THE ALTRUISTIC KITER

“I WAS GETTING UP AT 6:30AM, CATCHING A BUS TO THE WEST SIDE OF THE ISLAND, AND THEN HITCH-HIKING TEN KILOMETRES WITH TOURISTS TO REACH THE KITE SPOT. MOST OF THE TOURISTS KNEW ME AS THE LITTLE BLONDE ISLAND KID, ALWAYS WITH A KITE ON HIS BACK AND BOARD IN HIS HAND.”

WILLOW-RIVER TONKIN IS AS DIVERSELY SKILLED A KITER AS YOU’LL MEET. FROM KITESURFING MONSTROUS WAVES TO LANDING TRIPLE FRONT ROLLS ON A STRAPLESS SURFBOARD, THIS HALF-MAURITIAN IS A WIZARD IN THE WATER.

WILLOW IS ALSO MUCH MORE THAN JUST A PROFESSIONAL KITESURFER AND WATERSPORTS ATHLETE. THE 22-YEAR-OLD WAS BORN IN SOUTH AFRICA, MOVED TO TAIWAN AT THE AGE OF SIX FOR FOUR YEARS, BEFORE HIS FAMILY MOVED AGAIN TO MAURITIUS WHEN WILLOW WAS TEN. RAISED WITH A SENSITIVITY BEYOND HIS YEARS, THIS SEEMINGLY ETERNALLY HAPPY HUMAN HAS BEEN PART OF COUNTLESS CHARITY VENTURES AND USES HIS IMPRESSIVE SOCIAL MEDIA REACH TO SHOWCASE HIS FUNDRAISERS WHILE ALSO ENCOURAGING PEOPLE INTO THE CRAZY WORLD OF KITESURFING.

KITEWORLD ASSISTANT EDITOR, HOLLY KEENAN, CAUGHT UP WITH WILLOW TO FIND OUT ABOUT SOME OF HIS CRAZY KITESURF MISSIONS AND TO UNVEIL MORE OF WHAT SETS HIM APART IN THE KITESURF CROWD Tell us about how