Alex Pastor was the 2013 Kitesurfing PKRA World Champion. He paved the way for many aspiring kiters to push their limits, work on handle passes, blind landings etc while avoiding hospital. So we were stoked to grab this Alex Pastor interview.
Back in 2013 when Alex won the PKRA tour he was unstoppable. Watching him, you’d think he practices in his sleep, as he does double S bends to blind for breakfast and goes bigger than most of us can dream about just to warm up.
These days he runs the Alex Pastor Kiteclub in Tarifa. So you can learn to kitesurf from the best!
Alex Pastor interview
This Alex Pastor interview was conducted whilst the wind was picking up but not quite strong enough for Alex to ride. to find out which places around the world he’s etched in his logbook and which does he still have to tick off his bucket list?
It was never going to be easy when he told us,”hmmm….well I’ve been to most of the best places in the world already”. Yup, thanks for rubbing that in Alex!
What’s your best locations in the world to Kitesurf?
Safety Bay, Perth, Australia “I like the winds they are steady, there is wind pretty much everyday. From January to march is when I come here, there is no other place in the world that gets good wind like here at this time of the year.”
Tarifa, Andalusia, Spain “Tariffa is home, we have all sorts of conditions there, you can get strong winds, light winds, flat water, a bit of chop, gusty winds, everything, so yeah it is really good for training and adapting to different conditions.”
Cumbuco, Ceara, Brazil “It is a lagoon near the sea, it is perfectly flat and in season it is also everyday 20 knots, so great for training, you go there and your guaranteed to kite.”
Even with all the tours and competitions, pro riders always have places they’ve yet to visit and sports they dream of….
What’s on your bucket list?
“Well, it has to be Kitesurfing in Los Rocos, Snowboarding in Austria and Surfing in Bali”
What is your ultimate kitesurfing expedition?
“I think getting a boat and going around New Caledonia doing everything: surfing, diving and kiteing would be great.
What’s the biggest challenge you found about being on the pro tour?
“We go to really tough conditions to compete, so I guess sometimes its hard to keep motivated. After competing for so many years, to really go 100% all the time and work harder when we are at spots that are very cold and gusty winds, its pretty tough. But we get to compensate at other times with kitesurfing at locations like Saftey Bay and Cumbuco, so the contrast is actually a very good thing”
Alex wanted to thank his sponsors Airush, Mini, Ion and Multipower for helping him to become the 2013 Kitesurfing PKRA World Champion.
This Alex Pastor interview was originally conducted in January 2014. It has been updated and republished as we feel his points are as relevant now as they were three years ago.
If you’d like to book kite lessons in Tarifa then check out Alex Pastor Kite Club. Check out our discounts as there us 10% off for Adventure Sports Holidays club members: www.adventuresportsholidays.com/alex-pastor-kite-club-discount
