About MACkite

Who is MACkite Boardsports?

We're a crew of riders based in Grand Haven, Michigan, right on the shore of Lake Michigan, and we've been chasing the stoke here since before most people knew what a kite could do to a board.

Our staff didn't end up here by accident. Most of them found MACkite the same way customers do: they got hooked on something, needed someone who actually knew what they were talking about, and never really left. At some point, we stopped asking questions and just started ordering more staff shirts.

It started with a kite...

In the late '90s, our founder Steve was already deep into power kiting — the kind where you strap into a buggy and let a foil kite drag you across the beach at eyebrow-raising, OS-moment speeds. So when kiteboarding started spreading out of Hawaii and Brazil, it wasn't a hard sell. He brought one in "just to try." Local surfer James Otis rigged up a board with straps, borrowed the kite, and became the first kiteboarder on Lake Michigan. That was pretty much that.

...and then came the expansions...

What started as a back corner of Steve's downtown kite and toy shop grew fast. Kiteboarding led to more kiteboards, more brands, more gear, and a crew of people who genuinely lived for days on the water. The shop moved once, expanded, moved again, had a situationship with snowsports and electric bikes, and eventually settled into its current home just south of Grand Haven. For a long time, MACkite meant kiteboarding, and kiteboarding meant MACkite on Lake Michigan.

...and now? Foils and content expansion.

If you've spent any time around the MACkite crew lately, you already know where this is going. Foiling became the hot take for years. But, wing foiling snuck up on all of us: a handheld wing, a foil board, and suddenly you're gliding two feet above the surface on a windless day with a stupid grin on your face? All without having to do complicated rigging? Needless to say, the Boardsports crew was hooked.

Then eFoils, which run on a battery and require absolutely no wind, no wake, and no excuses (especially for the ones who say they don’t have time to ride). The crew went all in, one by one, the same way they always have: someone tried it, wouldn't shut up about it, and eventually everyone had to find out for themselves.

Of course, we couldn't keep all of this stoke to ourselves. Our YouTube channel has expanded significantly, trying to get you the most comprehensive information about your gear as possible. Have ideas or questions you want featured? Give us a shout.

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Even though we have evolved over the decades, the origins are still there. We still love kiteboarding: it’s in our DNA and it’s not going anywhere. But today, MACkite Boardsports is the Great Lakes’ premier windsports shop for everything that glides above the water: kiteboarding, wing foiling, wake foiling, hydrofoiling, foil assist, and eFoil. We carry the gear we actually want to ride and what motivates us to keep exploring these sports. That’s been true since James Otis borrowed the first kite, and it’s still true today.

We pride ourselves on authenticity, building stoke-worthy and helpful content through our YouTube channel and blogs, and keeping the community fired up through lessons and events like King of the Great Lakes.

If you’re curious about any of it, whether you’re a longtime kiteboarder looking to branch out or someone who’s never stood on a board in their life, chat with us. We’ll point you in the right direction.