The above picture is of my friend Greg in 2003. We met at a club for windsurfers in 2001 where he was thrilled to share his knowledge and help me buy used gear in Hood River.
Greg's enthusiasm about windsurfing and skiing has been an inspiration. No matter how much I would get excited about something, read, watch videos, Greg would be two steps ahead. He wouldn't lord this information over me, rather be in a rush to share it, have more disciples of sport, share the wealth of stoke.
For years Greg has been kiteboarding, slowly putting away his windsurfing gear. I steadfastly didn't want to follow, feeling my hard-won skills had gotten me to a confidence level I didn't want to give up.
This year I decided I needed to learn kiteboarding in part because I believe it will be easier on the body as the gear is lighter and also because I wanted to learn a new skill set. I felt I had accomplished all I wanted with windsurfing -- wave riding and sailing with confidence in high winds. I realize there is always another level to achieve, but I liked the idea of a smaller pile of gear.
True to form, when I told Greg what I was doing he lent me a kiteboard, showered me with instruction videos, and took me to the beach to show me the "pro tips" of setup and launching the kite.
Ever the stoke accelerator, he even filmed me mucking around in the water.
I salute his generosity of spirit!
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