KiteArea : Where do you come from?  
Johara Sykes-Davies : I come from North Wales in the UK.  It is an amazing place with the best beaches and the awesome mountain range of Snowdonia to play in when there is no wind.


KA : Where do you live?  
JSD : I still live in North Wales on the coast in a town called Deganwy, near Llandudno and Conwy. I live with my mum when I am home as she lives in a wicked house overlooking my fav kite spot and looks after my dogs when I am away!
 
KA : Did your friends give you a nickname?
JSD : Hm I’ve recently been nicknamed Fluffy Bunny!  Not sure I like it though!


KA :When did you start Kitesurfing?  
JSD : I started kitesurfing in 2005.  I had flown an ancient old kite when I was at Uni in Southampton but didn’t get on the water until I lived in British Columbia, Canada and worked as Site Manager at the Squamish Watersports Society.  Thanks to my Manager there, JM, I was hooked straight away!
 
KA :What are your best results in competition? (per year)  
JSD : Winning the BKSA Ladies’ Pros and fifth in the first PKRA this year in Leucate.


KA :What are your favourite spots (at least 5)? 
JSD :
- West Shore, Llandudno, North Wales… my home spot and still the best place to kite!
- Snowkiting in the High Atlas mountains, Morocco… for sheer mental location!
- Jeri, Brazil… it is cross off howling wind with perfect little 2ft kickers and the wicked village and huge sand dune at the waters edge… it has the best hippy feel to it ever!
- Tarifa, Spain… I love kite sessions on any of the stretches of beach at Tarifa, it is such a social place and they get such a variety of conditions.
- Col du Lautaret, France… Snowkiting in the Col near Serre Chevalier is such a fun playground!


KA : Do you prefer fish or meat? Definitely fish!  
JSD :  I used to be veggie but now I have started a course in Sports Nutrition I am trying to eat all the good things!
 
KA : Who are your favourite music groups?  
JSD :  Hmm, I’m quite a random one with music, I love such a variety of music, but my main passion is quite hardcore or scar type music, so I would have to say my list of fav groups would go something like…A.F.I. (defo no.1!!), System of a Down, Mad Caddies, Prodigy, Paramore etc etc… or Mylo or The Cinematic Orchestra, Ma Fleur, for something more chilled!


KA : What brand do you use in Kitesurf now (Boards and kite)?  
JSD :  I kite with Flexifoil custom pink AH Pros and neutrons in 5m and 3m, and a Balance 130 Team twin tip or a 5’2 Jimmy Lewis strapless wave board.


KA : Can you give us your feedback on this or these brand(s)?  
JSD : I’ve ridden with Flexifoil kites ever since the second kite I ever had was a legendary 13m Strike2.  When I heard I had a deal with Flexifoil for 2007 I was so stoked to be able to represent a company that produces such quality kites and has its heart in the UK. I then hooked up with Balance kiteboards a couple of months ago.  I am so stoked to be riding their boards as I have never known a company that listens to their riders and customers so 100%!  I tried Karolina’s Team 130 a few months ago for 5 minutes and knew instantly that this was the board I wanted to ride!
 

KA : Who is the rider who inspire you most in Kitesurf?
JSD :  I love riding with people who ride with 100% passion and put everything into their kiting.  I love riding with fellow UK former champ, Jo Wilson, as she is so motivational and always passing on handy tips.  Thanks Jo you’re a legend!
 
KA : Can you tell us about your best personal travel?  
JSD :  I have had so many super fun trips, there is not one that I have not enjoyed.  I love going on big road trip missions as you get to see so much as you travel and see so many different kite spots!!
Just before I learnt to kite I drove to Alaska from British Columbia, Canada, in my poo brown rusty old 1979 Chevy without a spare tyre or anything, epic trip!  I then did a kiting road trip from the UK to Dakhla, Western Sahara, through Europe and Morocco.  You get to see so many spots and different cultures that you ordinarily wouldn’t.  All travel is the best!!!


KA :What is the best spot for you?
JSD :  My favourite spot ever is West Shore, Llandudno, North Wales!  My bedroom window overlooks it so I can sit up in bed and see if it’s windy!  At high tide the water fills in behind this rock groin, so it creates a perfect flat-water section, just like Kite Beach on Maui!  As the tide goes out, two big long lagoons form as perfect flat water playgrounds with loads of room.  It is such a dream spot with an amazing crowd of people from Turbulence Extreme Sports and the North Wales Power Kite Club!  Drop by and say hello if you are ever near the area!
 

KA :When you do not kite, what do you do?  
JSD : I have soooo many random things I love to do!!  I love keeping fit and get really depressed if I do not train in something every day!  I love the gym, running in the mountains, mountain biking or
swimming and yoga in the morning.  SUP is a super fun no wind activity also!  I am so lucky that I live on the coast and by the mountains in North Wales as, even though sometimes a little cold, its amazing for anything outdoors! Aside from sports, I love reading non-fiction books that teach me something and I always have about 5 books on different subjects on the go at any one time!  I am currently doing a course in Sports Nutrition so lots of time is spent on this!



KA : What is the move you are working on now?
JSD : I always have a lot of new things that I want to learn in my head, but I suppose right now I am obsessed with kite loops, so kite loop to wrapped and down loop s bend to blind are pretty much at the top.
 
KA : In what style of kite do you excel?
JSD :  So my first and main passion is freestyle, but I am really enjoying some other disciplines now.  I love strapless wave riding for a complete change to freestyle, it is such a different challenge!


KA : 2010 is coming quickly, what is your program for this new year?  
JSD :  It is coming so quickly!!  So for the rest of this year I have the last two stops of the PKRA in Brazil and New Cal.  I will then come back in the New Year to head onto the snow for the Snowkite Masters in Serre Chevalier and then the US Snowkite Masters at the end of February, with a quick trip to the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in between!  It will soon then be PKRA season again which is exciting.  I have a lot planned around the events for next year, including some travel trips to some new places, some cable competitions and a girl’s only kite event I am planning along with Jo Wilson… watch this space!!

KA : Are you a fan of a pro rider and if so, who?  
JSD : Hm, I am a fan of all the Pro’s who work hard and push the sport in the right way, but riding style wise I prefer Bruna Kajiya’s style in the girls.  She goes 100% for tricks every time and has a
really good style with it.

KA : Ecology and sustainable development are increasingly present even in the kite, what is your point of view on this subject?
JSD : Aside from the fact that kiting is SOOO much fun, one of my main passions about the sport is that it is the most eco friendly extreme sport out there!!  I love that fact that the only fuel I use is the
gas in my car to get to the beach!  I just hooked up with ethical clothing company Kitaddict to try to push all that is good about our sport!


KA : Thank you to mention your sponsors.
JSD : Turbulence Extreme Sports, Flexifoil, Brewin Dolphin, Prolimit, Bolle, Surfanic, The Buzz Gym, Balance Boards and Kitaddict Ethical Clothing.


KA :The last word:
JSD :  A HUGE thank you to everyone who has helped me along the way all throughout my life!!  I am a big believer in fate and for sure I would not be having such an amazing life if it was not for the amazing people I have met along the way!  I would like to say an special thanks to my Mum and my late Grandma, Edna, for being such an inspiration!