ATG Talk by Kevin Langeree: What does it take to live your true passion and make a living out of it

Our latest ATG Talk hosted World Champion and Professional Kitesurfer Kevin Langeree to tell us about what drives a champion, his adrenaline filled life and how keeping motivation at work can sometimes be related to a state of mind and the thrill of competition. 

On The 20th of May our latest ATG Talk hosted Kitesurfing world champion Kevin Langeree. Passionate expert, he surely knows how to keep motivation up in an unforgiving sport. The three times world champion took the time to talk us through his beginnings here in Noordwijk and his path to becoming a world title holder, the challenges he faced as well as the joy he felt on obtaining his first prize.

Lunch breaks have never been so motivating. It all lasted one hour packed with minutes of intense adrenaline while Kevin reconciled with his past. Introduced by our CEO – Gian Carlo Coletta on the topic of sailing and how Kevin defies the laws of gravity previously established in history and how he reconciles family with his buys « worldwide » schedule.

« Kitesurfing consists in being pulled by a kite and feeling the wind lift you up »

Kicking things off with a short presentation and some amazing footage of himself and a dream to fly.

Once a 7 years old child, the young champion started practicing his skills and combining the feeling of surfing and flying until the age of 9. Everyday he would grab his bike and spend as much time as possible on the water until he decided to become a professional Kit surfer. 

Originating from a modest yet very supportive family, it defied him to a tough hunt for sponsors and exposure. Going from one competition to another, he wanted to compare himself with the best, and ended up succeeding by winning the Dutch championship. His thirst for victory didn’t stop there, which led him to become a World Champion. A dream came true, the result of a lot of effort and motivation. 

Real athletes kept thriving on their passion and relentless motivation, and so he did up until 2010. During  a bad landing his right knee faced a bad injury and the footage took a toll. He used this opportunity to remind us how important it is to remain motivated and how he kept his chin up at all times. This allowed him to bounce back and pursue his dream to make Kite surfing as big as any sport.  

Training hard, working through difficult times, and repetitive injuries, Langeree started doubting himself but did not see himself as a « quitter ». By keeping his cool and maintaining motivation up to standards, his game-plan changed, getting back to what he does best, landing back on his feet in 2019  he finally wins for the third time, yet another World Champion title. 

« if you have a goal in your life, sometimes you get pushed back, but you need to keep on pushing and you can achieve it (…) Set goals for yourself, no matter their size. Take the time and snatch the bittersweet reward »

Kevin Langeree is someone that wanted to reach beyond his dream’s heights and his newest Kitesurfing brand Reedin’ and took the time to answer some questions about his daily routine, training, deeper knowledge about the brand he founded, his injuries and how motivation helped him recover. Also strongly emphasising how much fitness and a healthy diet also plays a strong role inside and outside of the water. 

We would like to thank Kevin for taking the time out off the water to talk to us and deliver yet another wonderful and insightful ATG Talk. You can see videos and more breathtaking footage of him on his official website and Youtube channel :  

https://www.kevinlangeree.com/bio/ 

https://youtube.com/c/KevinLangeree 

In the meantime, make sure you stay in touch to get to know more about our next ATG Talk, involving a one hour interactive workshop with executive’s coach and TEDx Senior Speaker mentor Barbara Rogoski on the 17th of June at 12:00 PM

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for further recaps!