Do people hate cabrinha?

[Cab Driver]

People hate if they can not afford it and are envious.
A smart person will never hate, just dislike.

Toby, once you said that nobody makes kiteboarding gear for profit, only for passion.

but how about that?

Since 2000, Cabrinha, a subsidiary of the Pryde Group, has climbed the ranks to take the position as the leading kitesurfing brand, selling in over 40 countries worldwide

from http://www.cabrinhakites.com/about-cabrinha.html

Pryde Group is a privately held company - a partnership between Mr. Neil Pryde and the Shriro Group

from http://www.pryde-group.com/introduction.html

Our financial goal is to provide best returns to our investments and to maximize the long term shareholder value

from http://www.shriro.com/index.php?option= ... 97&lang=en

see? not a word about passion...

Well, I work for the company and I have passion along with all of my employees and the dozens of other folks that work together at the group. We were the first to embrace and sponsor kite racing in the USA, the President of our company set the world record kiting from FL to Cuba, more than a decade ago Jon Modica and I pushed hard on the strapless movement and look where that ended up. Not only do we have passion, but we are visionaries with where to take the sport, innovation, and increased safety and accessibility. I've been to scores of meeting about preserving access and cooexisting on crowded beaches with other sports and people.

Shriro is an investor so I wouldn't expect them to have passion. However, the new Managing Director (CEO) of the Pryde Group just finished learning to kite two weeks ago and Mr. Neil Pryde himself went to the Olympics for sailing in the 60's and remains an avid sailor today. I go kiting with Pete Cabrinha easily three times a year and he's six time zones away from me. Sorry if that comes across harsh to you, but I'm not about to stand by and have someone throw stones like that. At Cabrinha, we work hard and play hard.

One last thing... Could you please list out the names of all the non-profit kitesurfing brands out there?

[NYKiter]

I've been to scores of meeting about preserving access and cooexisting on crowded beaches with other sports and people.

Really?

Please do tell us about how Cabrinha collaborated with kiters to address access issues and any outcomes that may have been met due to cab's involvement. Also, what is Cab's policy in regards to acting as a resource for any communities wishing to use their products at their locations.

[rtz]

One last thing... Could you please list out the names of all the non-profit kitesurfing brands out there?

http://www.advance-kites.com
http://www.asvperformance.com
http://www.cautionkites.com
http://www.eclipsekites.com
http://www.faith-kiteboarding.com
http://www.gaastrakites.com
http://www.genetrixkitesurf.com
http://www.ginkites.com
http://www.jn-kites.com
http://www.juicekiteboarding.com
http://www.loose.it
http://www.kitefactory.eu
http://www.kitesurf.com
http://www.maelstormgear.com
http://mrkitesurf.com
http://www.mutinykites.com
http://www.royalkiteboarding.com
http://www.stormkitesurfing.net
http://www.takoon.com
http://zeeko-kites.com
http://ziankites.com

Moving some serious kite volume are they? Like I've always suspected; someone doing it just for fun or for a tax write off.

If I had little extra capital; I might start my own kite "company" and make my own kites; and if it breaks even; all the better.

Selling kites like selling anything is all about branding and marketing.

[RickI]

Cabrinha and the guys with Adventure Sports have fought for access for years throughout Florida and beyond. I have worked closely with Todd, Kent and a bunch of others over the years. I'm not talking about just swapping emails or calls but showing up for meetings, organizing meetings with authorities and riders, over and over again, year after year. Not just in Miami either but out of the area as well. We're talking about a lot of time, money, commitment and as Todd said passion. I may have an access question, problem or solution on the other side of the world, I'll pickup the phone and talk to Kent, Todd and others there to sound the ideas out and search for solutions. That also applies to safety questions, accident analysis and the like, I spoken with guys dozens of times in this regard. These guys have the experience, interest and desire to try to make things better out there. Its their job but it goes beyond that. This has gone on for over 12 years. Take it as given, without their commitment and leadership, we would have significantly less access to ride than we do today.

Then there is all the event sponsorship, mentoring young up and coming riders, their team riders are outstanding leaders by themselves. For example, they don't come much better, down to earth and helpful than Damo LeRoy. I've worked with the guys organizing events going back to the early days of the sport in 2001, helped put together the Key West to Cuba run. These guys have passion, intelligence and concern for our sport at multiple levels and in short are the real deal.

p.s. -While I'm at it, Neil Hutchinson of Slingshot (also on the Key West run and the start of the sport), is another selfless person who has brought and done so much for the sport in terms of working for access, organizing and running events, bringing along riders and in general building the stoke all over for the sport. We owe a lot to these guys, whether we recognize it or not.

[Cab Driver]

I've been to scores of meeting about preserving access and cooexisting on crowded beaches with other sports and people.

Really?

Please do tell us about how Cabrinha collaborated with kiters to address access issues and any outcomes that may have been met due to cab's involvement. Also, what is Cab's policy in regards to acting as a resource for any communities wishing to use their products at their locations.

PM me. I'll be glad to help you out. We live in a town with some of the most challenging access issues in the world. It's a daily struggle to keep access for our sport and we stay very involved. We (meaning lots of people in Dade County) have several good models put together by a group of very passionate individuals that work for managing high risk areas, including one that is managed through our company.

[NYKiter]

Thats ok.
I was looking to simply understand the company's level and track record of access involvement and how successful it has been (given you mentioned scores of issues). Access consultation does not seem to be in the business plan for most companies. Although I'm sure at prime locations where large dealers sell a lot of Cabs, local outreach exists.

[Kamikuza]

I hate the new color schemes for the boards...

[eree]

I hate the new color schemes for the boards...

now this is not the kind of language we appreciate in this thread
where is the kindness and the warship towards the kite giant?

[Cab Driver]

Thats ok.
I was looking to simply understand the company's level and track record of access involvement and how successful it has been (given you mentioned scores of issues). Access consultation does not seem to be in the business plan for most companies. Although I'm sure at prime locations where large dealers sell a lot of Cabs, local outreach exists.

It's not just about prime locations and large dealers, I am a kiter and I want to be able to keep kiting and sharing it with my friends and local community. Safe access to the water is of huge importance for our sport.

[dejavu]

You know what would be good on Kiteforum is a brand/product issue register. If people could register their product issue across ALL the kite company brands and products as they have an issue I am sure we would see a more balanced view.

IE: Best Kite 12M 2011 - leading edge bladder blown,