LEVI SIVER - HO’OKIPA STATE OF MIND
LEVI SIVER
He is, without doubt, one of the most talented wave sailors on the planet, especially riding at his home break - Ho’okipa Beach Park, on Maui. But, until last November, Levi Siver had failed to shine in his own backyard on the all-important competition platform.
Instead, his performances have been disappointing compared to his amazing free-sailing antics. Questions had to be asked. Was Levi choking when it came to the crunch? Was he able to handle the pressure – and would he ever be crowned King of Ho’okipa and join the likes of Jason Polakow, Francisco Goya and Josh Angulo with that prized kudos of being an Aloha Classic winner?
Words & Photos JOHN CARTER
(This feature originally appeared in the April 2014 issue of Windsurf Magazine. To read more features like this first, Print and Digital subscriptions are available. Prices include delivery globally for 10 x issues a year!)
With a seven-year gap between the last major event on Maui to heal the wounds of his last defeat, we sent John Carter up to visit Levi on the eve of the 2013 Australia Aloha Classic, to check out his state of mind.
Two weeks later, Siver had won the event hands down in front of the best in the world and was still riding high on an emotional rollercoaster of celebration, as well as relief. To mark the occasion, and gain some contrast Carter was immediately dispatched for a second inquisition …
BROAD HORIZONS
JC: How do you feel when people label you a purely Ho’okipa sailor?
LS: I don’t like that branding of just being a Ho’okipa sailor because my real passion is to travel. I like going places where no one has ever windsurfed and have ‘the search’. I like to be able to challenge myself in all kinds of conditions.
I also sail Ho’okipa as it’s my home break and a lot of my sailing boils down to developing good product for my sponsors. It’s also important to be out there on the great days and be an ambassador for the brands. I like to push hard on the water for the companies that I ride for.
JC: So you quit the tour a few years back, what did your sponsors require from you now that you were a free agent?
LS: The tour was never really my thing to begin with. I never really had a passion for those very specific kinds of conditions, like Gran Canaria and Sylt. That was never really something I was interested in.
If it’d been a more rounded tour and I really dedicated myself to it, then maybe my sponsors would be interested, but the last few years it’s been a very one dimensional tour.
[My sponsors] really don’t care about that. They want me to travel and work on movie projects, score amazing photos and work on my gear. That, for me, is the freedom part of windsurfing.
I still like to compete but I really like to do that when it’s the wave riding side of windsurfing. Unless you’re prepared to move to Gran Canaria and train for months and months, you’re not going to come close to beating someone like Koester. I don’t think I can justify that.
LEVI ON BOARDS
JC: I see you are riding thrusters now, how do you like them?
LS: It’s been an evolution of wave boards. It’s kind of a circle because we have gone back to thrusters and twinzers. Both these concepts were invented a long time ago, but I don’t think the shapes were developed quite right for them to function at the level they are now.
Part of the progression has been to get the boards to work good in any configuration. For a long time we were so locked into single fins, where we were so narrow minded on ‘this is how a board has to be’.
Now we’ve opened up the door, we have a huge, wide range of different board set ups that actually work. Some of the best guys in the world don’t like thrusters. Some of them don’t like quads. Robby Naish would never ride one. It’s kind of cool.
Right now there are a few different ways to go. They all look a little different on the water, but everybody makes it work. For me there’s a sense of relief, because I’ve finally got back to the single fin aspect of my sailing. I feel that was always my strength.
Having a single fin in the board. I felt like when I was on quads and twinzers they took a little bit of the power out of my sailing. I felt like they were putting training wheels on me.
I like to really attack the lip. I want to go faster and deeper into the bottom turn. I like wall-to-wall windsurfing. That’s where it’s at for me. That’s what gets me excited.
I feel with the thruster, it’s so radical to ride because it gives me the whole package. I learned to wave sail on a single fin, but now I have those two side fins it feels like the progression of everything we’ve been working towards is complete.
I like having the single fin back in the board. There is a constant drive and directness to the feeling when you turn. I think it throws more spray too.
I looked at some photos of me on a quad and the top turn was committed all the way round but it kind of threw a dispersed spray. If you look at a thruster shot there is a thick band of water that fly’s through the air.
When I saw those new shots of me I was like ‘Wow! I think we’re going to sell some boards!’. I’ve been pushing Jason Polakow to get back on the thruster.
His sailing was pushed hard on the single fin and he always liked that direct, full-speed, deep bottom turn. I really feel like the thruster would complement his sailing.
Don’t get me wrong, he sails well on a quad, but I think just a bit of that sparkle and power is missing since the days he was on a single fin.
Not everyone likes the thruster. It’s taking a while for people to come back around. You have to have the fins and the shape right.
It’s amazing how the popularity of the thruster is growing, in the last year, it seems like. I see them everywhere now. Quads were all the rage a few years ago.
Guys would have them just for show. Like, put them on top of the roof of their car and say ‘Its ok I got a quad, I’m cool!’ (laughs).
With the quads I felt like I was always messing around with fins. The thruster ticks all the boxes for me. I feel like I’m on a single fin again – and with the two side fins I feel the board grips the water a little more on the top turns.
When I got back on them I was like ‘Oh man, there it is!’ Everything clicked! I’m happy with what I’m riding right now. Until next year I guess, when someone comes up with something else (laughs).
Who knows, the best thing is to have an open mind? When we go sailing, we’re not out there training for contests. We’re out there trying to develop the most radical, fun, riding equipment we can.
That’s really what I work for. My personal boards translate to the production boards. Keith and I are out there testing shapes all day every day. It’s a never-ending cycle. You can’t even put a price tag on our boards now.
There’s so much time and energy put into every detail. The production Pyramid is a hot ticket right now. I rode the board in some contests and some recent filming sessions and some of the stuff I did on that board was almost better than my customs.
I think the production boards are getting dangerously close these days to the customs. I’m constantly riding customs, that’s the way we work. The production board is a mould, you pay the mould for a year and that’s it.
In the meantime we can pop boards out in two weeks or quicker if we want to. There comes a time when I tell Keith that I just want to ride something and not think about gear.
Sailing something different though can be cool, just for a change. It doesn’t always have to be better. After so many years windsurfing for sure you can get bored, so it’s nice to mix it up, it keeps things exciting.
I’m still tempted to just go out and ride a singlefin once in a while. I could probably go out and ride one in the Aloha and do ok on it.
Matt and Kevin Pritchard both ride them, its funny. I mean your top turns aren’t going to be as ‘hooky’, but you are going to keep moving around and have a lot of projection on aerials.
JC: How do you think they are going to judge at the Aloha?
LS: It seems like they judge tricks and airs pretty high anyways. It seems like every time a rider does a 360 or goiter, there’s a washout effect.
There’s a cool part of doing contests for wave sailing and also a sad part about them. It’s rad everybody coming together to push each other, but in some ways, it’s sad to see how they have to judge it on such a flat rate.
There are so many different approaches to wave riding it’s a hard thing to judge. At the end of the day it comes down to preference of what the judges like.
It’s cool, but at the same time can be really hard. When you nail a trick like a goiter or a ‘3’ you’ll be able to hear ‘The Hill’ get excited because a guy did a flip back into the wave.
A tourist can know that. In reality, if you do a full rail turn, it’s actually harder to do that well than a trick. I could sail Ho’okipa for an hour do a few 360s and a few goiters, but I might only have one turn that I’m really satisfied with because it’s that difficult to do.
It just shows the technicality is really in the turns, but they’re not so rewarded because they don’t have the wow factor of the tricks.
The old dogs are going to have to go out there and start throwing themselves around. I like to mix it up anyways. If it turns into that, I’ll just go out there and do tricks, but I feel we shouldn’t lose our surfing direction.
Windsurfing is an extension of surfing. That’s the fun part, riding the wave!
ANTICIPATION
JC: How is the buzz leading up to the Aloha Classic?
LS: There are so many good guys on Maui for the Aloha Classic. We have all the local sailors, then a handful of PWA guys who sail here so much they are pretty much locals too.
The Aloha is a converging of the AWT and the PWA so it should be interesting. It’s just radical. Windsurfing is just so fun to watch. Everybody’s so much more tuned into what they ride now, they’re getting better boards from their shapers and most guys are looking a lot better on the wave.
I would not say that there are tonnes of good guys who could win a contest in Maui, but there’s a solid group of sailors that could be on the podium. Much more than any time in the past.
It almost takes the pressure off, because you kind of have to throw caution to the wind and just go out and sail. It’s kind of cool. Back in the day, the group of guys that could lock it down was a lot tighter.
This way, the whole event Turns into a show. It’ll be more of an exhibition of watching amazing head to heads and incredible windsurfing.
In the AWT final I was looking around and watching the guys do so many surf-oriented and influenced moves. I was seeing windsurfing right in front of me, how I visualized it some years back when I imagined it like a video game effect.
Wave sailing looks better now where it’s progressed more. It’s more fun to look at because the style is so much better. It makes you just want to get out there and windsurf.
From what I gather, the Aloha has pulled people from all Maui just to come down and make a point just to watch us sail. I think they’ll find it really exciting to watch.
To watch four guys on the water at Ho’okipa will be amazing. It’ll be great for the sport. A lot of people that live on Maui don’t even know the level of windsurfing until they come down to Ho’okipa.
So the Aloha will be good for the community as well as the sport overall. There are so many interesting battles lining up. There are so many good guys. I just have to go and have fun this time.
If I’m not having fun, then competitions can turn into a miserable experience. I hate it if you lose, they say the other guy is better than you.
It’s just a 15-minute heat. Sometimes it’s hard to get the right waves. If you’re not really enjoying yourself it can be a real punishing experience.
I’ve totally flipped the coin on this one. I’m just going to go and have fun! Then, win or lose, I’m going to enjoy it. I’m under no pressure to win. The sponsors that I have are very supportive and I don’t have to prove anything.
I’ve thrown myself over 20-foot lips enough times. I’d really love to get into the final and shine. Win or lose, just allow my sailing to click in a Maui final.
I felt like it was all coming together in the AWT, so let’s hope it continues for the Aloha. I’m a bit bigger, so it’ll help me if the waves are a decent size. Some of the guys on tour are so small they can flick around on nothing.
A QUESTION OF STYLE
JC: Who do you like to watch riding at Ho’okipa?
LS: I really like the Quatro guys. This is hard to say because I like the styles of so many guys. Brawzinho, I think he is the best windsurfer in the world right now.
I think he’s taken the whole all-round thing to another level. It took that event win in Denmark for people to suddenly see how good he really is.
His sailing is flowing right now. I was hanging out with ‘Braw’ before the Denmark event. Now he’s got that monkey off his back.
He was losing a sense of enjoyment because he really felt he needed to prove himself. Competition can start to resemble this ‘don’t fail’ mantra.
Rather than thrive and enjoy the sailing, you end up screwing yourself up with the pressure. Brawzinho took a new approach and he just did so good.
That’s what he needed to do, enjoy it and take the pressure off himself. He was super regimented for so long. Now he’s just having fun.
Camille Juban also really impresses me at Hookipa. His gear is so small and he’s so light he can do the tightest turns on any part of the wave.
That’s pretty interesting. I also like Bernd for his flow on the wave and his air takas.
When Keith gets that full, arcy up-and-under bottom turn – he has another degree off the bottom that everybody else is missing – he gets all the way through, comes straight up and then completely hooks it around off-the-top – almost like a figure eight.
I like that because it’s so hard to do.
FUTURE
JC: So where do you see yourself in ten years time?
LS: If I’m here alive and healthy, then I’ll be happy. That’s easy for me. I take what I’ve done so far with windsurfing as a gift and I’m forever grateful for being able to travel the world and see the things I’ve seen.
Also the friends I’ve gained. My whole life I’ve been able to go windsurf around the world and it’s been so awesome. I was talking to Kevin Pritchard the other day and he was just shaking his head.
He’s so grateful for what windsurfing has given him. He did the competition thing and now he’s on a whole new chapter. He’s now into my world with the filming and the travel, I can just tell we’ve had the same experiences in our lives.
Now we are on ‘Act 2’. Just being on Maui and living here, its amazing. Francisco Goya is my boss. How did that happen? What did I do in live to work for an amazing guy like that! He’s so amazing.
I feel like he’s brought the best out of us. It’s not so much about winning or success and the definition of it. It’s about showing up and giving your best.
He handpicked his team. He has a team of super talented riders. I feel like the way he manages us – and his vision for the brand and his riders – has sort of healed us from some of the more challenging chapters of our lives.
With some other companies it was easy to develop those insecurities where you were on year-to-year contracts. When you have a boss that truly supports you – win or lose – and is there to support you, then that really does bring the best out of you.
It’s a long-term vision and I think it’s the true token of success. You work harder because you want to. It’s such a breath of fresh air.
I think I’m transitioning into a place where I’m really happy for my friends if they do well and I am forever grateful for being able to do this. Right now I’m happy and content. That’s a good feeling to have!
PART 2 (After the Aloha Classic)
RELIEF
JC: A lot has happened in the last two weeks, talk me through it?
LS: We had an incredible event with really ideal conditions. There was so much talent, plenty of people watching and it was a spectacular comp.
I think it was one of the better wave contests we’ve had in a long time. The two tours met up, the rankings were mixed up and we saw some fresh faces up there in the PWA event.
All the feedback seems really positive. My best heats were the quarters and the semis. I seemed to focus better when the waves were a bit bigger. They give you a better platform to work with.
When it was a little smaller, the tricks come into play more. The first day I was just zoning in. I got into the perfect state of mind. I was really enjoying the windsurfing part more than anything.
I had some tactics, but they weren’t strangling my sailing style. In the past I’ve been too stressed and not enjoyed sailing in competitions.
On the first day, in the evening, it was mast high, four guys out and everybody was just fist-pumping each other. All the riders were happy and screaming at each other from the channel. It didn’t seem like anyone was ice cold out there.
We were all stoked to be sailing Ho’okipa with only four guys out – and it was firing! I knew the final was a tight heat, because I made a mistake on the wave I could have closed the door on the rest with otherwise.
I had a couple of good ones before that and knew that it was close. I had to pull a trick out at the end, that’s what I do when my game isn’t working, I pull the trick card, a 360 – or whatever I’ve got to do.
I still think the tricks are secondary and the wave riding should come first.
MONKEY OFF THE BACK!
JC: So it seems your state of mind was finally in the right place?
LS: I wasn’t so focused to win the contest this time round. I just felt I wanted to be satisfied with my sailing. That allowed me to take the heat off and stay cool during the whole event.
After the first day I came home and thought to myself, if I was freesailing today, I would’ve been satisfied with my performance.
That made me happiest. After I’d won we all went up to Brawzinho’s for a party. It was a really nice night, it was cool. A perfect Haiku barbeque with friends and family. Good vibes, just a solid group of people.
I think the event was rad because it brought all the talent to one place. To see so much different style and presentations of wave sailing, it tuned everybody in the windsurfing world to see where the state of the art wavesailing is right now.
At the end of the day it was amazing to see some of the best windsurfers in the world just ripping out there. The whole week was incredible.
Brawzinho also had so much pressure. I know he was trying to stay cool, but deep down in his heart he wanted to win the title so bad.
He worked so hard for it. He put the time in and he had already had a great year. The Aloha mixed up the rankings and left the door wide open for him to take the title.
He sailed amazing and he deserved it. All around, I told you, I think he is the best windsurfer in the world right now.
That was my first PWA win too. I was at a Da Kine barbeque, after the first elimination. Josh Angulo said to me ‘Just go out there. Get a couple of waves and get that monkey off your back. Get it done!’ I was laughing!
Thanks Levi
The post LEVI SIVER – HO’OKIPA STATE OF MIND appeared first on Windsurf Magazine.