team bio: Alec Von Ins, team air kiteboarding

vitals

Alec Von Ins kiteboarding

alec von ins kiteboarding

with air since: the start
kiting since: 2006
alive since: 1992

Air opened it's doors when Alec was 11-years-old. He helped get the doors open, paint the walls, and has worked as a founding family member ever since. Now in charge of the skateboarding department, you'll often see him outside the shop shredding up the pavement.

nicknames: air junior, ugly pants

What can we say... he's the founding partners' son. So, junior just seems to fit. But don't be fooled, Alec is in no way "junior." Though one of the youngest team members, his maturity levels are impressive both in the shop and on the water.

As for the ugly pants, Alec is well known for being a totally happy and humorous guy. One day, he came up to some locals rigging their kites on the beach and asked where he could also find some of those "nice ugly pants." The name has stuck ever since.

mantra you live by
coming soon
- Alec Von Ins

teach

alec von ins kiteboarding

instructor basics

why you became an instructor
Currently I'm an instructor's assistant. Give me a year or so and I'll earn my certification.

tip for kiters wanting to improve
If you're scared just don’t look back on it.
Simply do it and charge it!

tip for those kiters just starting out
Figure out how to fly kite before you do anything else.

kiteboarding certifications
I'm in training...

style

alec von ins kiteboarding

Alec Von Ins shows us his best move

my riding

favorite gear setup
I really like flat kites, but mostly the Flexifoil Ion 2 and GK Trix. I also use a North Styler waist harness and my Crazy Fly Pro 122 kiteboard.

favorite kiteboard moves
Face plant.

hardest trick you're working on now
The submarine

kiteboarding influences
Anyone who rides the Waffle House on Isle of Palms.

NON-kiteboarding influences
Ok, I guess my dad since he kinda started this Air thing.

worst kitemare
Being sucked into Breach Inlet on an incoming tide. I launched on Sullivan's Island at the Bath. My dad told me to be careful not to pass a certain point. I started having too much fun and lost focus. Next thing I know, the current swept me under my kite and I was being carried away. Luckily my dad got me to a sandbar and then pulled me in.