Wing Skating with Anton - Kiel, Germany

We were delighted to catch up with Anton Munz to ask him a few questions around his Wing Skating - we've always been a big fan of his and his aerobatics - and as such he is the man behind our WING SKATERMag silhouette logo.

WSMag: Name, age and where you are from / where do you wing skate and how long have you been doing it?

Anton: My name is Anton, I‘m 30 and I come from Kiel in northern Germany – close to the Baltic Sea.

*photo by Foivos Tsoupras

Originally I come from Bavaria in the South of Germany where I started winDskating 13 years ago because there was no good windsurfing opportunity nearby and by this I wanted to progress in freestyle windsurfing which worked out very well. I had so much fun doing windskating that it became a own passion and sport discipline for me: Freestyle windskating.

*photo by Foivos Tsoupras

However I knew that north Germany is much better for windsurfing, so I moved to Kiel ten years ago.

In Kiel there are some nice spots to do wingskating in and around the city.

*photo by Foivos Tsoupras

The best spot is a former military base which forms a peninsula into the fjord of Kiel. Thus the surface and wind conditions often come together as a perfect match.

*photo by Foivos Tsoupras

I‘ve done winGskating just for about a year whereas I‘ve done winDskating (with a windsurfing sail) for roughly ten years. I can say that my longtime winDskating experience really helped a lot to progress in winGskating quickly.

WSMag: What kind of weather and wind conditions work best for you?

Anton: I quite like every kind of conditions: It‘s very fascinating in what a light breeze you already can go really fast. On the other side in stronger winds jumping gets more attractive.

*photo by Foivos Tsoupras

You can do it all year round and every season has its attraction. A relaxed ride in boardshorts in summer or a stormy session in autumn. A highlight is for sure when it gets really cold and you can do ice wingskating.

*photo by Foivos Tsoupras

In February 2022 there have been ten amazing days here in Kiel I‘ll remember for ever.

*photo by Foivos Tsoupras

WSMag: What type of equipment do you use – board and wing type?

Anton: First I used a modified mountain board: I‘ve put big longboard wheels instead of the pneumatics. Then I used the mountainboard with pneumatics as I could jump better from asphalt to grass and go on quite every kind of surface.

*photo by Valentin Böckler

As well it offers more grip – which is important for takeoff. On the other side the board is really heavy as it weighs over 10 kg. Not perfect for jumping but ok. However a light wingskating board with straps etc would be really nice..

The wing is 5 qm and from Gunsails. Very light weight and still very robust ;).

*photo by Valentin Böckler

WSMag: What sort of camera and mounts do you use? What works best for you?

Anton: I‘ve not done this yet. Friends of mine did some pictures and videos. Once I‘ve hold a stick with a GoPro with my front hand. Worked out. However if a GoPro-stick is fixed on the middle strut it could work even better.

WSMag: Are there any manoeuvres, jumps or tricks you are currently working on?

Anton: I‘ve done jumps, rotation jumps, sometimes with handlepass. My favourite move was the backside 360 as it feels really powerful and you can gain a lot of height. Playing around with manuals and stuff like that is really funny as well.

*photo by Valentin Böckler

WSMag: Have you any advice for someone wanting to get into the sport?

Anton: Yes for sure. Just get a wing and try it! ;) At first, you can for sure ask someone who has got a wing and go with him/her and try. I would take a medium sized wing: If you‘re around 180 cm as me 5 qm is perfect. If you‘re a lot smaller/lighter 4 qm should be fine. You want to have some ground clearance – thus the taller you are the bigger the wing can be. At first I would try on a safe, soft place like on grass. If the wind is stronger never forget your wing leash. And then just play around with the wing to understand it‘s physics and get a feeling for aerodynamics.

*photo by Valentin Böckler

If you already have experience in skateboarding you can do windskating quite instantly in the second step. However, remember that asphalt is hard – not just for you ;). Learn how to bring your wing in a neutral position, how to slow down etc. And just do it step by step and slowly at the beginning.

WSMag: Would you like to see wing skating going more mainstream with global events and races/competitions possibly? If yes, how do you see that working and where would the 1st event be held?

Anton: I‘ve not thought about this much but it would be interesting for sure. At the present time it‘s still too small to do a event tour I think. The first event would perhaps be held in a desert somewhere in USA – Haha – I‘ve no idea.

WSMag: Anything else you would like to add? Anton: Just try it and discover your inner child that wants you to play and jump around.

*photo by Valentin Böckler

WSMag: Thanks again for your time and excellent photos Anton!

IG: @antonmunz @valentinboeckler @foivos_tsoupras