Celebrating Mother’s Day with an inspirational Mother & Son bond.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
With Mother’s Day just around the corner, we decided to catch up with an inspirational mother-son duo on the Sunshine Coast of Australia.
Malakai Lamby, 15, first got into Fliteboarding when he was 12 years old. His mum Denise was enjoying her morning swim in the Mooloolaba Bay, when she saw a board flying around. Keen to find out more, she later met with eFoil legend Peter Tilney. He invited her to the local dam, and she decided to take Malakai along with her: “I can always count on him to dive headfirst into any water-based adventure.”
Fast forward to that morning on the dam and the rest is history.
Denise: My first spin was a Series 1 Fliteboard, with a Cruiser 1100 wing I’m proud to say I was on my feet and flying before the grom but that was to be my only first, as Malakai’s progression took off vertically from that day on.
Malakai: Before being invited to the dam I had tow foiled behind a Jetski on a huge 110 L SUP foil. When I got on the dam on an eFoil it just clicked. Going from having a long rope between the jetski’s inexact power source and I, to the clean, controllable power of the Series 1 Fliteboard was unbelievable. The 100L board paired with the incredibly stable Cruiser 1100 wing made it so easy. One thing I love about Fliteboarding is the speed at which you can learn and get that feeling of ‘I’ve got this’ but still have a huge stretch of progression that keeps elevating as the sport evolves and advances. This is what keeps me, and I think a lot of other Fliteboarders craving that next session - to sharpen that turn, or better your longest wave.
Denise: My brother bought a Fliteboard after his first Flite with Pete and we continued to fly together at the dam. I wasn’t really hooked until a Flite demo day in Caloundra when I stepped onto a PRO board with a Flyer 800 wing. The manoeuvrability and responsiveness was amazing. Apparently, the smile on my face when I returned to shore was enough for the family to decide 'mum needs a Fliteboard for Mother's Day'.
What do you love about foiling with your mum and do you think it brings you closer together?
Malakai: Mum and my favourite conditions are almost complete opposites. I’m looking for waves, the bigger the better, at my home break (not so keen on Nazaré just yet), paired with a low tide to make them as steep and critical as possible. Mum on the other hand loves a nice high tide with no waves to cruise around on glassy water, although I have started to get her more interested in waves. The best part about foiling with mum, other than getting to share your passion with someone so close, is that you go out twice as much. Whether the tide is low or high, one of us is itching to get out there, so we both end up going. That’s so cool both for our foiling progression but also the amount of time we get to spend together.
What does Fliteboarding together give you and how has your relationship changed from this shared hobby? Would you recommend this as a way for parents to bond with their kids?
Denise: It’s a no-brainer. There's a certain amount of mutual respect which has made the teenage years seemingly trouble free. There is genuine interest in each other’s foiling progress, safety and equipment maintenance. Flite App is brilliant for comparing rides and stats, so even after the boards are washed and away there is chatter about the conditions, distance, speed or wave count. One day I’ll catch a decent wave but for now I’m happy just hanging out with my son who is generally flying rings around me.
What is one of your favourite memories together on the water?
Denise: Definitely whale season and one of the three mornings last year we encountered whales in the Bay. The most memorable was watching a calf swim around its mum’s tail while she slept. They were so close. We must have floated there for almost an hour in awe of each other. Couldn’t help but smile at the similarity as I floated there with my little boy, content in the moment to simply drift and chat, in awe of what nature had set before us. I suggested to Malakai this was the rarest of experiences and he said, “Nah, did the same with dad yesterday, but they were closer.” Oh boy this kid will be hard to impress!
Malakai: The current was strong that day. We were drifting closer and closer to this stationary whale tail when the mother woke up. She levelled out with her head coming right at us. I reckon if I’d reached out, I could have touched it. The sheer size of these ocean giants was incredible. It was such a surreal experience that made me completely forget the cold. The icing on the cake for this one was getting to experience it with mum, and before school.
What’s your favourite set-up?
Malakai: My current setup for everything regardless of the conditions is my Series 2.2 Fliteboard ULTRA, black Betty, named by previous owner and team rider Matty McVeigh. A 75cm aluminium mast, with a Flow 900 front wing, Flow 245 stabiliser and a folding prop. I ride either a Flitecell Nano or Sport battery depending on how much time I have before school. I ride a -1 rear shim and no front shim, unless we get cyclonic swell then I put a -2 shim in the front. I have ridden an ULTRA L2 and absolutely love the MN Carbon Wave mast paired with the Flux 707 front wing. I am working to make this my setup.
Denise: My favourite setup (which I only get when Malakai is at school) is our ULTRA, but when we fly together I ride PRO with Flow S 1100 wing. The compromises we make for our children!
What are your dream riding places?
Malakai: I’m not a huge fan of the cold but will deal with it (with a very thick wetsuit) for a good wave. I would love to experience Chicama, Peru and ride the longest wave of my life, on a Fliteboard. I think a good swell there with a few tries might hopefully let me overtake Adam Bennetts’ 2km unpowered wave and top that leaderboard. That’s a dream place I’d love to experience.
Denise: Ideally anywhere warm with flat water and amazing scenery. Maldives, crystal clear water that plays with your depth perception. Dubai, The Palms, to check out all the waterfront properties and add a really cool Flite path on my Flite App. Hawaii with Malakai because he has the name but if he’s catching big waves, you might find me on a boat.
What three words would you use to describe each other?
Malakai: There are so many words that could describe mum, but I think the single word adventure sums up her personality perfectly. The other two would have to be supportive and determined. And definitely spontaneous.
Denise: Caring, passionate and fearless.
Given how profound and life-changing motherhood is, what would you say is the best part of being a mum?
Denise: Keeping a young outlook and perspective on life. Permission to be childish and occasionally letting the children do the ‘adulting'. Realising that time invested when they’re young is returned ten-fold as they grow into adults.
How does it make you feel to witness Malakai’s skills and passion grow?
Denise: Exceptionally proud. Malakai is self-driven and totally dedicated to everything Flite. His understanding of the boards and different wing configurations has made me a little dizzy and lazy. After a Flite, I simply explain what I’d like to change and he sets the board up to suit.
Having spent one day at Flite HQ, his year 10 subject selection was set. Engineering and maths focused, the schedule is heavy, but I’ve not had to nag him once about schoolwork. Malakai’s passion for Fliteboard has given him confidence at a young age and is shaping who he is as a young adult.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Malakai: Thinking where I’ll be when I’m 20 seems like such a long way away, but it’s only 5 years. I will likely be in second year at university (unless I take a gap year to eFoil the world), studying engineering and working as a trainee engineer at Flite. I would love to have a car with the capabilities to head up to Double Island Point for the long, foil friendly waves. It would have to have enough space for both a FLITELab* and ULTRA L3, or maybe even L4. Living the dream of being a team rider, developing new cutting edge eFoil technology and working my dream job at Flite creating the tech ID test as a team rider. Just to be a part of the R&D stage as much as I can is the dream.
What would you say is your biggest achievement so far?
Malakai: I think one of my biggest achievements on foil so far would have to be my wave master all-time record. I caught 72 waves that measured over 100m in one session. It was such a fun and unexpected record as the waves weren’t that big that day. You just never know what you’ll get when you go for a foil. It was the world record for a while, but it has recently been beaten by 5 waves, so I’d better get back out there.
And what about future goals?
Malakai: I would love to become the next and youngest Flite team rider to join the Fliteboard performance team. Just being able to be a part of that coveted R&D stage of creating new foiling innovations would be amazing. Another goal I would love to achieve is to successfully come out of a barrel on a powered foil, which has never been done, whether this be an eFoil or one of the new FLITELab* AMP’s… only time will tell.