3x French Champ & World top 6 Kitesurfer

3x French Champ & World top 6 Kitesurfer

After a really bad crash he’s now more determined than ever to get back to the top

Name: Paul Serin
Sport: Kitesurfing
Nationality: French
Titles: 3x French Champion. World Top 6
All images © Paul Serin

We are proud to introduce our latest team member, the 3x French kite champion, Paul Serin.

We checked in to hear how he got in to the sport and his road back to recovery after blowing up his knee after a big crash during the 2016 season finals.

How did you get in to kitesurfing?

I was born in a small city in the south of France near the sea, and when I was young I was going every weekend to the beach with my dad to watch him windsurf.

But when kitesurf came out he went to the shop and bought his first kite. After the first session he was totally hooked to this new sport!

I had to wait to the age of 10 to learn as well, first with a really small trainer kite and a huge board, and slowly I started riding a real kite with a real board.

And now I’ve been kitesurfing for 13 years with the same love for the sport with a little difference, that today this is my job as well!

What is it like travelling the world competing on the world tour?

It has always been my dream to be on the road all the time, jumping from one plane to another, and crossing the world all year.

I have to admit it’s sometimes hard to be away from home and the people you love, but at the end in every country I find my little home that’s the beauty of travelling.

But I’m really grateful to live this life and I’ll never forget that.

On the world tour we’re like a big family, meeting each other on different spots all year, but once we’re on the water we give our best.

You recently had a pretty bad injury, tell us about your road back to recovery and what has kept you motivated to get back to being one of the world’s best kitesurfers?

Yes, last year in December during the final of the 2016 season, I blew up my knee on a hard landing.

At first I couldn’t believe it and I kept saying to myself “you’re fine, you’re fine”. I changed all my flights and went home as fast as I could. On the MRI we saw a broken cross ligament and some damage on the meniscus…

At this point I knew that I was really injured, I went straight into surgery and started the rehab right after.

It was the worst Christmas ever, but I looked back on my season and all those years I’ve been riding, and I start thinking what I’ve done wrong.

I was mostly laying down on my bed the first weeks so I watched a lot of videos from Lindsey Vonn the famous ski racer who’s been through a lot of knee injuries, this helped me a lot to keep the motivation.

And of course my family and friends were also behind me. It was my first injury, and I’m sure it will help me a lot in my career. I’ll be back stronger I’m 100% sure.

For all our followers that want to learn how to kite but haven’t really got hooked yet. What would be your advice in order to get in to the sport?

This is the most amazing sport I’ve tried, when you’re riding you feel the freedom and the adrenaline at the same time this is so unique.

You can cruise, jump, spin, everything in one session and without any limit. The ocean is your playground and there isn’t any limit.

What are your goals for the rest of the season?

It’s a bit different this year with my injury, but I’ll be back on the water full on beginning of June. Luckily I missed only one stop of the season, so I’ll be back on the second one in July.

I know that I won’t be ready at 100% but I’m doing my best every day to get one step closer at a time.

What’s your impression of our PRO DRYBAG 45L compared to other bags you have used?

When I’m training in Brazil or Sri lanka we’re always looking for the best freestyle spot, we have to take our camera gear on our back to bring back some film for the sponsor…

…and I was looking for a perfect bag to keep my camera gear and even my drone dry during those session, I guess I just found it.

I took my Pro Drybag on my SUP to shoot some drone footage the other day.

I wasn’t even worried if it would fall down in the water, it’s 100% waterproof 🙂

Follow Paul on his road back to recovery on his Instagram

and feel free to subscribe to our new YouTube channel- TEAM SUBTECH

where we will go hang out with Paul among other team riders in our upcoming episodes.

We are proud to have Paul on our team can’t wait to see him back on top of his game Länk