“I just love being on the water all the time and this discipline just makes it happen that we can kite like all the time. It doesn’t matter the wind conditions… just have fun for sure.”
Overview
Finn Flügel, born on July 16, 2009, in Hof, Bavaria, Germany, is a professional kiteboarder. Moving with his family during early childhood to El Gouna on Egypt’s Red Sea coast, he grew up in an ideal year-round wind environment. A next-generation “Complete Waterman” who competes at the world’s elite level across Twin-Tip Freestyle, Twin-Tip Big Air, Hydrofoil Big Air, and Wingfoil, he was crowned the GKA Freestyle World Champion in 2025 at just 16 years old.
Career
Born into a passionate board-sports family headed by his father Bernd Flügel—owner and CEO of the iconic German windsurfing, snowboarding, and water sports brand “F2 (Fun & Function)”—Finn grew up surrounded by water and winter sports. He first stood on a kiteboard at age six in Egypt under the guidance of local instructor Islam Ali, and by age ten he resolved to make kiteboarding his future, convincing his parents to relocate full-time to El Gouna. Beginning his competitive journey in 2021, he debuted on the senior GKA Kite World Tour in 2022 at age 13, earning the “GKA Rookie of the Year” award and capturing immediate international attention.
In 2024, after winning the U16 Youth Freestyle World Championship and the German National title, he claimed his maiden senior World Cup victory at the GKA Freestyle season finale in Qatar. Earlier that same year in Jericoacoara, Brazil, he achieved the rare feat of standing on the podium in third place in both the Twin-Tip Big Air and Hydrofoil Big Air divisions at the same event.
In the 2025 season, at the decisive GKA Freestyle finale in Taíba, Brazil, in November, he delivered an astonishingly consistent performance with only a single crash across the entire competition. Facing a stacked final heat against former and reigning champions including Maxime Chabloz and Gianmaria Coccoluto, Flügel stomped a massive “KGB 9” in the closing exchanges to snatch the victory and clinch his first senior GKA Freestyle World Championship at age 16. That same year, he also finished as Vice World Champion in Hydrofoil Big Air and won the U19 Youth Big Air World Title, bringing his combined youth and senior world title tally to six.
The Strap Freestyle Revolution and Multidisciplinary Rise
His most distinctive technical hallmark is competing at the pinnacle of modern freestyle wearing standard “footstraps”—the setup used in Big Air—rather than the fixed wake-style “boots” worn by virtually every other rider on the freestyle tour.
Although he rode in boots early in his career, a heel injury during a 2022 trip to Brazil left him unable to put a boot on without pain, prompting him to switch to footstraps just to stay on the water. Noting that straps gave him far greater ankle freedom and allowed him to attempt triple handle-passes like the KGB 9 or Backside 9 in 25+ knot winds without fear of injury—since his feet simply release from the straps in heavy crashes—he unlocked triple passes and innovative combos such as a “Crow Mobe straight into a Blind Heart Attack 5” on landing. By blending ankle-flexible grabs and board-off sensibilities into wake-style maneuvers, he sparked a new movement in competitive freestyle.
His aerial awareness and body control translate seamlessly into Big Air, where he unleashes cutting-edge combinations like the “Shark Attack Double Flip” and the “Board Flip Osmosis” (passing the detached board behind his back in mid-air). He is also renowned among fellow pros for his uncanny ability to mimic complex maneuvers on sight—most notably watching a clip of Hydrofoil dominator Charles Brodel’s grueling “Tornado” spin on a heavy foil board and landing it himself on just his second attempt the very next day.
Sponsors and Brands
Because his surname “Flügel” literally means “wing” in German, his signing as a Red Bull athlete at the end of 2024 was widely celebrated across the industry as a rider “born with wings.”
His kite sponsor history saw him progress from CORE and Airush before joining industry giant DUOTONE at the end of 2024. At the same time, he has built a reputation as a maverick who refuses to compromise on equipment performance—riding Duotone ALUULA kites in Big Air events while still sponsored by Airush, and deploying Flysurfer “Sonic” foil kites in light-wind Big Air and Hydrofoil heats even after joining Duotone. Backed by his family’s F2 board-sports business, he enjoys the rare independence to prioritize whatever equipment gives him the best chance to win over strict single-brand constraints. For his primary inflatable quiver, he rides the Duotone “Rebel D/LAB” and “Evo D/LAB.”
Personality and Friendships
With his father heading the F2 brand, his parents actively support his career and travel with him year-round across the globe as he competes in multiple disciplines. Beginning when he joined the world tour at age 13, a private tutor—who also kitesurfs—traveled with him so he could balance his schooling with professional competition on the road. He also works closely with French coach Nico Delmas (Seven Seas Coaching), who has guided his heat tactics and mental preparation since his early freestyle days.
He shares a lifelong friendship with fellow German prodigy Marten Koblischke, with whom he started competing in small German national freestyle contests and playing frisbee on the beach as a child. In Germany—the sport’s largest market, which had long lacked a male world champion—Finn and Marten have become the new faces energizing home crowds. He also shares a fierce yet friendly rivalry across Big Air and Hydrofoil with generational peers Leonardo Casati and Hugo Wigglesworth.
Quotes and Episodes
“It feels like a dream, like it doesn’t feel real right now. I don’t have words for this. It’s just insane, I cannot describe it.”
— Finn Flügel (immediately after winning the 2025 GKA Freestyle World Championship in Taíba, Brazil)
“In the past I’d been wearing boots for freestyle, but in 2022 when I went to Brazil I had a problem in my heel so I couldn’t go into a boot because it hurt a lot. I started using straps just so I could kite, and I enjoyed it so much. I felt so much more free, I can do all my triple passes unlocked all the time, and I’m not scared of crashing because I just fly out of the straps.”
— Finn Flügel
Competition Results
• 2022: GKA Awards “Rookie of the Year” (at age 13)
• 2024: GKA Youth Freestyle World Champion (U16) / German National Champion
• 2024: GKA Big Air World Cup Brazil (Jericoacoara) – 3rd Place (Twin-Tip) & 3rd Place (Hydrofoil)
• 2024: GKA Freestyle Kite World Cup Qatar – 1st Place (First senior World Cup win)
• 2025: GKA Youth Kite World Championships (U19) – 1st Place (Big Air) & 2nd Place (Freestyle)
• 2025: Red Bull Winds of Sinai (Egypt) – 1st Place
• 2025: GKA Hydrofoil Big Air World Championship – 2nd Place Overall (Vice World Champion)
• 2025: GKA Freestyle Kite World Cup Taíba – 1st Place (2025 GKA Freestyle World Champion)
Show Latest Competition Results (Spoiler Alert)
• 2026: Lords of Tram GKA Big Air Kite World Cup – 2nd Place (After opening the final with a 17.9m Shark Attack Double Flip on a 7m² Flysurfer “Sonic” foil kite and crashing his second attempt into the mud, he sprinted back to the beach to grab a spare Duotone “Rebel D/LAB” from Edgar Ulrich, landing another massive Shark Attack Double Flip in the dying seconds to claim runner-up)
• 2026: GKA Freestyle Kite World Cup Mexico (Nuevo Nayarit) – 1st Place / Germany (Borkum) – 3rd Place (Entered the finale tied for 1st in the standings, but skipped Brazil due to shoulder/elbow inflammation and to prioritize the Taiwan KOTA Qualifier, finishing 5th overall)
• 2026: GKA Youth Twintip Kite World Championship (St. Peter-Ording) U19 – 1st Place
• 2026: Defender GKA Kite World Cup Sylt (Hydrofoil Big Air World Championship) – 2nd Place (Back-to-back Vice World Champion)
• 2026: Red Bull King of the Air Qualifier Taiwan (Hsinchu) – 2nd Place (Qualified for KOTA main event)
Search Aliases: Finn Flügel, FinnFlügel