COLLEEN CARROLL
As someone who has had a long running and diverse career in the industry, what are the biggest changes you have witnessed?
It feels like I have watched some pretty major shifts in riding styles and what people do with a kite. Kiting used to be quite narrow in its genres and trends as the sport was establishing itself, and nowadays it is such a diverse sport. This is what I absolutely love about the sport and why I love my job working with some amazingly talented individuals. Many years ago I was really passionate about riding boots and the crossover with sports like wakeboarding. I saw things almost with a tunnel vision of clarity for how I wanted to kite and didn’t really have much time for anything else. I remember there being quite a segregation between ‘freeriding’ and ‘freestyle’, especially with discussions like bindings vs straps for comps. Then one day it all changes and suddenly people started riding boots. When I look back it is these realizations and changes in the sport that are so healthy – they drive progression and it is where young athletes coming through can really create change in an industry. One of the major factors that has helped with this is how much safer the equipment has become. It is this shift that has opened up the sport producing a much more diverse
