Contact   Imprint   Advertising   Guidelines

Let's talk team riders! Who, why, what

Forum for kitesurfers
FredBGG
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 3458
Joined: Tue May 24, 2005 3:38 am
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Malibu
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 42 times

Re: Let's talk team riders! Who, why, what

Postby FredBGG » Fri Oct 21, 2011 8:09 am

While many are very skilled, the vast majority just set a bad example as far as
even basic safety goes.
99.9% of them never wear a helmet.
They ride fast as hell and really powered up in shallow water,
leading to kids emulating them. This in turn leads to some very severe accidents like Theo Fusban
who broke his neck in shallow water and is now fighting against paralysis. Let's hope he overcomes
it and can walk again. Let's keep out fingers crossed.
I have a cousin who had a bad sporting accident and is a paraplegic.
It's terrible for him and his whole family. Despite the best insurance and Swiss national health care
it ruined the family financially and they were millionaires.

More attention has to be given to safety and it can be done in a cool way. Many other extreme sports have adopted a safety oriented image and way of doing business.

Time for kitesurfing to grow in the right direction.
Last edited by FredBGG on Fri Oct 21, 2011 8:20 am, edited 4 times in total.

FredBGG
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 3458
Joined: Tue May 24, 2005 3:38 am
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Malibu
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 42 times

Re: Let's talk team riders! Who, why, what

Postby FredBGG » Fri Oct 21, 2011 8:13 am

Do team riders effect what I buy. Not in the slightest.
I base my purchases on trying kites and gear.
I do watch kiting video online. many of the best videos are not from the team riders.
many times team riders travelling through the area are a pain in the water.
Some team riders are an exception.

Antigrav
Frequent Poster
Posts: 275
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2008 8:27 pm
Style: Wakestyle
Brand Affiliation: Shop rider
Location: Southampton UK
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Let's talk team riders! Who, why, what

Postby Antigrav » Fri Oct 21, 2011 8:56 am

So what you're telling me is that this theo kid saw a pro rider doing tricks in shallow water and that's the reason he now has a broken neck? No,he broke his neck because he was doing his tricks in the flat water which just happens to be close in to shore. Everyone knows the best flat water is generally going to be close to shore, I know some people who take this to extremes but the point is it's a choice they make because the water is flatter, not because some pro rider did it in a video :roll:

Megabear
Frequent Poster
Posts: 264
Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2005 6:42 pm
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Let's talk team riders! Who, why, what

Postby Megabear » Fri Oct 21, 2011 9:24 am

sq225917 wrote:
I'm biased, because I think she's brilliant, but honestly there's no one better than Kristin Boese at this. She's multiple x world champion, she's a huge part of the KSP Tour, she works with the governing body for racing and the Olympic committee. She uses her own PR & management company. She runs KB4Girls which has huge reach and on top of this she's the nicest person you'll ever meet on the beach. I can't think of anyone I'd trade her for.
.

only problem is she doesnt know how to kitesurf, luckily, all the other stuff is way more important!

User avatar
sq225917
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 8789
Joined: Tue Nov 05, 2002 1:00 am
Kiting since: 1996
Local Beach: Cleethorpes, Hunstanton, Lytham
Gear: Eleveight and Flysurfer
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 8 times

Re: Let's talk team riders! Who, why, what

Postby sq225917 » Fri Oct 21, 2011 10:28 am

Yeh that would explain why she has been world champion more times in more different disciplines than any other kite ever... 9x she's been crowned World Champ. Doesn't exactly sound like someone who doesn't know how to kitesurf, now does it.

No doubt you can impress us with your top flight resume of kitesurfing achievement- ahhh, I thought not ;-)

User avatar
sq225917
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 8789
Joined: Tue Nov 05, 2002 1:00 am
Kiting since: 1996
Local Beach: Cleethorpes, Hunstanton, Lytham
Gear: Eleveight and Flysurfer
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 8 times

Re: Let's talk team riders! Who, why, what

Postby sq225917 » Fri Oct 21, 2011 10:33 am

Caesar wrote:
sq225917 wrote:...and on top of this she's the nicest person you'll ever meet on the beach. I can't think of anyone I'd trade her for...
Opps, and up goes her next year's salary request. :wink:
@Caesar, Tru-dat, Kristin is worth every penny.

@antigrav, You will love those GP's, I'm too much of an old fart to ride them every session these days, the HP does for me.

consumer
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 1071
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 5:10 pm
Has thanked: 182 times
Been thanked: 54 times

Re: Let's talk team riders! Who, why, what

Postby consumer » Fri Oct 21, 2011 2:11 pm

The team rider thing is the biggest kiteboarding scam that has ever existed. It makes sense. Team riders are the biggest consumers... Ever wonder why so many people are team riders despite having any real talent? This is the biggest farce of kiteboarding, so many are hypnotized by their egocentrism and they just pour money into the company that has "sponsored" them. The true team riders are the ones that get completely free gear and travel to competitions. Ask yourself how many team riders you know who aren't pouring money into a brand; it's rare.

eree
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 1261
Joined: Sun Jul 13, 2008 9:49 am
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: shallow sea
Has thanked: 9 times
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Let's talk team riders! Who, why, what

Postby eree » Fri Oct 21, 2011 8:09 pm

Toby wrote: Had this topic in mind for a while...it would be interesting what consumers, industry and pro riders think.
- is a team rider worth the money
- should they get more support from companies (barely anyone makes some extra money)
- do they help to sell more kites
- is their feedback for gear important
- do consumers buy gear because of team riders
- which team rider has the most value
- what should team riders do and what not
- how important is their coolness factor (down to earth, open for everyone, arrogant/cool etc)

-i guess yes and no. i've seen the dudes riding same equipment and even wearing the same clothes as some of their idols. for me and lot of others it looks pathetic. but some are spending money for it
-not to us to decide, but some brands seams over-equipped with teamriders
-at some extension, again for the 95% of the kiters they have no influence at all
-my guess is apr. 20% are important for brand, because average kiters are different by weight and skills
-my guess is only 5% of consumers are influenced by the pro's
-for me none
-les unaccountable spins in the air and more generally achievable for simple people tricks
-more you are arrogant - less i care! buy your sponsor's gear yourself!!!
sq225917 wrote: Good team riders are hard to find, the sport is still relatively young and there's not a great deal of professionalism in it. A good rider needs management, a solid agent, they need their own PR as well as what their brand's marketing dept provides them with. There's only a handful of riders like this, who can bring the entire package and they are highly sought after.

I'm biased, because I think she's brilliant, but honestly there's no one better than Kristin Boese at this. She's multiple x world champion, she's a huge part of the KSP Tour, she works with the governing body for racing and the Olympic committee. She uses her own PR & management company. She runs KB4Girls which has huge reach and on top of this she's the nicest person you'll ever meet on the beach. I can't think of anyone I'd trade her for.

Team riders bring a lot of different things to a brand. There's no denying the benefit of having world class pro-tour riders representing your brand, if you've got good product it's a lot easier to attract them to your brand. Hopefully we'll pick up some good PKRA riders this year, there's a lot of interest because of the GP. It'll be interesting to see who comes to Ride With Us.

well, you are not in the 80-s with all those professionalism, agents and PR and management s**t anymore. who cares?

there are lot more kiters searching MOST SEXY KITE PICTURE in the kiteforum.com then the best female kiteboarder.

FredBGG wrote: While many are very skilled, the vast majority just set a bad example as far as
even basic safety goes.
99.9% of them never wear a helmet....
...More attention has to be given to safety and it can be done in a cool way. Many other extreme sports have adopted a safety oriented image and way of doing business....

....Do team riders effect what I buy. Not in the slightest.
I base my purchases on trying kites and gear.
I do watch kiting video online. many of the best videos are not from the team riders.
many times team riders travelling through the area are a pain in the water.
Some team riders are an exception....
i agree, not all of them are the good example for the rest.
and i dont judge them just by the quantity of the spins they make in the air during the trick.

User avatar
neworleansrich
Medium Poster
Posts: 85
Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 11:06 pm
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Disaster Coast
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Let's talk team riders! Who, why, what

Postby neworleansrich » Sat Oct 22, 2011 12:30 am

Ruben Lenten endorsed Slingshot pumps a few years back; his name was on them, very cool. The endorsement made me want to buy the pump, but it turned out to be just the same crummy short pump that everyone sells. In the future I'll be more skeptical of endorsements.

User avatar
tautologies
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 10864
Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2004 5:36 am
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Oahu
Has thanked: 100 times
Been thanked: 156 times
Contact:

Re: Let's talk team riders! Who, why, what

Postby tautologies » Sat Oct 22, 2011 1:09 am

eree wrote: -at some extension, again for the 95% of the kiters they have no influence at all
...
-my guess is only 5% of consumers are influenced by the pro's
-for me none
-les unaccountable spins in the air and more generally achievable for simple people tricks
-more you are arrogant - less i care! buy your sponsor's gear yourself!!!

Personally I think it is a little hard to quantify. We might think we are not influenced, but at a sub-conscious level, maybe we are. I am certainly influenced when I see good riding. Watching how their gear reacts to input is fun.

I know people are saying that the pro's can make anything work, but it is not true...the gear is both a limiting factor that also provides opportunities to do specific things. Someone who is good, can certainly make gear look better than most, but they cannot make shitty gear work beyond the gear's boundaries of behavior.

I do agree tho that tho when a pro acts like an idiot, s/he ruins a lot for the brand. For me that directly affects how I perceive the brand. There is a brand that I still would never buy because of how much "in-your-face" they were. It might have changed, but I have spent A LOT of money on gear since then that they were never even considered for...because of how their representative pros behaved at a few spots.


Return to “Kitesurfing”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Aleza, andylc, Bing [Bot], Brent NKB, Chriz76, DanielorDani, Dirk, duddd, evan, ham-er, KVL, Pepijn, rStorms, suisd12, tilmann, Yahoo [Bot] and 602 guests