Stan Radev – Head Kiteboarding Coach
Hometown: Varna, Bulgaria
Kite Quiver: Liquid Force Havoc: 8m, 12m & 16m, Liquid Force Mission 138.


If Bulgaria taught Stan one thing, it is, "Go hard, or go home." Initially a windsurfer, Stan started kiteboarding in Greece, Turkey and Egypt and never looked back, and he’s now a Liquid Force team rider. When not throwing down kiteloops and his trademark Bulgarian board offs (BBO’s), Stan can be found motorcycling, paragliding, sailing or boxing. His delightful accent and sharp sense of humor makes Stan a blast to be around, and he will be the first to invite you over for a beer after a session. “bowkite”










Jason Slezak – Kiteboarding Coach, Team Manager, Team Rider
Hometown: Charleroi, PA
Kite Quiver: Liquid Force Havoc: 4m, 6m, 8m, 10m, 12m, 14m & 16m, Liquid Force Session: 6m, 9m & 12m, Liquid Force Mission 138cm & 144cm, 6’1 Project Rawson Skate, 6’2 Project Rawson Quad.
Surf Quiver: Custom Rawson 6’4 Quad, Custom Rawson 6’6 Round Pin, Jimmy Lewis 5’10 Rocket twin.


Jason has been kiting since 1999 and hasn’t looked back, an International Liquid Force Team Rider, he is sponsored by Liquid Force, Reef, Dakine and Smith Optics. While in college finishing up his Adventure Sports Degree Jason came to Hatteras for the same reason most people do… the wind. A competitive snowboarder and working in the snowboard industry prior to Kiteboarding Jason made a major push to bring slider riding into the sport. Having broken over 25 bones and having hundreds of stitches he considers himself to be “Just a bit accident prone!” At REAL from its conception Jason together with Sam Bell, manages the famed REAL Slider Park and Triple-S competition. Jason is one of the main riders in Bilderback Productions premiere DVD release "Lines," and is currently working on three major video parts for early 2009 release.






Sam Bell – Head Surf Coach, Kiteboarding Coach, Team Rider
Hometown: Cape Hatteras, NC
Kite Quiver: Naish Boxer: 9m, 12m & 15m, Naish Torch: 8m, 10m, 12m & 14m, Naish Thorn 134cm, Naish Sol 136cm.
Surf Quiver:Jimmy Lewis 6’5 Chamber, 8’6 Vixen
SUP Quiver:Jimmy Lewis 10’0 SUP


A Hatteras Island native, Sam has been at REAL since the beginning and has seen it all. He currently rides as a Naish Team Rider and has been instrumental in creating the REAL Slider Park. Sam earned his captain’s license last winter and loves nothing more than tooling around the BVIs in a Moorings catamaran with a side of boat drinks. Whether pulling wheelies on his motorcycle or passing the handle on the dock slider, Sam always manages to keep it REAL.













Neil Ondrako – Kiteboarding Coach
Hometown: Syracuse, NY
Kite Quiver: Liquid Force Havoc: 6m, 10m & 14m, Jimmy Lewis Model III 125cm.


Neil is lucky enough to make his living off the two sports he loves, kiteboarding and downhill skiing. When not on the waters of the Pamlico Sound, Neil spends his winter months teaching skiing in Vail, CO. His love for adventure sports keeps him healthy and alive. Contrary to popular belief, Neil has never attempted to water ski behind a kite, though it is on his list of things to try. In college, Neil concentrated in Information Systems, and on numerous occasions he has helped REAL manage the flow and bandwidth of its networks.












Trevor Murchie – Kiteboarding Coach
Hometown: West Bath, ME and Surf City, NC
Kite Quiver: Liquid Force Havoc: 6m, 8m & 12m, Jimmy Lewis Chamber 6'0, Liquid Force Mission 138cm.

Growing up in the icy waters of Maine, Trevor never misses a session because it's too cold outside. But that's not to say he doesn't love riding in board shorts. When there's no wind, Trevor is all about surfing, surfing and more surfing. When not at REAL, Trevor's either riding in the Dominican Republic or assisting in kite design for Liquid Force. In other words, Trevor has a never-ending kite season. If he hadn't discovered kiteboarding, Trevor's pretty sure he'd have become a spy, especially since the first three digits of his social security number are 007.














Brandon Scheid – Kiteboarding Coach
Hometown: Wyoming, MI
Kite Quiver: Liquid Force Havoc 6m, 8m & 12m, Liquid Force Mission 138cm.


Kiteboarding is a way of life for Brandon. If there's a session to be had, Brandon is ripping it up. Brandon takes a lot of his riding style from his skateboarding and snowboarding background. His wakestyle riding got him noticed by Liquid Force reps, and he now rides as a LF U.S. Team Rider. When not riding, Brandon can be found reading science and astronomy magazines. If you ever have a question about the stars or how the universe was formed, Brandon is your man.















Ed Tack – Kiteboarding Coach
Hometown: Decatur, IL
Kite Quiver: Best Waroo: 9m, 13m & 17m, Jimmy Lewis Model III 145cm.


A former windsurfer, once Ed tried kiteboarding, he's never looked back. Living in Cape Hatteras, Ed works as a substitute teacher and instructs kiteboarding on weekends and over the summer. A born teacher, Ed loves sharing his passion for kiting with new and seasoned riders alike. Before teaching and kiting, Ed worked at a kiteboarding shop in the St. Petersburg Beach, FL area. If you're looking for Ed, be such to look up: among all the big guys at REAL, Ed tops out at 6'8". Ed first learned to kite on a Wipika 8.5 and rollerblades, but don't worry, he uses kiteboards in his lessons.














Ryan Evans – Kiteboarding Coach
Hometown: Orland Park, IL
Kite Quiver: Best Nemesis HP 12m, 10m, 8m, 6m; BEST Ouijia 134; 138 wakestyle board w/ Escalade bindings.
Surf Quiver: 6'2" Squash-tail Resin8, Rusty 6'0" Toad

Ryan grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. At an early age Ryan opted for the thrill of action sports (wakeboarding and snowboarding) oppose to conventional team sports. Ryan became a passionate surfer while traveling the South-Pacific and Central America throughout his University studies. Kiteboarding was the thread that tied all of his sports backgrounds together. While living in New Zealand Ryan negotiated a kiteboarding coach into giving him a few "free trial" lessons. Upon completion of his degrees in International Business and Comparative Politics Ryan choose to move to the Outer Banks to persue his love for kiteboarding full-time. Ryan is now a National Team rider for both BEST Kiteboarding and REAL Watersports. He looks forward to pushing his own riding, and the sport, in a positive direction!











Scott Laney – Kiteboarding Coach
Hometown: Hinsdale, IL
Kite Quiver: Liquid Force Havoc: 8m, 12m & 16m, Naish Thorn.
Surf Quiver: Jimmy Lewis 9'1" Longboard, 6'3" Chamber.


After spending more than 2 years on the road, Scott has finally settled down in Cape Hatteras. After college, in Iowa, Scott took a long road trip up and down the west coast living in his RV. Growing up waterskiing and wakeboarding in the Midwest learning to kiteboard was a quick progression for Scott. Having been kiteboarding for 4 years now, Scott started working at REAL in ‘07 and enjoys every min teaching on the water. You can attempt to find Scott hiking, surfing, working on his truck, building bicycles, playing tennis, on a road trip, playing gutair/drums, cooking, or modifying anything and everything!!!!












Rick Harbison – Assistant Head Coach
Hometown: Longmeadow, MA
Kite Quiver: Liquid Force Session 9m, 12m & 16m


Rick grew up in Massachusetts but has worked in Maine as a wilderness guide, teacher, cross-country trailgroomer and plow truck driver extraordinaire since graduating from Colby College in 2003. In 2005 Rick took five months off and hiked from Canada to Mexico along the Continental Divide Trail. Shortly after, Rick started snowkiting on frozen lakes and eventually worked his way onto the water. His most recent pipedream is to snowkite across Mongolia, but he hasn’t found anyone to sign on yet. He also claims to be the undisputed ping-pong champion of the Outer Banks.














Charles Friedman – Kiteboarding Coach
Hometown: Peaks Island, Maine
Kite Quiver: Liquid Force Session 9m, 12m & 16m.


Charley grew up on Peaks Island, a small island off the coast of Maine. For the past twenty years he has never spent more than two weeks off of an island. His grandmother taught him to windsurf and slalom water-ski when he was seven. When he saw kiteboarding in FL, it wasn’t long before Charley was teaching himself to kiteboard on the snow in Maine. Before coming to REAL Charley worked summers as a sail maker for Maine Sailing Partners, building and repairing custom racing sails. He currently is a junior studying Civil engineering at UMaine. Other than Kiteboarding Charley spends his time sailing, skateboarding, surfing, cycling, playing cello, pond hockey and soccer.











Chris Lazinski – Kiteboarding Coach
Hometown: New Paltz, NY
Kite Quiver: Slingshot Fuel 9m, Slingshot Octane 14m, Naish Haze 146cm.


Chris has just finished his freshman year at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill studying chemistry and environmental science. He’s a die-hard New York sports fan, especially the Yankees and Giants. Chris has been able to spend 2 months every year on Hatteras Island his whole life. It was only natural that he would pick up kiteboarding here nearly five years ago, where he took lessons from REAL. Chris started working at REAL due in part to his love of teaching and the fact he was already around the shop often enough during the summer checking the wind and talking about gear. Besides kiteboarding, he loves playing tennis, soccer, basketball, baseball... any sport with a ball really.












Jessie Elliott-Kilgour – Kiteboarding Coach/Retail Assistant
Hometown: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Kite Quiver: Slingshot Fuel: 7m, 9m & 13m, Liquid Force Aura 127cm.


Jessie returns to REAL this season for her third summer. She is a true lover of all boardsports, kiteboarding, snowboarding and surfing in particular. Recently graduated, Jessie studied health science and biology and works as a snowboarding instructor in the winter. She is known for being delightfully off the grid – no car, no cell and no addiction to email. After finishing her degree, Jessie hopes to save the world.
















Claire Lutz - Kiteboarding Coach
Hometown: St. Joseph, MI
Kite Quiver: 6m, 8m, 10m & 12m LF Havoc, LF Recoil with Melissa ltd bindings.

Currently going to school for marketing and public relations Claire spends 7 months of the year teaching at REAL in Cape Hatteras, NC. In the winters you can find her snowboarding and if you're lucky at class. Addicted to all boardsports, skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding and kiting Claire is always pushing herself and everyone around her to the next level.





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