Mikkel has been lighting up the global kiteboarding scene with a style that blends influences from skateboarding, snowboarding, and wakeboarding into something completely his own. Every session is unpredictable and always entertaining. Beyond his riding, Mikkel brings an infectious energy—fun, rowdy, and genuinely hilarious—that makes him magnetic both on and off the water. Let’s dive in and get to know Mikkel Hansen.
Background
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Let’s start with the basics: where are you from?
I am from Denmark
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How long have you been kiteboarding?
10 years
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How did you first get into the sport?
I grew up skateboarding in a small town, until one day I saw some video clip of a guy kiteboarding and was so keen to try it. Me and some friends managed to borrow an old kite and I got hooked right there.
Kiteboarding was and still is the perfect way to combine the skateboarding creativity with being out in nature, pushing limits, having fun with others and exploring new adventures.
The way kiteboarding takes you to new weird outskirts locations when traveling and you meet other fellow people in the community searching for that perfect wind, waiting for the perfect low tide and then enjoying the hell out of the day. It feels like a small timeless place where nothing else matters and you are just right there in the moment.
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How did you first get into the sport? |
The Inspiration
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Why kiteboarding and not handball, football, or skateboarding (shoutout Rune Glifberg Danish skateboarding legend!)?
It all started with skateboarding. Back then I liked the way I could get creative and combine something that pushed my limits with having fun. Skateboarding offers a place where all people meet, it's a community for everyone.
The transfer into kiteboarding was natural and gave me the same feeling, but added many more opportunities. Being out in nature, the extreme conditions, the community and the same endless opportunities for evolving and trying new things.
That awesome feeling of finally landing a trick you have tried over and over is definitely something special. But most of all, kiteboarding is the place I feel most at home, the place that can clear my mind and enjoy myself.
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Who or what inspires you the most in kiteboarding?
That's a tough one, because there are so many really cool people out there. I get inspiration from not only kiteboarding, but I also still watch a lot of skateboarding, wakeboarding and likewise and sometimes get weird ideas from there and bring them to the water.
One of those people that have always inspired me since the beginning is Sam Light. How agile he is in the water while playing in the wind is awesome. He is an all around ambassador, not only for kiteboarding, but also the community and lifestyle of watersports. I really like how much control and playfulness he adds to everything he touches on the water.
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If you could step into the shoes of another kiteboarder for a day, who would it be and why?
Ruben Lenten doing the first mega loop ever, that must have been the most insane feeling to push the limits and achieve that.
What do you think?
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Do you ride with music blasting, or do you prefer the pure sounds of wind and water?
No music on the water. But in the car on the way to the beach, for sure a good tune with ZZ top blasting is pumping up the creativity.
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Do you also wing foil?
Not yet, but at some point for sure.
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Coffee or tea?
Coffee anytime
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Beer or wine?
Beer
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Pizza or burritos?
it’s a tough one, two of my absolute favourites. If possible I would go with both
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Manual pump or electric?
There is a time for both, my mood of the day will decide.
More about you!
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What’s been your most unforgettable session so far? (Where, when, conditions…)
My most unforgettable session was the first time ever having a kite in my hand, it was a 21m2 foil kite I borrowed from a friend. There was no kite school around the area I lived in and a couple of friends and I decided to try it out. Some of them knew something and I knew absolutely nothing about kiteboarding. But there I was with the kite in my hand and some bad weathers moving in, looking back we should have definitely stopped, but we were all too excited to keep going.
The bad weather hit and I flew over a road and got stuck on the other side of the road in an apple tree.
Somehow nothing happened and I was hooked, but I could also see I had to find a kite school somewhere and learn some basics to stay safe - and so I did.
Do I recommend others to learn that way? Definitely not.
Was it my most memorable session? For sure
Why? This is where it all started and looking back it was so not the right way to start learning, but it is a story we still talk about and that rush I have had many time since, but luckily in a more controlled way. haha.
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Have you had a “worst wipeout” of funky situation story in kiteboarding that you still laugh about?
I have had a lot of those. One of the ones I remember was actually not myself being wiped out, but my friend on a beach in South Africa, where he crashed so hard that his wetsuit split open all the way through the bum - and to get to the shore he had to walk a very long way through a sandstorm absolutely sandgrinding every inch, while trying to control the kite and protecting himself. And there I was absolutely no help and wiping out my stomach muscles in laughter cramps.
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What gear innovation excites you the most right now?
Pretty mind blown over the RideEngine and Slingshot innovations.
Slingshot taking the most innovative product price with the Onelock, completely changing the game of foil. RideEngine created the perfect partner in crime with the hardshell back in the days and now the new Hyperlock which is so easy to use and adjust during sessions.
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If you weren’t kiteboarding, what would you be doing with your time?
Definitely not a chess player. If I didn’t have my kiteboarding, I would definitely be trying out every single sport out there to find something that would come close to offering me the freedom, fun and community that kiteboarding brings. I somehow need kiteboarding, using my body and having that mental break in order to function.
Last Words…
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Anything else the universe should know about Mikkel Hansen?
The most important thing to me is to keep having fun and enjoy the moments.
I have this rule to try to do one stupid thing every week. Doing stupid things brings so many fun stories - and make sure you cry from laughter or push limits in new ways at least once a week.
