10 Kite Influencers to follow.. if you aren't already
Welcome to another wonderful Monday everyone! I have been feeling a lit bit out of it, on account of the weather and computer issues that have effectively left me unable to create and edit my videos at the moment. Sigh.... In an effort to lift my spirits and to look toward some fun goals for the year I decided to take stock of what other kite 'influencers' are doing on line and figured I would share with you some of my favorites. These really are folks that you should go give a like and follow to. Their content ranges from inspiring, to emotionally positive and uplifting, to informational, to storytellers, and every where in between.
The Kite Kouple
Read more at:
This dynamic duo; Paula and Rick Villarreal, are constantly posting about their fun with kites. It helps that they live in beautiful South Padre Island, Texas and have access to an amazing beach. They are genuinely positive and amazing people in person, and that carries through into the content they produce. Give them a like, and fill your social media feed with awesomeness!
Kitelife / Kite Forge - aka all things John Barresi
Color me shocked if you are not already following everything that John does. Whether it is via
or his kite company Kite Forge. By far and large across his various ventures and platforms, he has one of the largest followings and biggest reaches.
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Prism Kites
Most folks have heard of the brand, but they might not be following them on social media. While the company is not aggressive about creating online content, what they do share is beautiful. Every now and then they host contests and giveaways that are worth participating in if you love free stuff!
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Great American Kites
Specializing in big kite displays, these guys really know how to fill the sky with color!
They are the current owners of the Largest American Flag Kite, and proudly fly it.
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Michael Sherman
" I love kites, especially the opportunity to fly large kites over the great state of Wisconsin. I'm a proud member of the award-winning Wisconsin Kiters and the American Kitefliers Association. Whether I'm flying in a handful of kite festivals across the Midwest or out on my own, I always try to find a creative way to capture the experience. Join me, and experience kite flying at its best! "
read more at:
Aerialis Kites
Website with tons of info, and a cool kite team to boot!
"Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Germany... These are the home countries of the pilots comprising the AERIALIS Team Flyers. Challenging? Yes! Possible? Definetly!
The AERIALIS Team Flyers first found together way back (?) in 2003. It all started as a fly-whatever-you’ve-got but soon we were all equipped with team kites! Our first real stab at team flying happened at the NKM 2003 and it didn’t look too bad after a few days of practice."
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Addict Kite
Be prepared to either brush up on your french or hit that translation button to see everything this website has to offer.
Read more at:
HQ Flight School Vienna
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Tug.com
Shout out to Andrew Beattie and
(no... it isn't a porn site... it really is a kite site!)
Jim Nichols
I would be remiss if I didn't throw a shout out to Mr. Jim Nichols. With 1,400+ videos on youtube alone, and 3.75k subscribers.... I am in awe. He has been doing it somewhat under the radar, but with high reach and views, he must be doing something right!
This is by no means a comprehensive list, just a shout out to a few folks pushing the frontiers of the kite world in social media. Perhaps in the near future I will create a list of all of the content creators that are focused on kites. :) I mean hey... I didn't even mention myself here. :)
To me "influencer" has undergone a recent and trendy semantic shift of pejoration. I recall the days when influence was given altruistically to enhance the quality of my life experience. Today it seems that an influencer is someone who trolls something in return be it acquiring numerically more followers or commissions from products they market. While there is a little of the latter going on here, I would prefer the title "10 kite visionaries to follow." They don't influence me, they stimulate and encourage me just as does the Facebook Quad Lines Kite Group.