Last year in Leucate, during the Mondial du Vent, we met Maja and Alex, two kiters who were traveling all around the world in search of the perfect spot to open their own kite school. We had a great talk about life and about the kitesurfing way of life, and it was great to hear from them again a few months back, learning that they were launching their own project, called « Kite Escape ».
This project, based on Kite Camps and on a qualified coaching, is really cool and we thought it would be interesting to share it with you guys, as it could definitely become your next trip!
Hi Maja! Can you introduce yourself briefly? Tell us who you are, what you do, where you come from?
We are both passionate travelers (nb : « we » = Maja and her boyfriend Alex), we met in Indonesia about 7 years back on a boat trip while we were both escaping from our “previous” lives as an engineer and an anthropologist in the search of new challenges.
After leaping into the world of kiting, we started working together as kite instructors and became a real team :). We now spend the winters in the Catalan Pyrenees and the rest of the year we follow the wind, exploring different spots around the world and teaching this great sport which is kitesurfing.
You recently launched Kite Escape, which offers kite camps all around the world. Can you explain to us your concept?
Kite Escape is a project aiming at creating more connections between kiters, offering a great way to continue to learn more, and was created for everyone who likes to travel, progress and have fun.
We organize the kite camps only in spots we think that offer great conditions. The goal of our “kite escapes” is you making the most of your time in a sense of kite progression, while having a great holiday experience surrounded by people who share your passion in the most perfect environment with the support of trained professionals.
We stay with you, monitoring and coaching you, giving feedback and personalized debriefs. Whether you join to polish your stance, improve your jumps or learn un-hooked tricks, the presence of an experienced coach pushing you and sharing knowledge, will help you improve faster than expected.
Besides personalized coaching and video debriefs of your practice, we include learning about meteorology, tides and rips, tuning and maintenance tips, safety workshops, specific warm up exercises and stretching for kiters.
Basically, we would like everyone to have a really complete kiting experience. Our objective in a week of coaching is to transform you into a self-assured knowledgeable rider, who is able to go anywhere and kite safely among the crowd. Showing off new tricks learned :).
Why did you decide to create this project?
Learning and teaching in such kite camps is in our opinion still not thoroughly established in the kiting community as a way to progress. Our goal is to help change that by offering high quality service and make training camps become a more demanded trend.
The idea to try and push coaching more comes from watching riders experiencing different issues:
– Seeing people a bit lost in certain situations, with not as much knowledge we would like all kiters to possess, for safety reasons mainly, and general comfort of everyone on the water and beach.
– While trying to learn new tricks, crashing over and over, and getting in trouble, whilst with some tips we might reach the goals in a few attempts (this is speaking from experience as well:).
– And above all, it is always fantastic to be able to escape our busy lives and spend an intensive sports week in a group of friends in a great environment, progressing and sharing the experience.
Who is in the Team?
The two main elements of the team are the two of us, Alex and Maja, and on occasions we have great people joining in. We’re opening the escapes season with a clinic in Tarifa with the lovely and fully powered Rita Arnaus, and in Dakhla we are joining forces with our skilled Polish friends, Janek and Kasia.
Who can come and join you and how do we have to do to book a kite camp with you?
Basically anyone who wants to have fun and progress on their holidays, weather you are a lone traveler or you seek some guidance and inspiration to take your riding skills to the next level. We customize the coaching depending on an individual’s needs, and can cover basics to technically challenging tricks.
All you need to do to book a kite camp with us is visit our webpage www.kiteescape.com and fill out the booking form, send us an e-mail or give us a call.
Why did you choose Dakhla? Lagoinha? and The Red Sea as your main destinations?
In short because of the spots’ reliable wind and flat waters. We only go to places where good conditions are usual and expected. And where you can make the most of your time.
For more info, you can check their different Escape KiteCamps :
– in Dakhla, in May (see Dakhla Escape KiteCamp)
– in The Red Sea, in June and September (see Red Sea Escape Kitecamp)
– in Brazil, in October (see Brazil Escape Kitecamp)
Check also their website and contact them!
