In issue 01 of FREEDOM magazine we asked Brandon Scheid to share with us some of his all time favourite travel spots and pics.
Here’s the interview plus a few more killer shots. Awesome pics by Vincent Bergeron!
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MEET BRANDON SCHEID
Pics Vincent Bergeron
Interviewed by Ollie J
Is kitesurfing a full-time gig for you?
Yes, between all the travel, marketing, board development, helping with kite R&D, and the foil project we’ve been working on, it’s been a very busy summer. We only have a small team and there’s a lot to accomplish, but that means I get my hands into a lot of different things which keeps it fresh and really fun. Plus, I get to ride a lot which, of course, is the best thing ever.
That’s a pretty nice job you have when you step back and look at!
Yeah, it’s cool. It’s not something you’d want to do forever, but while you can it’s really fun. It allows you to travel and do a lot of neat, unique things and I’m stoked I get to help develop products and see the finished design.
How did you get a job like that?
Well it was a long road! I flew kites for years then managed to get a job at Real Kiteboarding where I started riding a lot and got heavily influenced by those guys who rip. I managed to weasel my way into the Triple S one year by randomly being in Hatteras and knowing some of the crew which was a shoe-in. I did pretty well that year and the following years and it kind of took off from there.
Looking at your photos, you’ve been to some pretty amazing places. Where is the best or nicest place you’ve been?
I was pretty awestruck at Cape Town. Just the raw, super old-world natural beauty – everything was rugged and the water was crystal blue. Massive cliffs and mountains. I was just blown away by how beautiful that landscape was.
Union Island is also pretty incredible. It’s just a volcanic island in the middle of the ocean, razor-sharp shallow reef, but absolutely insane watercolour. Blue-water paradise to sum it up.
I must say your photos are pretty rad – Vincent takes a mean photo hey?
Yeah totally. His composition is really nice and he has a knack of getting perfect focus and super super sharp shots. When we work together he’s very vocal and tells you where to be and gets stoked when you get stoked… Which makes you more stoked and ride even harder! He walks around setting up various different angles and you don’t even realise he’s getting much. You might think, ‘ahhh, maybe we got a shot or two,’ but when you review a day’s shooting, it’s ridiculous – he just seems to nail it! That’s why I like to work with him – he is super stellar!
Location: Union Island Desc: Sometimes if you look hard enough you can find the diamond in the ruff. Sensi and I searched all around the island to find this amazing flatwater spot. The key here is the bottom, most of Union is surrounded by razor sharp, shallow reef. We were able to find a spot that had a nice sandy bottom, perfect for working on some new tricks. After a long morning session, Sensi was taking a rest and I decided to show her how its done.
Location: Union Island Desc: After finishing one of the most amazing downwinders I’ve ever done, Alex Fox and I were astounded to find an old catamaran hull positioned perfectly across the wind. We spent the next hour or so getting lines, slides, stalls, and grabs off of the quarter-pipe like side of the wreckage. Getting up and out the top with a perfect melan grab.
Location: Taiba, Brazil Desc: Making rails is pretty hard stuff, even harder when you’re in the middle of nowhere in Brazil. Luckily with the ingenuity of the crew (Eric R, Tobias H, Craig C, Sam M), we were able to make a wonderful tube rail for our private brazil park. Making the most of the sunset sessions.
Location: Mayreau Island, Grenadines Desc: After taking a short boat ride from Union, we arrived at the island paradise of Mayreau. Butter flat water on one side, waist high kickers on the other. Luckily there were not very many boats moored in the bay and we were able to take full advantage of the jello blue caribbean waters.
Location: Union Island Desc: Finding great kickers on Union can be a bit of a challenge; the tease is that the best ones are right in front of the launch and totally off limits. The kickers break on the reef surrounding the only airstrip on the island, making the whole area off limits. We woke up super early one morning to beat the airport workers to their shifts, allowing us a small window to poach the area. Sometimes breaking rules is the only way.
Location: Taiba, Brazil Desc: We started this shoot with the idea of getting a really big kite on super short lines (12m on 9m lines). I had no intention of doing any kiteloops, however as the wind started to pick up I began to give in to the shouts from the beach. I was really stoked to see the shots, however my back was not….. 🙂