October 13th, 2009

Over the past 6 years I have watched Jake grow from a little 9 year old runt who would hardly utter a word if spoken to, into a sharp young man and possibly one of the most stylish kiteboarders around today. From playing in the sand to pretty much owning the sliders and kickers at Jabberwock beach, if he keeps his head on straight and his grades up he could be on his way to a very bright future in kiteboarding. I pulled him away from his homework for a quick Q&A, here's what he had to say.

Ok Jake, tell the people a little about yourself.

I am 16 years old, i'm from and island in the West Indies called Antigua, I am currently in grade 11, and I started kiteboarding  around 2003-2004 so roughly 6 years ago and I haven't stopped since.

You started kiteboarding at a very young age. You’re pretty fortunate that your dad had taken such an interest in the sport and has supported you over the years, bringing you to the beach every day and so on. Did he ever push you to learn stuff or was it more a case of him providing the tools and giving you the opportunity?

Yes I am very fortunate that I have such a cool dad. He has never really been the type of dad to push me to do something that i'm not that into but if he sees that I have some interest in something  he will try and help me out as much as he can.

Who are you riding for right now and what’s your typical kite and board size for a Jabba session?

I am presently riding for Cabrinha which I am pretty stoked with because their stuff is rock solid right now. And my typical set up for a Jabba session is a Cabrinha Custom 136 paired up with some Ronix boots and an 8 meter Switchblade.

You made it to the Triple-S this year, and that was your first time kiting outside of Antigua. How did you like riding in Hatteras? Was it strange to be in a new place with different obstacles and people you don't know?

Hatteras is a super cool place and the vibe there is really mellow and chill, it was sick being able to finally ride there after seeing so much footage of it before. At first it was a bit strange being in a new place with new people but everyone there is really cool and welcomed me with open arms. And it was crazy being able to hit their set up, its sick as, it was set up so you could run lines, so basically just going from slider to slider which was loads of fun coming from only having one slider set in one direction back home.

So you’re in your last year of high school, and you’ve managed to pull your grades up since the last time I checked on you. In the Caribbean your last year in high school is accompanied by a significant amount of pressure with CXC exams (equivalent to GCE O-Levels in the UK). They make a pretty big deal of these exams here, how are you handling the pressure and has it affected your riding?

It's actually not that bad. I have been coping with it pretty well so far, I think as long as I keep up on my work I'll be just fine. And as far as my riding goes, it's been dead so that’s probably affected it more than anything else.

Do any of your friends at school show interest in kiteboarding after seeing the path that you're on?

Well a few persons talk about it but not too many of them are really that interested in it.

Your little brother Chad has spent just about as much time as you have at Jabberwock over the years. When do you think he's gonna jump on a kite? You think he's gonna be a threat to you? :P

Well I definitely wanna try and get him on a kite while he is still young but right now he is not really feeling it. I think he just wants to do something different to his bigger bro but if he ever does get on a kite I am sure he will be pretty good at it. And as far as being a threat to me I think we are going to just have to wait and see ha ha.

I remember when you were really shy and we could only get a few words out of you at any given time. You seem to have opened up a bit in the past year or so, especially to the camera. Do you still get camera shy or have you warmed up to it?

I have definitely warmed up to the camera over the years and having my dad filming me all the time helped allot with that. Now I work better when there is a camera around

What other sports do you enjoy besides kiteboarding?

Hmmm besides kiteboarding … I enjoy skating every once and a while and wakeboarding. Also, I really wanna try snowboarding .

I've noticed that I can motivate you to do pretty much anything if I offer to buy you KFC. Is that your favorite food? Seems that its almost like crack to you.

Ha ha I think thats everyones favorite food in Antigua.

You’re in a good position to shoot for a career in kiteboarding. Is that your plan once you get out of high school?

Yup that's my plan. Thats actually been my plan since grade 6 (laughs) so hopefully all goes well.

You’re pretty gangsta compared to me. Hows my swagger these days?

Haha, well lest just say your swagger  isn't  bad for an old dude.

Thanks buddy. So who do you look up to the most in kiteboarding? Do you have any roll models outside of kiteboarding?

I mostly look up to Dre just because he has mad steeze and has helped me out a lot over the years that I have known him. I also look up to people like Nick Davies and Shane Bonifay for their riding.

Ok thanks dude, now get back to your homework.