Captured by Samuel Cardenas
RAMIRO GALLART
1. What is Freestyle to you?
This discipline is one of my main joys and probably the reason I dedicate my life to kiteboarding.
2. How do you express yourself in this discipline?
It’s hard to say. There is a bit of premeditation on what to do but at the same time I just ride and I do whatever I feel like doing at the moment. I reckon that when I ride, I express more with what I do with my board and my lower body than anything else. My approach is that Freestyle is very much about what you do with your board than what you do with the kite in the sky.
Captured by Oswald Smith
3. What is your opinion on where Freestyle is going?
It’s a hard question to answer as the sport doesn’t seem to be following a straight line.
What was rewarded 15 years ago is more similar to what’s happening now than what the trend was 7 years ago.
I hope freestyle can get back to a stage where what’s pursued is its expression, beauty of movement, creativity following a board sport ideology.
An analogy to express my opinion could be that at the moment, the sport is going into a training stage in a way. When kids learn to play guitar, all they want to do is the most technical plucking from a popular song like “Sweet Child Of Mine” and they all compete to who does it better.
That kind of competition fits an athlete who dedicates their life to perform the best he/she can in a sort of controlled environment, but it just sets the sport further ahead from an art perspective. Like there is beauty in every guitar chord, there is also beauty in every trick and it’s all about how and when you want to play what chord.
Captured By Oswald Smith
4. How is the competitive game-changing?
I just feel there is not really a competition scene at the moment, we are in a transition stage. Currently, it is a blend of everything with nothing specific trying to keep traction with the Freestyle audience. I reckon competitions are failing at keeping the Freestyle audience because they are putting the focus way too much on trying to please all audiences. If there is no authenticity, it won’t last.
5. What keeps you coming back?
I found this question pretty funny as it’s quite a common thing for people to question why we keep doing it, why we keep going for it.
I don’t need a particular reason to come back other than just the pure joy that this discipline gives me. I get how some people, especially if they focus on competition, get this feeling of pressure or anxiety. I know that can really be tiring, so then they need to find the motivation to keep going.
For me, there is a key difference.
When I go to the water, I’m not training… I’m playing!
That is passion in my opinion. You don’t need anything else to keep going for it, the thing itself is more than anything, pure presence pure joy.
Captured By Oswald Smith
6. What do you still want to achieve?
For me when I kite, it is a moment of endless possibilities. With the power of the elements, you can do pretty much anything you visualize.
My goal is to push this idea, try to develop my skills to a level that, whatever comes to my mind, I’m able to do.
So, then a session will just be a dance with the elements, where everything that occurs will be a manifestation of the mind with pure freedom and creativity!
So I guess that my number one goal, to let my mind express itself, and kiting has been the perfect channel for me to do it.
7. Okay Rami, last one. Tell us something that might surprise us about you.
Ufff, hard one. I would say I’m quite multifaceted and I usually don’t show this on my social media but I study economics, I like philosophy, I do fashion photography, and I was raised in a farming environment.
I hope one of those you didn’t see it coming hahaha.
Captured By Oswald Smith
Click on each image to read each interview
Alex Pastor
2013 World Champion / 2016 Rider of the year / 2018 Spanish Champion
“It’s my favorite discipline, nothing like strapping on my boots, and feeling like it’s an extension of my body. You can just focus on your tricks and your mind really disconnects from everything else.”
Jonas Oamihd
COTS Rider Of The Year / African Champion 2019 / Junior Worldchampion 2017
“I live in the south of Germany. No Sea just a lake and almost no wind. If I would stay home for a year I would maybe have 5 good days for freestyle.”
Jack Rieder
Freestyle and Park Adventurer
“There is a point where you become comfortable enough with your gear and in your discipline that you can move in directions that just come naturally as opposed to with a goal of doing a specific trick.”
Juan Rodriguez
Pro kiteboarder from Colombia / Top 11 GKA Freestyle 2019
“Right now there is a lot of emphasis on the number of spins and passes. While it’s impressive, it is taking away from that creative playful aspect of freestyle….”
