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To say I'm lucky to work where I do is an understatement.  Not many places will allow you to take a week and a half off to travel to two weddings and work remotely in the in between. My trip started off with a weekend wedding and some hiking in Asheville, NC. From there I got the opportunity to work out of the Action Sports Logistics warehouse for a few days. It is always such a pleasure to get the opportunity to hang out with Kevin and his crew. Kevin was also awesome enough to tour me …

In my opinion, Chris Bobryk is one of the most underrated freestyle riders in the USA. Yes, I'm biased as we've been friends for a long time. That said, the proof is in his riding. A decade ago he was the last real potential candidate from the USA in the PKRA. He's invented several never-been-done-before tricks, known as NBDs, and he's single-handedly pioneered what we like to call "back country park riding". This includes things like grinding logs, beaches, and more or less interacting wi …

The backroll is possibly the most popular trick in kiteboarding. It's usually the first move everyone learns. From there people progress to the back to toeside or the double backroll. The back to wrapped, however, is by far the most stylish and technical first variation where one can pair a roll with a flat rotation. Usually this trick is done by unhooked freestyle riders, but it can be done hooked in easily enough and will make you stand out on the water!Step One - Kite Low This is a recurri …

Step One - Kite Basics First you need to know how to do a proper air transition. Your kite will be at 12 for the entire trick. Once you complete both bankrolls, you send the kite hard in the opposite direction. You want to come into this one with low to medium speed. If you have too much speed it will be difficult to stop your momentum and go the other way. Step Two - The Rotations The first rotation will be a flat 360 similar to your first backerolls. Your feet are underneath you and you …

Chris rides for Eleveight Kites, so naturally his kite choices will come from their lineup. That said, they have a few models to choose from, so we'll break down his kite choices and when he uses them. Hopefully this will help you understand the kite lineup and which kites would be a good choice for you and your riding style. Bobryk's Kitesurfing Quiver Chris has 3 models in his quiver: the 10, 12 and 14 FS for Freestyle, the 10m one-strut OS for light-wind foiling and surfing, and the 1 …

The idea behind this video is to work your way into powered, stylish Butter Slides. These are an easy trick, but they do take a little leg strength. That means your first Butters will be low and quick. Over time, your legs will get stronger and you'll find the perfect approach. Nothing feels better than a kiteboarding Butter Slide Step One - First Attempts Keep the kite at 45 and get good speed. If you go slow, you will sink. Go slightly downwind and lean back. Put your weight behind y …

What up guys. Today we're going to break down another half loaded pop video. We just covered the tail grab with Chris Bobryk. Next up, we're going cover one of the most stylish and easy grabs, the Tuck Knee Indy. It's a half loaded pop where you tuck your back knee and grab the board with your back hand between your feet on the toeside edge. Later we'll do a more advanced version with Chris where you take it to blind or wrapped. This is a fun and easy one that can be used as a transitio …

Tuck Knee Indy to Blind or Wrapped The Indy Grab is the easiest of all the grabs in boardsports. You grab the board with your back hand on the top side edge between your feet. The Tuck Knee variation takes this basic and makes it look stylish. You can see the difference in the two photos here. The Straight Leg Variation The Tuck Knee Variation I just did a simple tutorial on the Tuck Knee here. But the key is to first learn how to load your lines and pop with the kite at 45 degre …

We're kicking off a fresh series of trick tips with Chris Bobryk and myself. We'll be covering the lost art of kite low line tension tricks. In an era of sent jumps and big air, it seems many have forgotten all the other aspects of the sport that make it unique. Kite low line tension tricks are the friendlier version of unhooked freestyle. We actually covered a lot of line tension tricks in our Ride with Blake series, but we never put the emphasis on keeping the kite low and not sending the k …

Chris Bobryk, aka "The American Sledgehammer", needs no introduction. He's one of the original North American riders from the second wave of freestyle and an innovator of the sport. He's even claimed a few NBD (Never Been Done) tricks in kiteboarding. He's still touring the world and chasing the kite dream. Most recently he's posted up in south Florida teaching lessons and riding as much as possible. While he is an innovator in freestyle, his freeride game is on fire. Check out this edi …

Muskegon Michigan, a very special place for me as it's where grew up and learned to kite. It's always amazing to come back and share sessions with all my old friends. When the conditions line up the sessions are all time! The flat water in Muskegon Pier for free-style and endless amounts of fun on the dunes; I always have the best time and have a hardest time leaving. Thanks to all the homies that made it so fun! Marc Hoeksema, Blake Olsen, Tye Kowalski, Sarah Dunick, Ryan Goloversic ext. …

Being locked down the past few weeks with no access to the beaches I’ve been dreaming of early this year in the Kite park in Hatteras and the Hood Rider Slider Project. Not to mention the good times with the Kite Park League homies. Shots by: Knot Future, Alexander Hughes, Ewan Jaspan, Vincent Bergeron, Brian Wennersten, James Ropner, Rian Osmond, Sarah Dunick, Karolina Winkowska …

Chris Bobryk is a Slingshot Rider and a former member of the NA Blend, the 2nd wave of wakestyle riders in the USA. In 2019 he's joining the MACkite team moving forward. You'll be seeing a lot more of him in future episodes. Follow the adventure on social: #ChrisBobryk Sponsors: Slingshot, Soflo, Brunati, MACkite Check out Chris' gear Gear Talk Chris's Kites: The RPM The RPM is one of the most unique kites available. Technically, it's an all-around kite. It has a good wind range a …

Last time on Sessions, we were in Portugal catching up with Christophe Tack in his home lagoon. It's been a busy summer since then. Blake and I were able to check out the 2020 Cabrinha products in the Florida Keys. From there we made our way to Spain with Duotone and eventually Morocco for the new North product release. Normally I'd release our Sessions chronologically but I wanted to introduce a couple of new faces to the team. This week we're visiting the heart of North American kiteb …

Many years ago, pro rider Chris Bobryk and I were kiteboard instructors here at MACkite. Our lesson center was right on the sugar-sand beach of Pere Marquette Park, in Muskegon, Michigan.We would ride as much as we possibly could before and after our lessons and I can remember Chris just hucking himself constantly. He was sending it on every tack. He was absolutely consumed with progressing his kiteboarding ability and it paid off for him in his pro career. I, on the other hand, did not have pro …