NEWS - Kevin Recovers!

[ricki]

Glad you're feeling better Kevin. It is normal for people that have had a head bashing and memory loss to wonder what happened. In your case there has been a lot of information generated tying down some of the loose ends. Time heals most things, keep at it. Lots of us have supported www.kb4c.org over the two years they have been around. The organization is plugged into a number of main stream cancer charities. Good suggestion John.

[BizGuru]

First off I am glad you have recovered however let me take a second to help you put the pieces together.

You went out on a day you should not have been out in, PERIOD! I woke up, checked the radar and quickly proceeded to find an alternate plan for the day (something you should try next time). Note, I rode the day before the incident and the day after, both keeping a SHARP eye on the surrounding conditions, putting it down way before ANY dark lines came in. There were many of us that were upset at the bad publicity created by your event, but I and many others held are tongue and hoped for a full recovery. But to see this after the recovery http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=5647429&page=1 "the 28-year-old said he would "definitely" go kite-boarding during a tropical storm again" and have people come up to me and ask "Are all kiters that ****ing stupid". That strait up pissed me off, however I am glad to here all your stupidity in front of the camera paid for your medical bills. Make sure you call ABC before you head out in the next storm so they can get even better footage, maybe even multiple angles.

Come on man, You had a chance to publicly explain the sport and how normally it is much safer sport and you made a STUPID mistake by going out on that day. But know rather than try to get some respect back from the Kiteboarding community you look like a complete ass and try to justify your actions? I should have come in a bit earlier and I regret it a little bit is all you had to say? Not I should not have been out at all that day. Not that you should have understood and practiced the safety system more and activated it instantly rather than hang on the bar (both before and after the first hit on the sand). Nope you are gonna say "I'm hardcore, I'll do it again" and make us all look like asses.

And now you start talking about the possibly of it being the KITE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Come on man; just admit you make a stupid mistake. You have done more than enough to make the sport look bad lets not start blaming kites, imagine if you were on a 04 C kite?

This sport has come a long way and you set it back, good job man, next time a camera is on you say something smart are just STFU and please do not start trying to justify things on the forums. So here is the official breakdown

You = Stubborn Unsafe Dumbass
Tropical Storm = Violent Low Pressure System Capable of throwing violent gusts

You + Tropical Storm = Massive Injury or Death


Go out in conditions you can handle, and the middle of a tropical storm is a place where no one should be, There were almost NO gaps in the bands that day, and with the constant cloud cover it makes bands VERY hard to see... until it is too late.

Sorry for the rant, it is the follow up on ABC that really got under my skin... and now to see you bring up the kite..... Man you got balls. Just want you to know that EVERYONE the saw the follow-up thought you looked like a ****ing idiot, that is not just how I viewed it.

[marleykiter]

This is my first time watching that interview I had no idea where I was or what was going on. My responses don't even line up with the questions asked. I had brain damage and was on tv too soon afterwards - did not respond properly to the tropical storm question.

I can see how this pissed people off but you're bringing up an interview with brain damage and I could barely speak. So with that behind me I'm trying to do the best I can to leave a positive footprint. Hoping attention will shift away from me and onto kb4c.org

sun sentinel called me at lunch today, I told them i'll be donating to kb4c

With some help I could shift all this energy to positive

[marleykiter]

I was so gone for that interview I saw the word 'Denver' on a production monitor and said hi to denver. hahaha that is probably my favorite part of it I dont even know anyone there.


Anyway I didnt blame the kite it was new news to me man I just didn't know a broken pulley was even possible. I could not talk about kites and talk more about sea turtles again if you'd prefer

[ricki]

Kevin,

We wish you the best on the road back. At the same time, BizGuru captured the sentiments of quite a few in the global kiteboarding community with his comments, harsh though they may be. You were hurt and many feel the sport and community were hurt as well by what was repeatedly presented to the media.

Of course you weren't in your right mind at the time, which was all the more reason not to have been up walking around but parked in a bed somewhere recovering. At day seven I was stuck in the ICU after my kiting concussion and heading to the beach to walk around then or even two weeks later wasn't even possible. It is all history at this point. Damage has been done and worse, perceived to have been done. When I said it takes time to heal things, this is what I meant. Directing donated funds to KB4C is a step in the right direction but these things take time and consistent positive, low key action.

While you're healing, look around this site. There are hundreds of posts and articles dealing with all aspects of kiteboarding. There are a number of posts about pulley failures and breakage, preventive maintenance, preflighting, choosing weather and launches and a lot more useful input. Kiting like steering an airplane can be easy to a point, when things go wrong is when all that extra knowledge, training and preparation can really help out. More importantly, adequate preparation could readily stop things from going wrong in the first place.

[BizGuru]

Unerstood man, just make sure any more meeting with the medias comes off in a more positive light. You have to think of how your words are precieved by others. Your accident has made the media chase you down as an ambasator for the sport. Think of how that intervie looked to the world both kiters and non-kiters. Is that the kind of example you want to portray? Also think of how you may affect other kiters thinking about going out. I really do hate to be harsh but after seeing all the hard work guys like Rick I put into promoting the sport and saftey, 1 interview like that can push the whole sport back.

Once again I wish you the best, and just make sure you come off as a positive ambasator for the sport also if you get some time read though the forum, there is a TON oof great safety information, also if sun sentinel does post another article maybe dropping a line for www.fksa.org as a good resource for people wanting to get into the sport may be nice.

Sorry for the harshness of my first post, I will edit it later when I am back at my office.

Ken

[marleykiter]

thanks the whole situation is really stressful and I'm trying my best

[conchxpress]

When anything adverse happens, it's human nature to initially dwell on the negative, but then we as a species focus on the positives. The positives in this case accentuate the need for safety aspects of the sport and potentially what could go wrong during split second decisions. I don't think anyone who watched the video wasn't influenced. We learn from the mistakes of others. People will continue to take chances, but hopefully we all took something from your accident and even though it gave our sport a black eye at the time, the long lasting effects will hopefully improve safety and the negative impact will pass into history. Good luck with your physical and mental recovery. Remember, the media isn't out for humanitarian outcomes, but only to boost ratings. It's the gladiator mentality. People enjoy gore, not good deeds. Try to get the media to cover a beach clean up or a charity event.