Table of contents for #71 in Kiteworld Magazine

We take sneaky checks during our day jobs checking conditions out online, then we skip work, rearrange social events, spend our evenings dreaming about our next kite trip and then take time away to travel. Who would have us? At one point I thought I was in control of my kitesurfing. But for a long time now, it’s been the other way round. Kitesurfing’s in control of me. Kiting takes up the majority of memory space in the hard drive of my head, and being a kitesurfer has become hardcoded into my being. But sometimes it’s good to throw caution to the wind and just do it anyhow. As Susi Mai says this issue in ‘These Things I Know’, “It’s better to regret something you did, than something you didn’t…

I’m currently sat on a plane on my way back from Necker Island. I’m lucky enough that this was actually my second trip there, and it got me thinking. Who the hell are we? I mean, I’d just spent seven days with a bunch of wind stoked kiters - which is normal - but these guys were drinking champagne every day, cavorting with lemurs and being waited on hand and foot. Somehow, somewhere in the last fifteen years something really changed. We didn’t used to know who ‘we’ were. In the earliest days of the sport there was a culture vacuum. The nascent Slingshot team had specific instructions to ride hard, but also establish a wild image for kiters. Enter Jeff Tobias, Ben Wilson and others who bravely and shamelessly…

I always wanted to organise a kitesurf charity event for the Wings for Life Spinal Cord Research Foundation and at the same time find a challenge doing what I love. The idea to kitesurf around Bahrain and be the first kitesurfer to do so sprang to mind at the start of 2013. The plan was to kitesurf anticlockwise around the island, starting in the northeast around Budayia. From there I’d go downwind and around a reef as I approached the Saudi Causeway with the connecting bridge between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain being the first real test of the journey. The Causeway bridge is only just high enough to bodydrag the kite underneath it in between the pillars, and has very little room for error. The strong currents and wind turbulence…

What would I call this? To be completely honest, a bit of a fluke, I guess! You may have seen another similar sequence run from my trip to Indo last year in a Kiteworld gallery. I’ve spent a lot of time at this wave over the last few years and it has one of the most perfect set-ups anywhere for big airs. The wind is slightly side onshore coming into the rights and there are perfect little ramps to hit. I wanted to try something new and was trying to go for a straight toeside backflip back to toeside. Unfortunately the wind wasn’t quite right this day and getting the right pop to land back onto the wave was proving difficult. When I took off on this wave it threw…

ION: Action Glue is a 100% organic surf wax made in Europe and is available from September. This is the second batch developed with the Red Bull Unfastened winner and 2011 KSP World Wave Champion, strapless wizard Airton Cozzolino. Three blends for cold (blue), warm (green) and tropical (orange) waters. Airton also has a signature harness with Ion, the Madtrixxx, offering soft support and maximum freedom of body movement with a slim cut. The pre-bent Wrap Tec guarantees a perfect overall fit.www.ion-products.com SLINGSHOT: Slingshot have introduced the new FCS II keyless system to their surfboard range. An efficient, keyless system that allows fins to be inserted and removed by hand in seconds, meaning you can adapt swiftly to the changing conditions. The FCS II has also improved the connection from…

How did you get into kitesurfing? My dad owned the only local school in the area. Before that kiteboarding was very new in Spain and difficult to find anywhere to learn, so he decided to build a kite school in our home town. When I was six I loved flying my one metre kite on the sand and when I was nine my dad and I decided it was time to hit the water. I haven’t stopped since! How quickly did you pick it up? Being so young has lots of advantages, such as learning faster and more easily. After kiting for a year I got third in my first competition. I really enjoyed it so decided to keep competing. I was progressing, learning lots of new tricks and after…

Hell yeah I was in for that trip! New Zealand has long been on my ‘to do before I die’ list. We managed to arrange dates, but it wasn’t easy as World Champion Florian Gruber and myself were regularly competing at different events. Finally it all came together and after a really long trip I arrived at Ozone’s headquarters in Raglan, a well known surf town on the west coast. The Ozone office is in an old converted sheep shearing shed and is so discrete and surrounded by immense amounts of nature. It’s a magical setting, just two minutes from the kite beach and surf. Walking through the main door I could feel the energy amongst the team, and it wasn’t long before the boss, Matt Taggart and I were…

AIRUSH The Team Series has become the traditional early batch release from Airush in July, with the Core Series following a little later in August. The Team series of products are high-performance models aimed at pushing Airush’s various team riders to the top level. Across the entire Airush range you’ll find each kite equipped with Airush’s Aramid Load Frame technology (distributing load along all stitch lines) to strengthen the canopy (Poly Load Frame tech in the Core range rather than Aramid) along with the Technoforce D2 by Teijin rip-stop that we’re now seeing across several brand’s ranges. Plus, Airush have added a new oversized inflation one pump system. RAZOR TEAM / RAZOR ALEX PASTOR {FREESTYLE / WAKESTYLE} The 2015 Razor keeps the dedicated C kite feel and performance for the…

{#01} MOVE > HOOKED-IN POPPED BACK ROLL RIDER > COLLEEN CARROLL PHOTOS > TOBY BROMWICH The hooked-in back roll is the entry point to a huge variety of moves and you can tweak it with your own style. It is relatively easy once you’ve had a few attempts and got your head round it but, as with anything new, it can be intimidating on your very first attempts. Build up good kite control and some good basic jumps - with smooth takeoffs and landings - before attempting a back roll. • Approach the trick with moderate speed and comfortable power, positioning your kite around 11 or 1 o’clock in your early attempts (you can always bring the kite lower for a more hardcore move later on) • Move your hands…

VITAL STATISTICS FULL NAME: CARLOS MARIO AGE: 16 LIVES: CUMBUCO, BRAZIL SPONSORS: SLINGSHOT YEARS KITING: 9 BEST RESULTS: 1ST PKRA ARGENTINA 2013, 1ST SUPER KITE BRAZIL 2013 Just 16, Brazilian Carlos Mario is shy and speaks Portuguese in a very low voice. I met him at the Leucate event this year and when I asked him how he felt about his heats, at first he gave me a funny face. It’s not that he didn’t enjoy the spot or competition, but gusty winds up to 50 knots made things a bit difficult for him. Born in the northeast of Brazil, Carlos Mario comes from Lagoa do Cauípe, a well-known place offering perfect conditions nearly all year for kitesurfing just outside of Cumbuco. Far from his usual training conditions, the powerful…

A black tiger snake dropped out of a tree and missed landing on my right shoulder by just a few centimetres. It fell to the ground just beside my right foot, and for a split second I thought ‘This is it!’. I leapt backwards and the dark reptile lay there, its focus directed right at me. Inside, all I wanted to do was run away, screaming, but I didn’t dare move any further. These snakes bite when they’re scared and my own heart was beating so loudly I could hear it. There were just the two of us in the rainforest that I was aware of and I somehow managed to gain some sort of sense of calm as I stood there opposite this highly poisonous, yet completely fascinating creature.…

I always try to get some kind of a story into my videos, directly or indirectly, but it’s always important to me that there is a meaning. I try to get a story out of compilation shots, which is like solving a puzzle, but from time to time you get that perfect match. I usually work on my own without a team of people, so obviously filming a personal video can be quite challenging. For a simple personal video I make a list of things that I need in the video, such as sponsor’s material, lifestyle, landscape and of course, action. If you just stop there you’ll get the ‘basic kite video’, which is sometimes nice, but for me I have to find something different and that’s usually where lifestyle…

Of German origin but having grown up on Cabarete, Susi Mai started kitesurfing in 2002 and has now been with Cabrinha for ‘one wonderful decade’, having signed with them on Valentines Day 2004. Winner of the King of the Air 2003/04/05, she now focuses much of her time as the president and founder of MaiTai Global, an innovative non-profit company she founded together with Bill Tai several years ago. Bringing entrepreneurs, innovators and athletes together to combine their energy and network resources to push the limits of work and play, the aim is to fuel philanthropic activities around the world. Much of Susi’s time is taken up with business now, but she’s still a very passionate and professional pro rider and puts bundles of energy into projects for Cabrinha and…