A glimpse into Singaporean kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder’s world

SINGAPORE – At Changi Beach, Maximilian Maeder is giving us an education. It is a windy afternoon, late in February, and the world champion kitefoiler is fastidiously unpacking his equipment. Every detail matters here.

His hydrofoil – which is covered with protective padding, foam pads and an inflatable plastic wrap – is so sensitive that even a fingerprint can affect how fast a kitefoiler can go.

The meticulous teenager, 17, first brings out his foilboard. After he has unwrapped his hydrofoil, he starts laying out his kite.

As he untangles the lines and ensures no blades of grass or foreign objects are attached to it, he explains every step to The Straits Times crew, who are filming his every move.

We are here to try and unravel the mystery of a sport that will make its debut at the July 26-Aug 11 Paris Olympics and in which he will be favourite.

There are two videographers and a photographer stationed on a boat, another three on land, and cameras placed on his kite lines and wrists.

This sport is foreign to many and we are trying to dissect it from all angles. At one point, Max grips a GoPro attached to a mouth mount with his teeth.

He accedes to our many requests, even allowing us to strap reflective neon bands around his joints as he kitefoils to help with our motion-capturing tracking.

Maybe having all these gadgets on him is easy compared to what Max usually encounters when he is racing.

Think racing on the water. It is fast – kitefoilers travel over 70kmh – thrilling and sometimes painful. When you crash at such speeds, “that could knock you out of breath or make you disoriented for a few seconds”.

He spends the next 1½ hours on the water, only stopping because the tide is too low for him to continue. This session is light work for Max, whose training on the water usually sees him do practice races in Croatia.

With Max based in Europe for most of his competitions and training, his trips to Singapore are often short and so he is being very generous with his time.

Even when we have to add a day of shooting, he does not complain, patiently answering questions as we seek to understand the intricacies of this sport.

This is a routine that Max has become accustomed to. Whenever he tells people he is a kitefoiler, the common response is, “What is that?”

In a way, he is a competitor but also an evangelist who is spreading the word of kitefoiling.

Perhaps patience is a trait necessary for sailors, who are at the mercy of wind and weather conditions.

Discipline also has been key to his success. During his two-week trip back to the Republic, his mornings are reserved for strength and conditioning training at the Singapore Sport Institute.

Kitefoiling is a physical sport. Athletes remain in a squatting position for the majority of the 12-minute race – there are multiple in a day – while controlling a kite that is powered by winds of up to 35 knots (65kmh). This requires not just physical training, but also a carefully planned diet.

We get a glimpse of what goes into maintaining Max’s 1.80m and 95kg frame when he comes to the Singapore Press Holdings office for a video shoot in our studio.

He arrives after a gym session in the morning and lunch comprises one packet of roasted chicken rice, an extra packet of rice and half a steamed chicken – a little more than his usual portion.

At the beach, Max gave us an overview of his sport and while in the studio, we take a deeper look at how he has become one of the best kitefoilers in the world.

Everything he does on the water seems instinctive and effortless, and this comes after years of training and endless attention to detail.

Max tracks his races and training sessions, then crunches the data, using it to see how he can perform better.

For example, one data set that Max analyses is the average speed of his tack – a change of direction against the wind – to see what techniques can help him register the highest average speed.

The teenager is thorough in his explanations, and before he leaves, he makes detailed annotations on a series of photographs taken when he was on the water, to help us better understand the techniques involved in kitefoiling.

We miss one final chance to see Max in action on the water as poor wind conditions get in the way of our final shoot scheduled for March 3, so the next time we see him kitefoiling in person will be at the Paris Olympics.

Hopefully this time, we will know more about the sport after getting a peek into Max’s world.