When I was nine years old I already had a natural urge to fly. After school one day I attached string to a tarp and tied the ends together into a big knot, making my very own parachute. I was standing on the roof of our three-storey house, ready to jump, when Mom came home. I had never heard my mom scream so loudly when she ordered me to stop.
I did not give up on canopies. A little later, a local kitesurfing shop had demo Wednesdays where people could try out trainer kites. Basically, everyone else was a windsurfer and then there was I, a 10-year-old boy. I went every week for the whole summer and eventually convinced my parents to buy me kiting equipment for Christmas.
I spent my teenage years giving everything to kiting. During winter, I kited on snow, summer on water. We...
