John Barresi facts for kids

John Barresi (born June 1, 1975) is an American sport kite flier. He designs kites and is the owner of KiteLife magazine and KiteLife.com. John also leads the Team KiteLife performance team and owns a design company called Kite Forge.

John Barresi's Kite Flying Journey

John Barresi is one of the most active sport kite fliers in the world. He started flying kites for fun in August 1990. By 1991, he began competing in kite flying events. Since then, he has earned top spots in many different types of sport kite competitions. These include flying kites by himself, with a partner, or as part of a team. He competes with both two-line (dual line) and four-line (quad line) kites, and even flies indoors.

John has also helped lead kite organizations. He was once the President of the American Kitefliers Association. He also served on the board of the Kite Trade Association International. John has even been a judge at kite competitions all over the world.

KiteLife Magazine and Website

In 2003, John Barresi became the full owner of KiteLife Magazine. The magazine was printed until 2014. However, the KiteLife website is still active today. It has discussion boards where people can chat about kites. It also hosts prize drawings and live chats for kite fans.

Team iQuad: A Quad Line Kite Team

In 2006, John was judging the World Sport Kite Championships in France. There, he saw quad line team flying for the first time. He was so excited by it that he formed a team called Team iQuad with his friend David Hathaway.

Team iQuad quickly became very popular. By 2008, they were invited to perform at events worldwide. The team even won awards for helping to make kite flying more popular around the globe. Over seven years, Team iQuad had at least 16 regular members. They also had guest fliers join them. The team stopped performing in September 2013. Their last show was at the Antelope Island Stampede Festival.

Lifetime Achievement Award

In 2008, John Barresi received a special honor. He was given the American Kitefliers Association Lifetime Achievement Award. He was the youngest person ever to receive this award.

Team KiteLife (TKL)

In 2016, John started a new team called Team KiteLife, or TKL. The first members with him were Scott Benz, Brett Marchel, and Eli Russell. More pilots joined the team later. These included Jeremy Wharton (2019), Sara Russell (2020), Sari Becker (2020), Jim Doman (2022), Meshelle Sharples (2022), and Geoff Hutton (2022). Team KiteLife has performed at events across the United States and Europe.

Kite Forge: Designing Kites

In 2017, John Barresi started his own company called Kite Forge. At first, it sold just one type of two-line kite. Since then, the company has grown. Kite Forge now sells many different kite designs. They also sell kite parts and clothing for kite fliers.

Setting World Records

On August 23, 2019, John led a huge group of quad line kites. This happened at the Washington State International Kite Festival. He was the team captain for 101 quad line kites flying together in a formation. This set a new world record! He had already set previous records with 81 quad line kites in 2013 and 64 in 2010.

Windfall: A Pairs Team

In 2022, John Barresi and Meshelle Sharples formed a new pairs team called Windfall. This was announced when Meshelle also joined Team KiteLife. Their first performance as Windfall was at the South Padre Island Kite Fest.

John Barresi's Award-Winning Kite Designs

John Barresi is known for designing many popular kites. Some of his award-winning designs include the Djinn, the Revolution B-Series, the Kymera, and the Kaiju.

Revolution B-Series

In 2007, John worked with Revolution Kites to create the Revolution B-Series. This was a special "signature series" quad line kite. It won many awards and became a favorite for quad line kite pilots everywhere. This kite model was stopped being made on January 1, 2017.

Kymera

In June 2011, John worked with Into The Wind to release the Kymera. This was a two-line stunt kite. This model was stopped being made in 2018.

Kaiju

In September 2017, John launched his Kite Forge company. Its first kite was the Kaiju. This was a two-line kite designed for flying indoors or in light outdoor winds. The Kaiju won an award from Kite Addict Magazine in 2018 for being the "most versatile 2 line kite." Kite Forge was also a runner-up for "kite manufacturer of the year."

Djinn

In August 2018, John announced the Djinn. This was a quad line kite he designed with Brett Marchel. The first Djinn kites came in three models for different wind conditions. Even though it was new, the Djinn received many votes in a 2018 survey for best four-line kite. It was also a runner-up for "New Kite of the Year." The Djinn won the "New Kite of the Year" award in 2019. More models for high wind were added in August 2019. A model for light wind was added in December 2021. An indoor version, the Djinndoor, was added in October 2022.

Djuice

In July 2024, John Barresi announced the Djuice. This is another quad line kite he designed with Brett Marchel. It launched with two models: Standard (ST) and Vented (VT). The Djuice was designed to be more affordable than the Djinn. It still has many great features like the Sync Bridle and smooth leading edge. It can also be bought as a ready-to-fly kit with lines and handles. This makes it a good choice for beginners.