The Devoted: TONY MUELLER

Is Tony Mueller the most dedicated winger in Idaho? Well, it’s a strong bet. At 64 years old, Tony’s been winging since it first broke onto the scene and hasn’t looked back – he gets out amongst it as often as he can (when he’s not doing volunteer work for local animal rescue shelters) and is a well-known face at his local spot…

Photos: Gwen Le Tutour

Hey Tony. So firstly, tell us how you discovered foiling… I understand that you tried SUP foil first right?

Many years ago I was asked to be on a two-man crew on a trimaran foil sailboat by the owner of the kayak shop I worked for. I was a sea kayak instructor and guide. The foil sailboat was designed by an engineer that designed race foil boats so we knew it would be fast and after that experience I was hooked on the speed of the craft. Then seeing foils for surfing hit the market, I wanted to try SUP foil surfing since I raced and surfed SUP already. That worked out okay, but I didn't have much time to practice since I lived far away from the ocean. The development of the wing changed all that, since then I could do this anywhere I have wind. I also practiced foiling behind my boat to learn how to foil and went on from there.

You’ve got quite a history of being on the water right? Including shaping your own boards?

Yeah, my history goes back to 1986 when I started racing sea kayaks and moved up in classes to the open/unlimited class in 1996 and won the majority of the races in California. Back then I was training five to six days a week before heading to work. In 2003 I had a back injury that required surgery, so after that I took up SUP paddling and surfing and thought the racing scene would take off. I wanted the fastest boards, so I taught myself how to shape and glass my boards and I actually won a lot of races on my own boards.

I was invited to the first two “Battle of the Paddle” races that had prize money and also finished second in the first US paddle board championship that had a SUP class. I then retired from racing in 2015.

So how old were you when you started on the wing, and how was the level of progression on that compared to other water sports you’ve enjoyed?

I was 59 I think. So much has happened over the last four plus years, it's hard to remember. I for one have always enjoyed the long learning curve of all my watersports, and from early on I learned that you have to keep after your goal in achieving the things you want to do and when you make a mistake, you learn from it. Wingfoiling has been the most challenging because you have to understand the wind that will give you the power and the foil that is like flying a glider that is under water, with pitch and roll for turning and altitude control over the water. This was a major goal of mine, to combine all of these actions and I did and will keep learning to become more and more proficient

Tony, tell us about any advantages or disadvantages of being slightly longer in the tooth than the majority of those taking up the sport today…

The big advantage is all the years of life experience. When I was 13 my parents got me involved in soccer which was a new sport for us back then. I was also working at a bike shop and modifying my bike frames to race BMX which was also an emerging sport. Plus the owner was an aircraft engineer, so he taught me a lot about metal work. I feel this set me up to always look at sports and activities that were innovative, just like surfski, kayak, and SUP racing. The disadvantages are that as I get older it's harder to do the things I did when I was younger. Also, I have had injuries that make me think that I know my limits, and yet I still push it and most of the time I surprise myself. Maybe that's experience!

Where are your preferred spots, and what would you consider to be your optimum conditions for a good day on the water?

Lake Pend Oreille in Sandpoint Idaho is my main spot. This lake has many challenging conditions – from north winds that create good, ridable waves, to southwest winds that can get gusty. Plus the forecast can be unpredictable so that can make it challenging and I feel it makes me a better rider to learn to handle what comes my way. I have even foiled under the railroad trestle bridge. The Columbia River gorge is great too – the strong winds and large waves make for great foil surfing and I usually go for two to three days in a row, which makes the trip worth it.

During the winter months I take trips to Lake Mojave in southern Nevada. This location gets consistent strong north winds and good-sized waves, as well as southerly winds. I do foil in Sandpoint in the winter with a dry suit, even after a morning of skiing I sometimes get an afternoon session in. It's pretty awesome to do both in one day!

Do you live close by to Lake Pend Oreille then? And how often do you try and get out there?

Yes Lake Pend Oreille in Sandpoint is 10 minutes away from City Beach Park where I launch from. While I am at home, I always have a Sprinter van and all my gear ready to go, because you never know what the wind is going to do, even weather forecasts are off sometimes. I have a light wind setup just for that reason. I still want to foil if the wind drops and this setup has given me five to six days in a row during summer season when the winds are light. I have learned a lot about the weather here and I have friends that live out of town and rely on me to give them my best forecast for the next day before making the trip. During the winter I sometimes can ski in the morning and see the lake from there, and then go winging in the afternoon as long as the lake isn't iced over. I’ll use a drysuit for those kind of conditions…

What’s your choice setup for an average day?

I have to have a wide range of gear for the wind conditions here in Sandpoint. My board of choice is the KT Dragonfly 105L because it gives me more take-off speed in lighter winds and if the wind dies off it's a great paddle board to get me back to shore. The foil I use in lighter winds is the SAB 73p mast, 1350 Leviathan front wing and 370 tail. In stronger winds I still use the KT Dragonfly but switch to my GoFoil 38″ mast and will use RS1000, GL140, or GL180 front wings and use 14.5″ tail wing. I like to use the smallest wind wing possible so I match the foil that best gives me the most speed possible when on foil. For that, it’s hard to beat the Cabrinha Mantis, and I have a quiver ranging from 2m to 6m wings.

You have a good amount of competitive background in wind and water sports. Tempted to compete in wingfoil at all?

I feel at this point in my life I enjoy competing with and challenging myself – I focus on finding my limitations and see how far I can foil, like doing long distance runs across the lake or like I did a couple of seasons ago, foiling from Rufus, Oregon to Biggs Junction, which is about five miles upwind and then I have five miles back downwind and surfing. I also like to do speed runs to see how fast I can go. When I travel to Lake Mojave, I stop at a dry lakebed and break out the MTN skateboard and do some land winging. It's different but a lot of fun

Given what you’ve said, you’re clearly a very committed rider, especially given some of the locations you ride. Do you think your passion has inspired others to get out there and get after it?

I do have a lot of enthusiasm for wingfoiling and the other activities both on and off the water. It really helps give me a very positive feeling inside and when I am approached and people start talking to me, I explain that what I do is very challenging and you have to be patient and keep after it then you will achieve your goals. You only fail if you give up is what I say. I tell people to find their passion and go after it, even if it's not something like wingfoiling, it's more of a way of life to go after the obstacles. I have had people say that I am living the best life! But then I have some really good people around me with being involved in this sport.