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MEET TEAM RIDER: KYLE MALIGRO

KYLE’S Q&A WITH BRIAN FINCH

Q: Hey Kyle, I mean coach… Coach Kyle, aka Unko. It’s pretty cool I get to interview you, since you were my startup foil coach… still a little mad you let me buy a 55cm mast though haha! Give the readers a quick overview of your experience in the ocean and when your foil life started? 

A: 55cm mast!! Haha, I don’t remember that! Beach starts for days! It’s been about 5 years since I started foiling. A friend of mine sent me a video of Kai Lenny doing a double dip and I freaked out and didn’t understand. I wanted to try it out and got my first setup and thought I’d be able to do it right away. Hell no!!! Humble pie all in my face! First wave I got boosted to the sky and had no idea what was going on. Second wave same thing but I fell right on the foil wing on my ribs and got sliced, plus small kine fracture! Didn’t help that I bolted my foil setup to a soft top board haha whoops!  Couldn’t try again for about a month and I had foil ptsd. I was scared out of my mind to try it again but I slowly figured it out with the help of a friend and on some huge 6’4″ board. This was back when there wasn’t that much knowledge and experience. We pretty much had to figure it out on our own but the FROTH was REAL and it’s never stopped since then. Boogie boarding and surfing all took a back seat and basically went bye bye.  

Q: You’re recently an official pro rider for team FFB, helping a lot with wing, board and foil R&D, how does it feel doing this all again since your pro bodyboard days?

 A: Bro!! It’s epic to be with FFB working on boards, wings and now foils. It’s crazy how much foiling has changed in 5 years and to be part of the team in creating and trying things out is simply amazing! So stoked to be able to be a part of this movement at this stage of my life!! Let’s go!

Q: You’ve spent quite a bit of time in Hood River, why would you leave Kauai to foil in a river?

 A: Good question and never in my life would I have thought of leaving the ocean to go to some river! But you don’t know till you go. I remember seeing a video of Kalama guys supping in some river then I found out that it’s like an hour away from my in-law’s house that we visit every summer. I was like, oh snap, I need to get there asap and try to prone that! I was clueless where to go and finally found a zone and ended up catching some bumps prone foiling which I don’t think really anyone was doing at the time. I couldn’t believe I was riding bumps in a river via prone. Since then, winging came in the picture and something on the newer side for me, supping. It’s insane when it’s on! Everyone froths there. We all turn into kids again.

FOLLOW KYLE ON INSTAGRAM

Q: You’ve been testing and riding 3 new wings from Freedom, explain to me the process of tuning and dialing in a new setup, sacrifices & successes?

A: The hardest thing for me was being open minded to something completely different than what I was used to. Once I got over that hump and gave these new foils a go, things just started clicking. I’ve been feeling something totally different and am stoked on the outcome and can’t wait to ride them more. It was like a reset for me in foiling and I’m loving it.

Q: What has you the most fired up in foiling right now and what don’t people know?

A: Currently helping with and trying out new foil designs has been the best. Love being able to approach a wave with different lines has been insane! Stoked where we’re going and it’s only gonna get better.  

People don’t know how epic boogie foiling is. Also, PRUPing is gonna stir the pot up too, just wait!