I was talking with my partner about our begginings today over breakky. The people we were both able to remember easily, besides Bruno Legainoux and his bro, were Matt Colefax and Ian Young (Cory Roeseller/Kiteski).
I first started to kite on water when I was still based in Geelong and shortly afterwards started Kite Legends at the Wharf in Mooloolaba SE Qld (where I first met Matt C). All my previous kiting had been land based, in buggies or Jesus Shoes (boots with ski's glued on).
I actually first stood up on a board with Bob Dawson at the Kite Flyers Picnic at Toormina, I think Chris Brent also got up that day from memory (hazy dayz) pretty sure this was in 1998, and this would be only a year or so after Ian Young started.
Anyone else that says they were kiting in Oz for more than 11 years is full of it.
Another standout person who has quit now is Paul Crawford from Sydney, he was very inspirational. He had one of the very first Wipika kites, and rode surfboards, he actually really did pioneer the sport here in Sydney, prior to Darren Marshall and myself, although I had been trying various kites and boards for about 18 months prior to seeing Paul do his massive downwinders from Brighton to Dolls. Paul did not go upwind, Katie would just drop him off at Brighton and pick him up at Dolls a couple of hours later (where they lived).
Alex Gillan (Stonker), Dave Trewern and his mate James ????, Dale Torriero, Ben Merck, Lachlan Beed, John Messenger, Chris Richter, Lean Clemones, Jay, Cora, Sam Stenning/Rich, Duncan Place, Grant Dwyer, Marty Coffee, Paul Stockham and Sam Burns (now separated), Sean Wilkens, Tim Lewis, Terron Titus, Beck Colefax (Nicholson), Steve/E-Boards, Alex Sanz, Joe Millen, Chris Rose, Ivan Salmon, Sparrow, Goshen Watts, Peace McCormack, myself, Phil McConachie(and many Adelaide crew, Anne Marie Parry), Curly from Cairns, Rodney Harris from Warnambool, Skytes/lachlan Gifford on the Gold Coast, Trevorrow bros and Gary Lyons at Highly strung kites in Elwood the crew from the Entrance NSW, Neil Taylor/Perth, etc, etc, etc were all pioneers of power kiting and then/or kitesurfing.
None of them would or could, seriously claim that they were majorly responsible for the current popularity of the sport. The thing about kiting is that it is self promoting, every kite waving around in the air attracts people to the sport, no-one who is in their right mnd would claim to be the key instigator in Oz.
However there are a few who did truly inspire others, they would be Naish Hawaii and co, Wipika and Matt Colefax, Ian Young/Cory Roesseler/Kiteski, Jason Furness/Flexifoil, and the Peter Lynn crew (a bit later).
Cya and
Goodwinds
Mcbackintheday
Oh Wavey, how you can speak the truth...........who gives a flying F whom you know, it is who you are that matters........and Wavey you are a legend.
My Easter bunny melted in the heat today
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I just love you reli man...you make me laugh....amazing the stuff you can find...have a happy Easter bud.
Well I found it quite interesting, thanks Steve for taking the effort to give us a bit more history about this fantastic sport. - and no you don't hate Alex as he was mentioned - good to see.
I first started to kite on water when I was still based in Geelong and shortly afterwards started Kite Legends at the Wharf in Mooloolaba SE Qld (where I first met Matt C).
Anyone else that says they were kiting in Oz for more than 11 years is full of it.
Wow so you owned kite legends at the wharf. I remember years before that a bloke called Andy owned a kite shop at the wharf right near MV Kilke River Cruises - I was 10 then so it would have been 1989. I use to annoy him hanging around his kite shop gazing in awe at all the kites hanging from the roof.
Andy use to get his biggest kite and waterskis and kite across the canals at Mooloolaba - I remember watching in awe in 1989 as he very quickly went from one side to the other (then had to get back somehow). Can't really call it kite surfing but that was the first time I saw someone getting towed along the water by a kite!
all good on the info section,
i was just wondering when the wind was coming back to Perth had a lame sesh at peli point yest morning
could do with some 18kn + stuff BOM & SB are close at 10kn & Bom 13-18 kn
all good nearly, bummer on the melted egg Gruezi
It's a pity everyone didn't get to experience "kiting back in the day", because they'll never know what it was like in the beginnings when it was totally pure and it was amazing just to see another kiter. We banded together like lost souls back then and became friends immediately. The group was tight and only consisted of about 6 kiters. Myself, Paul Crawford, Paul Stockham, Sam Burns, Sean Wilkens, Duncan Place and Pete the Pilot. The original South Side crew!
just a few little history questions:
1. What was your wind range back in the day, and did you have multiple kites???
2. Where does Alex Sanz come into this, i thought he was the pioneer???
Sad to see this thread go down the drain, its only been about 10 years for the sport in OZ, but the early days were totaly different to ioday, the stoke is gone for sure. Its still a great sport though, and if it wasnt for Robby Naish, who was actually the only big company to invest in kiting, it would have taken a lot longer to develop
So unless anyone else has a differing view, Paul Crawford was the first kite surfer in Aus.
Sounds like a good bloke if you ask me... 
WTF is up with the red thumbs for Steve and Darren's posts - kids these days have no respect. No really.
Oh and in other news I hear Paul Stockham and Sam Burns have now reconciled their differences through extensive counselling with Tanya Koens and are back together again 
16 years ago. i had a 2.4 mtr buzz kite.. dual line with tons of power. one rainy day with howling winds i taped some thongs to those plastic roadside reflector things.. and skied down the hill at mona vale headland in front of the hospital..that has got to make me some kind of pioneer had a gallery to.. also was going to jump the warriewood blowhole with my buzz kite but piked out and nuded up instead.. can still taste my balls I just sold that kite to a guy for $50 about 2 months ago
Hi Galah,
Paul was the first in Sydney I'd say. Matt Colefax was the first on the east coast and Ian Young was the first on the west coast, maybe first in Oz????? He was using the kiteski system (Cory Roesseller), Delta framed kites with huge bar and winder to relaunch when they crashed.
These guys were the real pioneers, they were doing it before anyone had even grasped the concept.
I met a guy in Hawaii by the name of Scotty Augenbaum (spelling?) He used to do downwinders with a stack of delta frame kites on surfboards back in the early 90's. Does this make him the first in the US???
Robbie wasn't into kiting at first at all, Don Montague was mad for it and spent heaps of his time trying to convince Rob that it would be the next big thing. Don spent loads of time tinkering with designs and working with the Legianoux brothers before Naish were even interested in kitesurfing. Eventually Rob relented and Naish delved into kites in 1998/9. Just as well, as I understand it, Naish (the company) was on it's arse financially with windsurfing products not doing so well.
Credit to Naish though, their marketing got kitesurfing known around the world and was what lit the fire under the arse of the punters who eventually started the sport. No one had heard of a small french company named Wipika until Naish took it and ran with it.
History lesson over for now .......
Why the offence at Steve posting some history is totally beyond me-I've only been kiting since late 2002-but early enough to remember the goodwill amongst kiters-particularly on the Yahoo kitesurf forum-now it's all sniping cr@p.
Good on Steve and others providing some history of this great sport-Steve' post will become more relevant with time.
Take a look at the SUP forum on here and the goodwill there-you'll get an idea where kiting was back in the early days (surfing too for that matter).
Matt
