The total market for kiteboarding/kitesurfing has flatlined for the last several years, will it grow again? Or are we headed for a collapse?
Is the industry focus and marketing of the most extreme aspects of the sport good or bad for the sports future?

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Ozone Kites Aus said..
The total market for kiteboarding/kitesurfing has flatlined for the last several years, will it grow again?

Yes, only if you hurry up and release the V10 edge

Any news yet Steve or ya saving it for another thread?

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Gilly3 said..

Ozone Kites Aus said..
The total market for kiteboarding/kitesurfing has flatlined for the last several years, will it grow again?

Yes, only if you hurry up and release the V10 edge

Any news yet Steve or ya saving it for another thread?

Hey Gilly3

Its coming and soon too, should be released to dealers in August and available in shop to buy early Sept.

Hi guys,

i think it is is a bit unrealistic to expect that the sport would stay in perpetual growth. In my mind, the sport is quite healthy.

The more important thing is that the sport is not declining.

Shop closures are increasing because there were too many for the market, brands folding is same, too many and always was. The numbers now are more sustainable going forward.

The business bubble that will soon burst is the fitness gyms. Waaaaay too many!

DM

She makes a point about the gear advancing technologically and then becoming too expensive, most people are immediately put off from kite boarding due to the equipment cost.

I hate to point out the obvious but our economy as well as the rest of the western world is not travelling well. There is a correlation between market growth and economic confidence. Looking around the popular spots I visit, the biggest market for new kite gear is middle aged men. If they are under extra mortgage and family stress then they are not so able to fork out for new gear.
We all hope kiting businesses survive and thrive.
PS. In the scheme of things kiting is still pretty cheap.

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Ozone Kites Aus said..
The total market for kiteboarding/kitesurfing has flatlined

waterwings will save ya

Yep it's dead - only 1 Poley out on the W.A coast with a foil, not a kite anywhere lol

Spoke with North Europe main distributor at my cafe approx a year before duotone
remarketing, he said he'd seen a decrease in Kite sails and an increase in windsurf sails for the 1st time in over decade

Robby Naish was saying that kite sales were flattening off back in 2003.
But I can't think of a spot where the density of Kiters has swelled much since 2005.
Also back in 2002-3 there were already 52 ish kite brands.

Always thought active youth programs introducing groms was the sports future particularly surf style

Ummm wtf with this chick and being surprised people are in 20s ... Kitesurfing seriously destroys developing kids backs. Noone under 15 should be kiteing and noone under 15 should have a spair 3k$ to flick around either. **** i was lucky to get a hot chip roll as a kid not 3k in bloody kite gear and lessons

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Ozone Kites Aus said..
The total market for kiteboarding/kitesurfing has flatlined for the last several years, will it grow again?

sorry to disappoint you
but that ship has sailed

Heaps more old ****s

Less good vibes with people bring obsessed with self launching/ landing and generally being a bit douchey a bit more often

Not enough (any) beach bars on my local to go and drink $3 mojitos before, after or during a session.

Foilers being very German about things

All bad things

She makes a good point, if kitesurfing becomes just more extreme in every way and brands jumping over each other to have the best and latest tech, all the while charging more and more for equipment the average joe will get turned off and their market will shrink and it will become a spectator sport (Olympics anyone?). Not a bad thing, but we will end up having to pay heaps more for gear or hang on to old stuff longer.

Windsurfing, well that was accessible too once. A board and a sail. Don't know how anyone can shell out so much for multiple boards and sails, let alone carry it all around.

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causehecan said..
Ummm wtf with this chick and being surprised people are in 20s ... Kitesurfing seriously destroys developing kids backs. Noone under 15 should be kiteing and noone under 15 should have a spair 3k$ to flick around either. **** i was lucky to get a hot chip roll as a kid not 3k in bloody kite gear and lessons

Take it you are an orthopaedic surgeon??

Next thing you are going to say is that football doesn't destroy kids knees, netball doesn't damage ankles, gymnastics doesn't destroy all the above, motor cross doesn't destroy kids...well lets face it what doesn't motor cross destroy.

What is the basis of your research? Good point though, I think I will let my kids play computer games 24/7 must be safer.

Go to the countless islands and villages thru out the developing countrys where kite tourism has been for last 20 years and look for yourself at the droves of crippled kids hobbled over hand walking like 80 year old steel fixers because theyre parents pulled them from school and forced them to be kitesurfers.

Or you know use your head and wonder if something that can pull a yacht should be attached to a childs spine.

General rule of thumb is if they cant do weight lifting cause theyre spine isnt fully developed then they cant kitesurf yet

Really great summary.

Sure there are areas where kiting is super popular still but overall the current decline was all so predictable.

Over complex in design, increased targeting of high margin specialist products to riders in the affluent age group (ie 40-60) , no effort to encourage a new generation - mostly by product price, social advertising media domination and destruction of groups of people, a huge dilution of the sport due to super specialist disciplines, just general less younger riders let alone youth participation, youth sport participation in general has decreased also, Sailing trying to get in on the game with no clue at all, the failed attempts at exciting inspirational world level competitions (including the current GKA jokers), involvement of shareholder led kite companies.

Snowboarding very reluctantly (forced into it like kiteboarding in many ways) became an olympic sport and then the industry fully died. What is amazing is that what they have chosen for the olympics is a niche of a niche of a niche to such an extent that many countries don't even have enough representatives to race each other in their own country. How did this happen would be an obvious question.


I think about someone like Lou Wainman, saw him riding a piece of wood with wax on it and at a level far higher than the rider on the $1399 board + $699 bindings and $9000 kite quiver., let alone the 60 year old with the $4000 foil $1000 foil board and $3400 high performance "VMG"foil kites. The effect of this is that kiteboarding really isnt self advertising like it once was, not really even the same sport as it was really.


The irony here is that the olympics wants "extreme sports" because it thinks it can compete with the likes of the xgames, dew tour, vans tour, wsl tour advertising revenue, but if you speak to some professional snowboarders they in reality hate doing the olympics for anything other than sponsor$. And then they chose kite foil racing wtf! lol


Buy bitcoin, gold.. oops too late errrr . shares in garage shelves, i mean SUP companies - oh too late. WIngsurfing! it's going to be HUGE saviour once again.

Funny to hear Robby Naish complaining about the same things as mentioned here and yet still feels the need to have 6 different specialist kite lines.

The underground days can be the best!



"Foilers being very German about things" . lololololol!

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causehecan said..
Go to the countless islands and villages thru out the developing countrys where kite tourism has been for last 20 years and look for yourself at the droves of crippled kids hobbled over hand walking like 80 year old steel fixers because theyre parents pulled them from school and forced them to be kitesurfers.

Or you know use your head and wonder if something that can pull a yacht should be attached to a childs spine.

General rule of thumb is if they cant do weight lifting cause theyre spine isnt fully developed then they cant kitesurf yet

www.instagram.com/giselapulido/
kiting hard out since 8 years old 25 now

i do think kiting can be pretty hard on your body though it absorbs the kind of shock impact surface pain that might otherwise make you be more careful but can certainly push your spine and joints around with high force. Time/evidence will tell. I am living evidence that its not all good, live your life though too.

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causehecan said..
Ummm wtf with this chick and being surprised people are in 20s ... Kitesurfing seriously destroys developing kids backs. Noone under 15 should be kiteing and noone under 15 should have a spair 3k$ to flick around either. **** i was lucky to get a hot chip roll as a kid not 3k in bloody kite gear and lessons

Tell that to Hadlow, or better still tell that to all the kids that rip over in WA like Nate Pizzuto, Tristan Lewis, or Eppo's son.
I've travelled a fair bit and have never seen these crippled kids you speak of.

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causehecan said..
Go to the countless islands and villages thru out the developing countrys where kite tourism has been for last 20 years and look for yourself at the droves of crippled kids hobbled over hand walking like 80 year old steel fixers because theyre parents pulled them from school and forced them to be kitesurfers.

Or you know use your head and wonder if something that can pull a yacht should be attached to a childs spine.

General rule of thumb is if they cant do weight lifting cause theyre spine isnt fully developed then they cant kitesurf yet

Hahaha, genius.

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causehecan said..
Go to the countless islands and villages thru out the developing countrys where kite tourism has been for last 20 years and look for yourself at the droves of crippled kids hobbled over hand walking like 80 year old steel fixers because theyre parents pulled them from school and forced them to be kitesurfers.

Or you know use your head and wonder if something that can pull a yacht should be attached to a childs spine.

General rule of thumb is if they cant do weight lifting cause theyre spine isnt fully developed then they cant kitesurf yet

Uh huh...

I myself windsurfed from a very young age and wore a harness that creates equally as much force, and have countless friends who also windsurfed from a very young age and they too wore harnesses, and none of them walk around like 80 year olds.

Never kited in a developing country or seen footage of children walking around bent double but will have to take your word for it, and assuming you have extensively researched the cause of these ailments and been through all of these locations.

Developing the kite sport and creating a solid future for it comes from encouraging and teaching our children the skills and safety aspects of the sport.

As Ozone said, plenty of examples of people at the top of the game having kited since the age of childhood...Bridge family being just one that comes to mind.

Causehecan your dribble is reaching new levels of unsubstantiated dog sh1t lately...

Lately? I just got here

Its amazing you all pointed out world champions with coaches dieticians access to properly sized equipment education proper instruction and not one of them fitted the description i gave and have personally seen. Hahaha

If you think the eliminateing the risk of destroying a kids spine by useing properly sized and appropriate equipment (xs seat harness verses my dads old large waist harness) then your really missing the point.

The island work around is no harness at all. kid stacks it and kite gets blown into trees he races off and grabs it.

How long has iko existed again? What do they do? Reckon they might know a thing or 2 about teaching kids to kitesurf? Faaaaarrrkkkk thaaaaatttt nnooooiiiisssseeee lets just point out HADLOW AND PULIDO bahahahahaha wow


Cant wait to see whats on in this circus once all you clowns are done. I hope there is monkeys

I don't have a dog in the fight... so here goes.

Lessons are $$ and the the gear cost way too much.

Too much of a focus on revenue, rather than the health of the sport.

In 5 years kite surfers will be called Dinosaurs.

Continuous growth is not all that necessary or desirable. I know people in the industry who have found a niche and resisted the temptation to grow too big. They're busy as much as they want to be, make a decent living, produce really good quality products and have a pretty decent lifestyle.

In the surfing world there are shapers making fantastic boards that are much better value than the commercial popouts. There are a fair number of low volume foil makers that make products far superior than the major manufacturers at fairly reasonable prices.

Causehecan...

To quote a phrase commonly used by a mate of mine "it's no use wrestling with pigs in the mud, you will only get dirty and they will love it". But I am going to go against instinct here and be led by your difficult to decipher argument here.

Initially you quoted yourself as saying that no child under the age should be kiting before the age of 15, and you have based your point around experiences in third world kiting countries and how they land in trees when kiting. You then say that we should not use current world champions who have been in the sport since these wee ages.

This is where I get lost on your points. Take the time to watch Hadlow's latest 20 doco. I can tell you now that these kids did not hit the ground running with superior gear, the world's leading dieticians, sports physicians and the like at their beckon call. In fact even by today's standards I dare say they don't access this level of professional support given the limited $$$$ (we are not talking about le Tour de France, or FIFA World Cup sponsor dollars here). The fact that these kids are today still great ambassadors for the sport says to me, just that, when taught properly and supported by... well usually family they have a great future and longevity in it.

Now to compare "all kids" to third world experiences bewilders me. Last time I checked we had running water, great medical support, healthy diets, and yes access to decent sporting gear. I am always willing to be open minded to others points but accepting or even trying to mitigate some aspects of your contribution here leaves me farked.

If your so open minded then have a re read where i say its bad if theyre spine hasnt developed yet.

And the kite goes into the tree when they dont use a harness (think 4 line power kite 2 handles no chicken loop and a piece of wood for a board) not the kid. Id reccomend the same for 110 year olds that want to learn to kitesurf just letgo kite flys away and tutankhaman remains safe as houses

Maybe all you dads should go to the gym and talk to some weight lifters about the dangers of kids lifting heavey

A standard 10m kite is ruffly 5horse power and 1hp is ruffly 76kgs force meters/second

Im amazed i need to point out the glareingly obvious issues at play.

You all seem to understand your babys heads are a bit soft when theyre young but have no concern for theyre spine? Incredible really.

Theres alot of kitesurfing that can be learnt without a harness. And maybe you got a long kid like hadlow was (yeah i watched 20 and his old man threw him into it no surprise there) just like how some poor kid in a developing world gets pulled from school to kite and cant read and write and ends up with a completely destroyed back cause he was on handy down adult gear.

Except .... Hadlow wasnt on that gear.... But why talk about hadlow? Ive seen plenty of aussie kids who were little round kids kiteing cause of dad and then all of a sudden growth spurt theyre 6 foot tall . But theres a big difference between an aussie kids gear and a village kid

Argue all you want theres numbers at play.

Numbers dont give a flip what you reckon

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causehecan said..
If your so open minded then have a re read where i say its bad if theyre spine hasnt developed yet.

And the kite goes into the tree when they dont use a harness (think 4 line power kite 2 handles no chicken loop and a piece of wood for a board) not the kid. Id reccomend the same for 110 year olds that want to learn to kitesurf just letgo kite flys away and tutankhaman remains safe as houses

Maybe all you dads should go to the gym and talk to some weight lifters about the dangers of kids lifting heavey

A standard 10m kite is ruffly 5horse power and 1hp is ruffly 76kgs force meters/second

Im amazed i need to point out the glareingly obvious issues at play.

You all seem to understand your babys heads are a bit soft when theyre young but have no concern for theyre spine? Incredible really.

Theres alot of kitesurfing that can be learnt without a harness. And maybe you got a long kid like hadlow was (yeah i watched 20 and his old man threw him into it no surprise there) just like how some poor kid in a developing world gets pulled from school to kite and cant read and write and ends up with a completely destroyed back cause he was on handy down adult gear.

Except .... Hadlow wasnt on that gear.... But why talk about hadlow? Ive seen plenty of aussie kids who were little round kids kiteing cause of dad and then all of a sudden growth spurt theyre 6 foot tall . But theres a big difference between an aussie kids gear and a village kid

Argue all you want theres numbers at play.

Numbers dont give a flip what you reckon

WTF?

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hilly said..


WTF?

alphabet man

I don't think cost of equipment has ever been the problem, nor will it ever be. If the big brands all increase tech and costs, it just opens up room for smaller brands to start up serving that end of the market.

I think the sport can become stale if you don't change it up from time to time, so it's good to keep an open mind to the various changes and options it throws up along the way.

I also think the sport is very reasonably priced for the fun and value you can get from it, especially if you buy wisely. It's not a cheap sport, but it's not super expensive either.

Cost ain't the issue. IMHO

DM