What ricki writes is close to home from my point of view. I was witness to a kiter a few years ago go through suffering and then finally ending his life. But his problems were to deal with life in general which I think had a lot to do with a bad relationship, lack of money and hard life with a lot of knocks.
The one thing this guy loved more than anything was to go kiting and he would do it every day if he could. It was the only release that I think he had from all the **** that he had in his life. I really do beleive that not being able to kite was what drove him over the edge.
A few weeks before he took his life he was starting to have problems with his equipment, mainly his kite having bladder leaks which would take him off the water. He was hard on the gear and was getting tears in the kite all the time. One day at the beach he had just recieved the kite back from the sail repairer for the fourth time for a leading edge tear and was putting the bladder back in so he could head out for a kite. After he rushed to but the bladder in he pumped the kite up only to have the repair let go again. I remember seeing this guy just slump to the ground say he just gives up and can't take it any more which did sound unusally for him to say that but I did not read into it as being a cry for help or anything and just thought he was refering to the kite rather than life itself.
We did not see him at the beach for a few weeks after that and I remember his ex girlfriend was looking for him as well. Then we learned he drove to a isolated carpark only a few hundred metres from our kite spot, poured petrol over himself and set fire to himself.
I do believe that it was he feeling of not being able to kite which started he down ward spiral.

now, bring on the god botherers.

it's time for their say.

quote:

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Originally posted by richrelative

Pity you dont take the 'Easy way out' Sickasnakes.

For gods sake even im thinking about ending it after reading some of you guys replys, why dont you all write a book and send it to mentally impaired and psychotic people and i believe that it will give them the strength to relise that all of you are worse off than them, what are you trying to get a 'Order of Australia'?????

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.. Christ i need it for putting up with you idiots..

Beer is the answer.

What was the question?

Suicide sucks. If you don't want to think about it don't read this thread. In this case it could to be kiteboarding related, and Mr. Iossi has every right to post it here. Props to Rick for all the safety awareness work he has done. It would be a big call but I reckon he has probably saved a few lives over the years with it. People taking precautions that they may not have had they not been exposed to his writings. So give him a break.

On the other side of the coin... It is a bit of a nasty subject, agreed. But as I say above, the thread title says it all. If you don't want to hear about it...