Jerome Cloetens

When and where did you start Wing Foiling? The same way I started kiting 16 years ago: forced by my dad in front of our house in Tarifa :D My dad enjoys getting into innovations in the watersport area, and he started on wing foil quite early. I thought it looked pathetic at first because of the helmet, the jacket and the big boards, but once I started trying, I was utterly hooked, and I haven’t taken off my helmet since then :)

What’s your watersports history – from which side did you enter Winging? I am a professional kitesurfer for quite some time...

What do you love about Wing Foiling? The room left to play. We still don't know where the sport is headed. Every day I'm trying tricks I never tried before. Every month there are new tricks, new ways of surfing the wave and every few months there is new gear that completely changes the game.

What’s your favourite conditions? 30knots Poniente at home in Tarifa, Spain

What’s your top advice for a beginner? Start with the right gear and step by step. Wingfoiling is actually not hard, but if you take a too small foil or a board that is not the right fit for the amount of wind, it makes it 100x harder to progress.
The best advice here is that you get the Academy app of duotone and get informed out of the water, it will make the process of learning 20x faster. Trust me, if you make the right decision on gear for the right wind, you will learn wingfoiling very quickly! Not like me that tried my first time on a 22L board and ended up 10km downwind.

Boom or handles? I love handles. It is too easy to stabilize the wing with the new Unit when I'm on a wave or about to go for a trick. I tend to miss my back and front flips quite often, so I prefer crashing on handles than a boom :)