Six years old and shredding - Alvaro Pastor

You might recognise the family name 'Pastor' from the VKWC freestyle results, but this isn't a story about the Airush pro Alex Pastor, this time it's his little brother who's shredding the lagoon in Tarifa!

While you won't be seeing a single handlepass or even any air-time in this movie, you will be seeing some incredible kiteboarding talent from Alvaro Pastor. He's six years old, and despite the challenges inherent with learning an adults sport as a kid, is riding like a champ. Kids have a different learning experience than adults when it comes to kiteboarding. They gain the fearless attitude, but they lack the equipment necessary thanks to the unfortunate scaling issues in kiteboarding gear. Kites can't be made light enough to fly in light winds, while being small enough to provide the correct power to weight ratio. Nobody makes really small, light kids boards, because the market is limited and of course the kids outgrow them so fast. Don't let that deter you though, just take one look at this little guy and you'll be convinced it's a piece of cake! Here's three tips to help you through the first stages of teaching your kids how to kiteboard. You know the (very adaptable) saying... Teach your kids to kiteboard, and they'll never have money for drugs and alcohol!

Three tips for teaching kids to kitesurf

1: Make it fun.

Lots of high fives (see the video for an example). Lots of praise. Lots of 'Yeah I saw you! That was AWESOME!!!!!!', even when you were actually watching your mates kiting around you...

2: Don't force the issue.

So what if they don't want to go kiteboarding today. Let them stay at home and ride their bikes or play with the dog. The worst thing you can do is put kiteboarding next to 'homework' on the list of fun things to do. (Hint: it's right down the very bottom!)

3: Spend lots of two things.

Prepare yourself to spend lots money, and time. Buy the best equipment you can afford, with good safety features and most importantly a lightweight design. 6m kites build for adults in 35 knots DO NOT work for kids. Talk to your local shops for advice. Time, is something that every parent wants more of with their kids (ok, maybe not always), but time on the water is time well spent, so buy a good wetsuit and stay out there until the kids have had enough.