GENERATIONS

By the time you read this article, a new documentary from Naish called “The Next Generation Watermen” will have been released. Each of the subjects who feature in this film – Koa Fabbio (rising star), Austin Kalama (contemporary star), and Robby Naish (legend) – although at different stages of life, have a defining lifelong connection to the ocean that surrounds them, and are passionate about promoting this kind of relationship for the generations yet to come. While the film was in the post-production stages, we approached each of the riders for a little insight into themselves and their thoughts on their co-stars…

Photos: Franck Berthuot

KOA FABBIO

I’m 12 years old now. I started winging when I was eight. I’ve loved water sports since I was a baby and surfed a lot. I also wanted to try a wind sport because my mom used to be a windsurfer and started teaching me. But then I saw winging, and it looked like a lot of fun. I asked my parents if I could try it and they wholeheartedly supported me.

I’ve been really lucky to have amazing mentors like Michi Schweiger and Robby Naish. Michi has taught me so much about technique and always pushes me to do my best. Rob-by Naish is a legend in water sports, and being part of the Naish team feels like a dream come true. Robby and the rest of the team believed in me, and I’m so grateful for the huge opportunity they’ve given me. They’ve been a big part of my growth in the sport.

I’ll be honest, it feels awesome to be part of this new gener-ation of foilers. Foiling is still growing, and it’s amazing to be part of that development. It’s exciting to try new tricks and see how the sport is growing. I love being able to be part of the foiling world and inspire other young athletes to join in.

Being able to use Naish’s gear to do this is amazing. The equipment just keeps getting better and better and it’s great to see how it’s improving all the time. It really helps me per-form and makes me feel confident and ready to push my limits.

Filming the documentary with Robby and Austin was an in-credible experience. It was awesome to work with them and be part of it. I feel very lucky and I learned a lot and had a great time. There were plenty of funny moments. During a lunch break, we were all super hungry after a long morning of shooting, and when the food finally arrived, I was so ex-cited that I accidentally ate both my meal and the photogra-pher’s meal…

AUSTIN KALAMA

In 2021, I got the incredible opportunity to join the Naish team. It all started when Naish’s Scott Trudon approached me after a session and asked if I was interested in trying out their gear. I was pretty stoked about the gear and shortly after that I officially joined the team. It's been an amazing journey ever since.

Naish gear perfectly matches the level of performance I aim for. It allows me to push myself and progress in the sport. Outside of riding in the ocean, one of my favorite things to do is take my foil to unconventional places. Whether it's wa-terfalls, mountain lakes, rivers, or even pools, I love exploring new bodies of water and seeing what could be possible to foil in. And Naish’s equipment really helps make this happen.

I view Robby Naish as a legend in the sport. A complete in-spiration and a confirmed pioneer of new age water sports. Riding with Robby and Koa is always a ton of fun. Robby brings his wealth of experience and still charges hard, while Koa's energy and progression are infectious. It's inspiring to watch them both in action, and it pushes me to elevate my own game.

ROBBY NAISH

Over the decades we have had numerous characters and talents, both young and old on the Naish team, from wind-surfing to kiting to standup and foil. We have always been a fairly small and relatively exclusive brand, and we used to joke that we built champions. Many young talents rode on Naish early in their careers and then got “bought” by big-ger brands before winning titles. There were usually no hard feelings because that is just how things work.

Some riders that have been sponsored by Naish over the years include Scott McKercher, Kauli Seadi, Marcilio Brown, Francisco Goya, Ann Marie Reichman, Tatiana Howard, Anna Blanche, Bernd Roediger, Mark Shinn, Flash Austin, Lou Wainman, Kevin and Jalou Langeree, Kai Lenny, Annie Re-ickert, and many others. It has always been a pleasure to help other athletes follow their dreams and to watch them grow over the years. And they all helped to build the Naish brand past and present.

I always thought of myself as an athlete and not really as a boss or businessman. I wanted to be a friend of our athletes and not the boss. I guess that has eventually changed over the years… not in terms of considering myself an athlete still, but I am honestly two or three times the age of most profes-sional riders these days. I hope that I have set a good exam-ple and continue to try my best to maintain a good level on the water and also be humble and respectful on land.

Austin and Koa are great “kids”. They are very different char-acters. Austin is already a grown young man and finding his way through life as an aspiring athlete and adult. Koa is still a kid with completely open horizons and his whole future ahead of him. In both cases, it has been really cool to be part of their careers and to hopefully have some positive effect on their lives and provide them with equipment to push their skills and these new sports to new heights. Foiling and wing-foiling are growing and changing very rapidly. To keep up with the evolution of maneuvers, etc., is not easy. But I hope these two will continue to stay at that cutting edge. They are both really talented.

I had the chance to ride with these guys a few times while the videographer was in Maui, and I'm really excited to see how the story unfolds in the film. Who knows, maybe I’m barely in there!