From Bartender to Big Air Pro: Alessa Sophia Mensch Interview, Part 1

Sitting right next to the action with some awesome kiting taking place in Big Bay, Capetown, the Brazilian Brothers caught up with Naish pro rider Alessa Sophia Mensch to talk about her progression through the sport and how she turned kiteboarding into a full-blown career.

How Did Your Kitesurfing Journey Start?

Alessa's entry into the sport is a long, wild story. Originally from the south of Germany, she grew up in a small vineyard village. Up until she was 18 years old, she had never even heard of kitesurfing. During school, she did a Spanish exchange program in Ecuador when she was 16. After finishing school, she decided to take a typical gap year and head back to Ecuador. Her original plan was to work as a bartender and barista for a year, travel the world, and then return home to study Liberal Arts and Sciences.

She went to Ecuador, took her courses, and had some fun working in a bar, but it quickly started getting boring. She traveled to the coast and randomly saw kitesurfing for the first time. She spotted a freestyle board with boots on the beach — and coming from a snowboarding and wakeboarding background, it immediately clicked. She watched people doing freestyle tricks and handle passes, saw the lines attached to the kite, and thought it was way too cool not to try.

Alessa spent her last coins on lessons at a kite school in Ecuador. Once her money ran out, she told her instructor she'd love to continue but simply couldn't afford it. The instructor talked to his boss, Javier, who came back to her that very day with an offer. He needed a volunteer and thought she'd be a perfect match for the school. Her job would be helping with clients, managing bookings, handling small tasks around the school, and doing kite repairs. In exchange, she could shadow him, and he'd teach her how to kite and how to teach others.

For the next three months, Alessa was Javier's shadow. She watched him step-by-step, soaking everything in like a sponge to learn both how to ride and how to instruct. Soon after, he started paying her for her first lessons, allowing her to keep going and teach a little bit herself.

The Instructor Journey and Traveling the World

After those three months in Ecuador, the journey truly began. Alessa never went back to working in a bar or cafe, and she never went back to study Liberal Arts and Sciences. She traveled to Colombia and headed to Isla San Andres, a beautiful spot known as the island of the seven-colored waters. She spent two months there working as an instructor, made enough cash, and then headed to the mainland and Lago Calima.

She taught there for a bit, but hit a bumpy road when she broke her ankle and hurt her knee. Once she recovered, she kept moving. She traveled to Brazil and taught there for almost two years. In between, she took a detour to Portugal to get her IKO certification, since there were no English courses available in Brazil at the time. From there, she bounced around to the Dominican Republic, France, and back to Brazil, fully embracing the instructor lifestyle.

Arriving in Cape Town

After COVID, Alessa ended up in Cape Town through a crazy turn of events. A good friend of hers who worked for a German kite camp company asked if she was looking for a job. At that exact moment, Alessa was back in Germany and scheduled to start a winter job delivering parcels for DHL the very next day. She had already signed all the paperwork. When the call came asking if she wanted to be an instructor in Cape Town, she immediately dropped the DHL job and booked her ticket.

She arrived in Cape Town with only freestyle gear. During her second season, she quickly realized she might need a GTS, since Cape Town's wind is notoriously strong for pure freestyle riding. She spent two seasons working non-stop in Langebaan. When the season ended, she'd head back to Germany and work for the same company running kite trips across Europe.

When Did a Kite Career Become Possible?

During her second season in Cape Town, the Big Air Kite League (BAKL) started up. That was a massive turning point, and Alessa gives a huge shoutout to Michael MacDonald, the founder of BAKL. Mike poured his heart and soul into the league. As a rider himself who competed in his first King of the Air (KOTA) and then got injured, he kept his passion alive to create something truly for the riders.

Mike not only opened the doors for athletes like Lorenzo Casati and Andrea Principi to get their initial exposure to the Big Air world, but he also gave Alessa a massive opportunity — offering her her first job in social media, which allowed her to travel to more competitions and stay on the road.

Alessa's first competition was at that early BAKL event. At the time, it was just her and Francesca competing. Because there were only two girls, they ended up competing directly against the men. Mike had told them that if they could get three girls, they'd have their own league, but they fell just short. Alessa ended up in a heat against Francesca's brother and actually made it into round two as a one-hit wonder.

Just two months after that event in Cape Town, news came that Lords of Tram was going to happen in Barcarès, France. This was set to be the first-ever female Big Air competition, setting the stage for the next massive chapter in Alessa's kiteboarding career.

Want to learn more about Alessa's story? Stay tuned for part 2!

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