Finn Flügel was born into his father’s world of water sports and showed his talent and passion for water sports at a very early age. His father Bernd is the owner of the F2 brand, which Björn Dunkerbeck used to compete with Robby Naish in windsurfing in the 1990s. However, Finn is not a windsurfer but mainly a kiter and advises his father on product development. The last time we met Finn was unfortunately only briefly at boot in Düsseldorf and now that the season is in full swing, we wanted to find out what he’s up to.
Aloha Finn, thank you so much for taking the time to write for Stand Up Magazine. Looking at your Instagram account, you seem to spend more time in the air than on the water. Kiting seems to be your absolute thing. Tell us about your passion for kiting.
Hi Mike, I hope things are well. As you probably know, I’ve been kiting since I was 6 years old. I’ve just always wanted to be in the water. I think that’s the first passion you have to have. It all started when I was very young and my parents, who are also water sports enthusiasts, dragged me everywhere with them.
– Too cute – little Finn with dad | 📸 F2 –
I can’t remember some things very clearly, but what I do remember is the day my dad arrived with a little blue trainer kite. I think I was three or four years old at the time. I loved that thing back then and took it everywhere with me. You probably know it too, that hissing sound when you fly, the people around us went crazy.
I flew it for hundreds of hours on all kinds of beaches, so in hindsight you could say that this was my kite base. I was also usually allowed to ride with my parents on the board, which I thought was super cool. But then the day came when I wanted to kite myself. So I nagged my parents until I got a Viron soft kite. I learned in Egypt at our own school with one of our kite instructors. As I already knew how to wakeboard, it really only took two days and I was riding. I will never forget the feeling.
Even today, 9 years later, nothing has changed in my passion for kiting and water sports. For me, there is no such thing as bad wind or bad weather, I just always go out and choose my equipment accordingly. I love the feeling of being on my own and just gliding over the water with the foil, or the adrenaline rush of jumping high or landing new freestyle tricks. I can’t imagine life without this feeling.
We know each other from boot Düsseldorf and, as you know, you can’t kitesurf there, but there are many other sports such as wing foiling or pump foiling that you are also very good at. How do you experience boot every year and how important is this event for you as an athlete?
I’ve always been part of the water pool at boot for the last three years. For me as an athlete, it’s just a great get-together, and you meet people in Germany in the winter that you’d otherwise rather meet at spots around the world. I can still remember the first time I went in there with my pump foil board, or where the team launched the wind machines.
It was incredible and at the same time a bit crazy to be winging in a hall. But I also think that boot is super important for the entire industry, and I can see it in my parents, who are always represented with their brand. It’s something of a family affair, so to speak. My parents present the new products on the booth, and I show them on the water right in front of it. How cool is that ?!?
Wingfoiling is very important on the boot at the moment and you are also very good at it. Do you also race the GWA?
Thank you very much! I really enjoy wingsurfing, but unfortunately I don’t have the time to do it at a similar, professional level as I do kitesurfing. Here I compete in the World Cup at the GKA in three disciplines – Freestyle – Big Air and Hydrofoil Big Air. I don’t know if you can imagine it, but for this alone I spend weeks a year on the road in terms of training. Egypt, Tarifa, Greece in summer and Brazil in winter … I just want to do it all as professionally as possible.
But when the opportunities arise, like at boot or at national events, then of course I’m always super happy to be there! But let me put it this way, I’m not a rider who wants to ride for the event lycra, so my own standards are simply too high and I have to admit to myself that I would have to invest more training time for the GWA events.
Speaking of foiling and wings, you also make these products with F2 and we understand that you advise your parents on product development. You are the “homegrown” test rider. Tell us a bit about how the whole thing works for you.
Basically, my dad is the boss in our house, but I always come back and ask if he’s seen this or that. Then we think together about whether it has potential or whether it’s just something short-term. Of course, F2 is too big for us to do everything on our own. My parents have been working with various development teams for years, both in winter and water sports, whose main task is to develop new products and materials. Once the product is finished, it is first tested in Australia, where our developers are based for the summer, and then it comes to us in Germany and I’m always happy when my dad comes to Egypt and brings everything with him. It’s always like Christmas and Easter together. We often have different opinions on the products and everyone brings their own arguments, which I think is really cool because I can learn a lot that I might be able to use in my job later on. I think I would like to stay in this field.
Which products contain the most Finn Flügel?
Clearly with the boards! I’ve been involved in building them right from the start. Back then simply because I thought it was cool that my favorite design was on it in the end, and today because I want to decide for myself how my board rides, what materials are used and what performance it has to deliver in freestyle or big air. What was just right a year ago has to be adapted again today. Be it the basic shape, the length, the hardness, the different carbon or glass layers or the reinforcements in the insert area. I can’t afford to stand still with these boards. Simply because I’m still growing and getting heavier. That’s why we are constantly adapting the boards, and that’s the exciting thing about being able to constantly annoy production with new things.
But that doesn’t mean that recreational riders can’t cope with it. As a tip: be sure to try out my promodels! To sum up, I would say that we are constantly working on making the boards simply perfect.
You also had a parawing at boot. Was that your idea and what do you think about the whole dowwind foiling issue? It’s becoming very popular at the moment.
When I saw it for the first time, I found it fascinating. Simply the idea that you can move freely on the water and decide for yourself how to move around on your board. We then got this off the ground with our Australian development team and I was really keen to get my hands on one as soon as possible … Basically, I think you need to be a very good foiler and winger to get to grips with a parawing.
You shouldn’t forget that the people you see in the videos are absolute pros. In other words, for the average person, the SUP board might be the right way to get started. I personally think it’s super cool to cruise around on a skateboard and parawing, because you hardly need any wind. My next thing is definitely parawing in the snow, I’m sure it’ll be really good too.
– Parawing test on land | 📸 F2 –
Finally, a question of personal interest: You grew up in Egypt and know the Red Sea region well. I was on a sailing boat a long time ago and we sailed up the Gulf of Suez. Unfortunately, the captain didn’t choose a good day and we were sailing against 35 knots and wind waves that made even a 35-meter yacht a problem. I remember it very well and now think how great it must be for downwinders. The “bumps” I remember were crazy. So far we haven’t heard much about downwind and the Red Sea region in Sinai. Can you tell a downwind fan like me how far downwinders are already available in your area and if many people come for it? I can only imagine that it must be a dream where you are.
I know you live in Hawaii, where downwinders are a big issue. Here you’re already an exotic when you unpack a parawing. But when you’re out there with the safari boats, it’s definitely mega. And as you say, the bumps really shouldn’t be underestimated! But to get some waves, you have to go far out, and you should definitely only do that with a boat. I would suggest you plan a stopover with us and we can do it together …
That would be great, of course. Thank you Finn for your time, it was really very interesting.