Brazilian Brothers x Kevin Langeree Interview: Founding Reedin & Its Future

The Brazilian Brothers met up with the legend Kevin Langeree in Cape Town, South Africa. Pulling up in the Reedin mobile, Kevin brought out some magic from the back of the car: an 8m MasterModel, the weapon of choice for 30 knots and meter waves in Cape Town. He also brought out a special unicorn towel, just in case.

Career Highlights and Proudest Moments

Looking back at a very successful career in both freestyle and big air, Kevin was asked what he is most proud of accomplishing. He started kiting back in 2000, began competing in 2002, and won his first big competition in 2003.

One of the things he is most proud of is definitely becoming the Freestyle World Champion. He fought for it for years and eventually managed to win in 2009. Of course, winning King of the Air three times is another massive highlight. It's the biggest kiteboarding event in the world, and being able to stand on that number one spot is something he will never forget for the rest of his life.

The Switch to High-Aspect Bridled Kites

In the Brazilian Brothers opinion, Kevin revolutionized the world of kiteboarding by being one of the first to use a higher aspect kite with bridles at King of the Air, while others were still using boots and C-shape kites.

Everyone was riding C-kites coming from freestyle, and they knew the feeling of those kites, so they rode them at big air competitions too. It worked really well, but the tricks were going so fast. Kevin placed second in 2015, third in 2016, and then broke his ankle in 2017. While recovering, he realized he had been working on new tricks but needed to look at his gear too.

Damien Girardin had been telling him to get on a bridle kite, saying it was going to change things. Before the 2018 King of the Air, Kevin was in Tarifa and it was crazy windy. He borrowed a 9m and 10m bridle kite and rode at Balneario, a spot no one really rode at the time. He felt actually pretty comfortable in those conditions. That was a turning point where he realized he should make a step in using different equipment.

For the 2018 season, he decided to spend the time riding bridle kites, and it paid off. He was the first one riding a bridle kite and winning King of the Air. The next year, everybody changed, realizing those C-kites were going out and bridle kites were the new standard.

The Motivation Behind Starting Reedin

Using all that experience with both C-shape and bridle kites, Kevin took the next step to create his own company and design products in collaboration with Damien — Reedin. The main motivation behind starting Reedin was to make gear that they believed in and wanted to ride.

Kevin likes to challenge himself, and throughout his competing career, he was always looking for that big next step. Starting a business was that step. Damien was in a similar timeframe in his life; he had done all this work and had all this experience, and it was time to do something for himself. They had worked together for a long time and decided they could do it for themselves.

Damien went into his design room and started developing the first SuperModel. The goal with the SuperModel was to make a do-it-all, 3-strut kite. Kevin doesn't only jump; he wants to wave ride, foil, and have fun on the water. He remembers flying the first prototype a couple of kilometers down the beach. It was a blank kite, and as soon as he put tension on the lines, he knew right away they were onto something. He had a session, and while Damien was in Hawaii in the middle of the night, Kevin left him a voice note saying, "Dude, you nailed it. This is the kite I want to ride." Having a great product right away from the start, combined with Damien's experience, was a huge part of the brand's success.

Important Features of Reedin Products

When looking at Reedin and considering their kites, the main things to think about are performance and simplicity. If you look at some other brands, they make different kites for different disciplines. Reedin truly believes that if you have a good kite, it works for every sort of discipline. That's why they started with the SuperModel.

As the brand grows, they are making different kites:

• WhisperModel: A light wind kite available in 13m, 15m, and 17m. It is mind-blowing how little wind you need to ride it.
• HyperModel: Launched a couple of years ago, this is a 3-strut high-performance kite with more precise steering, while keeping the same characteristics as the SuperModel.
• MasterModel: The newest addition, launched recently because they were missing a 5-strut kite in the lineup. It has received a crazy amount of good responses so far!

They put so much time and effort into a product before even thinking about launching it. They don't just make a kite to make a kite; if they make something, they make it as good as they possibly can.

This makes a huge difference between Reedin and some other brands that might just make a kite to fill a spot in the lineup. With Reedin, every kite you ride is going to feel comfortable, easy to use, and will push you to the next level.

The Involvement of Ralf Grösel and Brainchild

To Kevin, working with Damien is like working with the "Einstein of kite design"; he is always five steps ahead. A couple of years ago, they started working with Ralf Grösel and Brainchild. It brought together two of the best kite designers, sharing their knowledge with the goal of making the best kite ever flown.

With the launch of the HyperModel, MasterModel, and WhisperModel, all made at Brainchild, it has made their kites so much better. The way Brainchild works and the technology they use, like ProWeld and digital printing, makes the kite a lot more efficient, a lot lighter, and a lot easier to fly. It's a huge step in kite design, and working together with Brainchild is just living the dream.

The Future of Reedin

Looking ahead, Kevin wants to do things well and step by step, rather than rushing. Starting six years ago, they have grown way beyond what he could have ever dreamed. Now, he is getting really excited because they know what they are doing and have positioned themselves in a really good spot.

The goal is to have all these Reedin kites up in the air and have people experience the joy they experience from kiting. It brings him a lot of joy to put that into products that people can buy. They want to keep spreading that, grow the company, and expand the team. Behind the scenes, they are working on many cool little projects that might be coming out in a few years. There is never a dull moment running a kite company—there's always a new material, a new design, or a new bridle setup to work on.

Shop Reedin

MACkite Subscription Links:

YouTube  |   Instagram  |   Spotify Oddcasts

Contact MACkite Below:

800.622.4655  |   Kiteboarder@MACkite.com  |   LIVE Chat Messenger