Wing Life Show Episode #1 - Why should I get into Wing Foiling?

Episode Transcript

Welcome to the Wing Life podcast, where we talk about wing foiling and the lifestyles of those who enjoy this great sport. All right, guys, well, this is exciting. Our first show together.

Yeah, I mean, we've been talking about it for a while, so making it happen now is, yeah, we're super excited for sure. Yeah, this is exciting. Thank you very much. And we're excited to share struggles. Yeah, I think this is what this thing is going to be about, right? Like sharing struggles, helping people grow, helping people learn. I want to give like a kudos to you guys, your YouTube.

library has been amazing. One of the first videos and series of people have been you guys that I watched on and yeah, even Damien, your first video when Gwen was more behind the camera, when you run up, it's like, Hey, hey, I got the gear. I got this. What do I do now? I just love both of your personalities.

And that enthusiasm that you bring to the sport, because I think that's what it's all about, even starting off with the intro videos. So I think this is what we're going to be able to do and share this to a complete, maybe a completely brand new audience on podcast on our this format and share everything. So yeah. But, what we're going to do today, I guess, is stem off and talk about the basics, right? Yeah. Yeah. I mean,

Luc Moore (01:40.846)
First, I would say from our style, I think a lot of it getting into the sport is very similar. It's like, you got to get started. There is a lot of gear out there. Wing falling involves a lot of gear. But if you think about maybe, let's say, running and somebody wants to start running. And now before they start running, they start thinking, what is the best shoes? What is the best shorts? What?

GPS watch I need. And it's like, well, just go out there and start running. And then as you go, you're going to get it, you know, dialed in. Of course, you know, we, we know we do what we do making videos to like, help people make less mistakes along the way. But really, like, you have to make mistakes. That's kind of like part of the process. So like, I would say the number one tip is like, if you want, if you're interested in getting into it, like,

you know, get, get, get started, like however you can go to the beach, check out your local spot, talk to your local community, and start learning. And then, and then, you know, maybe that first very first day you're going to show up to a spot. Maybe somebody is going to say like, Hey, have you ever tried wing falling? Take my, my setup and go try it. That's exactly what happened for me, with, with Damien. No way.

No, yeah, I think I mean just tapping off of that with Gwen I would say like anybody that's interested getting ready to go into it it's a sport that's unique because You can just just go down to the beach and talk to somebody if you see somebody doing it if you You know if you don't see anybody doing it just reach out to maybe any local it'd be a kite surfing kite foiling water sports shop or

Don't hesitate to reach out to any of the platforms that you see online with wing foiling or foiling in general. They're all going to guide you to somebody to take a lesson or get information. And that's the best way to start. And then just immerse yourself into it. Like Gwen said, just start running without shoes and whatever. That's how it starts. Definitely. And I think that community approach is the best and most fun because then you get some safety partners and you got some accountability partners.

Luc Moore (04:02.222)
And you really don't need a lot to get going. Like I know a bunch of friends out East in Canada are doing a lot of land -based training. So first off, boom, right away you get your wing. And even if you just want to get a wing for the first little while, like what are your impressions on just spending a bit of time on land like you do in kiting or like you do in other sports?

Yeah, I'd say 100%. I would say get yourself, if you're interested in the sport and you just get yourself a wing, you can start on ice, you can start on skis, you can use roller blades, you can use a skateboard, you can use absolutely anything, but you also can just stand on the ground and learn how to use this new sail and get comfortable with it and how it pulls and have your kids play with it. And in time, you'll get more comfortable with maybe potentially tacking on a paddleboard or using...

maybe a foil set up, but there's so many ways to be able to get started. And I would just say, you know, a hundred percent, just get yourself one and just start playing with it because it'll. Yeah, I think there is kind of like two types of people. Like they are like people that really want to take their time, follow all the advice out there and really like, you know, kind of like do it by the books. And then they are like,

people that are like, yeah, I got this. I mean, look at this guy, he's doing it. Like it's easy. And so I think it's also important that like, you know, yes, you got to, you know, spend the time on the beach, getting familiar with the wing. But you know, if you feel like you got this, get out there and, and, and you're going to figure out, okay, actually I need to go back and I need to spend more time. I feel like that happens a lot. where even if you grab the wing and you're on the beach,

you play with it for like a minute and you are like, okay, you know, that's easy. What's the next step? And then you go to the water and you're like, okay, that's way too hard. So now maybe I need to spend more time. So, you know, doing the mistake of moving too fast is going to make you realize, okay, you know, I didn't master the basis and now I need to go back and practice that. So for sure, I feel like...

Luc Moore (06:20.622)
you know, playing with your wing, just even like holding it, walking with it on the beach. And what I see very often also is like, not really knowing how to flip your wing. So you go out there, you don't know how to hold it, your wing goes upside down and you try to flip it, but you always find yourself like, like struggling with it. And the thing is like underwater, you know, all that time you are spending struggling.

that wind is pushing you downwind and downwind and downwind. So like the wind is unsure within 20 seconds you are back on the sand. If the wind is side -trough within 20 seconds you are at the end of the beach. So trying to learn the basics on the beach with your wing handling is going to save you walking back, is going to save you swimming out. And so...

for sure. If you just want to start by getting a wing and play with it, with a skateboard or whatever, it's going to be so valuable. I would give a full heads up to anybody listening in. I guarantee you, you will do exactly what Gwen said. You'll be like, you know what? I feel pretty good with this wing. I'm ready to go. You're going to go into the water and you are going to get throttled and you're going to be like, hmm.

I should probably go back and play with this a little bit more. And it's so funny because we all did it. And we keep doing it. I mean, it's like, it's something that, you know, is, it's a pattern that even though you learn, you know, along the way, as you progress, you still do like, you know, through the evolution of the sport and maybe learning a new sport or whatever, or you just still within winging a new move and then, you know,

We all do it. So I think it's not a big deal to like go out there and make the mistake. It's part of the process that's going to make you realize like, okay, you know, I'm moving too fast and I need to like, you know, slow down and spend more time to get there. When you do do this, just make sure to remember this and laugh at it and know that we said it was coming. That's huge because some of my first lessons that I gave,

Luc Moore (08:41.741)
working with elevation kiteboarding in that lake on Vancouver Island was I had some clients who did not want to spend as much time on land. And the first thing that I'll do is I'll work on, like when you were saying the wing flip, like how do you flip that wing? And then, so what I would normally get people to walk down the wing tips, make sure the wing doesn't touch the grass or the water, pull it back, all those kinds of basics, because I knew that as soon as we would get out on that water,

The wings flipped upside down, the trailing edge gets swept under, you get water in it, the boards running into it. And then within a few minutes, we were almost, we almost don't have any room left. Like we've gone down a kilometer, we've done whatever. And then if it's only an hour lesson, then it's like, I don't want to take your money and I want to be able to have this lesson be productive. So I actually had to get a little bit upset.

at the guys say, Hey, hey, we have to go back on land. No, we don't. I said, Yes, we have to go back on land. Let's practice some of this. I spent and I did all my I did a lot of land training. And then it was just for them to understand. And for me to understand as a coach, like, what's the best way of relaying that message? Like, what's the best way of doing that? So I love that wing flip, because if you can't, like my wing flips all the time. Well, in

You know, a common thing with wing foiling is like, it's not weightlifting. You don't have to fight it. It's not wrestling. If you are wrestling with your wing, if you are feeling like you are fighting it, you are doing it wrong. And so the wing flip, I think, is like that first obvious fight that you can witness with a beginner where, you know,

If you know, if you practice how to do it properly, it's going to feel so easy. And because you are using the wind to help you, if you are working against the wind, it's going to be a struggle. So for sure, pulling in the time and feeling it like, feeling like you can do it. It's always easy on the beach. You can do it with your eyes closed. You know, that's, that's kind of like the goal because once you are in the water,

Luc Moore (11:07.501)
It's a different, it's harder. You are moving, you are on a bar that's not as stable as the ground. The wind is pushing you, your angle is changing. So you have to understand where is the wind and how am I using the wind to help me flip my wing. So then when I'm out there, I can adapt because there is a lot of like...

adaptation when you are in the water. When you are on land, it's more controlled. You are not moving. You are pointed in the same direction. It's not turning you. You need to master that first before you go in the water and try to figure it out while everything is changing. One item that I think people don't realize a lot that's always good to mention is when you're on land and you're flipping your wing, you're stationary like Gwen said, which means the wind is 10 miles an hour, whatever it may be, 15.

It's steady at that within reason. It's always gusty, but let's just say it's 10 to 15. When you go into the water, you're going with the wind, right? So now that whole scenario of what you just learned on land completely changes because you're moving now with current, you're moving now with the wind. So everything becomes different again. And we forget that because you think, it's the same as on land. And for sure, water, you're not on a fixed surface. So you're...

You're balancing in the water and you're trying to adjust that. But it's always something to remember is like, when you move to the water, you're now not necessarily having the same conditions. And we always forget that. And I think for people to know that it's okay if it feels different when you go to the water, but that's why it's so important what Gwen is saying too. Don't be afraid to spend the time and keep working on it until you feel pretty comfortable. And I totally agree with Gwen.

1000 % if you're ever struggling to try to get something and you're fighting it it's usually because you're fighting against the way of doing it because You can actually make your wind use the wind to make your wing flip. So it should be no struggle And these are things you learn as you get better. You can actually make these You know jives and all these type of things where you actually are using the conditions and the wind to help you do it versus You trying to fight it?

Luc Moore (13:25.741)
which is always going to be a battle. But I just thought I'd point that out because it's always something that comes up. Yeah, that's a very good point actually. Yeah. Using and harnessing the power of what's already there to help make the skill and task a bit easier. Yeah. Yeah. Look, when you were like teaching, are you using a jet ski or a boat? Yeah, a jet ski at this one school. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like, you know,

The jet ski or some sort of like a chase boat for a beginner is really nice. That's kind of like the main struggle when you learn on your own at first is that you are trying to figure out why that time drifting downwind is costing you because now maybe you don't have that much time to figure it out. So that's...

That's definitely the good thing about taking a lesson with both support is that they can bring you out and now you have more time to practice where if you're on your own, that for sure like struggle is like much more like amplified if you're not in the middle of the water.

Well, yeah, and you might not have an easy way to come home either, like a two kilometer drift or a one kilometer drift. Like even if you're taking off at one launch spot and your angle changes by 30 or 40 degrees, or if you're going straight downwinds like one lake, I know we go to, you end up having to change everything just because you're not going to make it back home. So are there maybe top?

tips that you would recommend that you guys have both seen with wing flipping that have made the process of learning it a bit easier? Yeah, I mean, I've like, you know, I give a lot of lessons. So I see that like all the time, I would say, you know, the first thing is like understanding where the wind is. So, so you know, that you have to like bring your wing kind of like into the wind. So the wind is pushing it.

Luc Moore (15:45.741)
If you leave your wing downwind of you, so you go to one tip and if your opposite tip is downwind of you, the wind is not really helping. At that point, it's kind of like pushing the wing downwind of you and it doesn't want to flip. So like you go to one tip and you drive the opposite tip into the wind and then you lift it and then that wind pushes it over. So I would say,

That's one thing, going to one tip, not staying at the middle. You can stay at the middle of where the handle is if you have a small wing, but if you have a big wing, then it becomes more difficult and going to one tip is going to help you. The other thing is grabbing the leading edge, going to the tip and keeping the leading edge against your core. Not letting go because I find that a lot of people when they find like finally the wing is lifting,

They let everything go and now the wing flips, but you find yourself on the trailing edge of the wing. And now your leash is extended. You are, your leash is on top of the wing and you're stuck. Like you have to go around the wing now. And so you to, to make sure you don't find yourself on the trailing edge of your wing, you have to keep contact with your leading edge. that's, that's been also like a key component is like,

once you start feeling, okay, my wing is flipping, I'm letting go everything, boom, it flips, but now you are on the trailing edge. And that's very frustrating feeling. Yeah, I would say, I mean, I would just say one step before that, I would just say for anybody that's learning on their own and they're not necessarily taking a lesson with one of these all -stars here, I would say, you know, always a good water caution is to like, don't go as...

Don't go out as far as you want to swim back or know your exit. Know where I can get out, which way is the wind blowing, because likely that's the direction I'm going. Where am I going to struggle to and where's my out? And then I'll walk back up and start again. But it's always good to have that ahead of time. For sure, you're probably going to jump in the water and figure that out the first time, but you should probably think of that ahead of time. But that would be my first 10 cents to the.

Luc Moore (18:08.173)
to the start of that session. And then I would say, I think Gwen nails it and try it on the beach. I would say anybody that's struggling with wing flipping or new to it, start on the beach and just kind of swing your wings side to side and let like tilt the edge of the wing so that the wind grabs it and flips it and learn that to see how that flips so that you can understand like what I need to do with that wing on land to see it flip.

and you'll see how easy it'll flip for you. Now again, land is a lot easier, but you'll learn the basics of seeing how to get that wing into the right angle to flip and then take a look at where that wind's coming from because when you transition to the water, when you're in the water, a lot of times people get lost on the direction that they're floating or angling. So you think my wing is here.

but technically it's not because you're angled differently. So know your surrounding when you're in the water and it'll help that flip. Yeah, there is also, I think the frustration of people like it's kind of like, you know, you get like tunnel vision, you know, you're so frustrated on that wing, that wing doesn't want to flip. I'm forcing so much. So you lose awareness of like, where is the wind? Like, I don't even know. I don't care about the wind. This wing is not flipping and it's annoying. So like taking a second breathing and be like, okay, let's.

get back to the basics, where is the wind coming from? Let's do it easy. So before you go to the water, when you practice on the beach, if it doesn't feel super easy, then keep practicing. I personally think that all wings don't ever rip or break or pop. I think it's people getting pissed off and breaking their wings during lessons. So to all companies out there, that's how I think they're all torn or ripped or shredded.

I'm just kidding. Just know you're going to struggle. It's okay. And speaking of wind direction, like how should people who are maybe brand, because in the first time kind of ever, I think we're having a lot of people that are brand new to wind. They've never kited, they've never wind surfed, they do a little stand up paddle board, but they haven't had the opportunity to, I guess, figure out.

Luc Moore (20:28.269)
The wind is touching me on my right cheek or it's touching or my hair is floating this way or I feel it on my back. Cause these are all things that over the course of, of especially any, any wind career. when I started learning, I had a neighbor who would just look at the sky and he said, okay, we're coming in. I was like, what the heck changes this cloud formation moved to here. That means the wind angle is going to change 20%. We're going to get in trouble. Let's go to shore. So tying into your community aspect of things, I think asking questions to veterans is huge.

Because even now 10 years in as an amateur, like there's still, I still follow his lead. He just turned, I think 60 and we're sailing in some bigger stuff. And like, I'm no, no, no. Like I want to stay out. I want to keep going. And you say, well, in 10 minutes, we're going to get this or 15 minutes. We're going to get that and high pressure, low pressure, like all of those things I think are extremely valuable. If you want to become the best and safest water man or water woman that you'd like to be.

And I think it's understated that enjoying the journey of falling in love with all those different aspects will make you a more, it'll just make your experience a lot more enjoyable. And I think it also delves you into it. So like, instead of sitting on the fringe, it, you're going to be able to fall in love with this component. That's extremely valuable. Getting more sessions in becoming more, I guess, safety is a big thing because if a wing pops or anything pops and you're an offshore winds. Yeah, I mean,

I would say if there are people, if you have like riders in your area and you show up to the spot and nobody's riding.

That's maybe a time to go. Get out there. So that, that would be the first thing. Now there is situation where, you know, in your area, nobody else is wing foiling and you are the only one and you're going to be the pioneer. And, and so then, you know, you're going to have to, you know, make mistakes. but if you have a local community for sure, like, you know, like, talk to the people that have more experience. And when you see nobody's out there, you know, try to figure out why.

Luc Moore (22:37.709)
But in terms of like, you know, for sure, see knowing where the wind is coming from can be a challenge for a lot of people that are not used to wind sports. And one thing that I feel like has been helpful to my students is to teach them to watch the water surface and to see where's the trap.

And I feel like that's especially helpful for when we are trying to learn how to go upwind. People get very confused about where is upwind. And I have to ask me, am I going upwind? And I'm like, obviously you are not, so you don't understand what upwind is. So when you look at the surface of the water, the trap, the small waves are all going in the same direction. That is...

showing you where the wind is coming from. So now when your bird is pointed one way, if you are going with the trap, you are going downwind. If your nose is climbing up the trap, now you are starting to go upwind. So being able to, because feeling sometime, where the wind on your face and everything can be tricky. You can turn yourself straight into the wind and you're like, it's windy.

I'm good, I made the wind. With your ears, like you're moving your head, but you are trying to deal with your wing at the same time, so you don't have time to do that. But give it a quick look of the water surface, it's right there. Where is the trap? And now you have an understanding of where the wind is coming from. Yeah, I would say I'll give the general, if anybody's new, I would say general best thing you can do is look at flags around you, look at things around so you can see which way the flags are blowing.

Look where the trees are blowing. You're going to get a good general idea of your area. First thing first, Gwen said it and Luke said it is, anybody local, talk to them, shops. Get as much info from those that maybe do it, but you may be in that location that doesn't have anybody. Just look at your flags, your trees. It'll show the direction. You can pull some grass up and throw it and it's going to blow in a direction. That's obviously the direction of the wind in general and it'll oscillate, but that's a general direction. And then just know when you're learning, you're going to

Luc Moore (25:03.949)
go that direction like Gwen said, the way the chop is going. And so know that when you learn, likely you're going to go in whatever direction that wind is. And that's where you're going to end up. So make sure you know what you're swimming towards or what you're swimming out of. But in general, that's kind of a general guideline. Yeah, that's pretty good actually. Like using the landmark and then landmarks on land, just pinpointing kind of if you look out.

and to see where it is, can you safely come in? It's all part of, I guess, that entry process of getting in into it and see how long do I have until I have to start coming back in? Because that's one thing that when you're going out for the first time on your own, you're so hyper focused on trying to do it that you do, you lose focus of where you're at in relation to something and then you could have drifted a little bit. So sometimes the sessions as a start, yes, they'll be shorter.

but it's better to have a shorter session in a safer one than go out there and get caught. That's why, like you were mentioning, Gwen, the jet ski support, the boat support to learn, I think is so crucial. And even if you're super stoked that you were able to just stand up on your board and go downwind, it's still a good first step of combining the wing to your feet. Yeah, I was just going to say, Luke's nail on something, but...

To paint a picture for those people that are listening in, just like you were just mentioning how you can go out and you can have this struggle, you get so focused on this achievement to accomplish. That's how special this sport is. That's how much it can take your brain off of everything. Stress is work, you name it. You can completely get lost in a struggle on the water, which is fun. It's a fun, challenging learning struggle.

But it's like, there's not a lot of things you can do out there where you completely engulf yourself to where you're just like so focused and so intense on learning it. And I think that's why we challenge people to try this because it's so special because you truly can check out in a really special way that's mentally rewarding and physically rewarding and you accomplish learning and bettering your life and bettering your mental health. And yes, it may be.

Luc Moore (27:30.445)
It sounds horrible because I'm saying it's a struggle, but it's a learning struggle and that's what life is, right? You're learning to better something and you're going to struggle, struggle, struggle, and then you'll come back and you'll be like, man, but I got that flip that one time, right? And that's what happens in those little sparks of like those little increases. So anybody listening, hopefully that kind of just, it's a pretty powerful, rewarding feeling and it's neat because there's a lot of rewarding going on at minimal moments, but it's hard.

And that's what's rewarding about it. Yeah. I think it's an amazing tool to help you become more present and help refocus your energies and your on exact that exact thing, what you're doing in the moment. And I think that ties greatly into, to joy. And then what are you going to be able to do with that increased and enhancement of joy using this tool? People use music, all these different kinds of tools.

to then better themselves, better their family life and better everything around them. And I think that's one of the huge components as to why would I get into a wind sport? I think it's harnessing the power of focus and then letting go of some other things that may have been bothering you because you can't focus on two to three things at the same time. And then taking that into all these different areas of your life and saying, hey, if I can productively focus like this and the world goes quiet and still.

then what can I do when I face the next struggle at work or the next struggle in a relationship or a family relationship? Like I can zone in on that particular area and recognize that step by step by step, I can become amazing at this skill or this tool can teach me something else. Because I think that's huge of what wind sports taught me is being able to overcome fear and then overcoming the noise that we might hear and the stresses that we have and letting it go.

And then I don't know if I had found anything that's connected to me with so much joy, like joy to the point of tears. And it's such, it was such a baffling thing. It was like, I was three years old all over again and just, and just reconnecting with that life force. It was like, what the heck? And my buddy who lives in Bali right now, he didn't understand, but he started to watch surfers and he started to watch snowboarders and watch different wind people. And he's like,

Luc Moore (29:52.909)
I'm starting to understand the feeling that it helps you guys be in. So somebody who's not sure on the fence of why they would do it, there's something magical about getting pulled across the surface without you doing that effort. Yeah, no, I was just going to say like, there's also, you know, the aspect of like, you know, you are out there in the wild and in on the water, like you are using the wind, you know, I don't know, it's just like, it's a mix of like,

you know, skills, but also like you being able to like kind of like harness like more than nature and, and, and just being in the, in that environment, I think, is, you know, we don't have that, automatically in our daily life. and I think having that being in that environment, it just, yeah, it just kind of like is, refreshing, you know, I think what's super beautiful too is.

Just because this is talking about the wing foiling of what this kind of is, what's so great is it's so much bigger. This leads to much more. I mean, it stemmed with maybe wing foiling and now Gwen's downwind foiling, riding swells in the middle of the ocean and riding intercoastal waves. There's so much more. So if you think like, maybe I'm not really sure here. Maybe it'll just end right here. It's just wing foiling. I can tell you that like,

the creativity of what is possible. This opens the door for so much more. And I think that's what's even more spectacular. Very true. Very true. So I guess the highlights of today, lessons are important. Learn that wing flip, spend time on land, spend time talking to people in your community to get the basics. And you're right. You don't know where the journey is going to take you and what amazing things you'll learn along the way. Live it up.

Struggle away. Go out there and go do it and make mistakes. Don't, like if you stop right there because you think you don't know how to do it and you don't want to make mistakes, that's worse. Just go out there, do the mistake, come back, take a step back, figure it out. But the main thing is go out there, get started. 100%. Look, you live once, do it.

Luc Moore (32:18.893)
This sounds like a good time to wrap up our first episode. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you so much. Thank you very much. Yeah. If anybody listening has like any question for sure, we are like always wanting, you know, to hear your feedback, your questions. We're here to help. So don't ever hesitate to reach out. And that's going to, you know, help us, you know, make.

We do this for you and so we want to make sure that you get something that's useful for you.

Definitely. All right, fellas. Thanks a lot and we'll catch you in the next one. Thanks everyone.