We took the chance to interview Bas Koole after seeing him doing the Nescafe advertisement here in Greece.
After having the first contact, we asked permission for the interview and we got a warm reply by Bas letting us know he was available.
Since it was summertime for us here in Greece we had to postpone this interview for almost a month being on a holiday ourselves.
Now, is time to publish Bas Koole interview while he is currently based at Cumbuco, Brazil.(I m sure many of us are a bit jealous of him right now)

Name: Bas Koole
D.O.B.: 09-05-1986
Childhood Hometowns: Emmeloord, The Netherlands
Current Residence: Emmeloord, The Netherlands
Height: 187 cm
Weight: 84 kg
Hair: Blond, but original dark.
Eyes: Blue
Nicknames: Bassie Handlepassie

Hello Bas and thank you for giving us the chance to know you better.
Many beginners are following our website so questions will be targeted towards them.

· How do you pronounce your last name?

That is easy just “Cool” hahaha! You pronounce it like this; Ko-Le.

· When was the first contact with kiteboarding? Is there any story behind this?

Before kiteboarding I did some other sports, platform diving, inline skating and windsurfing, never did soccer or other team sports. Once I was windsurfing and a kiteboarder jumped over me, from that moment I was stoked! Saved money for a lesson after the course I was still stoked, sold my winsurf equipement and bought a kite set. That’s how it all started!

· If you had to name one athlete that you have used as a role model or mentor over the years, who would that person be?

Just before I started kiteboarding I was always watching kiteboarding video’s, dvd’s and movies on the internet. One of the main guys in the movie was Martin Vari (video ). His style and the technical tricks impressed me a lot, so he has been sort of a role model for me.

· What are you flying right now and who are you sponsored by?

At the moment I’m using the Best Waroo08 , a stable bow kite that you can use perfect for wakestyle and high jumps. I’m riding my kites with the C-bar , with a big chickenloop for easy unhooking.

The boards that I ride are coming from New-Zealand, from the company Underground Kiteboards . I use there freestyle line FLX . The sizes that fits me the most is 135x41, fast planning, easy for landing and stable on the water. In the waves I use the Underground Freewave 5’8” .

As most of the kiteboarders know it isn’t only about the moves on the water, the looks are also very important! I’m using Mystic gear ; wetsuits, harnesses and boardbags, it is strong and it has the looks!

· Bow kites, C shape kites and Hybrids. What’s your take on this.

First of all it is very important that you ride what “you” like, don’t listen to much to other people, but test all the kites that you can test! It’s hard to tell what is better Bow/Hybrids or C shape kites, some type of kite just fits better with a person. I’m using a bow kite at the moment, I chose this kite because the kite is very stable and the wind range is really big. Because I don’t really need the depower of a bow kite I use a c-bar with a big chickenloop, just a really simple bar.

A lot of young riders prefer the C shape kites, because they think it is better for freestyle. It is true that most of the C shape kites have a bigger dead moment where you can pass the bar easier. If you use a bow kite you can also do all kinds of handle passes, only your timing needs to be a little bit more precise. My opinion about people who are screaming that it’s impossible to do wakestyle with bow kites is that they just need to practice harder and really learn to time the move.

· Biggest accomplishment in kiting

I think my biggest accomplishment in kiteboarding is my life now. Traveling and kiteboarding on nice locations, be home for a while and leave again to a nice destination. What do you want more!

· What is you fav. music style?

Club & Electro, but 50 Cent can be nice too.

· What ride style do you prefer?

Technical Wakestyle. But off course in high wind kiteloops and board offs!

· What has been your scariest moment in kiting so far?

I had two pretty scary moments, lucky enough not happened in the end. When I was for the first time in Cape Town, South Africa, I was kiting on Big Bay. When I was making my tack upwind back to the beach between me and the beach a big shark came out of the water with his back and his vin. He was swimming into the wind so I made a downwind speed track back to the beach!

My second scary moment was on Urk, The Netherlands. I was kiting with a friend of mine, the wind was cross off shore and suddenly there was a big rainstorm. We couldn’t go back to the beach, because there was nobody to catch our kites. So we had to stay on the water. We where both with 9 meters, every gust that came lifted us up out of the water. We needed to put or kites in the water to keep some control, after half an hour the rainstorm was over and the wind dropped again. I realized that we where pretty lucky that it wasn’t a thunderstorm.

· What do you do off the water to help you on the water?

I’m doing some exercises in the gym. I’m not a big fan of running in the gym, it is so boring to run when you are just looking at a wall. So I prefer to run outside on the street or in the park. It is important to stay in shape when there s no wind for a long time. Most of the time when there is no wind I go to the cable park.

· Memorable moments? (sessions-good or bad, places, friends, conditions)

Every trip brings their memorable moments. I didn’t really have bad sessions, off course there are the days with no wind. The days with no wind or gusty wind are good too, they remind me to the good days. Late night sessions are always good, nice sunset sessions.

· Where are you based now?

Cumbuco, Brazil until Christmas.

· What is your home kitespot?

Workum, The Netherlands

· Who would you like to thank or give props to?

I would like to thanks my first sponsor Miracle Design , they believed in me from the beginning and helped me to get a good level and to get other sponsors. Beside them my family and all the other people who supporting me.

· Do you think kiteboarding is open to all ages?

Kiteboarding is pretty much open to all ages. If your body is in normal shape, you can always take a lesson. Only for the young kids it’s sometimes a problem that they are to light. I think it’s super cool to see an old person having fun on the water, with a board and a kite.

· It’s often discussed that kiteboarding still hasn’t have any widely accepted standards in kiteboarding instruction. Have you ever dealed with it? Do you think that’s true and if so is there any reason for this happening?

Well the IKO teaching program is a good standard and is getting better and better every year. But the sport needs to get more professional, better organized. Hopefully it will be an Olympic Sport in the future. Back to the instructing part, I think it’s really important that the lessons are safe. So that’s why the best is to take lessons by an IKO certified school.

· What are the best kitespots you ever been?

The best spot is off course Workum , it’s my homespot and all my friends are riding here together. It’s flat, just a little bit choppy, and shallow. If you go further out it’s getting deeper and we have some small kickers.

I also love Cumbuco , you can ride on the sea and in the lagoons, it’s just perfect.

Another place that I like as well is Nissakia , Athens. I have been there for Best last year, first day the wind was not so good, but the next days it was perfect for 9m and 11m. The only thing that I didn’t really liked where the sea urges. The scenery is nice, good food in the beach club and nice people! And the nightlife is great, I went to Club Mercedes with the local riders and it was really cool!

· Do you enjoy kitespots well organized or the ones that are away from the public?

It’s nice to arrive at a kitespot that has a kite club and some rules on the beach, specially when it’s a really crowded beach. When there are a lot of beginners it’s good if there is a rescue boot. But I prefer to ride on a spot just with my friends, doesn’t matter if it’s hard to get in and out the water. Just my friends and my on the water that is perfect!

· How was PKRA Germany for you?

The PKRA Germany was good. Had some good heats, I ended on a 17^th place. Needed to qualify first, cause it was my first PKRA event of the year. In the beginning of the year I injured myself, bruced my ribs pretty bad. So first comp of the year, wind was pretty good and the event site was again very nice. Was good to see everybody again and to see their level.

· Tell us about yourself, what have you been up to for the upcoming season?

I juts arrived in Brazil, my best friend Randy Hereman was here already. Haven’t seen him in a long time so it’s cool to see him again, always good to train with him! I will be back home around Christmas, to be with my family and friends. The month January I need to finish some school projects, it’s also very cold in Holland so no kiting for me. In the beginning of February I fly to Cape Town and I will stay until the end of March. After South Africa I don’t really have any plans yet, I will be at home for a while and finish my school projects and make some tests.

· Do you feel that kiteboarding is going popular or its still an elites extreme sport?

Kiteboarding is getting more and more popular everyday and every year kite schools are getting a lot of new students. Also on the water it’s getting full, on a good day on my home spot you easily have 50 to 75 kiters.

· Except from kiteboarding what else do you like to do?

Beside kiteboarding I’m studying Sport marketing & Management in Amsterdam. The Johan Cruyff University has a special program for sport athletes, to study individual and on long distance. I’m really happy with that, I can travel and still study.

When there is no wind you can find me on the cable park in Groningen. Wakeboarding is a perfect no wind solution, good to train for example sliders and kickers.

· Final comments?

Hopefully I will visit Greece again in 2009 and I will let you know when I’m coming!

Kitespot.gr will like to thank Bas Koole for his time and wish him best of luck for his upcoming kite projects.

More pics of Bas Koole
More Video of Bas Koole

All photos were taken by Phillippe Turpin .