Emilie’s world: wind and water

by Emilie Marx
(Part 4/6)

Here I’ve found the balance I was hoping for.
I’m feeling extremely lucky, and I don’t take it for granted, I’m thanking the universe every day!
Now, regarding your question -why kitesurfing?
Because it’s what’s been allowing me to keep my sanity for these past four years!
It’s what’s been keeping me together.
When things were going wrong, that was still ok. Unconditionally. That was still mine…
The water would wash everything away, the wind would blow it all off.
One’s soul’s always clean after a session…

I guess that’s why we all do it: because that feeling is addictive…
Kitesurfing is just a way of life.
I find a very similar commitment in kiting and surfing, these are not sports, they aren’t only something you do, they become a part of you. They become a part of your identity. These moments we all live out there, they’re ours for ever. They stay with us.
They’re soothing moments, they’re better than any meditation; there is such a purifying aspect to them…
It’s you and the elements. At that very second, nothing else in the world exists. It’s intense and beautiful… Wind and water just become an extension of you, they somehow make you complete.
There is something so special about being at one with the elements, feeling like a part of a whole… It’s just magical…
What else can I say?

What does your family think of this?

They don’t lol.
I’ve been doing my own things ever since I left home over a decade ago. I’ve a lifestyle very different from theirs but they respect it and don’t judge it.
They saw me kitesurfing once, when I had just started, in Egypt.
They know it’s a big part of my life, but don’t get involve with it.
I would love to teach them but it’s just not their thing (and just as we recently said with a friend, it is a good thing that not everyone’s into kiting and surfing! ;)).
I think they look at it this way “if it makes her happy, then it’s fine”…
And as it does, well, they don’t really have anything to say about it…

What does this sport mean to you?

Happiness.
These past years kitesurfing have been the best of my life.
I can be having the shittiest day, once I kite, everything’s cleared!
When I’m out there, it’s me and the wind, and it sweeps everything else away. Kitesurfing allows one to live in the “now”. Its complete freedom, it’s achieving Leonardo’s dream to fly, it’s something larger than life.
I am still as passionate about it as when I started, and because it’s a sport with unlimited potential, there’s always a way to push it to the next step.
The people I now work with (and who don’t kite themselves - a first in four years!) sometimes ask me “but don’t you get fed up of always doing the same thing?”
I don’t; because it’s never the same thing, and I get the buzz each time.
This sport takes you higher than any drug, there is nothing that compares to it….
It truly is my life, I’m a kitesurfer before anything. It took over the horse rider and the artist in me. It really became a part of my identity and I couldn’t imagine my life without it.

Favourite tricks?

Well, that’s a tough one because I’m all crooked! lol. I’ve had to adjust my riding to my physical condition, I’ve got a bad knee (due to my first injury when learning the sport) and I was very sick during most of my teens - I had a major calcium deficiency for which I’m still paying the consequences now and have a very bad immune system. As a result, I’m highly breakable and recover a lot slower than most of people. To add to this, I truly am accident prone (I collect them… I’m one of those people who will get bitten by a bee when surfing three hundred metres off shore! (it’s true!)).

I’ve had to reign in my desire to push it and can’t always do all the things that I’d like. I’ve certainly spent more time on the water than anyone having kited for as long as I have, but only just started doing unhooked tricks.

I have what I call the “hesitation kills syndrome”…
There are a lot of moves I stay stuck on for months... but that’s also cause I am too busy enjoying myself, so much that I don’t even think of trying something new (maybe I am lazy !)…
My current challenge is landing an S-bend… Nothing special, but I’ve only been trying for 2 years - call me a slow learner…

I can’t say I have a favourite trick; it changes depending on the day, the mood, the conditions. My improvement curve seems to have become extremely slow, but the fun and the excitement are still there and that’s all that truly matters to me.
I think I’ve put more emphasis on aesthetical aspects than true performance - I like how kiting is a sport that truly becomes yours through style and technique, and I like (to at least try) to make it look beautiful.

Still, I’m a self confessed kook -I still think old school rocks…
From the very beginning, what attracted me the most in this sport were big airs, and it’s still one of the things I enjoy the most. There’s nothing like flying, and I will throw stupidly big jumps any chance I get.
Being light is a real advantage in this sport and I love riding overpowered (My nickname used to be ‘C-kite girl’, lol). I’ve been known to go out in pretty stupid conditions; I think my way to push it isn’t through tricks. I enjoy the physical performance, but to me, this is a lot more to do with the feeling.
I like intensity. I’ve put 3m2 up in 45 knots, and I don’t remember touching the water very much. But I just had to do it…

Read more about Emilie’s favorite tricks and see more photos