SoCal Demo Tour ‘25

After discovering Myofascial Release therapy and receiving a week of treatment sessions, it was time to pack my car in New England and start making the cross-country drive. I had barely spent any time on the west coast and was excited for the adventure of the multi-day drive. My favorite parts began from the Colorado front range onward, especially the mountain views, Colorado River, red rocks of Utah and desert landscapes approaching California. I found the drive to be very energizing and inspiring, and highly recommend trying it at least once! It is about 45 hours of driving from New England to California, but there’s something special about traversing the entire country and seeing such a variety of scenes!

I booked an Airbnb on 17th Street in Huntington Beach, just a short drive from the local shop No Limit Kiteboarding. Despite not knowing the area at all, it seemed like I selected the best location possible: ocean kiting access with great waves at the end of the street, a massive 2-3 mile dog beach, 20-30 minute drive to the demo location in Belmont Shores, Long Beach, in a walkable neighborhood with plenty of food options nearby.

2 weekends of demos were planned for Southern California and we spent both days of the first weekend in Belmont Shores, Long Beach. I was blown away by the size of the beach and was thrilled to be able to drive my car out on the “lollipop” pavement strip that goes most of the way to the waterline. I loved how public access to beaches is widespread across Southern California and was impressed by the sheer number of people on the sand in Long Beach! Three wind sports schools are located on the beach in Belmont Shores and I had a great time hanging out with Bento and his team of instructors at Kitesurf Life USA.

Local team riders Kai and Sean Potter attended both days and brought lots of stoke! The father-son duo are both incredibly talented wing foilers and I had a blast chasing them around with the drone. We were treated to perfect conditions on the first day and the local turnout was better than I could have expected! Almost every piece of my demo quiver was used and attendees were sharing loads of positive feedback. Wind averaged 15-20 knots, and the 15m Moto XL, 12m Switchblade Apex, 7m Vision wing and 5.5m Mantis wing were the most popular items. I quickly realized that the SoCal wind community is much larger than I expected, and I enjoyed meeting and assisting riders of all abilities. While the wind was much lighter on Sunday, we made the most of it with a wing skate session! Between the lollipop and nearby bike/walking paths, there was a ton of terrain to cover.

Wing Skating in Belmont Shores, Long Beach

In between the two weekends, we scheduled back-to-back demo days in the San Diego area and the flat water location Mission Bay was cool! We were treated to a slowly-building wind and the local turnout was strong. Many people who owned Aluula and other high-end wings commented that the Vision and Mantis exceeded their expectations! Cabrinha has since launched a Mantis Apex featuring an Aluula strut and partial leading-edge, but I think the standard-construction wings offer amazing performance at some of the lowest price-points in the industry. I was thankful that the Potters covered day two for me when my health issues flared up, and their pizza party on day one was a big hit! We hoped to offer an ocean kite day at Tourmaline Beach and the waves looked great, but after waiting for wind over a couple of hours, the Potters brought the crew back to Mission Bay and enjoyed an afternoon kite and wing foiling with the local community.

After a couple of rest days, I was ready for weekend two in Long Beach and the conditions delivered! Experienced kite foilers were ripping around on the 12m Switchblade Apex and 11m Moto X Apex, and I was thrilled to see these kites perform so well for that discipline. The old 1-strut Contra was the go-to kite foiling model for many, but the lighter, stiffer materials in the new Apex kites allow you to ride 3 and 5-strut kites at a similar weight! The extra struts help with upwind ability, jumping and keeping the kite’s shape through transitions. It was also encouraging to hear that an experienced kite foiler was blown away by the 12m Switchblade Apex and 135cm Ace Twin Tip, and he was ready to go buy the package for himself at No Limit Kiteboarding! The latest Switchblade is like a “sport” model in my opinion, while retaining the general feel of past Switchblades. It steers faster, relaunches easier and has lighter bar pressure, while still being a great kite for learning tricks and progressing. You can feel the kite’s position through the bar while mid-air, and if you make a mistake, I feel that the new Switchblade Apex is the most forgiving version yet!

We switched it up for the last day in SoCal and headed to Cabrillo Beach, near San Pedro and the ports. Cabrillo offers both ocean and flat-water riding, with a large jetty sticking out into the ocean. We stuck to the flats on the inside, but it was cool to watch a handful of wingers play in the waves as the afternoon progressed. Both Kai and Sean had some great wing freestyle sessions and I followed them around with my best drone flying yet! I was stoked to check out a new spot before driving north and it seemed like we had lots of new faces in attendance. After a busy two weeks, I was looking forward to relaxing in Santa Barbara the next few days before heading towards the Bay Area. With Lyme Disease and other health issues plaguing me, I needed all the rest I could get!

This was my first visit to the San Francisco Bay Area and I was excited to hold a Friday demo at the legendary Crissy Field. Wind was pumping all day and the scene was chaotic, with so many kiters, wingers and boats sharing the water with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. We had a few demo kites and wings hit the water, and the wind was so strong and gusty that I didn’t feel comfortable flying the drone!

We spent both days of the weekend at 3rd Avenue in Foster City. Tony Parsons, owner of The Kite School, was generous to offer his location for the demo and we loved the artificial turf and Cabrinha flags already flying! The wind delivered both days and wings were especially popular among the attendees. I spent Sunday hanging at the “upper launch” with kites, while the Potters manned the wing demo at the Kite School. It was great to meet many locals, including a couple of Cabrinha ambassadors, and attendees loved the 8m Nitro and 6m Moto X Apex in the stronger winds. The stoke was contagious and eventually I tried a quick session on a Drifter and Flare surfboard. Unfortunately, this caused a quick flareup of nausea and headaches and I wasn’t sure what to do about my health. Thankfully, the Potters were a huge help in running the event and Tony was a great host! He was running kite and wings lessons throughout the weekend and I’d highly recommend him to anyone looking for instruction.

Tony Parsons’ “The Kite School” in Foster City, California

Luckily, I had a full week to recover and decided to spend it near Berkeley, receiving Myofascial Release treatments from Piedmont Myofascial (highly recommend!). The hills surrounding the area were beautiful and I enjoyed hiking with my dog in various parks and trails. At this point, I was starting to question whether I could continue the demo tour because my symptoms seemed to flare up from the increased activity and stress of running the events. Eventually, it became clear that I needed to take a break and decided to go on leave from my job after one more event the next weekend.

The Sherman Island Season Kickoff Event was my last of the month and I had always wanted to visit this popular venue! It’s located east of San Francisco and is part of a river delta. Driving into the spot using roads on top of levees was an interesting experience; I’d never seen anything like it! Many brands attended this event and the attendee turnout was spectacular. The organizers did an amazing job planning the event, with a big air expression session, wing race and lots of raffle items, as well as a cookout lunch for all! Wind was light, but we still had plenty of gear hitting the water and everyone seemed impressed by the larger-sized kites and wings. I was lucky to be able to hang out under the tent for most of the day and knew I had to conserve energy after my experience the past few weekends. Lots of attendees came to meet me in the shade and it was great to chat with people from all over California.

Despite my health challenges, I really enjoyed my time in California and felt that it was a very inspiring place! I’d love to return and drive more of the Pacific Coast Highway, visit Lake Tahoe, go hiking in the northern part of the state and national parks, and spend time in the ocean towards the south. The wind conditions were better than I expected and there seemed to be substantial wind sports communities across the state! I’m not sure of my near-future plans, but will surely be back in California someday.

Puerto Rico ‘24-25