Shifty – Steven van Broeckhoven

In May 2015 Steven van Broeckhoven landed the Shifty, a move which has its origin about 15 years ago. It was the Canadian Brad Drummond, a former Freestyle professional, who started with the Drum Roll almost 15 years ago. He tried for the first time to combine a Shove It with a Pushloop, but he never managed a really clean landing of his move idea. We got in contact with Brad, who still enjoys to windsurf: “I’m sailing Whistler a lot these days as the gear is so much better now which allows me to get out in lighter wind and do freestyle.” And about the Drum Roll: “I was doing a tail landing of a Shaka, basically, pretty hard and wet landings. That’s really what I was trying to do.” And when Brad saw the first Shifty attempts of Swiss Balz Müller he was impressed: “This move is amazing….. he is basically over pushing the Shaka!”

Steven van Broeckhoven did his first attempt 5 years ago in Tarifa, but at that time thought, it wasn’t possible. But last winter he decided to go for it again. He was able to make the impossible possible and landed several planing Shifties at a lake in South Africa. The Swiss freestyle windsurfer Balz Müller (who tried a Shifty 720 rotation for the first time last year) said about Steven’s landing: “Steven finally brought himself to try the Shifty rotation. The lake Brandvlei in the montains had perfect conditions, stormy wind for the 4,2 m with a nice “kicker chop”. Steven lands the Shifty in the bigger chop at the seaside relatively safe. He even tried the double version, the Shifty 720, but did not land it yet.” Link to the double version of this move: Shifty 720 by Balz Müller

Shifty by Steven van Broeckhoven

Link

Shifty by Steven van Broeckhoven

Interview with Steven van Broeckhoven about the Shifty

Continentseven: Was this Shifty in the video captured at Brandvlei your first landed one?
Steven van Broeckhoven: No this was 30min after after the first one. I did a few fully planing ones, so we went to take the camera, but the conditions changed so I needed a lot of attempts to get one on tape.

Continentseven: How many attempts did it need to land it?
Steven van Broeckhoven: 2 or 3. I am not sure, but didn’t took long to land the first one.

Continentseven: Did you speak a lot with Balz about the move before your attempts?
Steven van Broeckhoven: Before we didn’t talk much about it, more after. We more talked about what to do when you over rotate and why it happens, also to motivate each other, because this move is mentally more difficult than technically. After a few hard crashes I got a bit scared of the move. So we have talked a lot.

Continentseven: Is it harder to land the move in chop conditions and strong wind or do you prefer cleaner waves and lighter wind?
Steven van Broeckhoven: Until now the best one I landed was in Brandvlei on 4.2m, but I think it’s easier to control the move on a 4.8 m with a bit more air time from a clean wave.

Continentseven: Do you know the Drum Roll, an almost similar move by the Canadian Brad Drummond, who rotated a bit more vertical after the Shove It into  a Pushloop more than 15 years ago?
Steven van Broeckhoven: Yes I guess it’s similar, but I can’t find it on internet. I only think I remember about the Drumroll in some magazines, in a time before I did freestyle. It looked impossible to me. The Shaka Pushloop rotation came for the first time in my mind when I was learning Shakas in Tarifa and the wind took over the control. That was scary, so I never forgot about it. In 2010 I tried it on a lake in Cape Town on 3.7 m, but it went totally wrong, so I didn’t believe it’s possible in freestyle. Then Balz came with his crazy videos and named it Shifty and Shifty 720!!  Then I knew I will land this move one day. I’m not sure if the Drumroll is the same technique as the Shifty, but I call it Shifty!!

Continentseven: Are there any other older moves, like the Wymaru for instance, which have potential to be extended in the near future?
Steven van Broeckhoven: Wymaru into Grubby. Freestyle is never ending. I think there are a lot possibilities with older moves.

Continentseven: Is the Shifty a combination of a Shaka, Airflaka and Shove it, a mix of 3 crazy moves?
Steven van Broeckhoven: I would describe it like a Shaka Pushloop, but the feeling is still different than Shaka and Pushloop.

Continentseven: The trick looks scary. How dangerous is it?
Steven van Broeckhoven: It’s scary especially when you overrotate! It can be dangerous, especaily the way I sometimes overrotate: I go over the gear like in a Pasko, while Balz overrotates under his gear like in a Backloop. Why we both rotate different we don’t know. Also from Yentel Caers I have seen some crazy crashes.

Continentseven: Is this move the key to win in Fuerte and will you go for it during a competition?
Steven van Broeckhoven: Maybe it can help. But we see, every spot is different.

Continentseven: Is the Shifty something like the tweaked Pushloop in waves? 
Steven van Broeckhoven: The Shifty is way more radical and harder to land, you can’t compare. Maybe this one is not perfect but it can only get better!!

Continentseven: Thanks and good luck for the upcoming competitions!