For many elite athletes winning championships is the be all and end all - but not for Tom Bridge.
The 20-year-old British kiteboarder, who has long been talked about as a real star for the future, is focused on something much bigger. For him it’s all about leaving a mark on the sport.
Bridge has already made plenty of waves in that regard. Born into a family of kiteboarders - his mum Steph is a five-time world champion and was ranked as the number one woman in the world - he has been involved with the sport from a very early age.
People liked what they saw from the young athlete as video clips of him performing his tricks on the water quickly started to get noticed.
That freedom is what draws Bridge to the freestyling side of kiteboarding - it’s all about the technique and the tricks you can pull off - and is why he values innovation more than titles in his life.
“Doing new tricks and making up new tricks – doing things that people don’t usually see – that is what I’m in it for,” he said.
“I’m not necessarily in it to win. I’d love to win a couple of contests and all but it’s not the be all and end all for me.
“I’m more about after I’m done – or when my knees are broken – I’d rather have left a mark on the sport, which hopefully people can look at.
“They can look at videos and say ‘he was cool for his time’ and people will still be into it.”
Performing tricks like no one else
There have certainly been a number of videos where people can point at Bridge and say he was definitely ‘cool for his time’.
As an example, many people will likely remember the chaotic weather brought by Storm Ciara back in February 2020.
For Bridge, that storm helped give him an extra special playground to use - as shown by the clip above.
Another example of the kiter pushing the boundaries also came when he became the first person ever to perform a Triple Half Cab at the age of 16, shown below.
No one has done it since, perfectly showcasing what the 20-year-old hopes to do in his sport by leaving a legacy.
But it also goes deeper still. For Bridge the accessibility to kiteboarding - a sport still growing and adapting - is huge.
“Making the sport more accessible to people who wouldn’t be able to get into it is also a big thing,” he explained.
“It’s such a high barrier for entry unless you’re being given gear like I was - I was fortunate - or, if you have wealthy parents, it’s hard to fund your way into the sport.
“A kite, a bar and a board is £1500 – how do you expect a 13-year-old to get into that?
“To make that barrier to entry lower so you can get the kids who would be going skating or biking, those kids have so much talent.
“To get them on the water and get them kiting is a big thing I think and it’s yet to be done.”
He added: “Obviously the prices have to come down but also the education around being in the sea and the water.
“Most of the kids at school nowadays have never swam in the sea. They may have gone to a pool a couple of times, and they think the sea is dangerous.
“It is dangerous but if you educate yourself and you learn what the dangers are it’s easily avoidable."
“I’m just going to go out there and try and do something that people might remember"
Bridge was speaking ahead of The Red Bull King of the Air, the most highly anticipated kiteboarding event in the world.
The latest edition, in Cape Town, South Africa, takes place between November 18 and December 3 with Bridge out there currently preparing.
But as with everything else, and despite the talk surrounding him, he isn’t putting pressure on himself at a competition where jumping as high as possible is the name of the game.
“I’m excited for it. Big Air isn’t my forte, I usually do freestyle, but I haven’t set any expectations of myself, which I think is good,” he said.
“I’m just going to go out there and try and do something that people might remember.
“If you’re the main guy and everyone’s rooting for you to win it, for sure, I don’t know how I could deal with it.
“But coming in as someone who doesn’t really do much Big Air and who people don’t really expect anything from helps me a lot.”
“For more information and to keep up to date on Tom Bridge visit www.redbullkingoftheair.com”
