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Save the Date: MACkite KoGL Test Fest - September 23-25, 2016 If you're not hospitalized, getting married, or dying, we'd best see you all at the beach for the annual King of the Great Lakes Test Fest. KoGL has been growing since its inception several years ago and shows no signs of slowing down. Hosted at the Grand Haven City Beach, the event will run the weekend of September 23-25. This year's event will see all of our kiteboarding brands represented at the beach, each with a quiver full of n …

Photos courtesy: Christian Black/ World Kite League Team Slingshot came out firing last week at the opening stage of the 2016 IKA World Championships, making a big statement to the freestyle world by claiming first and second place in the men’s field and first place in the women’s. Among a stacked lineup of competitors, the final men’s heat came down to Slingshot teammates Carlos Mario and Youri Zoon. With Mario fresh off an amazing 2015 season and gunning for a world title a …

The Slider Project It's pretty rare to find a kiteboarding Indiegogo campaign. At MACkite, we wanted to help promote this campaign for The Slider Project's installation of a shorter kicker and a new entry-level slider. Not only does The Slider Project create public awareness of kiteboarding, it also has helped develop the sport and has supported riders like Colleen Carroll, Craig Cunningham, Sam Light, and James Ropner.  Donations start at $10 and move up from there. Each donation offers …

Red Bull's King of the Air 2016 Highlights Two weeks ago marked one of the most incredible spectated events in kiteboarding - Red Bull's King of the Air. This year, Aaron Hadlow made it to the top for the second year in a row. While we were sitting in our offices, we had the live stream playing in the background. This year, it seemed like we could not take the event off of our screens. We laughed, we cried a little, and we said, " ooh" during the crashes. Here, Red Bull has given us a little no …

What stood out the most to you this year, overall? Nate: I would say that the outstanding product was quite surprising to me. Nitro came up with a really solid deal - a no-compromise board/binding combo for $399. I took a bunch of laps on this setup and was very surprised with how well it handled a variety of conditions. Whether bombing groomers or taking park laps, the 2017 Nitro SFU is a solid combo for an insane price. RyGo: While I didn't get to ride this year as I was running a camera the …

Keahi de Aboitiz - 2015 Kitesurfing World Champion Keahi de Aboitiz has been given the title of 2015 Kitesurfing World Campion. This Aussie rides for Cabrinha, NP, JP Australia, and Sharpers fins and has had the passion of riding since he was little. Our crew is stoked for our Aussie brethren, and it is without a doubt that his hard work has been rewarded with this awesome title!  To learn more about Keahi de Aboitiz, check out his website! Interested in Cabrinha? Check out more he …

Streif Trailer If you're interested in the skiing world in any way, you'll obviously know about Streif. Streif can be considered one of the most dangerous downhill race courses in the world. With an average gradient of 27% and a maximum gradient of 85%, only the strong-willed and courageous brave this track. Red Bull shows us Streif in a new light, showing the passion behind every run, and the danger that can be seen along the way. This trailer has us pumped for the next skiing season, and …

Red Bull Harbour Reach 2015 Highlights Mystic shows off some of the best cable riders from around the world: Dom Hernler, Daniel Grant, Aaron Gunn, Nico Von Lerchenfeld, Yonel Cohen, James Windsor and many others as they duke it out for wakestyle supremacy. The competition was located in Liverpool's Albert Dock and was free for the public to attend. (Next year, maybe you'll catch some of the MACkite crew on the sidelines? Well, one can dream.) The winners of the 2015 Harbour Reach were: 1st - D …

Extreme Kiteboarding in the Netherlands - Red Bull Megaloop Challenge There's a reason it's not called the Miniloop. The Red Bull Megaloop Challenge only happens when the winds are ripping through at 30+ knots and riders can go BIG. Needless to say, the world's top 16 kiteboarders went huge in this year's Megaloop Challenge. Big crashes and bigger loops made for an exciting show, check out the best action from the sky! (Quite honestly, right about the one-minute mark is where we started to get …

shrEdit Film Festival Highlights A mountain of pizza, a copious amount of free swag, and videos highlighting some of West Michigan's most awesome shredders. We had an absolute blast for our 3rd annual shrEdit Film Fest!  What is shrEdit? shrEdit is a film festival sponsored by MACkite Boardsports, Mulligan's Hollow, and our brands, including Rome, Never Summer ThirtyTwo, Switchback, Sandbox, and Airblaster. Shredders submit their videos either through Vimeo or YouTube and are judged by rep …

  Slingshot Dominates the Triple S Invitational The Triple S is the most progressive kiteboarding event in the industry and for many riders this is the future of the sport. One of the main reasons for the success of the Triple S was the support from REAL Watersports, and their building and fostering the progression of rail riding in the sport. They have the best Kite-Rail park in the world, so their location is prime for the event.The 2013 Triple S Invitational finished up on Friday, …

News from Mondial Du Vent  True to form the PKRA in Leucate delivered some spectacular competition and a wind forecast to match any.  The event opened up with a day of 30-40 knot winds blowing offshore at the comp site.  Our speed team arrived early and eager to break records in the Leucate’s excellent racing conditions.  The freestyle team fresh from their recent Hawaiian exploits in Maui, geared up grudgingly with thick wetsuits and tiny kites.    The Switc …

Slinghsot + ASP Surf Fest This February marked a significant step forward for kitesurfing. For the first time in the history of kiteboarding a partnership was formed between a kiteboarding brand and the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) to help showcase what the power of a potential partnership on a large scale could be. Thanks to Slingshot Australia, Kitesurfing was present as a demonstration sport at the SURF FEST event, an ASP six star World Qualifying Series (WQS) held in Newcastle, …

13th Annual KOGL Kiteboarding Competition & Gear Test Fest MACkiteboarding will be hosting the 13th annual KOGL in late September in 2013.  The 12th annual KOGL Test Fest format was a smashing success.  3 evenings of wind and over 40 different kites to test and ride made for a great weekend.  Throw in a couple of great parties and the Indie Rock Festival https://www.gh-iri.com/  and it was a weekend to remember. Mark your calendars, check out the 2014 kiteboarding ge …