RUBEN LENTEN Professional Kitesurfer and Cancer Survivor

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Extreme sports are high-risk recreational activities that are most often fast and furious with a high level of physical exertion. Think Vin Diesel as Xander Cage in XXX and you will get the picture.

Kitesurfing is an extreme sport that as the name suggests involves a kite that harnesses the power of the wind to propel a small surfboard across the water. The kitesurfer controls the kite while balancing on the board. This extreme sport involves a great deal of athletic ability and makes for a great adrenalin rush. This is the domain of Ruben Lenten a Dutch born kitesurfer and Red Bull Athlete who won the Red Bull King of the Air in 2005 and is one of the most entertaining kitesurfers to watch with his high powered moves reaching great heights above the water. What makes Ruben Lenten a truly remarkable individual is that he is a positive thinker that has enabled him to survive cancer and be an inspiration to others to stay positive and overcome whatever challenges that life may throw and most of all to live life to the fullest. This is what Ruben has to say….Fitness & Sports: What attracted you to the sport of kitesurfing?

Ruben Lenten: I used to live close by to the beach and I have always been an energetic kid, playing soccer, doing wake boarding, and was always looking for something to do. I started playing with kites when I was about ten years old and when I was twelve years old is when I saw this big inflatable kite on the water for the first time and in the evening I told my parents that I saw this amazing new sport and this propelled my life into this magical adventure.

F&S: What brings you to Sri Lanka and what are your plans for the next week here?

RL: I have been working with Red Bull for over ten years and they always try and inspire the local community to push them to the next level. For this week, I am here for the Local Red Bull Hero Tour and together with fifteen kitesurfing schools we nominated 32 local talented kitesurfers, who will be joining me for a week-long camp where we work on coaching, yoga sessions and visiting the most beautiful kitesurfing spots in Kalpitiya. I will be coaching them in health, mind set and taking these guys to the next level in kitesurfing.

F&S: As a competitive kitesurfer what would be your most memorable moment?

RL: My most memorable moment was winning my First World Cup in Brazil, this was in 2004 and was my second year on the World Tour. Standing on top of the podium at the end of that year was an amazing experience.

F&S: How does a kitesurfer prepare himself for the physical exertion of the sport?

RL: Kitesurfing is a sport that you can do at your own pace. The youngest kitesurfer in the world is three years old and the oldest kitesurfer is eighty years old. You basically need core strength and your legs need to be powerful. I recommend a lot of core workouts and leg workouts. Practising yoga is also beneficial to this sport. I do a lot of body weight exercises because I do not want my muscles to grow too big but I want my muscles to be strong. I also work on my balance. The equipment that works for this is the Swiss Ball, Bosu Ball and the TRX System and I sometimes incorporate free weights into my workouts to get that additional power. At home I work with a personal trainer and he always pushes me.

F&S: When you are out in the ocean, on your board and steering your kite, describe that feeling?

RL: As soon as you hook yourself up to the kite you are committing to mother nature and there is no thinking about the past or the future. It is just all about being in the moment and feeling the wind and navigating to how you want to feel. If you want to cruise you just cruise, if you want to touch the water you just touch the water. And if you want to jump, you edge hard and steer the kite into the wind, you then tense up your stomach muscles to stay stable in the air and control the kite and then when you land at full speed that gives you the biggest adrenalin rush.

F&S: You have fought cancer and continue to do the sport you love, how did you do this?

RL: In August 2015, when I was 27 years old I got diagnosed with a big tumour inside my chest. It was actually when I was over in the US for a trip. I was experiencing some pressure on the chest and couldn’t breathe properly and woke up in the night in sweats, so I decided to go see the doctor to check this out. I did not think it was anything major and all of a sudden one minute before the doctor came in I was taking an X Ray and I thought what if this was something bad. Then they opened the door and I could see on their faces that there was something terrible going on. They told me that I had a big tumour right behind my heart; a 9cm inflammation and I better go see an oncologist as soon as possible. I thought my life is over, I started screaming for ten minutes going crazy but then I started to kick back into reality and see what I can actually do about this. I contacted the specialist at Stanford Hospital and I had the best care and the best possible outcome. I had the right diagnosis and the right treatment. After six months of chemotherapy my tests showed the cancer was all gone. After another six months of recovery (one year in total) I then picked up my life again and rocked it harder than ever before.

F&S: How big a role does the mind play in the sport of kitesurfing?

RL: A lot of life has to do with your mindset and this applies to kitesurfing as well. In free diving holding your breadth underwater in my view is the biggest mind game ever because there is so much oxygen in your body and you can go without oxygen for 3 minutes easily but you will feel uncomfortable because your body is so used to breathing so it is about training your mind to adapt to holding your breadth for a longer period of time. Training your mind is so much harder than training your body. I will spend a lot of time visualizing tricks and really getting into the zone to strengthen my mind to gear it towards achieving what I want to achieve.

F&S: Who do you wish to appreciate that have helped you in your journey as a kitesurfer?

RL: I have my buddy Aaron Hadlow, who is a five time World Kite Surfing Champion. We grew up together, travelled and competed together and pushed each other so we both improved in the sport. I really appreciate the friendship we have had for the last ten years. We have been competitors and the best of friends. My dad let me go into the wide world when I was fourteen years old. His biggest let go was when we went on a family holiday trip to France and I was fourteen and there were very big waves and he was very concerned and I assured him that I had things under control and he believed in my abilities. That day I ended up rescuing an older guy who was in trouble with his kite out at sea, they sent an helicopter to rescue him but I had him safely back on the beach when the helicopter arrived.

F&S: What are your goals now?

RL: Luckily enough I have been involved in the sport from an early age and my name keeps growing with the sport and I love making people happy with the sport. Putting the sport on the map worldwide is one of my goals and I do this with my brand Len10. We create experiences for individuals and corporates to learn the best knowledge that I have been able to learn and also to create the best kitesurfing equipment out there. I now only do one competition in the year and that is the Red Bull King Of The Air, which is the most prestigious event in kitesurfing. I won the event in 2005 and then the event took a break and in 2013 it came back again and I want to help take this fantastic event to greater heights.

I want to share my life experiences and motivate people to overcome challenges in life and help put people in the right direction that they want to go. Life is like a magnet; there is as much support out there as there are challenges. As part of our human nature we tend to talk about the challenges rather than the support that is there to overcome the challenges. For example if there is one guy who tries to choke you there maybe three others who come to try and help you but we tend to focus on the negatives. If we adopt a positive mind-set we can live a great life.

F&S: Words of motivation to the young aspiring kitesurfers of Sri Lanka?

RL: My advice to any young upcoming kitesurfer is to continue with following your dreams and set some cool projects. Don’t aim too big but instead enjoy what your doing, find out who you really are and love your life.