He was almost back! Aaron Hadlow in Panama
this Front Blind Mobe!
But alas, his old bones are not what they once were, and he was pushed out of the finals by Robinson Hilario from the Dominican Republic thanks to some hot moves with a very low kite. Hilario would later move into second place behind Tack Christophe, who is currently ranked world number three.
But back to old man Hadlow. (He’s actually not that old, he's only 25) Where’s he been? Why hasn’t he been competiting?
Rewind a few years and Aaron was big bucks in the kiting world. He had an incredible web series with Ruben Lenten and was fresh off the back of his record breaking five world championships in the freestyle discipline. But by 2010 the fire was gone, and Aaron took a break from competitive kiteboarding to focus on his own brand under the Flexifoil banner, Hadlow.
“That was my effort to secure some sort of future after competing. I worked on creating products and learning about the business, at the same time I slowly started to feel the motivation return after it had slowly diminished over the years on tour.”
In 2012 he came bursting back onto the scene, claiming he was back! Until he tore his ACL, putting him back out for another year. The setback saw Aaron get more into the wakestyle form of riding, using bindings and hitting kickers and sliders before his proper return this year.
With some solid finishes, Aaron is set to claw his way back up the rankings. Who knows, maybe he’ll get that sixth world title in 2015?
Stay tuned for the next round of the PKRA world tour In Dakhla, Morrocco, next month: March 18 – 23.
Semaphore, SA
