Liloo “Gringa” Fourré our greatest Venezuelan representation in Kiteboarding

Andreína Peñaloza | Jan 22, 2017

Liloo Fourré, known as @Liloogringa reached the ninth position in the Kiteboarding World Tour.

Liloo is a French-Venezuelan that started in El Yaque beach, Margarita island. We recently did an exclusive interview in order to get to know this athlete that rises the flag for Venezuela in a more detailed way.

How did you get started on Kite?

In 2003 I started Windsurfing until all the locals in El Yaque beach started to do Kitesurfing. I saw them as my idols and wanted to do the same thing they were doing. My first classes were with Murray Sampson but because I lived in Caracas it was difficult for me to advance in kitesurfing. It wasn’t until I graduated from High School in the Colegio Francia that I decided to come to El Yaque to continue learning. Since I didn’t have equipment I would work at Murray’s school and he would lend them to me. I learned without a boat, a lot of times I would end up in Musipán and would go back to the beach walking.

Your life dream was becoming a professional rider. How did you achieve this goal?

I went to University in Spain, Brazil and France because there were various Exchange programs with the Erasmus. I studied International Commerce and then I mastered in Sports Events. When I finished these studies in 2012 I told my parents that now I wanted to become a professional Kitesurfer. Even though back then I only knew how to come and go and do a back loop.

So I went back to El Yaque and started working as a manager of the Kiteboarding Club El Yaque School. I would teach kitesurf and also worked for the SoloKites store and I also had a laundry for kites in my house that worked pretty well. Later, I started competing and I won first place at the Aruba Hi Winds 2013 in Freestyle. Later, in the National Championship WK in the year 2014 I became Double National Champion in the Slalom and Race category. My first kitesurfing world championship was in Germany in 2014. I didn’t classify for the main event in the Freestyle section but it helped me gain a lot of experience for the next competition which was in Tarifa. I did very well in the Slalom style in Slyt (Germany) because I achieved the 8th position amongst more than 40 athletes.

In the year 2015 your life changed completely when the (international) Brand CrazyFly signed you. How has this support influenced your career?

The support of CrazyFly has been impressive for my career. Thanks to them I’ve been able to participate in all of the worldwide competitions providing me with all of the equipment that I need. They made contact with me in October 2014 when I was thinking I wouldn’t be able to keep competing because it was too expensive for me. They told me ‘we’re looking for a girl for the tour and we want you to be our main image’ and I saw this as a sign for me to keep on living my dream of becoming a professional rider. I’m very happy with CrazyFly because they give me a lot of support, economic and equipment wise, allowing me to compete in all of the stops of the world tour and to be in all of the photoshoots of the brand. This year I was crowned by the kitesurf magazine Kite Sista, as the ‘Best Female Brand Ambassador’. Winning this award is very important for me because it represents a reward for all of the hard work I’ve done this year. I also would like to thank the people that voted for me and keep believing in my work. Thanks!

                                                                                                              How was your participation in 2016?

I reached the 9th position in the World Tour of the World Kiteboarding League in 2016 in the Freestyle modality. It has been my best result so far as a professional rider.

It was a challenge because I had a shoulder injury, however, I made my best effort and started with the first stop in Egypt, then France, Cabarete and finally Germany. Besides the photoshoots for the catalogues and the CrazyFly webpage which took place in Granadinas. I did rehab each time I got a break and I stayed in France for a couple of months in order to do my therapy correctly and I’m much better now. The result of this effort was the 9th place in the world in Kitesurfing, Freestyle.

 

Which was your favorite stop?

My favorite stop was Cabarete. I had been wanting to go there for years and it was a dream come true. I loved everything there, the spots, the locals, and the atmosphere. Furthermore, it was a spectacular event where they treated us riders as kings. I was going to stay for 10 days and I ended up changing my ticket and stayed for 3 weeks.

What do you do when there’s no wind?

I always have thousands of things to do and when there’s no winds I try to do them because when there’s wind I find it difficult to not be on the beach to sail. When there’s no wind I focus in working in the computer answering interviews, editing videos, updating my social media networks, working in my personal and professional projects. Of course, I like to have fun with my friends a lot and spending time with my family.

Also, I’m following a crossfit training around three times a week in order to strengthen my body and avoid injuries and I’m still doing my rehab therapy for my shoulder.

I like doing karate a lot, I share this passion with my dad. He likes to teach self-defense and his a black belt 4th dan. He has a dojo in France and there we train this martial art. I like training with my dad a lot.

What are your goals for 2017?

I want to make the freestyle world tour this year (@worlkiteboardingleague), I’m waiting for them to release the official calendar. If it allows me to I would like to keep organizing kitesurf classes. And like every year, I will participate in the CrazyFly photoshoot to present the 2018 kitesurfing equipment. Besides that, I want to start practicing kitesurfing in waves which is something I tried in Cabarete and I loved it. And continue working in my personal projects