Duotone Mag 2024

Three years ago, you became a mom. Did that change life as a professional windsurfer too? Arrianne: Oh yeah, of course, so many changes when you become a parent. In my case, it didn’t really affect me being a pro rider at first. My pregnancy happened during COVID; it wasn’t planned, but as no competitions were held, I didn’t miss out on any events or lose my ranking. So, it was pretty perfect timing. What has changed the most since the birth of my daughter Aya is my attitude towards life and how I approach my Windsurfing. With any water sport, you usually go with the flow. Your day-to-day life revolves around the conditions, and Mother Nature dictates your schedule. As a mom, however, that’s impossible as you have to plan ahead. If I want to go on the water, I have to organize everything relating to Aya in advance, like her meals, the Nanny, etc. Before I had a child, I never bothered too much about planning when I would go Windsurfing or for how long. Now, with limited me-time, the stoke on the water in every session is amplified; it’s awesome! I appreciate it so much more. Concerning competitions, my attitude has changed a lot too. It’s not my identity anymore, so even if I mess up, it’s okay. Being a mom has made me realize that many more things in life define me as a person besides Windsurfing and winning heats. Nia, it seems like winning tour stops has become second nature for you recently. On the GWAWing Foil World Tour, you are now referred to as “THE female shooting star”. How does that make you feel and how do you cope with the attention? Nia: It’s pretty surreal; I can’t even really describe how I feel. It’s been an incredible year, winning my first title and then backing that up with a second one. The massive recognition proves that the hard training is paying off. Still, there are some challenges attached to all the attention. I feel there are greater expectations from a lot of people now regarding my Wing Foil career, which puts me under more pressure. Plus, I am in the middle of finishing my high school degree, with two more years left to study for my final exams. I’m doing online schooling now, so I have to make time to study around the crazy chaos of travelling, competitions, and photoshoots. Luckily, my parents are very supportive and help me as much as possible. What have been the biggest changes in your personal life since taking the step to compete as a professional Wing Foiler? Nia: Not spending much time at home in Tarifa as well as starting online schooling have been the two biggest transitions. Everyone tells me you are living your best life and yes, I certainly am. But at the same time, there are also some downsides to it. For instance, I don’t get to see my close friends as much anymore, as I’m mostly with my parents or brother and the guys from the tour whilst travelling. Sometimes that can be seriously tough. Everyone is super friendly, but at the end of the day, I’m not really close to them. You’re moving from tour stop to tour stop and you’re always surrounded by the same crew of people, but at the same time, you’re totally alone. Still, reflecting on how far I’ve come and where I am now, it’s been absolutely worth it. I love being part of the Wing Foil community. People are about helping each other rather than comparing, and that’s what I enjoy so much. Mika, you’ve also experienced high expectations from others regarding your professional career. In our last magazine, you mentioned that you sometimes had “doubts about your life as a professional kitesurfer”. How do you feel about that now? Mika: First of all, I totally know what Nia is referring to. It can be very challenging to share deeper connections with people whilst being constantly on the move. The only difference is that I never went to a regular school as I grew up in the hotel of my parents, so I don’t know anything else. But always having been the youngest on tour made it hard to fit in for me as well. The last season has been quite a journey. Finishing second in freestyle, my knee injury, the travelling, and continually being away from home have really challenged my headspace and physical body. The competition side of things has not been the easiest either. There are expectations on me to still be pulling the same moves and sending it straight after coming out of an injury. I feel like I don’t get compared to others; I get compared to myself. That can be quite demotivating. All in all, I don’t have doubts about my career as a professional kiteboarder, but last year has just been pretty tough. Embracing everything that’s happened, I’m still stoked about how it all turned out in the end. Losing is a big part of growing, and losing the first world title since starting to compete really is a big deal. However, I feel this experience will help me grow as an athlete and be a valuable motivation for myself. Arrianne, listening to the girls, do you sometimes miss your life as a “full-time” professional windsurfer? Arrianne: Well, so and so. I will definitely continue to participate in some tour stops, but at the same time, for me, competing is both love and hate. After giving birth, i did my first PWA stop last year in Fuerteventura. Unfortunately, there was a mix-up with the scoring, so they made me sail my heat again – the heat that I had just won – so much for the “hate” part. I’m still slightly upset, but not nearly as much as I would’ve been in my earlier days. Having had my daughter with me at the competition, I didn’t have time to cry about it. Your child puts life in a new perspective and that’s good. I know I won’t ever get back to the level of Windsurfing that I was at five years ago, but that’s ok, as it effectively comes down to me being at a point where I don’t want to put that many hours into it anymore. Regarding my motivation for Windsurfing, I had times when I was really done with freestyle. I no longer enjoyed it because I was too focused on improving and getting good competition results. Taking some time off and also getting into Wing Foiling felt refreshing and helped me with my motivation for Windsurfing again. It’s all about the right mindset. Speaking of mindset, Nia, on your website there’s a quote: “My passion is Wing Foiling, and I will work hard and stay focused to achieve the success I aim for.” How do you define passion? And when do you feel most connected to the sport? Nia: Passion, to me, is like this mix of love and excitement that goes way beyond just being interested in something. It’s what keeps me coming back to Wing Foiling. When I first tried winging, I immediately loved the sensation. It’s hard to put into words, but it just felt like this was my thing. The freedom to practice it in any wind and feel almost nothing even if it’s super choppy is just so good. Also, being able to learn it really quickly motivated me. That’s where my passion for the sport comes from. “With any water sport, you usually go with the flow. Your day-to-day life revolves around the conditions, and Mother Nature dictates your schedule. As a mom, however, that’s impossible as you have to plan ahead.” “I was too focused on improving and getting good competition results. Taking some time off and also getting into Wing Foiling felt refreshing and helped me with my motivation for Windsurfing again.” D U O T O N E D U O T O N E 38 39 W H Y C H A L L E N G E S