BayAreaKiteboarding.com

I'm sure many of you know the always-stoked TJ from the Bay, coast and Sherman. The guy has a never ending smile and super positive vibe. If you've spent even 10 seconds with him, you know what I mean. Last season TJ and his young daughters were major fixtures at Sherman - they would go up and camp seemingly every weekend, bringing the family vibe and sharing all their toys with other families.

Yesterday TJ sent me a text:

"Dude!! Just picked up my new baby. Can u say Sherman island!!!!My girls don't know yes I'm getting ready to go pick them up soon they are going to freak out and jump up n down with excitement. Heck I'm so excited I can barely contain myself"

and a picture: Then... a few hours later:

Sad news bro. Can't talk now. But this happened shortly after. Luckily I hadn't picked up the kids yet. And by the grace of God I survived. Brakes on trailer didn't work. Even going slowly new trailer started swerving out of control on downhill and trailer flipped taking me with it on the freeway. Flipped at least three times. Everything is totalled :-(
For me, this brings up a few reminders:
1. Appreciate every day. Love your kids and people around you. Tell them so.

2. In classic 'take-care-of-others-first' TJ style, when I asked if it was OK to post his story, TJ wanted to remind everyone to check used gear carefully to prevent something like this from happening again.

3. Let's all show TJ some love. I know the kite community is capable of amazing things. Let's brain-storm in the comments about how we can get TJ and his girls styled at Sherman and elsewhere!

Glad our brother is OK...

Kirk out

Good that he is okay. Mechanical failure can be unpredictable specially on old gear.

Holy shit dude!
Glad you are ok TJ!
Save the rotations and loops for out on the water
Sander

Oh my, Thank God .
TJ is ok. How can we be service to my brother?

Oh man, TJ. I'm glad you're OK, so sorry to hear the news, I'm glad you weren't hurt...

Yikes! Those pictures are scary! So glad you're okay, TJ, and that I didn't read something worse about you and your kids.

Damn, glad he's ok. What can we do?

Tj!
I'm glad you're safe and thank goodness you didn't have the kids. Everything can be replaced but you. If you need anything at all just let me know brother .

I can't thank you all enough for your kind words. I am definitely a little rattled still, and so sad my poor rosie dog did not survive. but at the same time, I am soo darn grateful I had not yet picked up my kids.

soon I will put up a post about what happened and a little on what to look for when buying a trailer so nobody else has to go through what I did. I had no idea and got slapped really hard with a painful and costly lesson. more to come on that later though.

the kiteboarding community is amazing. I am determined to get back on my feet and continue to go out and spread smiles, hugs, and good vibes wherever I go. if at a launch site you need anything at all - just come and see me and or ask me and I will do my best to help. I even typically have a spare kite and have been known to lend it out with out hesitation so you can have a good session if something happens to your gear. that is what we do. we have each others backs, and care for each other like a family. if you are hungy - let me know I often bring extra food to hand out as I am hypoglycemic and typically come prepared at all times with extra food on hand.

I am still a little devastated that our dream to get a trailer just got trashed, but I refuse to let that get me down. even if I have to sleep in my truck with my three kids - we will still be there at Sherman this year and will spread the aloha spirit like Maui Mike has taught me to through his actions.

Kirk and all of my immediate circle of friends have all been amazing and I thank each and every one of you.

Love (yes I said love...lol),
TJ and my three kids that frequent Sherman, marina bay, Berkeley, and alameda

dang, TJ. sorry to hear about the misshap and glad you're o.k. must be all the good karma you've been saving up.

hope to see you at MB soon.