French pro rider Val Garat has been a fixture in the freestyle and big air scenes for several years. After recovering from a recent injury, this multi-talented athlete teamed up with videographer Arthur Samzun on a very special film project, Dans L'Instant. From sleeping on the beach to sunset sessions in Mykonos, we caught up with Val to find out what happened behind the scenes of this shoot!

Val, your latest video, Dans L'Instant, is a powerful watch. We're stoked to have you here for The Interview to give us a peek behind the scenes! Tell us about your connection to kiteboarding! When did you know that this sport would become such an important part of your life?

I started kiteboarding when I was 10, and I still vividly remember the feeling of my first tack. I told myself I wanted to pursue this sport for the rest of my life and make it my profession. It was crystal clear in my mind from the beginning. It's also a family affair and a passion that my dad gave me, and my brother Seb was also a professional kiteboarder. 

I have some really lovely childhood memories of my summer holidays when we went with my family every year in the camper to the Greek islands to find the best spots to kite. It's where my passion was building up, and I spent around 8 hours on the water every day. My first podium at the European Junior Championships reassured me of my goal to become a pro kiteboarder - that is also a beautiful memory. 

In the film, you address challenges, falls, and failures. What happened that brought about this video project?

It's been a long love story with kiteboarding, but when it became my job, I started to forget how much I truly loved this sport. We tend to become a bit spoiled and get frustrated when we have bad sessions or struggle to land new tricks for a while. 

Then, I suffered a pectoralis tendon injury last year, which forced me to take a few months off. During this time, I realised how much I missed the sensation of being on the water. When you're away from the water for an extended period, you begin to recall the indescribable feeling of riding a kite. The more I pondered why I missed kiting so intensely, the clearer the answers became. That's why we came up with the idea of this video; to make everyone understand the profound emotions we feel and why we are so deeply addicted to this sport. 

How did you injure yourself? Where were you, and what happened? 

I injured myself in Colombia last year in February, the day before my birthday. I was training for the first stop of the GKA, and the wind was quite strong in the afternoon, so I went for a big air session. I did a giant kiteloop board off, and I saw a beginner downwind changing direction during my loop, and I was going straight towards him. I crashed in his lines, but my arm got stuck over and my body under, so it pulled super hard on my shoulder. I felt something weird, but it was not broken yet. When I started kiting again right after, I just put my hand on the water and I felt a big pop. That was my tendon that just snapped, and I understood straight away that it was something very serious. 

What was your first thought after the injury? Did you worry about the future and your kiting career?

I returned to the beach, and I could not even carry my board. I was still hoping it was maybe just a muscle tear. But the next morning, I woke up with my arm completely blue, so I decided to go straight back home. My doctor confirmed what I thought and saw the broken tendon on the x-ray. The next day, I went to see the surgeon, and they were super positive about the rehab. I was, for sure, really disappointed, but I really never worried about the future; it was already clear in my mind with the rehab path laid out. It went super well, and I'm really happy now… I'm like before or even better!!

Who came up with the idea for Dans L'Instant? What was the brainstorming process?

Arthur Samzun and I really wanted to do a bigger project together, and we had a brainstorm session of not even one hour. It was already in my mind during the rehab, and Arthur added all the artistic parts. Together, we came up with this idea, and booked tickets to Greece the same day.

Tell us more about your trip to Greece! What was the plan?

We booked tickets to Greece with the plan of spending a bit of time on the mainland and then heading to the islands to shoot some big air. Arthur and I are used to travelling together, and we never have everything well organised; we adapt day by day. But, it always ends up being a really good trip!

What was your favourite session on the mainland? What made it stand out?

My favourite session was one of these sessions in Tsimari, where all my tricks came back, and Arthur had them on the camera. It was such an amazing feeling to land a few big double passes again after spending hours at the physio and at the gym to rehab my shoulder! 

When it came time to head to the islands, how did you choose the next spot? How was the trip?

After some successful shooting days on the mainland, we decided to search on Google Maps for some unknown islands for kiting in order to find a secret spot. We found one super small spot not far from Paros/Mykonos. We booked the ferry tickets, but then we realised that all the accommodations on the island were fully booked since it was August. Consequently, we borrowed a tent from a friend. We almost missed the ferry due to a flat tire, but we managed to make it. 

We were so excited, though. It was like, "let's go on an adventure, like back in the day!!" With Arthur and I, there are never any problems, only solutions, and that's why travelling with him has become so cool!

Tell us all about the secret island spot you found!

We arrived at such a beautiful spot with crystal blue water and not a single kite in sight. On the first day, we slept on the first beach we found. We thought it looked like an uncrowded beach, so we decided to sleep there. The next morning, we woke up and saw everyone on the beach staring at us like, "What are those guys?!?" 

We spent a few days sleeping on the beach at the spot and recharging our camera batteries at the small restaurants nearby. We witnessed breathtaking sunsets and had incredible kiteboarding sessions, and even though sleeping on the board bags was a bit uncomfortable for our backs, these unplanned and spontaneous trips are what we consider living life to the fullest. 

What was your favourite memory or moment from the islands?

One of the best sessions was the sunset session we had in Mykonos. On the way back to the mainland, we decided to make a quick stop there for one day to get some stronger wind as we were missing this one small element to finish the video. The ferry was late, so we arrived just two hours before sunset, went straight to the spot, and had an amazing sunset session and some beautiful shots. That was the end of the shoot! Arthur and I were really stoked, and we had a good party to celebrate that!

Did you have any issues or pain from your injury during the filming?

I did some check-ups with my doctors and physio before, and they told me my rehab went really well and really fast and that I was good to go at 100% again. I trusted them, and I had absolutely no pain. Sure, I felt a bit of apprehension, but it went really smoothly. 

The voiceover/song from the film was recorded by a French artist. What was it like working on this collaboration?

The song was recorded after the video. We wrote the text with Arthur, and had a few different versions to work with. We sent some feedback to the artist, and after a few revisions, we ended up with exactly what we wanted. 

Are you happy with how the final film came together? How have your friends and followers reacted?

We were really happy because the outcome of the video was exactly how we imagined it, so that was really satisfying. We were quite stressed before we showed it to our friends, but we only got really positive feedback. People really dived deeply into the video, and that was the main goal of this project, to invite people to travel in our world. 

Thanks for taking the time to catch up with us, Val! What are you up to next?

Now, I'm back competing on the freestyle world tour, but I also want to train in big air and be ready to compete again next year in this discipline. We are also thinking of our next project with Arthur; we want to go even deeper and make something even better!

 

Videos

DANS L'INSTANT
By Crystal Veness
Editor at IKSURFMAG, Crystal Veness hails from Canada but is based in South Africa. When she isn't busy kitesurfing or reporting on the latest industry news for the mag, she is kicking back somewhere at a windy kite beach or working on creative media projects.

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