Tucker Interviews Naish's Nils Rosenblad

An Interview with Nils Rosenblad from Naish Kiteboarding

So Naish has been in the game for a long time. When did Naish start making gear? When did you join their design team?

Robby has been making his own boards since forever - thinking late 80s - under the Naish name, but Naish as a standalone brand really started in the mid 90s with their windsurfing sails. I've been with them since 2005.

And when did you guys start to develop your hydrofoil program?

We started experimenting with them when Kai Lenny came to us and said he wanted to develop stuff. As an ex-sailor, I was already very interested in the foiling going on in the moth class and later the AC, so we were like let's DO this.

I'd like to say the program officially got off the ground 2 1/2 years ago, but it might be a little longer - I was at AC35 in San Francisco in 2013, and I remember coming back with a lot of ideas.

That's awesome. I'd imagine Kai would be fun to work with on that. Between the two of you, it seems that your program really accelerated into some great models. What are the highlights?

Kai is amazing, both as an athlete and to work with on development. I've been really lucky to have the opportunity to work with some amazing guys like that, including Robby, which always makes you look good as a designer just because the feedback loop is so excellent that it's easy to make good design decisions.

For me, the first highlight was designing a wing blind - without looking at what Kai had been using, just using basic hydrodynamic theory and doing the math - and getting really close to beating something that had been in development for a couple years. It was like OMG...math works! Because you never know until you do it.

The second highlight was working with Rob on the windsurfing wing, for two reasons. First was that Rob - who was initially skeptical about foiling - became a believer, almost overnight. It became really obvious to me at that point that foiling was going to be a real thing, not just a fad. The second was that I spent a lot of time unpacking the differences in the flying dynamic between SUP, windsurfing, and Kiting, and applied that to create a really different looking WS wing, and it really worked.

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What were your goals in designing those different wings? Do you feel like you have achieved them or have those initial concepts been thrown out the window for something better?

We're just getting started. The initial concepts are solid, and - barring a giant technological paradigm shift, which I wouldn't rule out for at least one of the three disciplines - those concepts will serve as a basis for future development. But having said that, I definitely keep an open mind.

So you guys went crazy with the boards this year. What is the thinking behind the progression in that line?

I'm only peripherally involved with the boards, but basically, they made some good stuff, tuned it up, and kept having good ideas. There are so many approaches to foiling - people want different things out of it - that they really worked to cover all the bases.

What is your favorite combination?

I'm a windsurf guy, but the kite guys in the office - who basically are foilers to a man at this point - are all obsessed with the 112.

What about the surf cats?

Hover 95, but these guys are good surfers living on Maui, so not sure how that translates to the real world. I know they did a LOT of development work on the 122.

Surf foiling is going to be huge. Basically, everyone who tries it becomes obsesses - JJ Florence, Jamie Obrien etc are all using Naish stuff. I work out with Ian Walsh - it's all he talks about. It's crazy.

It's a whole new world of zen flying above the waves. And the waves don;t even need to be good - almost better if they're not. Windsurfing too - we were cruising around Kahului harbor in 8-10 kts of wind with a 4.8 sail, no harness lines, easily foiling at 14-18 kts. It could totally make windsurfing relevant again.

We have seen some sub-categories of foiling coming up. You got the race guys, lightwinders, downwind swell riders, freestyle guys. Do you guys see the same thing forming? What area do you see the most potential for the average rider?

I think the high performance group will be intense, but not huge, except for kiting where foiling finally provides a legitimate racing format that is not dorky like those ridiculous race boards of a few years ago. For most people, it's going to be 'performance gliding' - kind of a parallel of the hang glider experience without the high price (death!) of crashing.

So the equipment will evolve towards a balance between sustained, stable flight, and speed. Accessibility - specifically easy, early take-off and in-flight stability - will always be important, and those are huge components of the Naish design brief.

Is there any advice you can give to new riders or people who may be interested in foiling in any sport?

I think the most important thing is to do it in reasonable conditions, and choose gear that is focused on getting going rather than pushing the envelope on the high end. A lot of kite guys here start off on the surf foil just because it is so forgiving, and then move up to the kite foil.

For surf foiling, it's all about matching the wing size to rider weight, and dealing in additional lift with the adjustable stabilizer if necessary. The extras motive force of a kite or sail gives you a lot of leeway on wing size, but you don't have that for straight surfing/SUP.

I am deep in the trenches working on the next generation of surf wings right now - I think we're just at the tip of the iceberg for that market.

Cool to hear. In the near future I could see a few different sizes for each wing design to accommodate for rider size and conditions. What do you feel is the ideal size for the Medium and Large wings currently available?

All of that is a huge reason we went to a fully modular system with a logical adjustable stabilizer. There is a built-in upgrade path to all the Naish foil systems. 20 - 160 for small surf wing, 150-185 for the large. Chuck Patterson is 225, he shreds on it, so it's totally doable, but he's also an animal - just an extreme athlete. We are definitely looking to expand the weight range upward.

Any last thoughts that you might want to share?

I think we covered it. I'm just stoked that there's so much interest, and I really feel like we're on the vanguard of a sport that will take over the world - the next logical step for how humans interact with waves and wind. I feel really lucky to have the opportunity to be part of it.

About Naish Kiteboarding & Foils

At Naish we're not afraid to tread our own path. Based on Maui, Hawaii, we began life as an innovative windsurfing company and over the years, have evolved and grown into the brand you see today. With wind, water and waves in our blood, team Naish has always looked for new and exciting ways to help everyone enjoy the world of boardriding. Proud of our heritage, we embrace our past while constantly looking forward for ways to improve.

Today we are a leading force in windsurfing, kiteboarding, and stand up paddling. With multiple world championship titles in each sport and tens of thousands of sails, kites, and boards under our belt, we truly live and breathe boardriding. Through innovative designs and engineering, state-of-the-art production techniques and advanced materials, Naish continues to push the envelope with industry leading boardriding products year after year.

Whether you windsurf, kiteboard or stand up paddle, you can be confident that we have just what you need to take your riding to the next level, regardless of your skill set.

Naish delivers premium quality boardriding products that you can depend on session after session, day after day, for years to come.