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All wakestyle is freestyle but not all freestyle is wakestyle. This is a video I’ve been meaning to do for a long while now, but I’ve put Versus on hold the last few months. It’s a common question I hear and there are a few opinions floating around on the topic. Kiteboarding borrows from a lot of sports! There are plenty of crossovers, from surfing and wakeboarding to snowboarding. And of course there is the unique big air aspect of our sport. It’s one of the most …

The kiteboarding back roll with style  The Back Roll is often the first trick new kiteboarders learn. The thing is, as exciting as they are, at the end of the day, they don't look that great on their own. Now, add a grab. The Tail Grab is the easiest grab to pair with your Back Roll. It's also one of the better-looking grabs. For this playlist, our aim is to help you add a bunch of safe, good-feeling, easy tricks. These will improve your riding and style fast. These are non-inverted, si …

Last time on Sessions, we were exploring Taiba, a small fishing village in the northeast of Brazil. We caught up with a couple riders to chat about gear. First we linked up with Lucas Arsenault from Cabrinha to chat about his transition from the  Chaos to the FX. We also did a bit of filming with Machu Lopes of Duotone. You can read up on their gear and catch their rider segments in part one. After spending a week riding and filming at the local lagoon, it was time to head south to the ki …

The roast beef is arguably the best looking grab you can pair with a back roll, especially if you follow the tenets of style from our first video in this playlist. It might look like a difficult grab, but it’s actually really easy if you learn the muscle memory of the grab first. This is a trick you can master hooked in and cross over to your unhooked riding if you really want to up your game. The secret to making this trick look good is keeping the kite low and letting it pull you throu …

Full breakdown of the 2019 Slingshot RPM, including how to set the kite up for different conditions, what pigtails to use, how hard to pump your kite... Additional clips: https://www.instagram.com/as_the_dodo_do Pick up your new 2019 RPM …

The Cabrinha Chaos vs. the FX The Cabrinha Chaos vs. the FX The northeast of Brazil has long been a destination for freestyle kiteboarders chasing perfect wind, flat water and warmer temperatures. It's just one of those locations where conditions always deliver. While it's not the easiest place to visit, it's well worth the effort. I've always had fond memories of Taiba as it's where I got my start with video and kiteboarding. Back in 2012 I left my career to help my good friend Chris Bobry …

The Front Roll Stalefish is the trick that inspired this entire playlist we’re working on. Last summer I started riding more with our local legend and original MACkite team rider Marc Hoeksema. I noticed no matter how bad the conditions were, how gusty the wind or choppy the water, Marc always looked stylish and fluid on the water. I started to pay attention and break down all of his tricks. I noticed his signature move was the Front Roll Stalefish. This is the easiest grab to pair wi …

Today, we’re doing an in-depth review of the 2019 Duotone Neo. In years past we’ve often touted the Neo as more than just a wave kite but also an awesome freeride kite. While this is true, it occurred to me that we’ve almost done this kite an injustice in regards to its surfing capabilities. This year, I’m committed to going the extra mile with these reviews. We’ll be diving in to everything you might want to know about the 2019 Duotone Neo, the good the bad an …

Duotone Rebel Vs The Duotone Dice  There are two kites in the Duotone kiteboarding lineup that share some characteristics yet, appeal to completely different kiteboarders and riding styles. The Duotone Dice and the recently redesigned Duotone Rebel. Both offer explosive pop, both have a direct raw feel and both appeal to more advanced riders. Yet, while they share these traits, they actually couldn't be more different. If you’re that rider looking to take your kiteboarding to th …

Front Roll Nuke The nuke grab is considered one of the most advanced grabs but if you watched our last video, you know there is a trick that makes it easy to do, You’re probably thinking, that the front roll nuke must also be a difficult trick. While it is an advanced trick, it’s surprisingly easy to do. Blake was actually doing these before he was landing the standard nuke grab! The reason is because of the way he was rotating his front rolls. By doing an off-axis roll and throwin …

Your one stop kiteboarding video travel guide.  WIND BY SEASON The best wind in Le Morne is from May-October, which is winter in Mauritius. You'll be riding in comfortable, warm water with sideshore to onshore conditions depending on the launch spot. Wind blows most days and speed ranges from 15-35 knots. Bring a range of kites, but make sure your small kites are in good, working order! ADVENTURE SCALE Getting to Mauritius is an adventure in itself because of its remote location. …

Kiteboarding West Michigan & Northern Michigan  I hope you enjoyed this episode of sessions. This Rv trip was an absolute Blast! Blake and I have been talking about doing a “Ride with Blake” Road trip for two years now and it was more fun than we could have imagined. No doubt we’ll be doing a longer trip next spring working on a fresh playlist! Like most of our sessions videos, we’ll be doing some gear talk on this episode. Normally we focus on our featured r …

Nuke grab The Nuke Grab is one of the more advanced grabs we cover in this playlist but it's not nearly as difficult as you think. There is a trick to doing this with ease and you can progress into it fairly quickly.  For episode two of our jump with style playlist we'll be buildup up to our next trick in this series. The Front Roll Nuke Grab. Most of the tricks we cover in this series are very simple and while this is not the most difficult trick it does take a bit of time and commitment …

How to Jump with Style  So you want to learn how to jump with style? You’ve come to the right place. In this video and blog, we’ll break down five practices to implement into your kiteboarding every session. Regardless of your level, adding these concepts to your riding will give you something fun to try and it might turn a few heads or two when you seemingly upgrade your style overnight. For season three of Ride with Blake, we wanted to take things up a notch or two. Blake and …

Heads up, this is a special edition. If you've been following our bi-weekly "How to Jump with Style" videos, stay tuned. We’ll be back on our regular schedule with these next week. So you want to become a kiteboarder? Maybe you’ve seen it on your local beach and now you’re curious what it takes to get into an adventure sport like this. This video and extensive blog should break down the steps you need to take, and breaks down in detail many questions you might have. We’ …