Joseph Ward . . . began kiting in August of 2007. I saw 30 seconds of kiteboarding on a show about sports in Hawaii. I knew we had a lot of wind in Kansas and wondered if you could kiteboard on a lake. I got on the internet and found an article that showed Sean Beaver kiteboarding at Clinton Lake. I gave him a call and he came out and showed me how to hook up and fly a kite on his lunch break one day. He loaned me a 5.5 C kite and said fly the S--t out of it. That's it, he went back to work. He didn't even tell me what the chicken loop was for, however I did know for sure that he had showed me something awesome. Right then I knew this was a lifestyle not a hobby. After learning to fly a C kite unhooked, I flew a 14m bow that I tore to pieces multiple times and experienced every kite mare possible in the book (well Mike can still one up everyone J). Right now I fly a 10m and 12m Best Nemesis while using a Slingshot Lunacy board. When kiteboarding I like to think "Go Big or Go Home" so bring on 50 knots. My 3 greatest vacations without a doubt have been our group trips to OBX. One great thing I didn't expect from this sport was how much class and integrity every kiteboarder I know demonstrates. Simply pleasant sincere people, with "all in personalities". You might even say compulsive. Hopefully my future in kiteboarding provides improvement on every session. I'll be happy with that.