Duotone Diversity Magazine No.02 2020

PRO MODEL When Till first started exploring the application of snowboard construction on kiteboards with laminated plywood and ABS walls in 2001, I thought it was the greatest idea. And we spent a shit load of time working around this concept, the stiffness, rockers, torsion… I think Till thought it was hectic, with so many failing and insufficient prototypes that I was intended to ride. To make it up to me, he put the board on the market with my name on it. Suddenly I had my own signature board! The Jaime! I know he did it as a friend, and the fact that 18 years later the board is still in production and constantly improving under the same compromise of performance and comfort is a huge achievement that I feel extremely proud of. After all, it was the very first board ever to implement the snowboard construction, which is now a market standard. PROGRESSION OF THE SPORT The early stages of our sport were truly creative! The early movement was lead by the Maui boys, especially by Lou Waiman and captured by the infamous Tronolone brothers. All of us worshipped “HIGH”, the first VHS video that showed Lou’s attempts at handle passes. I was very lucky to be among this group of riders that explored those moves and tried to combine them with big airs in competition, in an attempt to come up with a unique kiteboarding style. Back in 2004, it was all about these new moves, the good vibes of our daily grind traveling to beautiful kiteboarding spots and pushing the limits of what we thought was possible. We tried to combine our professional athlete’s routines with a proactive exploration of all potential applications of a kite, from powered up wakestyle to proper surf riding with a kite. We would spend months between the lagoons of Brazil and Oahu (our home base), where we would try to ride every single famous surf break on the North Shore. GOOD COMPANY Also, in 2001, Till Eberle came around with his calm, analytical, and professional attitude and that was the final consolidation of what had started as a crazy project. He was a former professional snowboarder and had become chief engineer at Fanatic Snowboards. But the CEO of B&M at that time, Josef Helmberger, had yet another vision for him. He wanted Till to restructure this wild kiteboarding project, make it up to the demanding B&M standards, and come out with a trustworthy mid to long term business case. Till surrounded himself with great friends, he could trust blindfolded; Dirk Hanel was one of them. A great rider with very deep roots in manufacturing, a very “German” approach to product development, with a sincere pride for German engineering. Hanel was a really fun guy to travel with and an absolute party animal when it came to the occasion. I cannot forget this one time we tried to outdrink Bjorn Dunkerbeck (back then a North Sails windsurfing team rider), and eventually, we did, or so they claim… I had passed out! The craziest part of that story is that a few hours later, Dirk had a presentation, and of course, he performed flawlessly, haha! NEW INNOVATION Only recently, Wing foiling came along and totally took over once again… The three-dimensional aspect of combining Prone Surf foiling, powered by a handheld device, is incredibly addictive! Adding all my windsurfing / kiteboarding jumping background to this new sport is a lot of fun, and I love being a part of R&D, once again amidst this early stage of design. Ken Winner is the master behind it, and we’re back to the daily excitement of yet another wave riding vehicle! Where will it lead us? I have no clue, but I sure am having a blast on the way and I am certain that I could not be among a better pack of individuals for the challenge! FAMILY I’ve known my wife Esther since we both were teenagers and we’ve been friends ever since. She was one of my good friends and lived next door before kiteboarding came along. As a friend, I always had a great laugh with her. We even worked together, and she used to counsel me on my love affairs back in those days. I remember when I was really young, she once told me that when I would be “mature,” I’d be the perfect life companion (little did we know…) We’ve shared a lot together, first as friends and later on as a couple. She is a hyperactive sporty, and breathtakingly strong woman who won’t ever back off. I feel blessed to be by her side and share this marvelous joy-ride we get to live together. We have three little “terrorist kids,” ages 5 to 10, and we love them to death. They are all different, varying their interests from art and sports to everything in-between, but there is a common factor amongst each one of them: They are the happiest kids I know, and that’s all I wish for, and it is exactly what Esther and I cherish and embrace everyday. Photos Mario Entero, Max Matissek, Rod Parmenter, Stephen Whitesell THE BEGINNINGS In 1998 I was working for Boards & More (B&M) as a test dummy for Fanatic Windsurfing and ART Sails. I was based out of Tarifa, but besides the testing job, I traveled to Maui twice a year. When kiteboarding came around, it was like a storm to me. It was all I wanted to do. It took B&M a couple of years, but thanks to our US distributor back then, Dave Johnson, we trigger started a kiteboarding project within the company, together with my admired windsurfing hero, Ken Winner. When I got the call to travel to Hood River and give some new prototype kites a try, I didn’t even have to think about it. In these weeks, we lined out the first steps of Duotone (then North Kiteboarding), knowing that we had a great product and a great distribution network. The first months were fun, full of emotions, fine-tuning all the equipment, working on the early stage of marketing campaigns, production facilities, gearing up on all the bits and pieces… In 2001, our first kite hit the markets, the Rhino. Being part of Boards &More for over 20 years now, Jaime Herraiz, 46, is one of the old hands at the company. The Spaniard has witnessed the very beginnings of kitesurfing and contributed to the development of Duotone fromday one. Flipping through his personal photo book he shares some of the most iconic moments of the last decades with us. 35 P E O P L E P E O P L E 34 J A I M E ’ S W O R L D