Kiter.com:
How did you first get into kiteboarding?
Reo:I first got into kiteboarding a little over 3 years ago, after seeing some of the locals doing it at the beach park where I used to windsurf. I saw kiteboarding and instantly wanted to do it. I had no money at the time (still don't), but being the likeable grom that I am…and now that everyone had the insane new kite at the time (the naish AR 5) there was plenty of old gear to go around, and one person even gave me a beat up wipika classic and an old pair of bar and line. After that I literally dug out a surfboard out of a dumpster and put footstraps on it. After that, everyone and anyone was willing to give me a lesson, even though no one knew what they were doing at the time because the sport was so new. Anyway, it all worked out, I only got drug through the bushes a couple times, all with minor injuries.
Tell us about your surfing background.
My surfing background is simple, I grew up, or rather "growing up" in the surfing capital of the world, so it was only natural that the moment that I could swim, which around here is usually before you can walk, my dad threw me on a surfboard and have been surfing ever since. I did however take a short leave of absents when I started windsurfing, but I am back into surfing when the wind is dead. Unfortunately, I was a better surfer when I was 9 then I am now.
Has anyone ever kited Pipeline or Sunset?
There is one person that I know of that has kited Pipe, and no it wasn't Robby Naish or anyone really big, it was a local kiter named Skip Wonderlick, that happened to get off of work early on a Kona wind day and there were no surfers out at the time, so he went out. It wasn't the Pipe that everyone knows, it was the Pipe that was blown out and only head high, and so it wasn't anything spectacular. As for riding Sunset, we try to stay away from there, mainly because the wind is really fluky and we stay upwind were the wind is better.
How many kids at your high school Kite?
Including me? 1.
How come we don't see more teenagers jumping in to Kiteboarding?
Mainly because no one really knows what kiteboarding is. I only got into it because I windsurfed at the time and no one else windsurfed so I was the only one to get into it. I almost got one friend into it, I gave him the lesson, he bought the equipment, then started to play football and I lost him. I was so close, then I lost him "He was the one that got away".
Who do you ride with mostly?
I ride with the locals during the summer, like John Amundson, the North shape, and then most of the top names, like Martin, Tobias, Jaime and the other Oahu pros when they're not on tour.
Is Oahu better than Maui?
NO OAHU SUCKS! GO TO MAUI!
How have you done in competition so far?
Well just recently I went over to Maui for the King of the Air and made it through the trail and into the main event, but unfortunately, I had the first heat of the day and it was real difficult conditions and I ended up taking out the wrong size kite, and well leave it at that.
If you could be any super-hero who would you want to be?
Spider man, because that swinging thing he does is cool.
Who are your sponsors and how well are you getting along with them now? Kaenon Polarized, Dakine, Outereef.com, and KiteHIGH.com, and I'm stoked with all of them, they're all have really good people working for them and kickass products. I'm stoked with all of them.
What kind of gear do you ride right now and why?
At the moment I ride the new 2004 Slingshot Fuels because there an insane kite, the magic slingshot did with this kite like the One Pump and the split strut makes this kite work insane. As for boards I'm riding a custom mutant that the boys over at Outereef.com put together, they're insane strong, lightweight boards that work. I like riding this mutant that we put together because it works well in surf and flat water, at the moment It's my perfect "all around" board.
Describe your perfect day on the water?
Side, side on-shore winds 6 foot (Hawaiian scale) 20 knots no more than 3-4 other of my friends out and a day where everything clicks, you know when even your little fuck ups turn into something good, like when your going to smack the lip and it seems like you're a second too late, but instead of eating shit, it turns in to one of the cleanest snaps under the lip you've ever done, and then its even more of a bonus if there was someone who saw it to back you up when you go to brag about it to the peanut gallery when you get to the beach.
What new moves are you working on right now?
At the moment I have been working on handle passes and kite loops, both end up sending me home with sore shoulders and back. I've basically got the kite loops down and they end up being a lot of fun when you don't fall, but other than those two moves, I always try to improve my wave riding, wave riding is always exhilarating, racing down carving on a wall of water that's 2-3 times bigger than you is awesome, simply awesome.
What do you do when you are not kiting?
When the wind is dead, I tend to surf, when the wind and surf are dead,
I tend to work, and when the wind and surf are dead for a while, I start
to twitch and pace in circles.
Do you have any projects in the works or goals for this season?
Well my number one goal for this season, as for every season, is NOT to get hurt. After spending 11 weeks on crutches last year rotating my ankle about 45 degrees farther than it should rotate, you tend not to want to go through that again.
What is the craziest thing you have ever done? Tell the whole story.
The craziest thing that I ever did kiting, although it was fun and I don't regret it at all, was agreeing and going to the gorge to stay with the slingshot team. I'm sure you've all heard the stories and yes it's true, Ben does serve Tobias piss. Now, I now it sounds sick, but let me a sure you, although sick….very, very funny. As for the things they did to me, I couldn't tell you if I wanted to, I've oppressed all the memories.
Thanks for the interview Reo, shouts?
Ya I'd like to thank all of my sponsers, family and friends for all of the support you've given me! Thanks guys!
As for my philosophy, "Just go with it" if you resist and tense up that's when things go wrong.
