MotoSurf Athlete ALE RIVAS – MEXICO

Posted On 01 Aug 2016

JetSurf Champion Ale Rivas

Hydroflight and MotoSurf have a lot of awesomeness in common and that’s why H2RO fell in love with both. Ale Rivas is one lady who rips on the Hoverboard and rocks on her JetSurf. She is a beautiful force on the water and is currently traveling the world competing in the MotoSurf Grand Prix Race Series inspiring people and growing her sport.

H2RO Magazine spoke with Ale just before she left for the race in Slovakia about her journey to the top of this exciting new action sport.

H2RO Magazine Interview with Ale Rivas

H2RO) Ale, please share with us your background growing up, what sports you were into and how you were introduced to MotoSurfing?
My name is Alejandra Rivas Rivas, I was born and raised in Cancun, Mexico. I learned how to swim when I was around two years old and since then I became a little mermaid, snorkeling and playing in the ocean every weekend of my childhood with my parents, two brothers and sister.

I started surfing when I was around 12 years old and ever since I wanted to try every board sport possible. I learned how to longboard, wakeboard, kitesurf and at the age of 18 I relocated to Canada to study adventure tourism in college and it was there where I became a snowboard instructor.

Upon moving back to Cancun a few years later I was introduced to the Flyboard and Hoverboard and began training with the famous FlyGirls of Cancun, Mexico. A few months later the company JetSurf Mexico approached us to try the JetSurf and that’s how the story starts. It was love at first sight. I fell in love with the JetSurf because to me it’s a perfect combination of every board sport in one board. So I started training four times a week, two days on the Hoverboard, two days on the JetSurf.

H2RO) We were first introduced to you when we saw your Hydroflight pics on the Hoverboard and Flyboard. Talk to use about how you got into Hydroflight and what you love about those rides?
In the summer of 2014 the company Flyboard Mexico did a casting looking for girls to form a team to represent Mexico in the Flyboard Championship. A very good friend of mine, beautiful Karla invited me to the casting knowing my boardsport background.

To my surprise a month later I was a part of an amazing team full of beautiful and talented women including Valentine Cambron, Fernanda Villanueve and Rasta girl Ivonne Sastra. I started practicing the Flyboard like the rest of the girls but when Zapata Racing released the Hoverboard I knew that’s what I wanted to ride instead. So I switched to Hoverboard training two times a week for like a year. I was very excited and looking forward to competing in Dubai representing my team and of course Mexico but the sad news came a few weeks before the championship, the girls weren’t allowed to compete, so I gave up on the Hoverboard and focused 100% of my time and energy to train on the JetSurf.

H2RO) Back to MotoSurfing, what aspects of this sport attracted you and what was your progression like from first ride to the top of the podium? What is your training regiment?
Personally I believe that the JetSurf is the perfect all-in-one board sport simply because you do not depend on anything or anyone to pursue it. My progression to me has been quite interesting because since I started I’ve trained with different boards from the JetSurf school and due to not owning Ale-Rivas-MotoSurf-Champion my own board I had to adjust to bigger bindings mainly designed for men. I have been training in the water two times a week and the rest of the week I would be at the gym doing crossfit or kickboxing to try and keep in shape.

H2RO) How many races have you participated in and where did you place in each?
Back in April 2015 the first MotoSurf World Cup race was held here in Cancun. The best riders from all around the world were coming to compete in my home town and I was super excited to be a part of such an incredible event. Myself and Olga decided to race against the guys. I didn’t do as bad as I thought I would, ended up finishing before many guys and I believe the federation felt that the women went a long way that they decided to award me with the very first Woman’s World Champion award in the history of MotoSurf.In November of 2015 the national championship was held at the marina here in Cancun and I was super happy to see that there were eight girls competing. In just a few months the interest in woman’s racing grew a lot. I was very excited to share this passion of mine with more girls. I became the new national champion after placing 1st in that race.

H2RO) Let’s talk race strategy for a second. Right from how you start, to passing, to holding your speed and defending your position, to finishing strong take us through your mindset and race tactics?
Everything starts when we put our boards in the water and start our engines, at that point I’m pretty nervous. When the green flag goes down we give it full gas and try to place ourselves in front of the line. Then the only thing that goes through my mind is “Ale please don’t fall” in other words my strategy is very simple. SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE. But most importantly I try to focus in having the most fun possible!

H2RO) Which five ladies would you say are currently your top MotoSurf competitors and what have you learned from both competing against them and watching them surf?

Andrea D’Urquidi #3 in the world.
A beautiful friend also from Cancun, she is absolutely amazing in the water. I love her style and her riding skills, she goes super fast so that most of the time I find it hard to keep up with her.
Aneta Sacherova
From the Czech Republic and currently #2 in the world, she gets to train with the best riders in the world so her technique is flawless. She is not scared of going fast, she rips!
Martina Lukscheider
I believe she was the first girl to ever ride a JetSurf in the Czech Republic so she has a lot of experience plus she’s very atlethic and handles the board very naturally.
Rocio Otero #4 in the world
Also from Cancun, she is my favorite. Rocio and Pablo her husband ride pretty much everyday and what I admire the most is the passion that she has for life and sports. They ride big waves very often which makes them super strong when it’s time to race. I believe she is going to surprise us with a first place finish next year.
Armina Wolpert
She is the sweetest of all, what I admire the most about Armina is that she truly loves the sport and when she gets on the board the smile on her face is worth more than any trophy. She rides for fun which is something we sometimes forget when we compete.

H2RO) MotoSurf is a very young, new sport and so I’m curious what you think its future holds and how you think it will grow with female athletes getting into the sport? Where you live do you feel there is a growing interest from the youth to try the boards?

I believe the sport has gone a long way in very little time. The interest from girls for JetSurf is growing rapidly because we tend to think that this type of sport is just for men but in reality it’s not about strength but about technique and we could be as good or even better than the guys “Girl Power” lol

The younger crowd are the future of the sport. It is so easy to learn that kids fall in love with it very easily. Alec was only eleven years of age when he competed against the girls this past World Championship. He ended up doing an amazing job and is definitely a future world champ. Cancun is a paradise for this sport because if you want to ride calm waters we have a few bays and the lagoon. If you want to ride waves we have a few surf breaks. We have it all.

H2RO) As an athlete and role model I’m interested to know if you’ve felt any pressure to use your beauty to sell the sport? Do you find there are requests of you to be a ‘model’ versus just being Ale Rivas the racer?
When I first started I found it a little challenging because I was always telling the photographers “I’m not a model I’m an athlete”. I usually try to keep everything as natural as possible and do a lot of action shots but I don’t mind posing for photos every now and then. I’ve learned with time that it is part of the lifestyle. I’ve never been in any uncomfortable situations so far.

H2RO) Correct me if I’m wrong but you compete on a JetSurf board and so do you have any sponsorship affiliations with them? Have you tried to surf any of the other boards on the market?
Only JetSurf – born for fun.

H2RO) Time to shout out the people, sponsors and companies who helped get you to where you’re at!

First of all I’d like to thank JetSurf Mexico and my JetSurf family who believed in me since day one. If it wasn’t because of them I wouldn’t be where I am today.

Thank you Martin Sula at JetSurf for creating this gem.

Thank you JetSurf Adventures ltd in Canada for letting me use your board in the past championship.

To all my local sponsors who have helped me one way or another ( Yuckite, Alasolas swimwear, Wirefit Cancun, Jetpilot)

But most importantly I would love to thank my family and friends who have always supported me in all of my crazy adventures.

H2RO) What are your two most important tips you would you give to beginner power surfers?

JetSurf it is so great that all you need is the right attitude. To want to have a lot of fun!

H2RO) Finally what is the best way our readers can keep up-to-date on your adventures and MotoSurf career?

I invite everybody to follow my journey by giving my fan pages a like.

Facebook fan page: https://m.facebook.com/alerivas.mx/
Instagram:

http://instagram.com/alerivas.mx

UPDATE: This weekend (July 29 – 30, 2016) I competed in Slovakia and finished in 2nd place.

Up next is Prague August 6-7 keep an eye on my pages for race photos and videos.

Enjoy the ride ⚡️

So great to connect with you Ale and we at H2RO wish you all the best this season.

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About the Author

Blaine Jeffery is the founder of H2RO Magazine. Blaine is a Media Strategist living in beautiful Kingston, Ontario (Canada) with his wife and two sons. Blaine also makes music for fun as LOST IN THE WHY.