Another interview for our kitesurfing school in Tarifa! Today, Jerome Cloetens has answered our questions and shared a bit more about his experience with kiteboarding and his journey in this sport.
Jerome Cloetens
Age: 20
Hometown: Tarifa (family from Belgium)
Favorite Spot: Tarifa
Sponsors: North kiteboarding, ion action sports, wet watersports.
Good morning, Jerome. To get to know you better, tell us about your beginnings in the world of kiteboarding. What made you decide to pursue this sport?
My father! He practically forced me to learn kiteboarding when I was around 8 years old, and I hated it. I didn’t like having to carry so much gear and spending three hours on the beach with a small kite because my dad was afraid I would go flying away. One day, after about 20,000 attempts, I managed to stand up on the board and ride my first meters, and from there, everything changed. I couldn’t stop kiteboarding. It wasn’t my dad who forced me to go to the beach; I forced him. I was thinking about kiteboarding all day, talking about it, and doing it.
What do you believe have been your biggest achievements in your career as a professional athlete?
At 16, I won the Youth World Championship and the European Championship in the same year. At 17-18, I won the Spanish Senior Championship and finished 12th in the World Championship. When I was 19, I dedicated my time to traveling the world, and in that year, I visited places like Australia, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Indonesia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Germany, Greece, France, the Cayman Islands, the United States, Belgium, Morocco, Qatar, Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands, Turkey, Japan, South Africa, New Caledonia, and more.
So, for me, the most incredible year was the previous one.
We see on your social media that you never stop traveling and experiencing new adventures. How do you manage to balance studies, training, world championship events, and still find time for your adventures? Are you passing your exams?
Don’t even ask! I have so much going on in my head that I don’t even know how. I usually travel at night to save time, and as for studying, I just go on marathon study sessions at the library from 9 in the morning until late at night for two weeks, allowing me to travel for 1-2 months and attend classes irregularly.
You compete for North Kiteboarding, the same brand of kites and boards that our students start with in kiteboarding. What can you tell us about it?
Well, I also learned to kiteboard with North, and I’ve always liked the brand. That’s why I’ve never switched to another brand because, in my opinion, North’s philosophy and kites are the best.
We want to thank you for taking the time and effort to speak with us, but not without asking the obligatory question first. What advice would you give to someone considering learning to kiteboard?
At the beginning, it might be a bit boring, but once you get the hang of it, it’s one of the most incredible sensations in the world. In fact, I haven’t stopped since the day I learned, and I don’t plan to!
We wish you the best of luck and much success in the future. We hope to see you on the podium someday. A million thanks for your time.