Robby Naish
March 15, 2003

Kiter.com: What was your earliest involvement with kiteboarding?
Robby Naish: Playing with a Skytiger and a long board in Kailua with Don Montague

When did you first try kiteboarding and how long did it take you to get through the learning curve to get upwind?
Went upwind immediately. (light wind and a long board) From there with the original inflated kites, pretty much no learning curve... we weren't exactly "ripping" but could go with no problem.

What accounts for the explosive growth of kiteboarding? Has it grown too fast?
It was a simple transition for the first generation of windsurfers turned kitesurfers, and there was a huge population of them there waiting for something new, especially something to expand their light wind activities. That was a very rapid growth spurt... which has now slowed down into a normal growth cycle of a new sport that is attracting people from all backgrounds.

The timing on the Internet boom and the sudden growth of kiteboarding are very close together. Is there any relationship?
No more than that of any other sport or activity at the moment. The Internet is where more and more people are gathering more and more information, whether for entertainment, recreation, or technical reasons.... all the way to shopping for purchases large and small. I've bought my last two cars on the net. For sure the present Kiteboarder is very knowledgeable about equipment etc, as the sport and the net have grown together. Our "internal tech sheet info" on new products to our importers is normally up on the net around the world within a day of our sending it out.... even though it is not supposed to be. It's just how fast information gets around now.

Kiteboarding seems to have a short but steep learning curve. Is it easier than windsurfing?
Much much easier, and much more dangerous at the same time. Anyone can learn to do this, even many people that should not even think about doing it. It is too easy to learn.

How much time do you spend kiteboarding vs. windsurfing?
I was spending a lot more time kiteboarding than windsurfing for the past couple of years, due mainly to the fact that the conditions for it happen a lot more often. Now I have 'peaked" a bit in my kiting, and am pretty stoked on getting out there and smacking a lip windsurfing. I would say that now I am back to about 50/50 but more psyched about getting a good windsurfing session in that they happen much less often, but still not much in the world compares to a great day windsurfing.

How has kiteboarding helped your windsurfing?
Having kiteboarded so intensely has opened up my windsurfing. You sometimes get a bit bored, and need to focus on other things for a while to keep things interesting. Kiting has opened my mind to new possibilities in windsurfing, thinking a bit more "out of the box" and more three dimensionally. It also makes me realize how good those good days are on a windsurfer... it's just too bad that at my level they don't happen a little more often these days (bad year for wind so far).

Why is it that some windsurfers try kiting but never make the jump to serious kiting?
To each his or her own. Windsurfing is a hell of a great sport in it's own right. I have a lot of friends that love it, and have no intention of trying kiting... and others that have tried it, gotten ok, and bailed out to go back 100% into windsurfing. Available conditions are a factor, as well as personal preference. Snowboarding is not better than skiing... it is just different... a different way of making amazing use of the natural resources available. Kiteboarding / surfing / Long boarding / Short boarding / windsurfing are similar.

If this was windsurfing what year would it be?
Hard to say. We now have all of the technical, structural, design, and maneuver background from these other sports to tap into. This is why the development has been so rapid...the equipment that we make has already gone from point A to point G to point P in a few years.

Do you think kiteboarding could go through a bubble like windsurfing did in the 1980’s and early 90s? How could we avoid that?
It is doing it already, to a certain degree. With so many players on the field, it is hard to avoid a flooded market where supply so far exceeds demand. You just have to be smart and honest and try your best to do the right things.

Does kiting have the potential to eclipse windsurfing in terms of number of participants?
I don't think so, but I have never been a great prophet of things to come, and hope that I could be wrong. There are certain limitations inherent in this sport that in my opinion, will keep the growth in check.

What factors might limit the ability of kiteboarding to go mainstream and reach a broader audience?
Water. Regulations and restrictions. Space. Inherent danger of the activity, regardless of "safety systems."

Is a kite an advantage in riding the waves or a hindrance?
It can be both, depending on the conditions. In most situations, there are better vehicles to ride waves with than a kite. In other situations, it can turn ordinary or lame surf into an absolute playground. In any case, it is good fun to play in the surf... ripping or not.

What disciplines will emerge as the dominant ones, freestyle? Air? Board-off moves? Maybe something we have not even seen yet?
Hopefully something we have not yet seen. It will continue to grow and develop. Freestyle is it though... making the best use of the conditions at hand, playing, having fun, and pushing the technical side of things to higher highs all at the same time.

What are the limits to how high a rider can jump? Will we see riders getting 100 feet of air someday?
The only limit is the imagination and determination of the riders and developers. I am convinced that within the laws of physics, and even challenging those at times, we will progress higher and higher.

Have you tried to ride other types of non-standard boards, like a foil-board?
Yes. I've pretty much tried everything there is to try.

Does Snowkiting have the potential to be as big as kiteboarding in the water? Lots of people already own snowboards, could snowkiting be bigger?
Yes. I imagine that it will get very big. Imagine the crashes though. You think eating it in the water from twenty feet hurts...

What goals do you have for Naish as a company?
To make the best, smallest, brightest and tightest damn G-Strings on the market!

Naish has put together a truly impressive rider team with Flash, Mark Shinn, Sky Solbach, and Adam Koch to name a few. How do you go about selecting the riders? What can an up and coming rider do to make it on the Naish team?
We try to pick riders that represent the different aspects of the sport, that rip, have good friendly attitudes, representing us and the sport in a positive way. Loving it is foremost, and being a good ambassador.

What new products will we see for 2003 that you can tell us about?
I can't tell you. But there is a lot of cool stuff in the pipeline. It is on-going, and not really so much "2003, 2004, 2005..." Change can not be developed around the calendar, so we have new things progressively coming out every several months. It is a bit misleading to just say '2003.'

Any advice for people just getting into the sport?
Get a lesson, or two. If you are not in good physical shape, are un-fit, uncoordinated, can’t do ten pull ups, swim well, or pass a drunk driver test, don't get into it. This is not a sport for everyone... it is an extreme sport. Otherwise, have fun, be aware of and courteous to other beach goers, and ALWAYS be careful. Never take the potential power of a kite, or potential variations of the wind for granted. That all said, you are going to love it, so prepare to get hooked!!!

Thanks for the interview Robby. Any parting words to your kiteboarding colleagues?
Wishing you all good winds, and good boarding! Please don't thrash me too bad on the chat groups! I'm doing my best...

Robby Naish Gallery