On the Loose

Name: Ruben Lenten

Nickname: LEN10

Motto: Always be honest, no worries!! Ride and enjoy as hard as possible…

D.O.B: 30/03/1988

Residence: The Netherlands

Known for: Being slightly more crazy and extreme than others…

Favorite spot: My own bed at home… Cape Town’s lovely for kiting and living life!!

Idol(influences): Aaron Hadlow, Travis Pastrana and my dad!

STORMSJEES 3 from KITECINEMA on Vimeo.

Yo Ruben, how you doing dude?!

-Hi man, what’s up…I’m doing great, cheers! Just had a good 8AM work-out on the beach with my personal trainer. Breakfast was quite nice too…

Sorry to hear that you’ve been out for a while due to an ankle injury right?!

-Yeah that was a bit of a bummer when I got to hear that I needed surgery on my left ankle. I was in South Africa and felt quite some pain in my ankle which kept me off the water. So I went for an MRI-scan and that told the doctor that my cartilage was worn out and it was basically a bone on bone situation. The corner of my ankle joint had already scraped off. So it was time to fix that once and for all.

I had my surgery done in Cape Town, South Africa because I was there anyways and had all my stuff sorted (house/car rented for 3months). The weather in Holland was awful so I decided to stay in the sun and deal with it there.

The doctor used this new technology were they clean out the worn out cartilage, then drill two holes in the bone so new stem cells come out. The new stem cells should fill the gab and create new cartilage so the bones will have smoother transition and without pain. It takes 6months to fully heal. I’ve been on crutches for a bit which is a pain in the ass, I’d rather jump on one leg.

Oh well, I’m five months in now and have a good feeling about it. Almost ready to rock again!!

NEW 2010 Ruben Lenten Video, The Mega Loop King! from Slingshot Sports Kite on Vimeo.

What you been up to in the last couple of months?

-In November I spoke to Aaron and he was in Brazil, so I went there for a week. Then I got injured but we still had our trip to New Caledonia planned. So I went on a trip to the other side of the planet and wasn’t able to kite. Now I can tell you that’s pretty dammn frustrating.

We started filming for On The Loose as well and had a whole camera crew planned and everything. Unfortunately I didn’t get in on the action. It was still good to see Aaron enjoy himself on the water tho…The parties were more my thing during that trip. Fair enough right… Then we went to South Africa where we try and spend at least 3 months a year. I’ve just been going to the gym and sorted a lot of stuff out behind the scenes for On The Loose. I kept myself busy, no worries.

It looks like On The Loose is up and running again, why has it been out of it so long?!

-Yeah I’m almost ready for action again, and the time off gave me room to sort out On The Loose again. Last year due to the economical crisis we had some budget cuts and weren’t able to film as much. But for now we’ve got everything sorted…Red Bull Media House is bringing a lot of structure to the table which helps us to create a better product. So now they’re actually making a real tv-series out of it.

For now it’s broadcasting in Germany, Austria and Switzerland on ServusTV with a German voice-over. But soon we’ll have everything rolling on here with the English voice-overs.

On The Loose on television, wow, that’s great news…How did this happen?

Yeah right, I couldn’t believe my luck when Red Bull decided to make a tv-series out of this. Awesomeness!! This is what I was aiming for, this way we can show our sport to a more mainstream audience so our sport can grow.

The power behind On The Loose, is that we don’t only show complicated hardcore action but we try to portrait the lifestyle that comes with the sport. This way more people will understand what we do and how we live, which is actually quite interesting. So I’m stoked and happy to make more and more episodes…

What are you focusing on these days and what are your plans?

-For now my main-focus is On The Loose but that’s just a project that is running about my life. So at the moment I’m still really busy with the best recovery for my ankle, and I also can’t wait to go ride again to film some stuff. Really excited to express myself on the water again, it has been a while…

I saw that you got your 2011 gear in already, how’s that stuff rocking for you?

-Yeah I recently got all my 2011 gear in from Mystic and Slingshot. Both parties have been working really hard to get this done in time for the photoshoots and first competition. I haven’t ridden it too much yet, just last week during a photoshoot in Morocco. But I was still taking it easy…I will get back to you on this asap. It looks and feels good for sure, yellow is what we’re rocking. Full details yet to come…

You’ve been traveling a lot with you mates Aaron Hadlow and William Milne to film the new episodes of On The Loose, how’ve you been enjoying that?

-Yeah I’ve known Aaron for so many years now, I think like ten years. He’s definitely one of my best mates and I can share the world with him. We push each other when we are out on the water and with filming we’re getting better and better as well. Things get easier and we both progress and reach our goals.

Aaron brought William Milne to the project who seems to fit right in, haha!! He’s a cool dude and he knows his shit…So I think we’re a good and fun crew who’ll last for quite some time. Lots more to come…Yoooo!

Your Facebook page says you’ve got too many friends, you can’t add anymore, what’s the deal here bro?

-Yeah I know what kind of deal is that?! I didn’t want to open a fan page as that sounds a bit lame to me…But I guess I get forced into one as the friend limit is 5000 or so!! Maybe I’ll just create one for On The Loose and update the shit out of that. Boooom!

What tunes do you listen to mostly, I’ve seen you’re into dj’ing a bit too?!

-Haha yeah I got into dj’ing last year because a few of my mates back home dj and I love a good party!! So I started off with a little midi-controller with two channels and no effects. I got to know my music a bit better and now I’ve got this new 4 channel mixer with effects and all. It’s still a midi-controller so I just hook it up to my laptop and the party can start. This is the only way I can travel with it in combination with my kiteboarding gear what already takes up a lot of space…

I’m playing mostly Minimal, Tech-House and sometimes a little Techno. I still need some practice but I freakin’ love it…Downloading new tracks from beatport.com now!!!

What’s your favorite food, healthy and unhealthy version please?

-I guess there’s not really a unhealthy version…I like most food as long as it’s healthy! I take quite good care of myself and friends with good breakfast with smoothies and everything. Making salads or cooking something up has been my thing as well while I was injured!

Is there lots of you to come after your injury or how do you plan on rocking the kiteboarding scene again?

-I’ve got quite a nice plan lined up so we’re filming non-stop and I’ve got lots of photoshoots and videoshoots to go to. All fun…But the thing I’m looking most forward to is this crazy trick I want to perform in August at a very windy spot. With that I hope to you the passion and balls I’ve got for the sport.

Are you 100% fit yet to rock the Triple-S invitational that starts on the 5^th of June?

-Well after ‘’resting’’ my ankle since the 29^th of December and training a lot with the personal trainer I feel I can deal with riding again. Still have to take care a little but I will. More than stoked to be back on the water…

What’s your advice to the rookies and maybe even the parents or older people that want to get into this great sport?

-I love seeing kids on the beach that totally love the vibe and feel of the beach. They can express themselves with a kite in their hands and learn or do whatever they want.

I can imagine it sometimes looks a bit dangerous to the parents but that’s why every beginner needs a lesson or two to know the safety procedures. You can go extreme or you can take it slow…So pick what you like!

What’s most fun for you about kiteboarding?

-I love being out on the ocean in general, just you and mother nature. The more you kiteboard the more comfortable you get. SO after a while you can explore your boundaries and push yourself for more adrenaline. I just love it that I can go as big as possible with the maximum amount of speed and still make a soft touch-down. It’s really the adrenaline that makes me addicted.

Ok man, thanks for your time…Enjoy the time to come!

Peace!

No worries, chat soon…Ride hard and peace out!

LEN10