Fun, customer service, and charity: Growing the sport of Kiteboarding

If you have ever traveled to Cabarete, on the North coast of Dominican Republic and one of the best kiteboarding destinations in the Caribbean, chances are that you have met Laurel Eastman. Just go to Bozo Beach and you will right away spot the bright pink flags of LEK (Laurel Eastman Kite School) proudly dancing in the wind. I have known Laurel for more than a year now and her professionalism, great customer service, and huge network of friends in and out of Cabarete have impressed me tremendously.

Once a professional kiteboarder, Laurel has taken the dedication and hard work of a professional athlete and poured it into expanding the sport, providing a safe and enjoyable experience for the guests (even connecting guests with one another and scheduling group dinners and excursions), and making the world a better place through her charity programs. I sat down with Laurel to learn more about what she does and what inspires her.

1) How, where and when did you get into kiteboarding?
My kiteboarding addiction began in Paihia New Zealand, in the year 2000. At the time I was working as an environmental videographer, filming dolphin encounters. Dolphins really remind me of kitesurfers, still to this day. My best friend in Paihia was getting into kiting and from the moment I saw it I knew I had to become a kiter. It was love at first sight and what I went on to achieve in the sport is a fantastic example of the power of single-minded focus.

2) How long did you compete as a professional kiteboarder? What did you enjoy about it?
I competed on the first two PKRA world cup tours, that was 2002 and 2003. I loved the travel, the friends, and the parties. The competing was exciting but I just don't have the intense competitive drive and I enjoy sharing the sport a lot more.

3) Having traveled to all the places you went to for competitions, what made you move to and stay in Cabarete?
A local hotel offered me sponsorship which lead to the offer of the kiteboarding school in their beach club. It was very much a case of one thing led to another and taking the opportunities as they presented themselves. Also the hotel promised me that I would still be able to travel, by hiring a manager to run the day to day of the kite school. They were right, since starting it 8 years ago I have spent 5-6 months per year traveling for kiting and other adventures.

4) What are your favorite kite spots other than Cabarete? Wave or flat water?
So many! In Europe I love Sardinia. In the States I really like Hawaii (obviously). South America I love Brazil - Rio de Janiero - for me a kite spot needs more than just kiting, the atmosphere is also really important. Caribbean it has to be BVI (British Virgin Islands). South Pacific is Aitutaki or Tonga. In Asia Pagupud in the Philippines. Oceania - Nelson, NZ.

5) You have one of the most successful, if not the most successful kite school in Cabarete. What do you believe is the key to your success?
Relentless obsession with improvement, raising the bar, providing a better service, atmosphere, and experience to our guests.

6) If you were not a kite school owner, what do you think you would do?
Work with the media, hosting TV shows, events, MCing, presenting - things like that.

7) What motivates you the most?
Tough question! I have this (at times overly) intense personal drive. I am extremely self-motivated. I also love seeing other people being successful and achieving amazing things, I draw a lot of inspiration from awesome people and organizations.

8) What changes or improvements would you like to see in the sport of kitesurfing?
I think there is a long way to go on safety when it comes to personal practice. I see so many people messing up launching and landing, if we could just get kiters to do this safely it would be a massive improvement for the future of the sport. Also I think kiting should go in the direction of snow sports and we need to wear helmets.

9) Why do you think kitesurfing is growing so rapidly?
It's ridiculously fun, incredibly trendy amongst influential people, and the improvements in equipment and teaching method make it very accessible now.

10) Tell our readers about the charity programs that you are involved with, in case they want to participate in them as well.
Kiting has given me so much, and I am really enjoying giving back.

Kiteboarding 4 Kids is a charity event I co-founded in 2009 - we have raised over $50,000 to support children's charities working with impoverished kids here in the Cabarete area
www.kb4k.org

Kiters 4 Communities is a non-profit (social) business I run with my boyfriend Pete - we transform old kites into rad products, providing jobs to Haitian immigrants and invest profits into educational programs and community resources
www.kiters4communities.org

KB4Girls is a non-profit organization founded by my dear friend, 9x World Champion Kristin Boese - I am on the Board of Directors and we empower women through kiteboarding while supporting local charities around the world
www.kb4girls.org

Global Kiters Foundation is a project to bring kiters all over the world together in the spirit of giving back - As an Ambassador for GKF I help spread the word about the Foundation and projects like beach clean-ups, sharing kiting with people who have physical disabilities, and training young people in impoverished areas to be kiteboarding safety officers
www.globalkiter.com