Latest News, Blog & Videos
David's Top 5 Kiteboarding Accessories for the Daily Shred
We all know about the basic gear you need to get out for your session: a kite, a board, a harness, and a wetsuit if it's chilly, but what else might you want out there, and how essential is it? Dave is here to share his top 5 items that he uses for most, if not all, sessions.Sunscreen
This one is a must. Even if you're in a full wetty, you'll still want to protect your face, as well as your hands and feet if you're not using gloves and boots. Some people like the zinc ones because of the
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29th Jan 2025
How to Nail the Front Roll Hand Drag with Precision Kite Control
MACkite's Dave has been spending some time in Brazil working on one of his favorite transition tricks, the Front Roll Hand Drag. It's a slide type trick that's a play on the Back Roll Hand Drag. While nearly identical to that in terms of the kite movement and steering, it's very different when it comes to body movement and positioning, so he's put together a guide to walk you through nailing your own Front Roll Hand Drags.Prerequisites
You'll want to have your Back Roll Hand Drags d
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24th Oct 2024
Kiteboarding Tricks | Adding Style to your One-Footers
David is back with the sequel to his How to Do One-Footed Airs video. Here, you can learn some variations on your one-footers. Remember that you can add these into tricks like Frontrolls or other rotations!Standard One-FooterWith the standard one-footer, which we covered in the previous video, you're pointing your leg straight down. You're not going too wide, though you can tweak the board itself a bit to make it look a little nicer.For example, you can extend both legs, and then the b
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6th Aug 2024
Kiteboarding Tricks | How to Do One-Footed Airs
David is in Brazil for the rest of the 2024 season, but that doesn't mean the trick tips are going to stop coming! Up today is an intro to One-Footed Airs. This is a great trick you can perform fairly early on, and it's worth learning because you can not only add on things like rotations or grabs to it, but you can also add it into other tricks to make them a bit more stylish.Prerequisites
You will need to be comfortable doing some other things before you're ready to start practic
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5th Aug 2024
Kiteboarding Tricks | How To Do A Backroll Hat Drag
You can use a little creativity to switch up even the more basic tricks and add a little flair and style. David has a couple simple tips for your Backroll Hand Drag... and one involves your favorite beverage!The Backroll Hat Drag is a natural addition to the Backroll Hand Drag. You won't really change how you do the trick, but it'll look that much more impressive.First, make sure you've got your Backroll Hand Drag locked in. Next, wear a hat you can take off and put back on.As you come i
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26th Jul 2024
Big Air Kiteboarding Basics, Episode 3: Full Scorpion to Front Roll Waterstart
Crashing is an inevitable part of big air, but the good news is that there's a way to get back up in style after you find yourself floating on your belly in that scorpion position. Sure, you can simply send the kite up, sheet in, and pop up and out of the water, but why do that when you can add some flair and turn it into a trick? David has a tip on how to do exactly that.
Add a Front Roll Rotation to Your Waterstart
1. You're in the water, on your belly, with your board attache
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11th Jul 2024
Big Air Kiteboarding Basics, Episode 2: How To Get More Inverted Front Rolls
Are you looking to add more style and more inversion to your front rolls? David is back with another guide on how to progress your kiteboarding skills, and here he presents two different ways for you to have a more stylish front roll to show off. Plus, it's just more fun this way!
First, you'll need to already be able to do a front roll smoothly and consistently. Once you're ready to take it to the next step, try these methods:The Cartwheel Method
1. Come in with speed and th
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11th Jul 2024
Kitesurfing Progression | How to Perform Strapless Airs on Your Surfboard, with Evan Netsch
Introduction to Strapless Airs
Strapless kitesurfing offers a unique challenge compared to traditional strapped methods. It involves more balance, control, and technique, making it a rewarding experience for those who master it. According to Evan, performing a two-foot air on a surfboard can be as thrilling and rewarding as a 25-foot air on a twin tip.Choosing the Right GearLightweight Surfboards
A lighter board is crucial for strapless airs, especially in light wind conditions. Here are
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3rd May 2024
Big Air Kiteboarding Basics, Episode 1: Learning and Perfecting Your Kiteloop
David is kicking off a new series focusing on big air. He's not an expert in big air, but rather an experienced kiteboarder who's ready to progress his skills. If you're ready to delve into big air yourself, come along for the ride as David shares any tricks, tips, and lessons learned along the way.Kiteloops: The Foundation of Big AirBig air builds on your kiteloops. If you're just getting into kiteloops, Blake has a great intro. Here, I'm going to share what I've learned about kiteloo
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27th Dec 2023
Trick Tip: How to land your jumps straight instead of sideways - Kiteboard & Wakeboard
Tips for making your landing safter
Releasing your back hand when jumping makes the control bar/handle pull on your front arm, keeping your board and body position lined up straight for a smooth landing.
Release your back hand and stretch the arm behind you over the tail of the board, or better yet, grab the tail.
Tail Grabs compact your body making it easier to control yourself flying through the air, they also add style points, but the best style is a smooth l
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29th Aug 2023
Kiteboarding | How to Go Upwind Through Technique and Understanding
Kiteboarding is an exhilarating sport that combines aspects of wakeboarding, snowboarding, windsurfing, surfing, paragliding, skateboarding, and sailing into one high-octane activity. One key skill that every kiteboarder needs to master is the ability to go upwind.
While going downwind is straightforward, moving against the wind presents a unique challenge. This blog will guide you through the fundamental steps to successfully kiteboarding upwind.
Understanding the Concept of Upwind
Upwind r
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22nd Jun 2023
Ride with Blake: Cole Buller comes to Key West!
What's up guys? This is Blake from MACkite here in Key West, Florida with Cole from MACkite. He just got in today and he's going to get out kiting. I can't with my torn ACL, so he's going to go do the kiting for me and we'll teach him some tricks!Cole Gets His Groove Back
Cole: This morning, I was in Michigan and I had no idea I'd be kiting today, but here we are! Blake was nice enough to let me use his stuff, and now I'm getting a little session here in Key West. I don't know what else I
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17th May 2023
Kiteboarding: Essential Tips For Your Backroll Progression
Hey, what's up guys? Blake from MACkiteboarding here, and today we're learning a super fun trick, which is the backroll. This is a game-changer once you can ride upwind and have your jumps down. This is the next step, where you're doing a sort of back flip. From there the possibilities are endless, so I'm really excited to teach you this.Step One: Kite PositionThe first step in a backroll is understanding the kite's position as you're going into it. There are many ways you can do a backrol
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17th May 2023
Kiteboarding Basics: Pre-Load And Pop
Yeah, what's up guys? I'm Rygo.
I'm Ewan.
And we're down here in Brazil. We got some clips when we were in Hood River. I didn't film these, Brad Strom--thank you, Brad--filmed these, and we've had a lot of you asking about the pre-load and pop, and Ewan's a big air guy, so I was hoping you could explain this trick for everybody out there and your thoughts on it.
Yeah, so it's something that I used to do a lot more in my freestyle, especially in light wind. For those of you who don't kn
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17th May 2023
28 Fun Tricks for Beginner and Intermediate Kiteboarders
Today we have a 28 trick list, from beginner to intermediate, so you can get an idea in your head of different things to go out and try in your next session, and just go have fun. Enjoy!
Jumping Beach StartStraight AirJump with GrabHeelside to Toeside PopToeside to Heelside PopButterslideDownloop TransitionOne-footed StartSent BackrollSent Backroll with GrabPowered BackrollPowered Backroll to Toeside with GrabPowered FrontrollPowered Frontroll with GrabSent FrontrollSent Frontroll with Gra
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17th May 2023