Words by Peri Roberts
Some riders are born into the sport. Mathys Naturel was practically raised in it. His hometown of Wissant – a wind-blown stretch of northern France looking straight across to England is where it all started. His dad ran one of the first kite schools in the country, which meant kites, boards and salt air were a constant part of his childhood.
“I was kiting first on the beach with a mountain board when I was eight,” he remembers. “I really started around 10 or 11… but it wasn’t until I was 15, riding with my friends, that it became my number one priority.”
Those friends were better than him, which was perfect. They pushed him harder, kept him in the water longer and made the sport addictive in the best way. “When you’re out in the ocean with your friends, you forget about everything else. It’s just that moment… you, your friends and nature.”
Mathys’ break came when a spot opened up on the Naish Europe team. Three months later, he was flying to Dakhla for his first team trip. “It was the first time I didn’t have to pay for anything. I was just invited to kite, shoot and be with the team. That trip really kicked it in for me. I thought, maybe I can do something with this.”
Competition was always on the cards. He’d grown up watching the King of the Air with his dad, dreaming of those huge sends and crowd-pleasing tricks. At 16, he landed his first major event invite: a Red Bull competition in Egypt. “My parents were pretty scared,” he laughs. “I told them a week before… but they let me go.” That trip opened the door to more events, more travel and a deeper drive to push higher.
In the last three years, Big Air has exploded. “The level just got insane,” Mathys says. “It’s one of the most extreme sports out there now. The mental side is huge, the way you’re feeling in your head can change your whole session.” For him, it’s part hype, part preparation. He cross-trains in other sports to build resilience and ramps himself up before a session with music and clear goals. “Some people like to be calm before a session. I like to be crazy.”
That mindset has carried him into semi-finals at major events, including a Red Bull comp in Egypt. But he’s not stopping there. “I want to be first. I know I can do more.”
Being a professional athlete means constant travel, something Mathys admits can feel at odds with talking about sustainability. “It’s hard not to feel guilty when you’re on planes all the time,” he says. “But I try to do what I can in my own life. Even if it’s not perfect, it’s better than doing nothing.”
That’s why he rides in Prolimit wetsuits. As part of the brand’s We Care initiative, Mathys backs Natureprene – Prolimit’s FSC-certified natural rubber alternative to neoprene. It delivers the same stretch, warmth and durability without the environmental compromise. “When we were shooting with the team, they gave me the wetsuit and I thought it was neoprene. It felt exactly the same. Warm, flexible, resistant. Turns out it was Natureprene. If it’s better for the environment and just as good, why not make it the standard?”
For him, it’s about protecting the conditions that make his sport possible. “Our whole sport is based on nature, so why not protect it? Choosing better gear is a way of giving back.”
Ask Mathys for a life motto and he keeps it short: “Just have fun.” That’s the backbone of his riding, whether it’s a light-wind day in Gran Canaria or a sunrise session at home.
In a sport obsessed with the next big trick, Mathys is chasing something bigger: a career built on progression, connection and the will to protect the water he rides.
That’s the kind of mindset we back.
And the kind of rider we’re proud to stand behind.
Follow Mathys on social media for the wind, the waves, and the moments that make it all worth it.
