Kiteboarding Magazine

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2007-02-13 15:00:00 | 176 views | 0 Comments

For more info, please check out KiteSnowboarder.com.

“Why can't we use those kites the guys are using in Maui to pull us on snow?” My longtime friend Paul “Motz” Macaj and I asked each other this question in 1997 as a result of frustration with crowded resorts and rising lift-ticket prices. Wipika 8.5 Classics were soon on their way, and Motz actually kited on snow before learning on the water. I think this partially explains his never-ending energy for pursuing snow – that and the fact that his home state of Colorado is landlocked.

In the decade since our question came up, Motz has become a pioneer of snowkiting. He has always pushed to bring the sport to the public eye, most notably with his debut snowkiting film, The Next Chapter. Now he has released his new film, 20/10 – only the second U.S. snowkiting DVD. No way is Motz done yet.

His dedication to kiting stems from sports that sculpted his board awareness and his knowledge of wind, water and snow. With 33 years under his belt, he lives in Littleton, Colorado, where he grew up with access to flatland snow, local lakes and the Rocky Mountains, his ultimate playground. He's always the first to call after a snowstorm or when the lake is firing. Motz will kite on the water when it's snowing and ride on the snow in a T-shirt.

Motz windsurfs, but only when he can be super-juiced on a 4.0 sail so he can huck loops. Back in the day, when he was 12 or so, his mom would drop him for the day at a local lake so he could windsurf and not get into trouble. He further refined his skills on the pole while living in the Gorge during summers in high school. He worked at a windsurfing shop to pay rent.

Motz was on his way to being a snow-skiing superstar until he fell in love with snowboarding. Our first snowboards were skateboards with the trucks removed and DaKine foot-strap bindings. Every time it would dump, we would climb on the roof of his house and build a kicker. Years later we slept in cars and ditched school to ride Vail, Copper and Breckenridge and explore the backcountry. As Motz got better he became a top performer in local comps. Pursuing freestyle and racing on two edges brought him the opportunity to hone his style and to travel.

All of that experience came into play when he started snowkiting. Motz fuels his passion for kiting and makes ends meet by running his business, FUZE Kiteboarding and kitesnowboarder.com, out of a garage; he repairs kites and sails and sells small parts for sailboats. Taking online orders for kite equipment for snow and water adds to the mix. Summers are for water and editing next years snowkite film while winters are crammed with travel and the cameras are humming. He has been fortunate to mold close relationships with Guillaume “Chasta” Chastagnol and many other emerging snowkiting visionaries across the globe from Utah, California, Montana, Minnesota, France, Norway, Argentina and beyond. And now, Motz is dreaming of what's next.