Dream Kiters

Meet the Dream Kiters: an exceptional group of kiteboarders who have discovered the secrets of living the dream.

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The lives of Dream Kiters are woven from our fantasies.

Some wander the earth for months at a time in search of undiscovered waves in exotic, wind-swept locations. Others are paid to kite unspoiled tropical waters that are brimming with a dazzling array of colorful fish and coral. And some walk among us, living the urban grind but managing to ride almost every windy day of the year while also balancing families and successful careers. They provide us with equal measures of unbridled awe, wild inspiration and crazed jealousy. We love to hate them almost as much as we want to be just like them.

You’re about to meet six of the most envied Dream Kiters on the planet. We’ve uncovered the inventive ways they’ve sculpted their lives around their passion for kiteboarding and the challenges of their unique lifestyles. It’s not all endless waves and empty beaches, but it’s always worth it. We’ve also gotten them to share their secrets so that you too can learn how to live the dream.

a Rare breed

Gavin McClurg & Jody MacDonald

PHOTOS (2): Courtesy Jody MacDonald

By Cimeron Morrissey

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Fast Facts

It started as a dream to sail the world. It morphed into The Best Odyssey, a five-year expedition to explore pristine, remote kiteboarding sites with a select community of adventure kiters who buy shares in the venture. Now halfway through the journey, captain and CEO Gavin McClurg and co-creator and photographer Jody MacDonald have already ridden at over 120 atolls and islands, almost 100 of which had never before been kited.

It’s a near-idyllic life that they’re happy to share with their 26 yacht-share owners (and the rest of us who see — and drool over — their photos in magazines).

Last year they got to explore the isolated corners of the Marshall Islands with Pete Cabrinha, Kristin Boese, Moehau Goold, Mauricio Abreu and two owners. “In all my travels, this was the most remote spot we found, filled with sea life, and by Right: Gavin McClurg and Jody far the windiest and waviest place we’ve MacDonald at home been,” says McClurg. “To have all that and aboard their 57-foot share it with such talent, not to mention, catamaran. Left: Discovery finds such kind, entertaining and wonderful yet another virgin souls, it was very special indeed.” island with dreamy

Names: Gavin McClurg & Jody MacDonald Ages: 37 and 34 Where they can be spotted: At windy, wavy, pristine atolls all over the world.

Check offshore odysseys.com for their current location.

Downsides of their lifestyle: • Seasickness and tropical diseases.

• Being on-call 24/7, managing the crew and boat maintenance.

• Not seeing friends and family.

McClurg & MacDonald’s tip for living the dream: • Come along for a trip! The cost is roughly the same as staying in a four-star hotel, but with the added bonus of fivestar adventure kiting.

conditions.

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Name: Rob Born Age: 42 Where he can be spotted: Riding on perfect, undiscovered waves in Micronesia, Africa, Polynesia and South America.

Downsides of his lifestyle: • Land mines.

• Traveling for days to reach

remote destinations.

• No one to repair his kites (or his body) if he gets destroyed on a reef.

Born’s tip for living the dream: • Tenaciously research your trips (use Google Earth or Stormrider) to maximize your chances of scoring.

PHOTOS: CARY MAURES; (BELOW) MICHELLE CHANG

Have you ever imagined the tingling thrill intrepid surf travelers of the ’70s and ’80s must have felt when they hunted for — and discovered — virgin world-class breaks? Rob Born has dreamt of this ever since he started surfing a decade ago, and now he’s chasing that same dream on his kite.

“There are these incredible waves all over the world that are considered unridable because it’s not possible to make them on a surfboard or they’re too fast or too windy,” says Born. “Kiting opens up the opportunity to ride these waves. We have the chance to relive the golden age of surf travel.”

Thanks to his lucrative position as a partner at a venture capital firm in San Francisco, Born has both the resources and the flexibility to travel off the grid a few times per year in search of perfect kitesurfing waves. He says, “I’m passionate about my job, and I’m thankful that it’s funded my dream to see the world and kitesurf remote waves.”

Some of his most memorable kiteboarding adventures have Right: Rob Born achieves kite been in Fiji, Indonesia, Cape Verde and, most recently, a distant bliss postMicronesian island. “About 150 people came out of the village to session. Below: watch me kite since they’d never seen it before; they were hooting Born traveled to Indonesia to and hollering, jumping up and down,” Born says. “Seeing stuff that score giant no one else has seen before and riding waves that no one else has left-handers ridden is a pure and unique experience.” like this.

Fast Facts

PHOTOS: Clarissa Hempel; (below) Stephane Fournet

Rob Born

Ramsey Shanbaky Fast Facts Ramsey Shanbaky has one of the rarest Dream Kiter traits: balance. He has a wife with whom he kites, a successful career as an optical engineer and he manages to kite almost every day from March through October. Shanbaky moved to the San Francisco Bay area for its unique blend of job opportunities, nearly year-round wind and major waterways within close range of work. He starts his workday at 6 a.m. and finishes up in time to kite with his wife, Ignite, on most afternoons.

“Thankfully, I have a flexible work schedule, so that helps — you still have to put in your time no matter what, it’s just a matter of picking the right time of the day to put it in,” Shanbaky says, adding that sometimes he goes back to work after kiting — not that he minds. “And as for the relationship side, I never have to feel guilty about getting a session since Ignite is as into kiting as I am. Our addiction levels are Right: Ramsey and even.” That doesn’t mean kiting has never created Ignite Shanbaky conflict in his marriage. If the wind is light and Ignite enjoy the beach life. Top: Ramsey is out on his gear, but then the wind picks up and she charges in the Bay remains out while he waits on the beach for his kite, Area, minutes from “That’s a serious problem,” says Shanbaky, laughing. his home and work.

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Name: Ramsey Shanbaky Age: 31 Where he can be spotted: Third Avenue in Foster City, California.

Downside of his lifestyle: • Kites as thin as

tissue paper at the end of each season.

Shanbaky’s tips for living the dream: • Marry a kiter.

• Get a job that’s close to the water, preferably in a place where the wind turns on like clockwork.

• Make your boss understand that you need to kite so that you can be energized for work. (But you have to actually be energized when you get back to work!)

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Ocean Rodeo pro rider Jeremie Tronet nails his grab and scores yet another page in the magazine.

Rob Kidnie Fast Facts

Fast Facts Name: Rob Kidnie Age: 34 Where he can be spotted: Vietnam, Indonesia, Peru and Australia.

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Downside of his lifestyle: • It’s difficult to have a relationship.

Kidnie’s tip for living the dream: • Lower your standard of living and live a healthy, simple life.

Jeremie Tronet

PHOTOS: TODD CONRAN; (ABOVE) GROMMET; (OPPOSITE) LINN SVENDSeN

Rob Kidnie has done what many have only fantasized about. The Australian native left the nine-to-five world behind to become a kiteboarding instructor on a tropical beach, and he takes off months at a time to kitesurf.

“I normally teach in Vietnam for the windy season from November to April,” says Kidnie. “It’s then a cheap flight over to Indonesia for the wind and wave season there. Kitesurfing has been good to me.” Kidnie says this with a buoyant laugh. It’s the carefree laugh of someone who used to be an accountant at an insurance agency and who, for the past month, has been kitesurfing Mancora — one of the longest waves in the world — and living in a tent in the Peruvian desert.

Kidnie’s tricks to supporting this lifestyle are visiting developing countries where costs are low, living simply and eating like the locals. But sometimes fish and rice gets old. On a recent extended stay in InRight: Aussie kiter donesia he supplemented his diet by eating leftovers Rob Kidnie lives the dream. Top: For off his friends’ plates, which earned him the nickname Kidnie, waves like this “the seagull.” With a chuckle, he says: “As long as I have make everything else a nice shiny board and a kite to play with, I’m happy.” in life insignificant.

Is it the journey or the destination? For Jeremie Tronet, it’s both. For the past four years, Ocean Rodeo has paid Tronet to explore over 30 countries and islands with his kites and his girlfriend. In exchange, Tronet promotes the brand on the Internet and in magazines through his eye-popping, envyinspiring movies and photos. He also has a hand in gear development.

“One of my main goals is to share all my experiences, amazing kite sessions and anecdotes through my movies, travel stories and pictures,” says Tronet. “Ocean Rodeo believes that kiteboarding has a lot to do with traveling and discovering new places. The sport offers endless possibilities.”

The French globetrotter recently returned to the Caribbean after a kiteboarding trip to the clear, flat waters of Egypt. He and his girlfriend, Linn Svendsen, usually spend about three months at a site before following the wind and waves to their next adventure. But it’s not all soul sessions and cultural exchanges; it’s a job that often requires Tronet to spend more time on his laptop than on the water. But you won’t hear any complaints out of Tronet. “This lifestyle is an absolute dream!” he says.

Name: Jeremie Tronet Age: 23 Where he can be spotted: Caribbean, Egypt, Brazil and all points in between.

Downsides of his lifestyle: • Close encounters with big sharks.

• Lost luggage.

• Constant searches for fast Internet connections.

Tronet’s tips for living the dream: • Prepare yourself for an unconventional life. Not having a home and car to return to can be a challenge for some, but if you get used to the lifestyle, anywhere you go can feel like home.

• It’s not luck, it’s a choice and it’s accessible to anybody.

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