Just Kite It.

by Jessica Valenzuela

In 1998 I was on my second year of living in Chicago, the Windy City to get through business university. I was in the right spot for kiteboarding — alas I didn’t hear the word, except once briefly mentioned by an old French boyfriend who is a pilot for the French military. 11 years later, here I am experimenting on living a mobile kite life. Bringing my work where there is wind and access to the interwebs.

Jeremie Tronet, living the dream photo courtesy: Jeremie Tronet

Meanwhile, Jeremie Tronet in a warmer part of the Earth discovered kiteboarding in 1998 while growing up in Martinique. After flying a hand-me-down make-shift power foil kite from his uncle for two years, in 2000 he gained access to the pattern design for a Naish AR 3.5, 7m. With this design Jeremie borrowed his grandma’s sewing machine, 3 spinnaker rolls and three months of that summer created his first ever inflatable kite! Thus his kitesurfing journey begins in beautiful sunny Martinique, where the water is warm and easy trade winds blow.

We caught up with Jeremie while in Grenadines. He accommodated our questionnaire while sipping fresh coconut juice under a palm tree. Life is beautiful! This can be your life too!

Q: How has kiting changed your life?

A: Like almost any kiter, as soon as your hands grip the control bars and fly a kite for the first time, your life changes. Kiteboarding, like most water sports becomes a way of life. I’ve witnessed so many friends and acquaintances who quit their job and re-arranged their life for the love of kiteboarding. They couldn’t spend one more day in an office, just dreaming of kiting – they’d rather be kiting. The island and water sports life comes quite naturally for me since I grew up in Martinique. Before kiteboarding, I was spearfishing, surfing, diving and engaging in any water sport you could imagine. There was no reason to leave my lovely paradise for the big city. I have everything I could want for here. Kiteboarding added spice and whipped cream to my already charmed island life by visiting many kite spots around the world.

Q: Who influenced your riding style?

A: One of my early disadvantages was I didn’t have immediate access to information about the sport and the industry. I was simply kitesurfing for the pleasure of it. I had to figure many things on my own, like inventing tricks. Soon that challenge would be resolved when I chanced upon High Power Zone, one of the first kiteboarding movies on VHS (wow!) of the old timer Hawaii team with Bertrand Fleury, Lou Wainmann and others. I remember watching this tape a thousand times and was super stoked to improve my riding style to the next level.

Jeremie Tronet, unhooked pass in the flats of Coche, Venezuela photo courtesy: Jeremie Tronet

Q: What advice would you offer those who are considering kiteboarding?

A: Go for it!  You can be a 10-year old,  an 80-year old, skinny with no muscle strength, a big dude, a woman you’ll learn and enjoy kiteboarding like bicycling! With the improvements and safety in the equipment and the technique in teaching kiteboarding anyone can learn the sport — determination and focus are definitely key ingredients to have.

Q: Advice on possible life-changes when you become a kiter?

A: Once a kiter, there is no looking back. As soon as the wind blows, all your attention is focused on checking the sway of the trees and wondering when you clock out of the factory (office!). For kiters with family, they’d hope that his or her partner will pick up the children at school so you can enjoy the ultimate sunset session. When the next holiday rolls around and obviously you want to head to a kiting spot, but your non-kiter partner wants to go to Disneyland, Las Vegas or some resort with no wind, then the tension starts to build up.

A true kiter will think ahead and plan his or her life around the wind. Life is much simpler when your life partner is a kiter. Kiteboarding at times can change people’s lives drastically, yet in the end it is for the BETTER.

Jeremie Tronet another unhooked trick over Los Roques photo courtesy: Jeremie Tronet

Q: In your opinion, what are the primary challenges of the kiteboarding industry?

A: In my opinion, there are too many brands — creating an over supply of the market place since there are a limited number of kiters around the world purchasing new equipment each year. The sport is young. The community is decompartmentalized, yet showing growth in very specific segments. The biggest challenge for product brands is not doing too much, too soon. I think brands need to focus on the buying segment of the market, while providing great customer service as a platform of their brand. Ultimately creating a deeper connection with consumers who will stay loyal to that brand. In my opinion, my sponsor Ocean Rodeo is taking the right steps to create strong loyalty among its customer-base.

Q: Where would you like to see kiteboarding 5-years from now? What steps do we need to take to get there?

A: Five years from now, I just hope the wind will still be blowing and I will continue to travel the world and visit different kite spots.

Kiteboarding is evolving in different directions, which in my opinion is good because it opens up opportunities for different athletes and enthusiasts.There are kiters who focus on racing. While others simply prefer kitesurfing and there are those who love freestyle and wakestyle. I personally will stick to freestyle, wakestyle and waves and push it this way as much as my knees will let me.

Q: Which competitions have you participated in?

A: I have done a lot of competition in the beginning, PKRA (Professional Kiteboard Riders Association) and KPWT (Kiteboard Pro-World Tour) World Cups, Caribbean Championship, where I won several times and national events. As nature would have it, during these events there are days when you have to wait for the wind for hours  at times even days. I quickly got fed up with the whole idea of competing. Instead I am pouring my energy into the sport by traveling, creating videos and photography to document my discoveries through kiteboarding.

Q: What steps does a pro-kiter wanna be take to get into competitions?

A: You have to choose a tour, compete in that tour to get the attention of fellow pro-kiters, the media and the pro-kiter circle. There are two key ingredients: you have to be an excellent rider and have money to spend on tour fees and travels. When planning for your first contest, just go for it. You may be surprised with your own results. When I joined the competitions, I was actually better during the contest in comparison to my free sessions. For competitions that simply involve racing, anyone who can go upwind, can actually sign in.

Jeremie Tronet swimming with the turtles in Grenadines photo courtesy: Jeremie Tronet

Q: Do you have other passions outside of kiteboarding?

A: I love photography and creating videos! I can spend hours on my laptop working on my website, which I update often with travel vignettes. Photographs allows me to share my trips with kitebaording magazines worldwide. Recently I channel my energy into video making, filming and editing. When on the road, I’m loaded with the latest video gear. The root of these media passions are still influenced and inspired by my sport and lifestyle – kiteboarding.

Q: What inspires your creativity in photography and video?

A: Travel is my main source of inspiration.  The colors of the Caribbean, my childhood, a father who is an artist and my kiteboarding lifestyle are all the little things that inspire the moments I capture in photos and video.

Q: The ultimate dream for Jeremie Tronet?

A: I am super stoked to have everything I want right now. Three amazing sponsors including, Ocean Rodeo, Alpine Stars and Zeal Optics who support my work in the sport and promoting their products. My girlfriend Linn traveling with me and discovering the most beautiful places on Earth. The only thing I could ever wish for is to keep living this dream and never wake up.

Full name: Jeremie Tronet

Kiting birthday: 1998

Kites flown: hand sewn self-made kites, Naish, Wipika, Air Blast (his first sponsor) and Ocean Rodeo Diablos (his current sponsor)

Favorite kiting quote: “you should have been here yesterday.”

Kiting homebase: Never over 3 months in one place. Most often found kiting in Brazil or the Caribbean.

Kiting spots visited: The entire southern Caribbean, a big part of Europe and South America, North Africa and almost everywhere.

Voila! A completed questionnaire for Just Kite It to the last drop of fresh coconut juice. Merci Jeremie!

Jeremie Tronet enjoying fresh coconut juice in the Caribbean photo courtesy: Jeremie Tronet

For more cool photos from Jeremie visit our Flickr set. To follow his travels visit Jeremie Tronet dot com.

Are you a pro-athlete kiteboarder or are training to be one? Write to Jessica Valenzuela to request for an interview. We’d love to hear from you!