SupaEZ Where have you been?

[Laughingman]

I can't find anything that would suggest Starsky was banned. Can anyone confirm or deny? There are no posts after Oct 2017. And anything up till then was pretty tame for the most part. It was way worse a few years back... and when I say worse I mean better. He had a talent for calling out BS.

[badgb21]

Could you explain your comment relating to 'Brexit'.
Just want to be totally sure on the interpretation of your comment relating to this democratic decision taken by the British, before I respond.

Thank you.

PS: Levinson...joined two days ago and already knows insights of the forum?
Let me guess who you are!
Here is your chance, don’t blow it...don’t Brexit

[Toby]

Nothing political. Just a hint for him.

[SENDIT!]

No matter how "justified" the Mod feels deletions and bans are, they are to his taste which run counter to a specific segment of the kiting spectrum.

This forum is now pretty openly disinterested in unhooked kiteboarding. There has long been dissent towards things like boots, kickers, rails, and the general direction of professional freestyle competition beyond about 2005. It's not very subtle to anyone beyond beginner.

This has never been a welcoming place for those interested in discussing anything that falls under the umbrella of unhooked riding. Those people don't stick around and the ones that do or complain are edited and eventually weeded out. By now, nearly all of the longstanding members left share the mods general bias.

It's strange for a dedicated sport forum to foment distain for its own elite level. It has likely limited lucrative manufacturer engagement and most definitely robbed the forum of energy, youth, content, and virtually all pro level rider input.

All in the name of making it better for the majority.

I'm can't speak for anyone else, but I can count on two hands how many wakestyle specific boards/kites that I've sold in the last 6 years. My locale is certainly skewed towards light wind, to be sure, but I sell to folks all over the world. What's the reason for that? I don't know...I suspect it has something to do with the physicality of unhooked riding. The number of people doing it over 35 is certainly smaller than any of the other disciplines and will only go down the further up the age creeps. I think there's a significant section of the unhooked population that consider themselves, as you said, "elite." It tends to sort of emanate from some of them, some more than others. It's not a new phenomenon, as those were also the same people poking fun at Kiteforum back in the early days. In their opinions, the only people on these forums were kooks. I'd submit to you that we have elites in many disciplines at this point. Waves, Foil, Big Air, Unhooked, Racing, etc... I for one completely missed the rise of Foiling. I watched pros like Jeff Tobias and Martin Vari taking a beating in 2003(?) on Oahu trying to do it. I thought it would never amount to anything.

Because the market share for unhooked specific gear is so small, I suspect we'll see some brands halting production of their offerings in the maybe-not-too-distant future. Maybe some will hold out b/c of their long history of excellence (Vegas, Fuel, etc..), but I can't see how it becomes financially viable for them to do it. Maybe I'm wrong; I certainly have been before and am likely not done.

jumptheshark, there is a whole category here on Kiteforum devoted to wakestyle, but it looks like it's only good for about 1 topic a month...
http://kiteforum.com/viewforum.php?f=175

I, for one, hope the unhooked/wakestyle segment continues to live. Not everyone needs to be a freerider or surfer or foiler or...I think it helps to breathe new life into our sport to have many disciplines, rather than just stagnate into 1 or 2. Just my 2 cents...

[fernmanus]

I am thankful for the kiteforum. I am a knob that has been kiting for 20 years. Over the years, we had threads that devolved into petty name calling. I don’t see it happening anymore and just as the forum has evolved, so has Toby as a moderator.

If wakestylers don’t feel the love, try on landboarding or snowkiting for size, the sport has fractured into lots of minor disciplines. We even have a guy advocating foil kiting while riding a unicycle- can it get more fragmented than that?

Kiteboarding is an amazing sport, each and every one of us should be grateful every time we put a kite up in the sky. We should not put other kiters down. There is so much more to be gained by showing respect and banding together.

[Toby]

Sendit: completely agree that the more disciplines the better.

[Matteo V]

I am a knob that has been kiting for 20 years.

Don't know you mean by "knob", but I think you are being a bit overly humble. Despite all of my travels, I can count on one hand the "great kiters" I kite with - and you are one of them.


And I love talking to wake-style guys or just watching them. Come to think of it, I am pretty interested in any kiting discipline that is "outside of my box". Even having been a strapless rider in the past, but adamantly strapped now, I still love watching strapless kiters.

[jumptheshark]

I bet ski shops don't move a lot of super G skis and surf shops don't pay the bills selling rhino chasers, but thats the stuff they put up on the walls.

The sport is diversified, but twin tip is by far the most common with the most professional development.

Every sport has a top level. They tend not to discount their elite for what they can do. Kiters tho, epileptic, simian, spastic. Land a double handle pass and your called boring and repetitive! Thats a twin tip rider, like most here, just a lot better. Unlike snow or land boarding with a kite, there's a ton of negativity thrown in the mix when talking about unhooked kiting on this forum. It's the only branch of the sport the mod openly dislikes. His bias has long been on the record and it's been shaping the place since long before there were individual forums for styles. It's an echo chamber in here for the downplaying of the sports top level.

The forum seems to have a huge tolerance for mediocrity when it comes to footage of almost all forms of riding. But professional level freestyle gets panned nearly every time. It's almost like the higher the level the less its appreciated. It's fans have long left. It's funny to watch this place gesticulate over KOTA. Some of the best freestyle riders in the sport. Completely under appreciated for 363 days a year on here, yet the place goes nuts for them throwing simplified moves at height in raging winds. Post what these same riders can really do in 20 knots... you get ambivalence or worse shade. Rather click on a guy air running beside his foil! Jumping off buildings and kiting swimming pools gets a pro more appreciation here than the very best stuff they can do with a kite.

Ever read the phrase "strictly hooked" anywhere else?

[Matteo V]

.....It's the only branch of the sport the mod openly dislikes. His bias has long been on the record and it's been shaping the place since long before there were individual forums for styles. It's an echo chamber in here for the downplaying of the sports top level......

I do not personally know Toby, but from my experiences here, he has less "bias" in the whole of his being than I have in my little pinky. And from your post, I think we could change my name with Toby's and yours for mine in the previous sentence.

Ever read the phrase "strictly hooked" anywhere else?

I don't know if you are pro level wake-style kiter, but I am guessing that you are and you're just PO'ed about there not being more attention devoted to what YOU are doing. The simple of it is - Kiteboarding is made up of mostly people that want to do it, not watch it. Unhooking is cool, but not what what most kiters do. So unfortunately, you are not going to get the attention of the whole forum when you talk about it. And just to let you know, I think unhooking is cool and I love to watch it, but it is not my focus for my riding at this point in my kiting experience.

If you are looking for a fan base with groupies to boot, you need to work on your football skills. No matter how good you get at kiteboarding, your greatest reward is the enjoyment of actually kiteboarding. Professional voyeurs need not apply.

[jumptheshark]

Mostly a foiler in my mid 40's.

Cant handle pass to save my life.

You should get that pinky looked at !