Social Media

Hey Salt Lifers,

Follow me through social media for any questions or just to meet up for a session!

www.Twitter.com/MatthewSexton
www.Facebook.com/MrMattySexton

Matt

Handrail w/ Jeff Doran: Behind the shot

I've been spending a lot of time down in Islamorada this year at The Otherside Boardsports Shop. We've been doing alot of work building moldular features used for wakeboarding and kiteboarding. I was down in December and while I was in the shop I got introduced to a mutual friend by the name of Jeff Doran. He is an extremely talented photographer and artist from Savannah, Georgia and was down visiting some family in the keys. We got to talking one night about different shot ideas for kiting and how the pull of the kite allows for a much more diverse style of pictures. Sometimes when the wind isn't strong enough or you just don't feel like staying up wind its fun to cruise down the coastline and hitch hike back or try and catch a ride from some friends. On one of my last downwinders from Whale Harbour to Anne's Beach in Islamorada I came up to the sea wall at an anonymous restaurant in Islamorada and noticed a short hand rail coming down the sea wall onto the flats. I decided to swing into it a couple times and managed to stall on the very top of the rail and even transfer from the windward rail to the leeward which was definitely a bit sketchy. Later that night Jeff and I were sharing a couple beers when I told him about the handrail and he started busting my chops that we should just go hit it right now since he had all his camera gear in his truck. I decided to go for it and hopped straight into the water in my Salt Life baggies and a Flanel (it was pretty chilly). I hit it about a dozen times and came out with some killer shots that ended up getting a full page center fold in Kiteboarding Magazine. Here's one of the shots from the session. Thanks again Jeff for making me charge it and killing it behind the lens!

Youthful Energy

When I was in college I worked with alot of the magazines that circulate around the kiteboarding industry. I was the founder of the Collegiate Kiteboarding Association and I did what I could to provide an easy entry for younger riders into the sport of kiteboarding. Since then i've been approached by a couple magazines about doing stories or providing content. This year during a trip to Guadeloupe in the French Caribbean with my good friend Oliver Berlic, Aaron Sales of Kiteboarding Magazine contacted me about doing a story catching up with what I am doing now that i'm out of college. Here's a copy of the article, thanks to Nikki Stephens for the interview!

France Contest Teasers

Asides from our road trip we did have a main focus during out trip to France and that was to hit up an event called The Slider Party, which was put on by Stance Magazine and a company called Kitaddict. The event was awesome and had some of the best riders around including 5 time World Champion Aaron Hadlow. Along with myself Alex and Sean our buddy Billy Parker also came out and ended up winning the event. I had a couple decent sessions during the warm up but when it came time for my heats I kept judging the wind wrong and ended up on a kite that was too big. I made it through to the finals but in the finals the wind picked up to almost 40 knts and I ended up taking up 6th place. Regardless it was an awesome event and thanks to Ben, Stance, and Kitaddict for putting together an awesome event with great features and killer rider incentives! Here's 2 teaser videos from the beginning of the event!
http://vimeo.com/23924182
http://vimeo.com/24226482

France Road Trip

I've done a couple trips Kiting oversea's but never had a chance to go with a group of friends with the intentions of just filming, kiting, and wakeboarding as much as possible. This year myself, Sean Reyngoudt, and Alex Fox decided to head over to France to meet up with our French buddy and Videographer Benoit Paillard. Ben works for Stance Magazine and wanted to shoot a 30+ minute video part for the Magazine's DVD that they release with every issue. We flew into Paris and traveled all the way down the coast to a town called Barcares where we competed in an event called the Slider Party. The adventure was one of the most fun kite trips I've ever been on and our buddies over at Filibuster Films threw together a couple minute teaser as a promotion for the Trip and the DVD that will soon becoming out from www.StancePlanet.com. Here's the link to the video and follow my buddies on twitter @Fox727 @SeanReyngoudt and @StancePlanet Enjoy!
http://vimeo.com/24131795

RPM Video

For the past five years Slingshot Sports has been one of my top supporters. Slingshot is a company based out of Hood River, Oregon that specializes in making some of the best kiteboarding, wakeboarding, and stand up paddleboarding gear available on the market. I'm lucky enough that after being with the company for 5 years they've given me a sales and marketing position which compliments my schedule travel and riding promoting the gear and the sport. This year they gave us a couple marketing opportunities to create the promo video's for some of our latest gear. This video is for our kite The RPM which is one of the best selling and most versatile
http://vimeo.com/20927597

Bulletproof

Being a kiteboarder means that you live and die by the wind. Living on the Gulf Coast for the past five years that was decent wind but consistency wasn't always there. To make up for it you have a couple options, fish, wakeboard, paddleboard, or endulge in a couple Rum Drinks to pass the time. When your feinding for a good kite session and the winds not there sometimes you have no choice but to chase it. One of my closest friends and main mentors in Kiting is Billy Parker from Saint Pete, Florida. BP is always down to chase some wind or hit up the boat or the cable parks to get in a wakeboard session. This is a little video Bill and I shot over a weekend of riding between Tampa, Saint Pete, and Islamorada. The video was filmed by Bill and I as we hit up McCormick's Cable Park in Tampa, Revolution Cable Park in Fort Meyers, and the flats out in Islamorada. This was one of our first video's playing with Go Pro's and shows some unique POV shots that are tough to get without being out riding next to someone. Thanks to The Otherside Boardsports in Islamorada for putting us up and taking care of my dog Bongo when we're on the water! Enjoy the vid
http://vimeo.com/16489376

Annie and Salt Life

Annie, 53, is leading the big dogs. She is the imbodiment of the Company Salt Life, she does it all and with gusto. Big wave, SUP, waves and racing, kiting and snowboarding. It never ends. A great spirit and role model for young girls and a treat to be around.

She loves the Salt Life Company and has decals all over her car and boards, EVEN THOUGH THEY DON'T SPONSOR HER. Her husband is world famous surfer Mike Doyle and we think some of his knowledge is rubbing off on her. Together they make a great team and quite an influence in the water world market place.

-Salt Life