From camping chair to competition beach: An interview with Peter and Linda, the team behind Jamie Overbeek.

Who are Peter and Linda?

Can you introduce yourselves briefly? Linda: "I'm Linda. I've been a physiotherapist for 25 years, working full-time. I’m married to Peter and the mother of Jamie and Sean. Outside of work, I'm usually heading to the beach, to watch the boys kite. I love good weather, though I also understand the love for a proper storm."

Peter: "I come from a commercial background and ran a company in the cycling industry as general manager. When that came to a halt during COVID, I basically went full-time with the boys. I'm caddy, daddy, driver, cameraman, and handyman all in one. Gear maintenance, external contacts, YouTube videos, everything, so Jamie and Sean only have to think about riding."

A family built around the kite

How would you describe your family, outside of the kite world? Linda: "I live with three men in the house." (laughs) "I work full-time, so I have to turn a blind eye now and then. But we're an incredibly close family. Where you see teenagers check out from family life at sixteen, we're still more connected than ever. That makes it special."

Peter: "Jamie is 20 and Sean turned 22 this month. Both are still living at home, both have girlfriends. We always say: they can stay as long as they want. Every day is a surprise. I don't know where they'll be by afternoon, let alone next week. And I never know how many people will be sitting at the dinner table."

That sounds like you've made peace with unpredictability. Peter: "Completely. Take a contest like Lord of Tram in France. It runs somewhere between March 28th and April 26th, not like a football match on Sunday at five. It's a four-week window, fully dependent on wind. Same goes for training. Everyone's watching wind apps all day, across multiple countries. It doesn't surprise me at all when I hear at noon: there's wind in Denmark tomorrow, and we just book it and go. For us, that's completely normal."

How it all began

When did it become clear that Jamie had something special? Linda: "Jamie started power kiting on his feet when he was six. We were on holiday in Denmark and he did a kite landboarding lesson. The instructor immediately saw potential. By nine and a half he was sponsored, though 'sponsored' might be a big word at that stage. But from that point, things really started moving."

And Sean? Linda: "Sean only really started at twelve, at the camping in Workum. There was an event where you could do a lesson for twenty-five euros. I said: ‘Just try it’. He liked it, and that was it. Much later than Jamie. Now he works at Vantage Kites in Scheveningen as a kite designer, something he taught himself entirely, because in that world, designers guard their knowledge fiercely."

Jamie never got a diploma. Was that ever difficult? Peter: "Honestly? No. We formally applied for an exemption from the school attendance officer, backed by his sponsorship contracts, and got it. But beyond the formality: the most important thing to us is that our boys are happy. Healthy and happy. That's all I ask."

Linda: "And what he's learning now, you simply can't learn in school. His English is excellent, his German too. He gives clinics, does interviews, and has entirely international contacts. That's an education in itself." 

The family team in action

Sean always comes along as caddy. How does that work? Peter: "Sean is simply a fixed part of the team. Everyone has their role. I take care of accommodation, transport, gear maintenance, and nutrition. Jamie burns through an enormous amount of calories, so food is genuinely a full-time job. Sean handles his part as caddy. And Linda looks after the care side."

Linda: "When I'm there, Sean gives me a briefing. Including a list of what I am and am not allowed to do. Mostly what I’m not allowed to do, though.” (laughs) “I stay out of the technical side. I'm more about support: cooking, sunscreen, some physio if needed. And otherwise, I find myself a spot in the sun."

Peter, you film a lot, but never during competitions. Why? Peter: "During a contest I need to be available. A heat lasts around ten minutes. When Jamie lands and needs to make a change, in case you do need extra hands right then and there. You can't wait for me to finish filming. It just doesn't work."

No fear, but always aware.

People must ask you all the time: aren't you scared something will happen? Linda: "Yes, all the time. And no, I'm not scared. We grew into it so gradually. What looks dangerous to an outsider is just normal to us. If we were scared and let that show, Jamie couldn't do what he does. He says it himself: 'I can't afford fear, because then you start to doubt.'"

Peter: "What genuinely gets to me are the competitions themselves. You can perform at the highest level all year, but in those moments you're dependent on so many things: conditions, draw, judges, opponents, pure chance.

There have been serious accidents.

Peter: "In Denmark, after a contest, during a freeride session, he made a steering error and dropped eighteen meters. He was briefly unconscious, nearly bit through his tongue. Sean and I helped him to the car and got him changed. And the first thing he said when he came around: 'You got it on video, right?'" (laughs) "That's Jamie." Linda: "I remember it clearly. But after that, I wasn't more scared the next time he went out. You know these are the risks. Living with that awareness and being paralysed by it are two completely different things. Jamie has a very strong sense of when something is becoming too much. I trust that."

Linda: "And then there was Germany. Jamie went out in 74 knots. A lot of German locals helped to get him onto his board." Peter: (laughs) "After a while the fire brigade showed up. Sirens, bells, flashing lights. They decided it wasn't safe and pulled Jamie off the water."

And were you proud? Peter & Linda: (in unison) "Yes!"

Linda, you were heavily into horse riding yourself. Do you see similarities in Jamie and kiting? Linda: "Absolutely. I used to ride morning to night. If someone had told me to choose between horse riding and my boyfriend, I would have chosen the horses without hesitation. That's exactly what Jamie experiences when he kites. He says it himself: 'Kiting is my medicine.' When he can't get on the water, something essential is missing."

Jamie: the person behind the athlete

What has the sport given him? Linda: "Jamie has PDD-NOS and ADHD. The kite has literally been his lifeline. Without this purpose, he could so easily have gone in the wrong direction. Now he has focus, structure, and a community. People on the camping site who've known him for ten years say: wow, look at who Jamie has become as a person. That means everything to me."

Peter: "And what I find remarkable: in recent years he's taken up coaching, giving clinics. He does it so seriously, with so much positive feedback. We had nothing to do with that. He developed that entirely on his own."

Jamie approaches the sport differently from most riders, doesn't he? Peter: "The kitesurfing world has a bit of that surf-dude mentality, lots of travel, lots of parties, living the good life. Jamie never drinks, never goes out. He's focused on his health every single day: training, sleeping, keeping to his routines. There was no wind today, so he spent the whole day tuning his gear. Then he loaded two big kites into a backpack, got on his bike, and went dry-land training with his landboard. Just because he wanted to. Not because he had to."

Pride

What are you most proud of, looking back? Linda: "The team we've become. And how Jamie has found his own independence, built his own healthy rhythm, without us ever pushing him. Sean did the same as a kite designer. They both found something and went all in, entirely under their own power."

Peter: "As a parent, you have a responsibility to guide, but never to push. That's the most valuable thing we've been able to do. Everywhere we go, people know Jamie. People we've never met. And yet the camping in Workum still feels like home, we've been locals there for ten years. Jamie sits in the same camping chair as everyone else. That beautiful contrast. We've never lost that." Linda: "And which mother can say she's been to South Africa eight times?" (laughs) "That would never have happened without Jamie and his kite. But more than that: at an age when most families are drifting apart, we're closer than ever. That's the greatest gift." 

Working with ROODE

How has the collaboration been? Linda: "I was genuinely surprised by how quickly Jamie fell in love with the ROODE board. He was so happy. When Jamie is happy about something, that really means something. In all this time, not a single moment of stress about that board."

Peter: "We spent about six months working together on a voluntary basis. No pressure, no forced direction, just space to make a good decision. That's the exact opposite of how most kite brands operate. Jamie said it himself: 'Here I'm working with someone who actually listens to me and makes adjustments.' That's rare."

"And it helps that Marijn (owner ROODE Boards, red.) comes from outside the industry. A different background, a different philosophy. Both Dutch, both no-nonsense. What you see is what you get. That works."