and the mentioned course you can also  kite-club.com learn.

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