KiteSista Meets: Sam Light

KiteSista Meets: Sam Light

Ever since the ‘Aesthics’ video in 2010 we have been huge fans of Sam Light. As he recently moved from long time sponsors Naish to Slingshot it seemed like to perfect time to interview him.

Ever since the ‘Aesthics‘ video in 2010 we have been huge fans of Sam Light. As he recently moved from long time sponsors Naish to Slingshot and scored a podium in the Red Bull King Of The Air 2013 it seemed like to perfect time to interview him.

KSm: Hi Sam, you grew up on the south coast of the UK, and were playing in the water a lot before you discovered kiting. What was it about kiting that got you hooked?

Sam: I’ve always been competitive and really into sport, all types of sport in fact from Rugby, and football to racing small sailing boats when I was young. As I got older I got more involved in action sports like Wakeboarding and Skateboarding, and when Kiteboarding came along at my local beach, it was the next sport to try! I was hooked straight away, but I had a few set backs that put me off, firstly it took me ages to save up for the equipment which was pretty bad back in the day. I got dragged up the beach when I was learning, but because kiting is harder those rewards you do get are extra special.

KSm: You have a very personal defined style of riding, is this something you have always tried hard to maintain, or something that just …happened.

Sam: I haven’t tried to create style or maintain it, I quite simply just don’t do a trick if it feels wrong or forced. I like taking little influences that look good from other riders, sports, tricks and grabs and learn how to put it into my own tricks.

Sam Light slider in custom Liquid Force UK boots

KSm: You have been riding in boots for longer than any other rider we can think of (although writing this we are only really think about you) …what made you decide to commit to only boots?

Sam: I did a bit of Wakeboarding before I kited, then obviously I learnt to kite in straps. I tried bindings a few times but never committed full time, because when you use them once in a blue moon you have to take a step back before you can move forward again as they are less forgiving. People always use to think bindings were for when the conditions were perfect, but in fact I think bindings help more when the conditions aren’t so perfect as you have much more control, you can land harder and faster. 5 years ago I was spending the winter in Australia when I was working out how I could take my riding to the next level, it was always hard landings and not having enough control that would frustrate me in straps so I thought lets fully commit to bindings and give them some time, and now here we are today and everybody wants a set.

KSm: You have a very very sexy pair of Liquid Force boots that we know have a special story behind then, …can tell our readers a little bit more about this?

Sam: That was quite simply Gary the team manager from Liquid force saying, hey guys we should make a UK crew boot. James sent through a few designs then they turned up on my doorstep! I think it’s a really cool project and great that Liquid force decided to make it happen! We really need more cool projects like this!

KSm: You have been riding and filming with the UK crew of Aaron Hadlow, Tom Court, and James Boulding culminating in The Free Ride Project film you released this year …was it a natural choice to ‘buy british’?

Sam: Quite often you end up traveling with fellow countrymen just because its easy, your own the same schedule, like the same food, TV an humor. We were always filming and you can get a lot more productive if you combine forces, we could all bring different equipment, personalities and riding to the table. The other great thing is that everyone’s a winner when you make a video together, all the brands networking together to make a bigger better sport.

KSm: Do you currently have a girlfriend?, …and either way, what do you look for in your ladies?

Sam: I do actually have a girlfriend right now, me and boys (FRP crew) were emailing the other day talking about future endeavors and we realized we all have girlfriends at the moment, we were all single not so long ago.. it must be the attention from the movie! d;) I’m partial to all the different flavors of the world, you are all beautiful in your own special ways.

KSm: Filming has been a huge part of your profile in the last few years as our readers will see from the wealth of videos we post in this article, …but for you, why did you choose this path over the competition circuit?

Sam: As a rider unless you’re in the top 3 fighting for the world title, the PKRA doesn’t do much for you. There hasn’t been a great deal of exposure in previous years from the PKRA so from a brands perspective it doesn’t add up spending lots of money sending your riders to them, so my sponsors were not pushing for me to compete. I also didn’t like the old judging format, it was too much about quantity not quality, there was a lot of spinning to win and as you guys know I don’t like to do something if it doesn’t feel right. As a competitive person I still had the drive to compete and luckily there has been competitions other than the PKRA that do attract much more media attention. Filming videos is also a lot of fun! Competitions generally involve being boring and training! But last year with the new format I attended two PKRA events and got a 5th place in Venezuela, so there’s a chance you might see me at a few more this year as I believe the new judging criteria is much better!

Sam Light, Red Bull King Of The Air 2013

KSm: In your films you seem to be smiling a lot (or sleeping ;) ) …are you generally a tired yet happy man?

Sam: Haha well Im a busy man! And what is there not to be happy about? Life is good… and nobody likes watching a grump.

KSm: Where can we expect to see you turning up in the next couple of months?

Sam: I might attend a few PKRA’s. The Triple S. Ill be in Hood River in the summer some time. Maybe Dom Rep filming some FRP2. Who knows, we as Kiteboarders run on a last minute type of schedule.

KSm: Do you have anything else coming up soon that we should look out for?

Sam: Yes I do! I just literally got back from Cape Town where I was filming for two weeks with Andi Jensen, who is one of if not ‘THE’ best videographer in the biz! He’s got a super doper camera so look out for some new videos coming out soon!

KSm: You have just announced that you have moved from Naish to Slingshot. This is big news, can you tell us a little bit more about the reasons behind this change?

Sam: Firstly I would like to say thanks a lot to Naish, they are a great brand and always supported me really well! I wouldn’t be in where I am today without them. Sometimes is good to start a fresh new chapter, and with me doing more Wakeboarding, and hitting features Slingshot and myself have more of a ‘Wakestyle’ vision for the future of our sport and the opportunity to work with a new set of people and ideas is amazing. I have signed for 3 years with Slingshot, which includes developing my own ‘Pro Model’ board, which is something I have always dreamed of! So look out for that!

Sam Light Slingshot

KSm: Any final words for the Sistas out there?

Sam: Thanks everyone for the support and help over the years, BIG UP!!



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