I am really excited to share that Season 2 of our web series, Where the Wind Blows, is now live! Starting off with my 'Select' episode (the first episode of five!) you'll see a brief recap of my last season of travels and see just a small glimpse of why I love coming back 'home' to Hood River, Oregon year after year.
Directed/Produced by Moxy International in association with Red Tide Pictures.
In addition to wanting to share the video, I'd like to share with you just a short bit of background about how I came to be a professional kiteboarder chasing wind across all corners of the globe....
Photo by Jen Jones/Moxy Int
I didn’t seek the nomadic lifestyle of professional wanderer/adventurer/athlete. I merely bumped into it by getting a peek at a shining opportunity and grabbing it by the horns. I couldn’t be where I’m at today without the help of friends, family, and beautiful strangers. I’ve been given advice, invaluable contacts, a place to stay, and even a job when I’ve been in need. And so much of this blessed life I lead was budded and nourished from the dynamic community in Hood River, Oregon.
This tiny town nestled in the Cascade peaks poised along the rising bank of the Columbia River is so much more than another small Oregon town. It is a community bustling with recreationists, artists, activists, professionals, and entrepreneurs. It is one of the major kiteboarding meccas in the United States and a place I have held near and dear since I was a child. Shortly after graduating college with a degree in hand but no clear direction in life, it is the place I chose to call home to help me find my focus.
Since coming to Hood River, I’ve met amazingly creative, conscientious, driven, and generous people. People who continuously push me to reach my goals and inspire me to create new ones like the women of the “Where the Wind Blows” project. Having this network of athletic successful women is one of the driving forces that keeps me moving forward and always striving. But not only do they motivate me, they have helped me create a sense of home in Hood River. A place where I am part of a community even when I am only passing through, something that might be taken for granted by those rooted in a 9 to 5er, yet for me, a homebody at heart but homeless nomad in reality I haven’t found anywhere else.