TAKE US THROUGH WHAT LED YOU TO MOVE INTO THE WORLD OF KITESURFING, AND WHAT YOUR FIRST PRODUCTS WERE?
Like many that ended up in the kite industry, I had a competitive windsurfing background which introduced me to the sports industry at a young age. When photos of kiting started showing up in the late nineties, it looked amazing to me, a windsurfer. It was appealing as it needed less wind, and the jumps were huge – I just had to have a go! At the time I was heavily committed to my first business venture in wetsuits and drysuit manufacturing. From 1991 to 2010, I was the co-owner of Whites Manufacturing, which ultimately became one of the world’s leading manufacturers of drysuits. Our main markets were diving and military, however when I started to kite I was spending a lot of time in cold water – that led to the birth of the Ocean Rodeo brand, and the Pyro drysuit. This was in 2001. Kites came along a year later and was all down
