The Global Paddling Community

Interview with world champion kayak surfer Rusty Sage.

This interview was originally produced for the Portuguese web site 'kayaksurf.net' and is published exclusively on Playak in english to make it available to a wider audience. The portuguese version of the interview is available here.

Name: Rusty Sage
Age: 27
Nationality: USA (California)

Competition record:
1996 - Pre-World Champion, Junior Freestyle River
1997 & 2007 - World Champion, Senior High Performance Surf
1998 - Pre-World Champion, Sr. Freestyle River
1999, 2005-2006 - Santa Cruz Surf Festival Champion, Senior HP
2001 - Big Air Champion, Overall
2004 Gorge Games - 2nd place Head-to-Head Extreme Racing
2005 Turkey Invitational - 4th Place Overall Extreme Racing
2005 Big Wave Challenge Champion Canada - Best Ride

Santa Cruz

Hi Rusty. First of all, congratulations for your victory in the Basque Country! How does it feel to be a World Champion?
It is a great feeling to win a World Championship, everyone that has competed at a world level knows that it takes a ton of effort and dedication to get through an event. It's a marathon not a sprint during this event; the team event throughout the week and practice sessions really drained me. I was able to bring all of my physical abilities and talents of being in a kayak to the present, as well as being fortunate to have been given great waves to ride. The finals day was amazing, great atmosphere and incredible competition.

Worlds video, Basque Country.

How did you prepare for the competition?
I spent months previous to the event practicing in all different types of surf, from small to big and point to beach break. On top of going out in my kayak I balanced out my training with Kiteboarding and regular surfing. I feel that it is important to be able to understand and utilize 2 key balance points: sitting down and standing up.

About the event: what did you like most?
The location and the venue of Mundaka and Bakio is awesome. Being able to check the surf from the flat and being able to walk to the beach is a great thing. My hat goes off to the coordinators and to the Basque Country for their hosting of a great event.

In Bakio, Basque Country.

And what should be improved next time?
At times there could have been better communication between the organizers and competitors.

What gear did you use?
I am fortunate to be able to have people within the industry that believe in what I am doing, and I ride the best product available (in my opinion of course). The boat that I used for the World Championships is the Reaction by Murkey Waters, designed by Vince Shay; my paddle is an AT2 Flex shaft 45 degree offset; my helmet is made by Gath and my life jacket is made by Kokatat.

Any new rules you would like to introduce for such competitions?
I would like to see sponsors set up in a way so that the Athletes get paid for placing. This is a lot easier than it sounds for sure, but someday.

And about the World Cup - last year was a great success here in Portugal - how is it going to be this year?
The World Cup is on track to be another great success. We have selected events from around the world to select the best surf kayak athletes in the world and invite them to the World Cup Finals and determine a World Cup Champion. The World Cup Finals will be an invitational event held in Ile D' Oleron, France in conjunction with the Home internationals. Check www.kayaksurfworldcup.com for the event schedule, and inquire about being able to compete in France for anyone who is interested.

3rd place in Santa Cruz 2008 (HP class). Another great result. Satisfied with your run?
Santa Cruz was amazing this year, we couldn't have asked for better waves and conditions. I have been working on my waveski skills and I am trying out the Twist from Murkey Waters. I knew that if I made the finals for both Waveski and HP divisions it was going to be a long Sunday, and this happened. By the end my body was beat down and I didn't eat enough through the day and ran out of energy and patience in the finals. I kept chasing the waves and they weren't there. Chris Harvey did his thing by having a great heat while Matt Radis was the unsuspecting assassin out there picking off some great waves.

Santa Cruz

As for the Waveski, I couldn't believe where I found myself in the semis, I beat out Ricky Miller and Fletcher B. and tied Kenny King in the Semi's. We were all within 2 points, an incredible heat for sure; the finals were a bit of a different story - I received a well deserved fourth out of four people - I was just too tired/exhausted. This gave me inspiration to keep working on this sport and exploring new moves sitting down. I am also tracking the success of Waveski throughout the world and seeing if/how surf kayaking can elevate to a similar level and maybe be able to exceed it. Overall I was happy with my results.

About Steamers Lane... Vince says that it's either a very good or a very bad wave...
Well the wave is very tide dependent, and according to what time your heat is could make for a very frustrating 20 minutes. As you can see in the photos that Pete Blenkinsop took I think this is The Premier Wave of Northern California. It holds incredible size and spreads the crowds, most of the time, and it is protected from the winds.

Steamers Lane

Main ideas about SCKSF... why do you think it is THE major world kayaksurf festival?
Its location for spectators and the public is unlike any other kayak event in the world. People are able to understand what is going on and almost feel the power of the ocean at their feet.

Steamer Lane, California. Rusty is at the beginning of the video.

In 2009 the World Championships will be in Portugal. Satisfied with that decision?
The venue in Peniche is awesome and the waves are great. The WCF and Homes held there two years ago will give us some valuable lessons that will hopefully be improved on. I am very happy to go back to Portugal, it is a great country with very friendly people and tons of coastline. There is a bit of a problem with the US Currency, so that is a bummer for us Yanks, but from my travels Portugal is one of the most affordable countries with the Euro Currency.

Peniche.

How do you see the future of our sport?
By bringing photos of never before seen things in a kayak to the mainstream, we need to find a mainstream sponsor that believes in what we do and will support us in that endeavor. With this more interest will come and more mainstream magazines will have footage.

Peniche.

Other than kayaking what is your job?
I work as a System Engineer for a Solar Electric company in the Bay Area, CA. I propose and design Photovoltaic systems for commercial and residential energy needs. This is a bit of a challenge at times (I have been trained as a mechanical engineer in school) but it is very rewarding in figuring out how to generate the best return on investment by producing energy from the sun. I look forward to continuing to travel the world and hopefully being able to bring this technology to third world countries and help villages have light at night.

Rusty Gallery.

Final words for our readers?
Have Passion, Follow your Dreams and be a good person.

Thanks a lot Rusty!

Rusty Sage's Sponsors

Text - Luis Pedro Abreu
Photos - Pete Blenkinsop; Galen Licht;foto-reportagem.com; Dan Gavere; Rui Couto; Jono Stevens e photosbydes.com
Video: Dead Man Productions