Nobody but Ruben himself, and the head honchos at Best know who did the talking, who chose to leave, or who asked to leave. But many in the kiteboarding community wondered if it was coming. Having not launched a kite for almost a year now, since the Red Bull Big Air Comp in South Africa, Lenten was already hard in pursuit of his own brand before he was handed a bombshell.

He had cancer.

Possibly putting an end to his kiting career overnight, Lenten and his fianc?e began a high profile media campaign in the kiteboarding community to raise funds for his treatment. Easily meeting their goals, Rubens treatment was covered by kiteboarders all over the world, and it became a waiting game to see who would run out of resolve and hope first. Was it to be Ruben, or his sponsors?

Eluding to his ongoing battle, Lenten told his followers on social media today, "My health can barely keep up with a trainer kite right now but I'm just very happy and motivated to get more energy and strength back everyday. My goal is to get: Twice As High! How? You will see!!"

So what will Mr Mega-loop be riding in the coming season? Nobody knows! Not even Ruben himself, who left Best kiteboarding before securing a new sponsor. Not that he seems upset about it!

"Right now I am going to reach out to several kite companies to see if they can and want to supply me with some desired gear. That way I can keep my partners and myself happy whilst orientating on what gear feels good. Taking 'Free riding' to a whole new dimension… as I know exactly what I want and how I want to go about it. Very grateful for the position I am in and that I can let my vision take the lead."

Could he be looking at starting up his own brand of equipment? Already he's had a line of pro model boards from both Slingshot and Best over the years, plus his own signature kite and bar called the Extract. While not available in huge numbers, and somewhat niche in market, these products were known for being as extreme as possible, with no compromised in terms of performance. If Lenten is looking at his own line of equipment, you can be sure it will live up to the same standard!

Stay tuned while Lenten recovers from his last round of chemo, takes a holiday in Thailand and plans out his kiteboarding future…There's exciting things to come from the guy who's been labelled 'the most extreme kiteboarder in the world'.

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