Big Air and The Megaloop Podium: Alessa Sophia Mensch Interview, Part 2

The Brazilian Brothers caught up with Alessa Mensch right next to the action in Big Bay for a very special interview. From taking her first lessons in Ecuador and becoming an instructor, to entering her first Big Air competition and becoming an established rider for Naish, Alessa shares the details of her incredible kiteboarding journey.

If you haven't read part one yet, here is the first Brazilian Brothers interview with Alessa.

The First Female Big Air Competition at Lords of Tram

Alessa and Francesca found out that Lords of Tram was happening in Barcarès, France. It was going to be the first-ever female Big Air competition, and they were hyped. They met up with Jason and Luca, decided to travel together to France, and just went for it to see what would happen.

Little did they know what they were getting into. It was freezing cold — like, actually snowing during their heats. At the time, none of them were sponsored by big brands, and they had no gear for the cold. They didn't even have gloves and were all just shivering on the beach. Jason showed up with nothing but a jacket. Despite the freezing temperatures, it was completely worth it.

During the event, Alessa landed a trick she had never even tried before and realized how sick the experience was. Soon after, they got the news that they'd be competing in Tarifa. The motivation was simply taking the next step. They weren't thinking about a big career or what would happen after: it was just super fun traveling with the group and doing what they loved.

They made it work with a bit of prize money, Alessa's social media job, and a lot of financial support from her parents in the beginning. They traveled like gypsies — something Alessa says she wouldn't do again now, but is glad she experienced to get to where she is today.

The Red Bull Megaloop Podium and the Unseen Grind

When asked about the moment she's most proud of in her career, Alessa points to being on the podium at the Red Bull Megaloop last year. She worked incredibly hard for that competition.

There's a lot of background work that people never see. Every day is scheduled around wind, training, nutrition, and recovery. Athletes deal with small injuries and pain constantly. Overtraining is a massive factor, because you train whenever there's wind — if there are three or four days of non-stop wind, by the fourth day, your body just breaks apart and everything hurts. Alessa put a lot of research into how to recover faster, train properly, and fuel her body.

Working that hard and finally making it onto the podium is a massive relief. Every athlete's dream is to actually win it, and that remains a major goal for her, but just getting on the podium was one of her biggest highlights.

The Energy of the Netherlands Kite Community

Another highlight of the Megaloop was the crowd. Alessa notes that the kiteboarding community in the Netherlands is incredibly cool because they don't care about bad weather or harsh conditions. She had never seen a competition with so many people watching, honestly believing the crowd was way bigger than at King of the Air. The vibe and energy at the beach, despite the rain, clouds, and freezing cold, were insane. Standing on the podium with everything vibrating around her was an unforgettable, energetic experience.

Future Goals and Pushing Women's Big Air

Alessa is definitely not done competing. She has a strong drive to keep going and wants to inspire more young women to get into the sport. She believes there's so much more they can achieve, and they're just at the beginning.

Personally, she has a bag of tricks she wants to land:

• A front roll contra board-off to the right
• Learning the boogie switch: doing a boogie to the left over a kicker, then a boogie board-off with her left hand (her stronger hand for board-offs)
• Adding rotations to everything

Her goal isn't just to land a trick once. She wants to have these tricks on lock in every session and in all conditions whether it's chop, flat water, waves, or strong wind (ideally a minimum of 15 meters).

Training Smart and Understanding the Female Body

A major focus for Alessa recently has been her training approach. She's been training and traveling non-stop with the guys — Jason, Luca, and now Josh. It has been an amazing experience, but she realized she wasn't progressing the same way because she was trying to train, eat, and even speak like the guys.

She has a female cycle and a female body, and she needs to train with it, not against it. Once she understood the cycle her body works with and adapted her training, she became way less frustrated. When you constantly compare yourself to the men you're surrounded by in the industry, it can be tough.

Now, she wants to go deeper into this research and help the next generation of women understand their bodies and perfect their training. She wants to make it easier for them so they don't have to learn the hard way.

Men are many generations ahead in Big Air. Women's Big Air only really started four or five years ago — before that, it was only Angely Bouillot doing kite loops and boogie loops, inspiring riders like Alessa to realize that women could do it too.

Alessa is excited to see what the next generations will bring to the sport. She wants to see young girls throwing tornadoes and hitting insane kite angles, pushing the limits of what's possible in women's kiteboarding.

Stay tuned for part 3 where the Brazilian Brothers and Alessa talk about the evolution and future of the women's division for big air.

Shop Big Air Kites

MACkite Subscription Links:

YouTube  |   Instagram  |   Spotify Oddcasts

Contact MACkite Below:

800.622.4655  |   Kiteboarder@MACkite.com  |   LIVE Chat Messenger