Words by: Peri Roberts
Ewan has ticked all the boxes in freestyle, Big Air, park and foil – a rare kind of kiter with the medals to back it. If you ask Ewan Jaspan what he wants to be remembered for, his answer won’t be world champion – even though he’s won multiple titles (a park rat through and through).
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Practically a know-it-all
To me, comparing Ewan’s skills is like comparing him to that kid in school who’s just good at everything. Kind of annoying. Kind of really cool. Definitely worthy of a mention.
For Ewan, it’s not about being the best. It’s about doing things that matter to him.
“I think I’ve kind of done what I wanted to do through my career,” he tells me. “I was doing the things I thought were cool at the time – and I guess other people kind of thought that as well.”
We’re catching up on a patchy video call – the kind where conversation drifts between gear launches, future projects and what he had for dinner half an hour ago.
If you’ve ever had a conversation with the man himself, you’ll know there’s usually a fair bit of slang woven into it – words like cop, skitz, and BDF (IYKYK). His accent might throw you, too. It’s a bit of a mix – technically Scottish, but shaped by years in Australia and now based in Hood River, USA.
He’s thoughtful, sharp and genuinely easy to talk to. Loves a bant (also slang for a good convo). No pretense. No BS. Just a grounded kind of brilliance.
When I ask what’s next, his response is humble but quietly radical: “At some point, I’d like to invent something new,” he says. “Whether it’s a new product, new discipline, new sport… something no one’s done before.”
That kind of mindset is what drew him into kite design after years on the tour. When COVID shut everything down, he stuck close to the gear. Testing. Tinkering. Paying attention. Eventually, he stepped into the kite designer role at Naish – not by accident, but through a deep love of how things work.
“Things just kind of fell into place,” he says. “But it was definitely a right place, right time kind of thing.”
But talent without care only gets you so far. That’s why we wanted to feature Ewan as part of We Care – Prolimit’s initiative to highlight sustainability and environmental responsibility through innovation. The program’s about creating long-lasting, high-performance gear that reduces waste – and Ewan’s right there with us.
“One of the main things about sustainability in watersports is just making something that lasts,” he says. “You can use all the fancy materials in the world, but if it falls apart in six weeks, what’s the point?”
He’s not speaking hypothetically. Years ago, Ewan bought a well-known brand’s wetsuit – one of the first he ever paid for himself. “It was neoprene-free, good for the environment, all that. But it lasted six weeks and fell apart. I had to throw it out and buy another. How is that sustainable?”
That experience changed how he saw performance gear. It’s also why he rides in Prolimit today. “Last year I got my first Prolimit wetsuits. This year I got a new one, but the old one’s still fresh. Like, totally fine,” he says, still sounding surprised. “I’m giving it to a friend so it keeps going.”
You can hear the genuine respect in his voice, not just for the product, but for the fact that good gear can also be good for the planet.
“It’s honestly amazing,” he says. “I’ve gone through wetsuits in under a year before – even when I’ve had three or four on rotation. But my Prolimit ones still have life in them. That’s rare.”
It’s not just impressive. It’s meaningful.
“That’s the kind of product we need more of,” he continues. “Natureprene’s sick – good for the planet, but also warm, stretchy and durable. That’s the ultimate combo.”
For Ewan, sustainability doesn’t mean sacrifice. It means building better. Using less. Thinking longer-term. Giving your gear a second chapter instead of sending it to landfill.
And most importantly? Backing it with action. Sustainability isn’t just a buzzword. It’s doing the right thing, even if no one’s watching.
Whether that’s promoting better gear, giving old wetsuits a second life, or just standing up for your values inside the industry, Ewan walks the talk. And when I ask what advice he’d give to the next generation, he doesn’t skip a beat.
“Don’t just chase what everyone else is doing,” he says. “Make cool stuff. Be a good team rider. Be useful. Be kind. The brands remember that.”
These days, he’s juggling a little bit of everything; starting up his first grassroots kite event in Hood River (Marina Meltdown – “just something fun for the community”), working on Naish’s next-generation Para-Wing, alongside one of the most exciting brand launches in a long time.
That’s the kind of energy he carries into everything: grounded, curious, committed to the long game. Not just in results. But in the kind of world he wants to help build – on the water, and beyond it.
We care about that.
And we care about riders like him.
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