“In my last heat, I’ve done two world firsts in a heat: my Brodel flip, and a trick where I put my bar in my legs like a King Deadman. I’m really, really happy to land these tricks in my final. I’m super stoked to win this title, I trained a lot!”
Overview
Held from November 16 to 19, 2021, in the metropolitan hub of Fortaleza in northeastern Brazil, the 2021 GKA Hydrofoil Freestyle World Cup (SuperFoil Brasil 2021) took place as a combined mega-event alongside the GWA Wingfoil World Tour. Serving as a “One-stop World Championship” to crown the 2021 GKA Hydrofoil Freestyle World Champion, the competition showcased an explosive clash between two distinct schools of riding: high-flying strapped foil-kite acrobatics reaching 6 to 10 meters in just 10 knots of wind, and fluid, skate-inspired strapless board work on the water’s surface.
Location and Conditions
The event was staged at Praia de Iracema right in front of Fortaleza’s towering urban skyline.
Starting in light 10-to-15-knot breezes that would have grounded a standard twin-tip competition and building to 20-to-22 knots by Finals Day, the hydrofoil’s efficiency turned the city beachfront into a massive aerial arena framed by golden Brazilian sunsets and packed crowds along the promenade.
Clash of Two Styles and Regulations
Embodying a discipline in its formative era, the fleet was split down the middle into two contrasting philosophies and equipment setups.
On one side stood the “footstraps + ram-air (foil) kite” contingent, led by French riders Charles Brodel and Maxime Desjardins. Using paraglider-style non-inflatable foil kites and strapped boards, they exploited massive hangtime to throw triple front roll, board-offs, and old-school aerial gymnastics.
On the other side stood the “strapless + inflatable (tube) kite” school, spearheaded by the Hood River, Oregon crew (defending 2020 champion Fred Hope, Reed Brady, and Robin Siewert) alongside France’s César Natoly. Riding without straps, they emphasized smooth carving and technical surface and aerial tricks such as the seated “Lazyboy,” “Around the World,” tornadoes, and shuvits.
Heats lasted nine minutes with each rider’s best four out of fifteen trick attempts counting toward their total score, requiring maneuvers from at least two different trick families. Judges placed a heavy premium on landing cleanly on the foil and riding away without the board ever touching the water’s surface. Because riders were inventing brand-new maneuvers on the fly, judges and athletes huddled together before the skippers’ meetings to name previously unseen tricks and assign them to scoring categories in real time.
While four women (Germany’s Maike Elisa, the USA’s Kylie Zarmati, Italy’s Samuela Mulè, and France’s Aurore Gineste) competed in a combined single- and double-elimination format, GKA rules required a minimum of six competitors to ratify an official World Championship title, making the women’s division an exhibition event title.
Highlights and Showdowns
Breaking Boundaries: Deaf Athlete Robin Siewert Reaches the Final Four
One of the most inspiring storylines of the week came from strapless standout Robin Siewert. Completely deaf and competing without reading lips, he navigated nine-minute heats, trick counts, and score updates through visual hand signals from his sign-language interpreter on the beach.
Landing high-scoring “Tornadoes” and strapless board-offs from Round 1, Robin Siewert defeated Dominican twin-tip powerhouse Joselito del Rosario—who threw down one of the first hydrofoil “Backroll Kiteloops” of the event—in Round 3 to advance to the semifinals, earning high praise from commentator Jo Ciastula:
“Robin is completely deaf… he has an interpreter here and has translated everything. The guy needs no words. I hung out with him yesterday and the positive vibes and the energy that comes off of this rider is insane. Literally, he is a perfect example and ambassador that there are no boundaries.”
— Jo Ciastula
Quarterfinal Upset: Rookie Maxime Desjardins Dethrones Defending Champion Fred Hope
The final heat of Round 3 (the quarterfinals) delivered the biggest upset of the tournament. Defending 2020 SuperFoil champion and strapless pioneer Fred Hope faced young French rookie Maxime Desjardins, who had taken up hydrofoil freestyle after watching his sister’s boyfriend—Charles Brodel—and was competing in the very first event of his life.
“I started because my father and sister started. Then my sister’s boyfriend, Charles Brodel, started doing Hydrofoil Freestyle which I thought looked really spectacular. I decided to try it and loved it. This is my first competition, and I want to show the world what I can do on the water.”
— Maxime Desjardins
Although Fred Hope threw down his signature “Lazyboy” (7.43 points), a roast-beef grab, and a textbook “Around the World” in the dying seconds, he fell just short of the 7.16 score he needed on his final attempt. Flying a pink foil kite, Maxime Desjardins landed lofty “Double Backroll Board-offs” to knock out the defending champion and advance to the semifinals.
Show Detailed Competition Results (Spoiler Alert)
On Finals Day in 20-to-22-knot winds, Germany’s Maike Elisa—winner of the women’s single elimination—held off a strong challenge from American Kylie Zarmati in the double-elimination final to win the women’s event with a 12.57 total.
In Men’s Semifinal Heat 1, top favorite Charles Brodel posted 24.54 points to defeat Robin Siewert. Semifinal Heat 2 saw an all-French clash of styles between strapped rider Maxime Desjardins and strapless stylist César Natoly, with Maxime Desjardins landing a late big-air combo to advance to the final.
The men’s small final between Robin Siewert and César Natoly became an all-strapless showcase. After a technical issue required an official re-run of the heat, Robin Siewert prevailed in a tight battle of “Around the Worlds” and one-footers to claim 3rd place on the podium—celebrated by MC Jo Ciastula in sign language during the awards ceremony.
The Men’s Grand Final pitted Charles Brodel against his girlfriend’s younger brother and protégé, Maxime Desjardins.
Exchanging thumbs-ups on the water between massive jumps, both Frenchmen put on an aerial clinic, but Charles Brodel was in a league of his own. Executing two world-first maneuvers in a single heat—his signature “Brodel Flip” and a “King Deadman” variation where he locked the control bar between his legs mid-air—Charles Brodel drew comparisons to “Cirque du Soleil on water” from the commentary booth. Posting a dominant 30.02-point total, Charles Brodel avenged his 2020 runner-up finish and was crowned the 2021 GKA Hydrofoil Freestyle World Champion.
[Men’s Division / One-Stop World Championship]
1st: Charles Brodel (France) *2021 World Champion
2nd: Maxime Luan Desjardins (France)
3rd: Robin Siewert (Canada / USA)
4th: César Natoly (France)
5th: Joselito del Rosario (Dominican Republic) / Fred Hope (USA), etc.
[Women’s Division]
1st: Maike Elisa (Germany)
2nd: Kylie Zarmati (USA)
3rd: Samuela Mulè (Italy)
4th: Aurore Gineste (France)
Search Aliases: 2021 GKA Hydrofoil Freestyle World Cup (Superfoil), 2021GKAHydrofoilFreestyleWorldCup(Superfoil)