Published on March 28th, 2008 | by Jon Modica
0Why strapless?
Kiteboarding is a unique sport in so many ways, but what sets it aside from any other sport i know of is the variety of equipment you can use. I have ridden every board you could possibly think of, which include; skateboards, wakeboards, standard twintips, skimboards, 2 by 4’s, wakeskates, ski’s…et cetera. For me, ridding strapless all goes back to the beginning.
I grew up a local surf and skate punk in Jupiter, Florida. I loved surfing more then you could possibly imagine, but i guess the same could be said for many south florida teens. The only thing that held me back was that i always felt something missing. Luckily for me my good friend Greg Norman introduced me to kiteboarding and shortly after Jeremy Green opened up Jupiter Kiteboardin within five minutes of my house.
Though i loved learning all the freestyle tricks like kiteloops and handle passes, I have always relied on my surfboard for the ultimate stoke. I have borrow, broken, and made somewhere with 20 different surfboards in the last few years, and i have to admit i will always go back to where it started…ridding strapless on 5’6 round nose fish.
Straps just didnt work for me. I can see the argument that it does limit your riding. You can’t jump over waves, you can’t do huge airs, you can only ride so fast….or can you?
I hope to encourage everyone to look past what you think is possible. You can always go higher, go faster, and have more fun.
-Jon Modica
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