“People” by Ozone: Simon Burner, tester and assistant designer

February 9, 2022 / Kite Wing

Simon Burner, 19, is Ozone’s newest team member. The Austrian-Swedish teenager joined Ozone in early 2021 as a tester and assistant designer in the kite and wing division. A kiter since his earliest days, he has family ties to the brand and the industry. Barcelona-based Burner is an accomplished kitefoil racer and wingfoiler of note, which make him ideally-placed to learn the ropes and forge new boundaries in the business.

Question: How did you get started at Ozone?

Simon Burner: It’s not a long story, though it’s a couple of years in the making. I was always pretty close to the Ozone office where Iain Hannay [general manager] and my dad, Hannes, work. The office is in Barcelona [Spain] and I was often hanging out at the premises, always curious about the latest products. Soon, I met some of the employees and riders, which inspired me to want become part of the Ozone family some day. Fast forward to late 2020, Iain and Rob Whittall [head of design] proposed me to start testing and learning the art of designing, which I happily said yes to.

What is your role?

I’m a tester and assistant-designer. That means I help on the designs details and test the products designed by the team. Testing is a very important part of my job, where most of the work is done; it’s when our countless hours spent behind the computer hopefully bear fruit. We could test in the lab, but when you test a product in real life, it changes dramatically—the feeling and the way it works.

As an assistant-designer I am one of a team of four. I work closely with Rob Whittall, Dominik Zimmermann and Stu Yarrow, who are all part of the design team. For sure, it’s great we’re four people when brainstorming or problem solving!

Which particular products are you involved in designing and testing?

Mainly in kites and wings, the new versions of our current product line. And I’ve also tested the Apex foil. I have been working extensively alongside Rob and Dom on our new generation of wing products this past year.

You’re heavily involved in wingfoiling and you’re reputedly one of the best wingfoil riders at Ozone. What do you think of wingfoiling?

Personally I have loads of fun with it, as it’s a new and young sport, you progress so fast. And as it’s a new world, many brands are throwing out nice looking wings. So, you’re always wondering how a wing feels within different parameters. They’re a blank canvas where a lot of innovation and progress is highly appreciated, which makes it exciting! You can pretty much transform a wing with a new parameter. In the end we’re only three or four years into the sport. For sure, there’s still tones of untouched territory that we have yet to discover!

We’ve seen you on the race course. Are you still competing?

Not competing full time anymore. I was really into it before, with the huge growth of the discipline because of the Olympics. As more people started competing and the level of the fleet increased, it got very exciting! But there are no shortcuts, you must train and dedicate a lot of time and discipline if you want to perform well. I still enjoy it a lot, but I got the opportunity to work at Ozone. So, I can’t be as dedicated to racing as I was before. I still go “free” racing with the local race crew and will go to the occasional national competition, like the Formula Kite Spain Series.

What is the process to take a product from the design brief to the public?

First of all we have to review the design brief; read it carefully and make our impressions of it. Then we start brainstorming if it’s a new product, or take an existing product and refine it to make it suit these requirements. Then we make a prototype and refine certain parameters, or change them where we think that could meet the design brief. Another big, big step is taking all the knowledge we have from those prototypes and develop the direction. Because it’s not the same designing a wave kite and a freestyle kite, or a freestyle wing and a wave riding wing. Then more prototypes to find the one that suits our requirements and fits the design brief, and is not too radical in one direction of the other. From that we start polishing the details.

What’s your favourite Ozone product?

The products are all really solid and feel good. I like the construction and feel to them. If I had to choose one in specific, I would go for the Enduro. It’s a do-it-all kite: you can use it to go wave riding, surfing and do freestyle with it. So, it’s a really complete kite. Because in the end, who doesn’t want a kite that can do it all?

Where do you mainly do the testing, and at what time of the year?

Since I’ve been at Ozone, we’ve mainly done the testing in Europe. I’ve done a couple of trips to the Canaries and to France. The design team is normally in Mauritius for half a year. But last year Covid prevented that, so we only went for two months. We had a quick testing trip there late last year. I like Mauritius as you focus fully on the development and you might get a sweet wave session at One Eye.

What’s your favourite spot?

One Eye and Manawa [Mauritius] got to be at the top of my list; I really enjoy those for surf kiting and winging. I also really like Viana do Castelo, a spot in Portugal. It offers you a very big bay and you have waves at the end. And you can have racing or freestyling on the other end. It’s all really accessible. Those are my favourites. And then, of course, my home spot, Castelldefels, where I enjoy the occasional freeride hydrofoil session.

What is it that you most like about your job?

I must say, unpacking a prototype feels pretty good after you’ve been brainstorming, talking about how to change different parameters and then seeing it, that’s actually fulfilling. Then another thing that I find interesting is to learn from others in the company who have more experience than me, who have done these things before. You can discuss things with them and they tell you quite the opposite of what you expected. You learn from their past mistakes. I also enjoy the creative side, discussing new ideas and solving problems with the rest of the team.

What software does the team use to design the products?

Ozone has its own software, which is OzCAD. We use it for the kites and wings. Ozone paragliders also use that. It’s a really profound program that Stu Yarrow takes care of. It’s a design software on which we can play with certain parameters to change a kite’s look or behaviour

We’ve seen you at several Ozone product shoots, is that something you enjoy and does it help your work as a tester?

All the products deserve to be presented in nice way. Having someone in the shoot who is product-focused, like myself, to present that product in a good way is very useful. As part of the development team it helps that I’m there to ensure it’s presented in the right way.

What is your dream in the kitesurfing industry?

I’m living the dream right now! Sure, just keep on designing to find new prototypes that I like, and hopefully other people like too. As well as getting new products out there and pushing the industry further.

What are your upcoming projects that you can tell us about?

It’s no secret! The Wasp V3, though I can’t tell when it’s going to come out. It’s a well-balanced wing with good power to do all your manoeuvers. Our aim was to make the most all-round wing possible. You can do jumps with it, but still enjoy amazing wave rides. It’s a lightweight wing, with a direct and stable feel whether you’re edging upwind or attempting your latest manoeuver. Be on the lookout.