Carla Herrera Bio

Carla Herrera Bio

Bits about myself

Hey there! Im Carla Herrera - Oria and im here to tell you a bit more about myself!

Born in 1993 in Las Galeras, Samana (Dominican Republic). When I was 3, my family moved to Spain again, specifically to Toledo. There I spent most of my childhood running through the beautiful streets of the old town, totally oblivious to what was to come! About 10 years later, my mother decided to move to Conil De La Frontera, something for which I am now very grateful, and that is where my love for the sea began.

Beginnings

I started to practice kitesurfing at the age of 14, thanks to a friend who insisted on trying it, he always said that I would end up super hooked with the sport and I used to laugh... shortly after, first thing in the morning was always to check the palm tree out of my window to see about the wind!! Since then, my life is just about chasing wind.

Few years later I decided to move to Tarifa to ride every day, also left kiteboards with boots on the side and started kitesurfing with surfboards. In each session I learned something new and finally decided to focus on that discipline as my dream was always to be able to compete.

I got my first sponsor with North Kiteboarding, thanks to them I could go to what would be the first of many competitions that came later. That was a great push for me, since then I have not stopped training hard to improve myself day by day and show that girls can also have a decent level.

Competitions

In 2017 I tried to do the full tour of the GKA but unfortunately I could not afford it. That year I only competed in Tarifa, where there was no competition for girls and they put me with men.. I managed to pass the qualifiers and compete in the main event.. an achievement for me! That year finally I could also go to Mauritius, where it was my first wave competition and to everyones surprise I finished 4th and 4th worldwide.

In 2018 I went to the first event of the GKA to Cape Verde, not knowing if I could continue the whole tour that year, but there I met Richard Myescough, the person who has placed his trust in me and has made it easier for me to fulfill my dreams. In May that year, i joined Ocean Rodeo. Without doubt, the best decision I've made so far. Starting the year with the uncertainty of whether I could do the whole tour to finish Vice-World Champion 2018!

And in 2019, after traveling around the world (more details in an upcoming blog post), of barely not getting off the podium in any event I finally got it.

I am GKA World Champion 2019 of Kitesurf Strapless!