Long before its release, the Lift created some incredible buzz amongst the kiting community, especially in the Big Air scene.
The mystery was revealed when big air rider, Jason Van der Spuy joined Airush and entered the King Of The Air with an unreleased Airush kite.
The Lift is possibly one of our worst-kept secrets, given Jason vd Spuy’s incredible performance with it and viral videos. The Blank Kite test didn’t do much to help this secret’s cause either. What can we say? The excitement was overflowing.
Jason has been heavily involved in the design of the new Lift in collaboration with Airush legendary kite designer, Mark Pattison who has been with Airush for over 20 years.
We get to know Jason a bit more and explore his passion for kiteboarding and the new Lift.
Why Airush?
Two main reasons, the first one being the more obvious one regarding the fact that its home turf is Cape Town and the brand feels home to me. A design culture that starts at the top, drives an innovative team like no other.
The endless desire to produce the best gear on the market along with some traditional Airush creativity and designs. The ability to talk with the team and designer, Mark, about things that can be improved with regards to products and then it gets done is quite rare to find in big brands. It’s truly an amazing brand and team!
We’ve seen the videos and we know that you have had an incredible Cape Town season. What’s the craziest thing you tried this season?
This season was by far one of my most profound and progressive seasons to date. There were many crazy tricks that I had to train in order to keep up with the competition, but the main tricks that stood out for me this season were my short line loops and the desire to take it lower and lower every time. There was one point where I did a short line loop and my kite was directly under me. My lines and the entire kite went slack and it felt like time stood still for a moment. It was such a surreal experience, I had to take a break for an hour to calm down from the adrenaline!
Describe your ultimate kite and do you think the Lift lives up to that expectation?
It’s quite simple for me, I like a kite that is direct and does not give a spongy feeling on the bar when sheeting in and steering. Therefore I am not an advocate for pulleys on the bridles, which the Lift does not have. The fixed bridles, direct steering, and massive hangtime combined with really good looping and climbing ability make the Lift my ideal, and honestly, my dream kite.
What were some of the challenges of the Lift?
The main challenge was getting a kite that can simultaneously provide you with a lot of boost and hangtime combined with excellent looping performance. After a lot of chassis and bridle work, combined with an excellent team, it turned out better than I could have imagined!
Is this kite for advanced riders only?
The Lift is easier to use than expected. This kite is amazing for intermediate to professionals!
What do you have planned for the year?
My main goal for this year is to keep my riding level up in order to compete at all the major events, such as the GKA world tour, RedBull Megaloop Challenge, RedBull King of the Air and a few other competitions in between. Getting into these events is extremely hard as they choose such a small selection of the best riders in the world and there are so many talents in this scene. Other than that I am continuously working on R&D with Airush and producing content.
If you could create your own world where you had perfect conditions, what does that world look like?
Offshore kickers like Tarifa, strong winds like Cape Town, and warm water like Brazil. Put those three elements together and I can guarantee you that every other big air rider in the world will give everything to kite that location. Oh, and the beach must be 10km long so that every rider has their own space.
All media in this article captured by Mitchell Doylle Markgraaff.