Pro Diaries: Tom Butler – Kitesurfing

Aaron    The Professional's Arena     cornwall, extreme sports, kitesurfing, land-boarding, wake boarding

An interview with up and coming Freestyle Kitesurfer Tom Butler, discussing his journey, the UK’s hot spots, the launch of Mutiny Kites and much more!

Hi Tom, Thanks for talking to us today. So, how long have you been Kitesurfing and how did you get into the sport?

Hi, no worries – it’s a pleasure!
I have been kite surfing for six years now. I first got into it through Powerkiting on land and it went on from there.

I was doing a bit of fishing one day in South Wales and saw some local guys ripping up and down the beach on these huge kites, jumping in the air and doing some crazy stuff and my dad knew straight away it was going to be an expensive new hobby! From there it went very quickly, I hooked up with a local shop when I was 13 and my dad would drive me 2 hours to the beach every weekend, and it went from a hobby to a lifestyle in no time.

What have you been up to this year? Have you been in many competitions?

After finishing my A levels before the summer I hooked up with my new sponsor; Mutiny Kites and saw potential for a gap year, learning about the industry outside of the competition scene. I have been mostly training in Egypt improving my riding and working with Mutiny recently. After 5 years on the British tour it’s now more exciting for me to see other sides of the industry. As a new company with well known guys from the industry, it has been a great few months learning about the design process of the kites, photo shoots, marketing the kites, testing and building my profile as a rider.

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What to do With the Kids? – Keeping Them Entertained this Summer!

Aaron    Experience Guides     4x4 Driving, experiences, extreme sports, helicopter flights, High Ropes, Jet Skiing, kayaking, land-boarding, motocross, mountain boarding, quad biking, skydiving, Snow Experiences, track driving, wake boarding, water sports, zorbing sphereing

Keeping them Entertained is as easy as A, T, B…

This guide displays some of the great activities we have for taking the kids out for the day, be it to join in or get rid; you’ll find a great selection of best sellers, best enjoyed and best priced activities for the young’uns!

The summer holidays provide a challenging conundrum for parents and children alike, with the exhausting strain of six weeks worth of entertainment hitting the stress levels and purse strings hard.

Kids are also encapsulated in the utter joy of being off school for nearly 2 months, combined with a new found boredom for their inactive minds.

Well, how does one keep them entertained and busy for 6 weeks without breaking the bank? Send them to bootcamp? Send them out to earn themselves a few extra pennies?

Well one tried and tested method of keeping them entertained is to ignite a passion or a new hobby. The enthralling nature of spending all day perfecting a trick or learning a new technique – be it on wheels or their backside; is guaranteed to keep them occupied and happy this summer.

However, the allowance of such activities is a precarious situation for any parent; too much encouragement and they won’t do it – too little and they may resort to moping around all summer draining your resources!

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Pro Diaries: Dan Nott – Interview – European Champion – Wakeboarding

Aaron    The Professional's Arena     Dan Nott, extreme sports, Monster Eneregy Drinks, Surrey, wake boarding, wakeboard, Wakeboarder

Hi Dan, thanks for taking the time to talk to us today. So, what have you been up to this year?

Dan Nott, Professional Wakeboarder

At the beginning of 2010 I headed out to Argentina for the off-season as I have done for the last 4 years. It’s great to get out there as it is their summer during our winter. My girlfriend (also a pro rider) is Argentinean, so I stay out there with her and ride with all the locals on their boats.

Cool, sounds like fun! So what will the rest of 2010 hold for you?

Well it’s going to be a busy one for me. There are a lot of contests this year, including the rebirth of the UK tour which I am really looking forward to. My next contest is the FISE (Federazione Italiana Sport Equestri) in May, which is a rail-only event and is always fun. I will also be traveling around the world quite a bit, going to Spain, Russia, Sweden, Korea, China and many more countries hopefully!

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Extreme Sports Guide to Buckinghamshire

Aaron    Destination Guides     4x4 Driving, experiences, extreme sports, gliding, Jet Skiing, motocross, skydiving, Snow Experiences, wake boarding, water skiing, water sports, zorbing sphereing

The county of Buckinghamshire is enriched with many claims to fame inside the UK, stretching across the first ‘real’ snow slope, the first Indoor Skydiving centre and the most successful Olympian to ever walk Blighty’s soil; Sir Steve Redgrave.

Wakeboarding in Buckinghamshire

The South East County is similar to its bordering county of Berkshire and its neighbour Surrey in that it falls easy on the eye with a dense population of woodland and countryside, and is also situated around 45 minutes away from Central London. The picturesque county has a wide range of activities and unique experiences to make a weekend visit out of, including those taken on water – as the county encompasses two of the three largest rivers in the UK.

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Extreme Sports Guide to Surrey

Aaron    Destination Guides     aerobatic flying, aerobatics, climbing, climbing wall, experiences, extreme sports, free running, gliding, Hang Gliding, land-boarding, mountain boarding, Paragliding, parkour, rick climbing, track driving, wake boarding, water skiing, water sports

Perched on top of East & West Sussex and underneath Berkshire lies the country’s most woodland filled county; Surrey. Home to the Devil’s Punchbowl and England’s largest vineyard, the most densely populated ‘Shire’ in the UK makes for a very interesting getaway.

Mountain Boarding in Surrey

Whether you take the chance to appreciate the countryside from above with one of the county’s Hang Gliding or Aerobatic Flying tours, or if you decide to indulge in a high speed driving experience through a woodland-orientated track; Surrey has a fair bit to offer to thrill seekers – and combines it with all of the picturesque countryside that being one of the Home Counties entails.

The Thames bordering county is roughly an hour from central London and is easily accessible from the M23. We recommend trying:

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Extreme Sports Guide to West Sussex

Aaron    Destination Guides     4x4 Driving, Canoeing, gliding, helicopter flights, hot air ballooning, kayaking, kitesurfing, mountain boarding, power boating, skydiving, track driving, wake boarding, water skiing, water sports, windsurfing

Nestling proudly at the bottom of the UK between Hampshire and East Sussex lies one of the Country’s archaeological and historical goldmines; West Sussex. The UK’s Atlantic Ocean bordering county is split into seven districts, and is best known for its stately homes and castles, most notably in Arundel and Chichester.

Hang Gliding in West Sussex

The county is situated south west to London and neatly bordering East Sussex, Surrey & Kent; is no further than an hour or so drive away and less than 45 minutes on a train. Being in close proximity to the Capital City allows an easy escape from city life to the 770 mile² countryside region, and West Sussex has a range of decent experiences to suit most enthusiasts. From the grounds of Goodwood to the aerial attraction gained from one of the many flying activities on offer, most notably on the Sussex Downs; the picturesque county has a lot to offer.

Driving off road is also a readily available, with the UK’s only US spec Monster Truck available for commercial use, making good use of the green county that gave birth to the sport of Cricket, Europe’s largest horse racing straight and… Simon Cowell.

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Extreme Sports Guide to Berkshire

Aaron    Destination Guides     4x4 Driving, berkshire, Bungee, Go Karting, highest bungee, Jet Skiing, Snow Experiences, wake boarding

Home to the world’s largest inhabited Castle and the most prestigious Horse Racing circuit in the UK; the county of Berkshire is considered to be an almost Royal region. Sharing a border with the River Thames and sat less than an hour east from the Centre of London, the county offers a number of great getaway activities to escape the city life.

Berkshire Countryside

From the UK’s Highest Bungee Jump to Jet Ski Safaris on a 300 acre lake; Berkshire provides a small number of high quality experiences aimed at utilising the picturesque countryside and ranging terrains that being a Royal county has required. Having bore the world’s greatest explorer; Ranulph Fiennes, the county is now home to 0.8m residents, the UK’s most exclusive school – Eton, and one of the country’s biggest theme parks – Legoland.

With such rich heritage to appreciate in one of the UK’s oldest counties, it is also possible to combine a few extra curricular thrills with tours using this guide. read more

Extreme Sports Guide to Devon

Aaron    Destination Guides     Devon, experiences, extreme sports, kitesurfing, microlighting, motocross, quad biking, sailing, scuba diving, surf, wake boarding

Sitting between the borders of Cornwall & Somerset and neatly tucked away in the South West of England lies the country’s third largest county; Devon. The picturesque ‘Cornubian Massif’ abuts both the English and the Bristol Channels, naturally creating a haven for extreme sports, and in particular; water sports.

Surfing in Devon

The 2700 sq mile county of Devon is renowned for its hilly contours and large granite rocks, with some peaks reaching as high as 1500ft. With over 250 miles of coastline and several inland lakes and rivers, Devon has firmly established itself as a top UK holiday destination and excels in offering year-round water sport activities, such as Kitesurfing, Wakeboarding and the more relaxing experiences such as Sailing and Diving. Thanks to its location, the powerful Atlantic swells that surround Devon’s shores sustain a constant flow of Surfing activities, with the North of the county now a world class venue for championships, creating large and short-breaking waves.

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