Adventure Sports Gets Social
January 13th, 2010New York, New York, Just Kite It dot com brings a new spin to the elusive world of kiteboarding. Enthused and challenged by the very difficult sport in the summer of 2009, Just Kite It dot com Founder Jessica Valenzuela pursued it with voracious passion. Spending endless hours of online research to learn more before taking a lesson. “This is when I noticed how compartmentalized the sport was. There was too much information, yet it didn’t tell me much in terms of how to get started and where to started in the sport based on my location, physical stature and water sports capabilities.”
Just Kite It dot com, a community for kiteboarding enthusiasts
After speaking with a friend kiter, she joined a few kiting message board forums, which seemed so outdated in comparison to the social media technology of web 2.0 standards. Armed with not much information about kiteboarding she took her chances and called a school in the Great South Bay, New York in July. Good idea? Bad idea. Summer is the worst time to learn the sport in New York and the nasty green flies leave you with painful bites. Not only is the Great South Bay a two-three hour train ride on the LIRR from Brooklyn and Manhattan, learning to kite is not inexpensive. A lesson can cost anywhere from $150-$200 per hour depending on the level of instructor. At times the school will share your lesson with another student and not inform you of this. In some cases, you could get five-hour lessons for $500. Granted the sport is difficult, you will need more than three hours of water instruction. Kiters who have sailed, windsurfed, surfed and wakeboarded could pick up the sport quicker and faster. It is 90% about the kite and 10% about the board. Meaning, understanding the nuances of the wind and controlling the kite within its power, your kite flying skills and knowledge about your environment is key to enjoying the sport, your safety and the safety of others in the water and on the beach.
In August 2009, after a number of frustrating attempts at lessons in New York and Cape Hatteras, NC due to lack of wind in the months of July – August, Jessica then ventured to the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon. The wind capital of the Pacific North West. “I first discovered the River Gorge through a kiter friend on Facebook.” Jessica a natural traveler has not ventured beyond California for travels to the West Coast. “It looks like a little piece of heaven, why has not anyone mentioned this place to me before?” Another loop hole in the kiting world is the discovery and the level of detail that existing kiting web properties can provide. “Information sharing about kite education, kite spots and the consistent engagement of kiters worldwide is what we hope to solve for the progression of the sport.” Kiteboarding is breaking down geographic and gender barriers for over a decade now. So many untold stories are raring to be shared that will inspire connoisseurs of the sport, viewers and those curious about it. The global and local community’s affinity for wind, water and kite is a natural glue. Every kiter is in love with a fellow kiter’s skills and his or her experiences.
For version 1 of Just Kite It dot com our goal is to provide kiters worldwide and those interested in the sport with as much information about kite education, kite spots around the world through editorially curated from user-generated stories. Version 1.5 will be wrapped around extreme entrepreneurship and technology events for the startup community. It is a known fact, there is a growing number of technologists and startup founders who kite. This could be attributed to the leadership of the Silicon Valley VC, Bill Tai who has been featured on Forbes.com. Version 2.0 of Just Kite It dot com will showcase a fully social web property with mobile applications for engagement in a global scale.
The average age of kiters range from 30-35 professionals with a slow, yet noticeable adaptation of the twenty-something and baby boomer demographics. There is also a growing number of women who are kiting, up 30% from 2008. Kiteboarding is a lifestyle sport and it is growing at a steady rate of 20% annually.
Jessica Valenzuela is also the Founder and Chief Principal of a New York based boutique digital branding agency, Mavin Digital, Inc. the creators of Just Kite It. Her co-founder Marek L. Biestek is the General and Managing Partner of a New York based hedge fund, MSMB Capital, LLC. Jessica and Marek are kiteboarders who met at a parking lot on Tobay Bay, New York after a kiting session.
About Just Kite It dot com (http://justkiteit.com)
Welcome to Just Kite It dot com, a content publisher and social community focused on kite education, sports tourism and connecting likeminded professionals of the sport.
Founded by two kiteboarding addikts, with backgrounds in media, digital branding, social media, finance management and startups, Just Kite It aims to provide a place for sharing information and knowledge kite education, kite spots around the world and connecting likeminded professionals of the sport.
You can find us on Twitter @jkiteit and on our Facebook Fan page.
Mission:
Just Kite It is your source for kite education, kite spot locations around the world, inspiring stories from pro-athletes and enthusiasts, networking events and off-topic features that will offer insight and make you laugh at the same time.
Tags: adventure sports, Jessica Valenzuela, Just Kite It, kiteboarding, kitesurfing, kiting, Marek Biestek, Mavin Digital
