Yes, You Should Be Getting Your Kite Wet

Many years ago, pro rider Chris Bobryk and I were kiteboard instructors here at MACkite. Our lesson center was right on the sugar-sand beach of Pere Marquette Park, in Muskegon, Michigan.

We would ride as much as we possibly could before and after our lessons and I can remember Chris just hucking himself constantly. He was sending it on every tack. He was absolutely consumed with progressing his kiteboarding ability and it paid off for him in his pro career.

I, on the other hand, did not have pro aspirations and wasn’t all that into taking the repeated beat-downs from trying Back Mobes. I was content with the handful of unhooked tricks that I knew how to do and just wasn’t that hungry for more. I also had a handful of hooked-in tricks, along with a decent surf game. That was all I needed and I was cool with it.

Chris knew this about me, but he wanted to help me to progress in spite of myself. He’s an awesome human being that way. Every time I saw him, he’d ask me if I got my kite wet. It was such a simple question, but I knew what he was getting at. A dry kite equals “coloring inside the lines” and a lack of progression. It means you didn’t crash your kite. And if you’re not crashing your kite, then you’re not pushing yourself to progress and learn new things.

He’d call me out every single time, without fail.

I began pushing myself because of Chris. I didn’t want to disappoint my friend when he asked if I had gotten my kite wet. Of course, I wanted to get better—who doesn’t? But how many times do we find ourselves out there riding on “auto pilot” and not really pushing ourselves to learn anything new?

OK, enough said—you know what I’m talking about, right? Sure you do. Make a point to try just one new trick and huck it a few times to see what happens. No matter what your ability level is—just get out there and get after it. You'll be so glad that you did. I promise.

"Hey, man—did you get your kite wet?" - Chris Bobryk