The Athlete: JASON SLEZAK
Episode: Kiteboard Island Leap | Premiere: Sept. 9, 2006

Perry's Thoughts:
Kite-boarding is a sport I knew almost nothing about before we did this show. I had a great time learning all about it from Jason. I found kite-boarding to be an interesting cross of two sports — wake-boarding and sailing — blended into one. As we sat for days waiting for the wind to come up, I began to realize that this sport is truly about man working with Mother Nature. I was amazed at the accuracy that Jason had with his kite to be able to hit an up-ramp, fly over 100 feet in the air and land on a 3-foot-wide down-ramp, all while relying on such an uncontrollable factor as the wind. He truly is an amazing athlete.

Eli's Thoughts:
On to Cape Hatteras, N.C., home to kite-boarding in the United States. It was a hot time of year and a bit humid. We started at Real Kite-Boarding, the perfect facility for the stunt and kite-boarding in general. Jason has a great attitude and personality. His coordinator and friend, "Trip," was also a great guy and we started having fun from day one. Kite-boarding combines two different sports to create one really cool one, and Jason's skill made it look so easy — although we now know different. The idea of jumping over an island (ramp to ramp) brought a lot of curiosity about the accuracy of these kites and whether we could get the conditions we needed in the short time we had. Right away, the wind started playing tricks by absolutely disappearing. This was typical, because for so many of other episodes, we were trying to get rid of it. In the meantime, we went on the water-crafts and did our share of wake-boarding. As stunt day came, the ramps were put in place except there was still no wind. Things were looking pretty bleak, when Perry made the call to stay another day. We had a near-miss with a tropical depression, "Burrow," but luck didn't go our way. With everything on the line, we woke up the next day hoping for wind. Bingo! It had finally come back and was blowing in the perfect direction. Everything was set, so off Jason went to make it happen. We started to get into a bit of a crunch, with the sun going down after all the preparations and changes were made, so it was do or die time. Time after time, Jason was close but just barely overshot the ramp. With about 30 minutes to spare, the crew decided to move the ramp. They did it with all hands on deck and, just before last light, Jason nailed the jump! Everyone was so relieved we had stayed and Jason had done what he had set out to do. They have a great place with a good group of guys. Jason is an amazing athlete with an even better attitude.