From our observation, there are more people over 40 than under 40 in the sport.
We attribute this to old farts resilience to failure and needing something to do when the surf is blown out.
In the interest of general statistics please contribute the following information :-
1. Commencement age
2. Current age
3. And of course (even though it goes without saying), your thoughts...

Started at 23
Now 32
I think RPM is a bit of a dick.

Great start Hybrid
Me
Started kite surfing at 42
Now 52
Actually started after 20 years of sailboarding and waiting for 20 knots for any real fun.

26
37

Started so I would have something to do when the surf was blown out......... barely surfed for the next 8 years now I surf with the kite... Too lazy to paddle and get twice as many waves

46, now 50, 13 years windsurfing, now kiting, fully addicted and having more FUN than ever.

Hmmmm bit hard to remember but started windsurfing in early 80's

Started kiteing when I was 55 after selling enough winsurf gear ....

Turning 62 this year ....... Addicted and love it.

Reduced my office hours to 0 - 12 kts ......

27 now 31 surfed all my younger years love how the kite lets me catch all these waves up and down the beach turning my local breaks into skate parks favourite move powered kite loop back roll

49 now 51 .... started on the "one design" back in the late 70's

Kite Surfing: The best sport I have ever participated in!!!!

Age 50
Surfing 30+ yrs
Kiting 4 years
Time poor and didnt get to surf as much as I wanted

Kiting ticks all the boxes.
Winds up, go for a blast an hour or two and you have a Happy Man!

That I reckon is the best part of the sport, anytime anywhere all u need is wind and water.

Started at age 48, now about to turn 54. Started surfing at age 9. Learned to windsurf in the 80's but hated carting all the gear. My kite to surf ratio is 20/1. Don't suffer from sinus headaches from duckdiving as we pop over white wash or ear infections. Catch 150 waves a session as opposed to may a dozen. I love surfing, but the dynamics of kitesurfing is more fun now and less crowded. Love catching bombs and being in a wave way before it breaks instead of just scratching in at the last second. (I am a ****ty paddler) I love the airtime you can get with a kite. Can have fun even is small crappy waves.

Started kiting at 31 now im 33

Lived in Ireland so windsurfed, moved to Australia, not enough wind learned to kite

Started at 23, now 24! I'll probably kite until my body won't let me!

start 36
Now 41

But this will be representative of those reading this forum, then those who might be interested in demographics so would click on this (dare I say those more conscious of their age), then those that reply.

At the beach on Sat, the majority were about 25-35.

... started sailing at 8 yrs old
... then started windsurfing at 13 yrs old
... stopped windsurfing at 34 yrs old
... started kiting at 34 yrs old

... now 46 yrs old and agree with Hybrid_Z

... probablly continue sailing to find waves to kite until further notice!

Plus big tick for Nurofen inventors, 2 after brecky, then another 2 half hour before session gets dose just right, otherwise a good left hand crash from height, then a right hander gets the body just so ..... forget chiros or physios, .... best thing out to keep back and core muscels in shape.

Windsurfing, cripes tried a nostalgic sail with a mate recently, ........ what a nightmare struggle to line up the moon and stars, kiteing is way way much easier

Started at 28 now 33.

I've surfed since I was 13 but since kiting I only go surfing on holidays.

Started: 23
Now: 26
i started because the snow in aus is only good for 3-4 months, needed something to fill the void between seasons.

Started windsurfing: 16
Started kitesurfing: 42
Now: 44
I tell friends to learn kiting as it's so much easier than windsurfing.

started kiting at 24, now 32

would rather surf any day of the week - i don't get the "i catch 100 more waves line", the thing i like about surfing is the hard work for the reward when you get a sick one, especially when conditions aren't fluffy beachbreaks where anyone with a heartbeat can get a mal out there.
kiting wins on the chance for isolation and being able to escape crowds at will if preferred, but let's be honest, mowing the lawn and using the kite to outrun sections isn't the hardest thing in the world after you've got a season or 2 under your belt. so with kiting i find i am always trying to set new little targets or things to learn to push myself - whether it is on the surfboard or back onto the twinny to work on the rolls and loops to then try to apply it to strapless riding...

but credit to kiting for keeping me sane through perth metro summers and when wind comes in for the arvo session DS.
he who dies with the most toys, grins!

Started 43

Now 44

Started kiting last year when i realised i wasnt gonna get many decent surfs in around Perth in summer after moving from east coast. Now i kite 3 or 4 times a week and havnt had a surf in months. If i had a choice between decent surf and decent wind i would still take the surf though.

Windsurfed from the age of 12 till I turned 30, then took up kiting. I turn 43 this year.

Surfed since 4 years old. was sort of into sailboarding, but in the old days when surfboard style boards were just coming into it.
Learnt to kite in Abu Dhabi because there was no(t much) surf and SUP in the wind was crap. That was in 2009 and I'm 49 and a 1/2 now. Not kiting as much as I would like, but new jobs might change that.

big plus for me was the easy set up/pack down. Once when travelling to an island off Oman, we saw a group of Kiters waiting for the ferry. They were up and riding in less than ten minutes and able to pack down in less. The ferry was just about docking as they came in and they still had everything in their wagons with time to spare...

Started kiting at 54, now 56. Absolutely addicted and much fitter and more flexible than when I started.
Windsurfed and sailed in the 70s and 80s, but kiting is so much easier from an equipment point of view.

Started at 33

now 47

windsurfed for too many years before taking up kiting ,(started when I was 16)

Body has never felt better after a big weekend .

Windsurfing , I used to have aching back and knees after a big weekend

Started at 28

Now nearly 31

Although my skills progression is probably slow compared to the young guns, i will probably kite till my body cant anymore. Love it.

Started at 35
Now 42

Never really took to any other board sport. I saw an old (get this) VHS of Flash Austin busting some moves and I just knew that I had found my sport.

Skated since 6 (street, bowl, ramp, longboard now)
Surfed since 8 (bodyboard-shortboard-mal)
Windsurfed since 12 (wave-slalom)
Snowboarded since 16 (freeride-park-pipe-freeride-big mountain bombs
MTB since 26 (single track-down hill-adventure)
Kiteboarded since 35 (TT-strapped-unstrapped-freeride-butter,chop, slop, mush & crossshore wave)

Broken back in mid-late 90's, thought all adrenalin board sports were over, but after rehab & the desire to progress on a board in nature, i then found kiteboarding was good for it & was a cross over of all my fave board sports....luv the freedom, the @ 1 feeling, the stoke, riding with mates, peace & using mother narures forces for pure stoke & yep the feeling and achivement of progression no matter what stage ur ridings @ helps with my fitness for the crossover sports....
Keeps me charging until i cannot charge anymore

Hi Hop,

Interesting question.
I started at 10 years old playing with kites, then at 13 years old with land power kite then at 17 years old on the water. I'm now 34.

Also wanted to share the Ikon Facebook page graph ...

Maybe not all our fans are kitesurfing but this is showing a big ratio of 35 to 54.

IKON KITEBOARDING FACEBOOK - INSIGHT - 9/02/2015

Mostly over 40 could be wrong. We may just spend so much time in the sun that by age 30 we all look 45!

As a general rule though we were all pretty ugly to start with so not much is lost

46 now, started kitesurfing 3years ago. Before that windsurfer 10 years.

currently 38
started kiting at 37
dabbled in it for a few years before I took proper lessons and went for it.
raced sailboats, kayaked, windsurfed and such for 25 years before needing something new.