The Story of a Full Circle: Catharina, Unfiltered

Words by Peri Roberts

Fifteen years ago, Catharina was folding wetsuits in her local surf shop. Today, she’s presenting to the same team that once trained her. “They were at the Importer Meeting last year,” she tells me. “I was up there doing the social media presentation for Naish and my old colleagues were right there. They’ve seen me go through it all.”

Through it all: retail floor, shop rider, international athlete, content creator, social media manager. Cat hasn’t just witnessed the evolution of this sport, she’s lived it step by step. “I haven’t climbed any corporate ladder,” she says, “but I’ve done the full circle. And that gives me perspective. I’ve seen every angle.”

Before she ever picked up a kite, she was meant to be in fashion. Sewing since she was three, she studied textile design and dreamed of working in the creative industry. But kiteboarding showed up and rewrote the plan in ways she never expected. “I trained constantly,” she says. “I was counting hours on the water. Cape Town in my first year. I was all in.”

Like most athletes, she admits she was incredibly hard on herself, never giving herself enough credit. “In your mid-20s, you feel fearless. Like nothing can touch you,” she says. “All of a sudden, all the possibilities are there and you’re just riding the high.” That was life on the world tour. A blur of airports, sessions, parties and pressure. “It felt like you were in a school class that went on a camping trip every month. That’s how it was. Always moving. Always something happening. The highs were insane. But you rarely stopped to process any of it.”

But the freedom came with pressure. Competition arrived fast and so did the expectations.“You’re judged by nature. And money. Some athletes have coaches and support. Others are just there trying to survive. It’s not always a level playing field.”

Then came COVID. “It was like pulling the handbrake at 1000km/h,” she says. “Everything stopped. And I changed. It made me reevaluate all of it.”

It’s hard to talk about those years without emotion. A competition in Australia – “the wind changed direction 360° mid-heat” felt like a metaphor for her life. Or the day in Dakhla, one hand on the vice world title, when the wind dropped and she lost a heat by a technicality. “Competition is brutal. It takes your candy when you're just about to eat it.”

Even now, watching from the sidelines makes her emotional. “I tear up if I see something judged wrong or unexpected wins… It’s still close to my heart.”

What keeps her grounded these days isn’t the next podium, it’s something quieter. Meaningful work. Friendships that have lasted. A slower, more intentional pace.

She talks about Jalou and Olivia – the trio who created the Madagascar project together in 2019, and her voice shifts. “At the time, we were just trying to show we could do it like the guys. Girls going out and chasing waves, making films, proving to the industry that girls can be badass too. Now it means so much more. Ydwer had his accident. Olivia got cancer. Jalou lost her partner. Life changed. That trip became something sacred. I think it’s one of my proudest moments in my career. To know we shared that experience together is something I will cherish every day.”

This kind of reflection is what We Care is all about. For us at Prolimit, it’s not just a sustainability campaign. It’s a mindset. It’s looking at the whole picture: the people, the materials, the impact, and deciding to do better.

Cat lives that philosophy every day.

“I hate junk. I buy less, but better,” she says. “Same with wetsuits. I’d rather wear one high-quality, sustainable suit than five cheap ones. It makes me feel better mentally and physically. That’s the kind of quality I want in all parts of life.”

She’s the kind of person who cares where things come from and where they end up. Whether it’s food, clothing or gear. “Organic groceries, good olive oil, timeless furniture, slow fashion – it’s all the same principle. Less waste. More meaning. That goes for the gear I choose and the life I live.”

When she talks about gear, it’s not product placement, it’s personal. “I studied textile design, so I’ve known about the dark side of the industry for years. The wetsuit I wear now? I want it to be built well and built responsibly. If it doesn’t hurt the planet, I feel better in it.”

That’s what We Care means to us. And that’s why Cat’s voice matters here. She’s not a spokesperson. She’s someone who’s seen what happens when you chase too hard, and what opens up when you slow down.

“I’ve definitely softened,” she admits. “I used to speak my mind… brutally. Now I try to say things in a way people can hear.” Some of that change came from therapy. “Five or six years now,” she tells me. “You go to therapy because you deal with people who don’t go to therapy.”

The rest came from time, perspective, and letting go of the need to prove anything.

“I think I’ve healed a little,” she says. “This last year changed everything. I look back at my career differently now, with more compassion. Less judgement.”

She’s still as creative as ever. Still got the sharp eye, the unique style, the love for visuals. But what drives her now is quality: in gear, in conversations, in the moments we keep.

“I’ve bought less, but appreciated more,” she says. “That’s the biggest shift. I care about the memories. The people. The small, everyday things that stick.”

There’s no pitch at the end of this story. No campaign push. Just a reminder that what we create, as a brand, as people, leaves a mark. And that how we care, and who we care about, is what matters most.

We care.
And so does she.

Here's the gear that Cat is loving right now: