In the very first episode of Mermaid Mode, we sit down with Kaya — 3x Danish champion, Junior World Champion, and GKA top-5 ranked freestyle kitesurfer. Despite her impressive résumé, Kaya is refreshingly grounded: she doesn't consider competing her whole identity, is studying further while traveling the world, and is laser-focused on pushing her riding to the next level.

We dive into Kaya's journey from nervous first-time competitor at 16, to being recognised by legend Jalou Langeree as one to watch, to landing the blind-front-blind — a trick no other woman had done in competition at the time. The conversation covers the evolving freestyle scene, the growing presence of women in Big Air, what it's like going up against Bruna Kajiya, and the community of young girls now making their mark on the GKA tour.