Full Circle: The Shannon Best Story

By Gavin Butler

Posted Tuesday 2nd October


After a full year spent traveling and promoting his company around the world, Shannon Best recently returned
to his roots and hometown of the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, where he had the chance to spend time with his family, further promote Best on his home turf, and reflect on what has been a long and illustrious career as a professional wakeboarder and kiteboarder.
Shannon at Narrowneck




Over seventeen years ago, Shannon left his home as a teenager with aspirations to become a professional

wakeboarder. In that time, Shannon has been through the ups and downs of the board industry, winning wakeboard events behind both the boat and the cable, competing in various kiteboarding events, and has been involved in the early stages of the sport of wakeboarding and kiteboarding. Shannon is now a partner in one of the biggest kiteboarding companies in the world, selling products to all corners of the globe, employing over 20 staff, and helping promote one of the fastest growing sports in the world.

Shannon in Brazil



Kiteboarding

In the winter of 1999, Tom James, the editor and creator of Kiteboarding Magazine, was pushing the new sport of kiteboarding with the release of the first Kiteboarding Magazine in America that year.
Seeing not only the future in the sport itself but also the crossover potential from wake to kite, Tom invited Shannon to try the sport for the first time with Lou Wainman and Elliot LeBoe in Corpus Christi, Texas, along with fellow wakeboarders Zane Schwank and Chase Heavener. Tom recalls, "I wanted the wakeboarders to see a cooler side of kiteboarding, not just going big.
Within 10 minutes, Shannon and the boys were doing raleys, which surprised Elliot and Lou by how fast they were learning, especially on the old Wipika two-lines." Rafael Salles and Raphael Baruch from F-one were also there with their 7m foils for the guys to use on the lighter days at Bird Island.

Lees hier het volledige verhaal
(ik moet zeggen bijzonder leuk, kijk gelijk helemaal anders tegen Best aan!)