A wingfoil trip to South Africa with Keanu Lenzin and Indiana Paddle & Surf Co.

Meet Keanu Lenzin, a young and talented rider, Adrenaline Ambasador at Indiana Paddle Surf & Co. At just 16 years old, Keanu has already carved out a place for himself as a passionate and versatile waterman. Growing up near Lake Constance, he transitioned from surfing to windsurfing before fully embracing wingfoiling, a sport that perfectly matches his love for wind and waves. Sponsored by the Swiss brand Indiana Paddle Surf & Co., Keanu recently embarked on an unforgettable trip to South Africa, pushing his limits in the iconic waves of Cape Town. In this interview, he shares his experiences from the trip, his thoughts on Indiana’s cutting-edge equipment like the Wavefoil 4’4 board and the Marlin and Barracuda foils, and his goals for the upcoming season. Dive into the story of a young rider with big dreams and even bigger passion for the sport.

Hi Keanu and welcome to TotalWing! First of all, can you introduce yourself and your riding background?

Sure, I’m Keanu and I’m 16 years old. I’ve been a surfer since I was about 9 years old, and for me, it was always boring to just do watersports on holiday when there were waves. So, 4 years ago, I tried windsurfing for the first time and I liked it. But then winging came up, and my dad bought our first equipment. I tried it and found it absolutely amazing. So I kept doing it until now. Mostly I wing at my home spot at Lake Constance, but if there’s a chance, I now like winging in waves too.

What’s your connection with the Swiss brand Indiana?

When I had been winging for about two years, the shaper Andi from Konstanz, whom I already knew, asked me if I’d like to be a part of his brand Indiana. So I for sure said yes, and yeah, that’s how it happened.

2023 World Cup Series Silvaplana, Ensis ENGADINWING by Dakine – 13 June 2023.

You recently had the opportunity to go on a wing trip in South Africa. Can you tell us about it?

My trip to South Africa was great. I was there for two weeks, and we had pretty good wind and the waves weren’t bad either. I was mostly winging at Blouberg in Cape Town, and I think the spot is absolutely great. I went out on the water every time there was wind, with waves or without waves, low wind or high wind. I for sure like riding in the waves more because I’m a surfer and I just love riding in waves.

You use Indiana’s Wavefoil 4’4 board, which is a low-volume board that can be used for both surf foil and wingfoil. Can you give us your feedback on it?

I absolutely love the wave foil board! It’s really practical because I only have to bring one board for every occasion. Plus, it’s really small, so I don’t have huge luggage when traveling. And for sure, it’s a great board too. Personally, I don’t have huge problems getting up on the foil with low wind. I just use a bigger foil and a slightly bigger wing, and like that, I’m fine. It doesn’t glide that well because it’s not meant for that – it’s meant for surfing waves. But for me, it also works great for doing tricks too. Because it’s so small, it almost feels like you have nothing under your feet, and you can do crazy spins and stuff because of that. In the waves, it behaves really well. When you touch down, you can easily get up again because of its shape. I really like it on flat water too because it’s so playful, and you can easily do jumps and stuff.

Do you use it in other disciplines than wing ? Like prone surf foil or dockstart?

The wavefoil 4.4 is my board for everything, so I also use it for pump foiling and for prone surfing. I like the little bit of extra volume while pump foiling for touchdowns and for more space on the board to put my feet or hands when doing tricks. For prone surfing, it’s perfect too because I’m already used to it from wing surfing. So for me, it’s a great all-rounder.

On the foils side, you ride with Marlin frontwings: what sizes do you have? Can you give us some feedback?

As a foil, I mostly use the Marlin S. I use it for prone foiling and winging when there’s not too much wind but a fair bit. Then, the Marlin M I use for prone foiling with smaller waves and for light wind wing sessions, but then I also sometimes use the Barracuda M or L. For strong wind, I also like to use the Marlin XS or XXS. Those foils are really fast and agile. With the XXS, I just have the problem that the lift for doing big jumps isn’t great, but that’s normal for such a small foil. The Marlin foils are amazing. They have great glide, are really joyful to ride, and you can do sharp curves and maneuvers. The lift is also great, so I can easily use my 4.4 board. If I had to pick only one, I would take the Marlin S because it’s everything a good foil should be: good lift, agile, fast, and fun to ride in waves.

What do you think of Indiana’s new monobloc construction for these foils?

I love the new Monoblock system from Indiana. I can really feel that there is less friction in the water. On top of that, you only have to screw in three screws for the whole foil. Plus, it also looks much cleaner, and it’s much more stable, so you simply cannot break it.

You also use Barracudas: in what context? How do you like them?

I really like the Barracuda foils because of the way they ride and the early lift they give, but I’m just not really happy with the sharp edges. I’m scared every time I fall in because they’re so sharp. But the foil itself is great. I’ve also tried prone surfing and pump foiling with it, and it works great. They have such great lift that I can even prone foil the Barracuda S, which is incredibly small. And the Barracuda L is great for pump foiling. I personally just like the Marlin foils better, but I think you’d have to try them yourself to decide which one is better for you.

I’ll leave you with the last word? What are your future wings projects?

I’m really looking forward to the 2025 season. I’d like to go to South Africa again or just anywhere where there’s wind and waves. I’m also planning to compete at the European Wing Foil Race in Silvaplana again because it’s such a cool event where you meet great foilers from whom you can learn a lot. And for sure, I’m not going to miss an opportunity to wing at my home spot at Lake Constance.

Thanks a lot Keanu for your answers !

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