JOZEF, YOUR CAREER IN WATERSPORTS STARTED IN THE WINDSURF INDUSTRY. HOW DID YOU THEN GET INTO MAKING KITEBOARDS?
In 1999 I started my own windsurf factory in Trencin, Slovakia and we produced custom CrazyFly windsurf boards and boards for other brands. Kiting started soon after and the windsurf brands started asking for prototypes of kiteboards, which back then, were small directional windsurf boards in terms of production methods. For me, getting into kiting was a smooth transition, as in the early days it shared a lot with windsurfing, and was something I enjoyed as it was a new challenge. Luckily, I was able to build on my knowledge of windsurf production, so producing new molds and experimenting with new layups and machines for kiteboards was more of a daily routine. Things were progressing smoothly and in 2000 we were already running serial production of kiteboards for multiple brands. If you were kiting back then, there is a pretty high chance that your board was made by CrazyFly. I saw an opportunity in kiting, as smaller kite-boards were faster to make and demand was growing. Plus we were facing strong competition from Asia with windsurf board production, so our company was steered more towards kiting. As a result, in 2001, I started the CrazyFly Kiteboarding brand and we stopped producing windsurf boards completely in 2005.
HOW DID YOUR CHILDHOOD SHAPE YOUR CAREER? YOU WERE A SKI COMPETITOR RIGHT? THAT MUST HAVE INFLUENCED BOARD DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING.
I have been making things from scratch since I can remember, from toy cars in the early days, to speakers, record players and amplifiers, through to making my own clothes as a teenager. My downhill skiing background played a major role, as I knew that the best skis were made with a wood core, ABS rails, and
