Casey Marie Fairhurst was inspired by her partner Scott Metcalfe’s fascination for the sport of kite surfing.

WHEN SCOTT METCALFE moved to Tenerife he instantly became transfixed on the sport of kitesurfing. It wasn’t long before his partner, Casey Marie Fairhurst, had become as intrigued in the sport as he had. As soon as they got out on the ocean and experienced the sport for themselves they were well and truly addicted and they formulated a plan to travel the world in search of the ultimate kitesurfing experiences. 

Since early 2014 they have embarked on a journey so incredible that has seen them become professionals in the sport, compete in some of the world’s fiercest kitesurfing competitions, take some epic kite trips, film with media companies and become sponsored by Zian Kiteboarding, Lieuwe boards, and Josea surfwear. This is their kitesurfing story so far….

Tell us how between you the dream of becoming professional kiteboarders begun?

Becoming professional, that was always a dream. We didn’t actually believe it would be our reality so soon.  It actually goes back five years, we were living in Tenerife and Scott would grab me by the hand and take me to the beach to watch this one guy fly around on his kite, Scott told me he always wanted to learn, he used to play with land kites as a kid with his father and grandad and this was the next level but we didn’t think we could afford it at the time. So we put our heads together and decided we would reach out to kite schools all around the world offering a work exchange to get our foot in the door and learn how to kitesurf, we had so many responses, it seemed too good to be true but we booked a one way flight to Sri Lanka and have never looked back.

It was in Sri Lanka where Casey Marie and Scott realised their true potential in the sport.

When did you get your first taste of kiteboarding and were you hooked right from the start?

Yes!!! From the start, completely hooked!  After booking our flight to Sri Lanka in late 2013, the research began, the endless kiteboarding videos, inspirational stories, Kitesurfing gone wrong (bad idea) but we were already ahead of the game trying to understand as much as we can. Sri Lanka is home to kiteboarding for us, we took our very first lesson in the early days of January 2014 with kitesurfing Lanka, who took us on as volunteers in their winter season and gave us the opportunity to go from ZERO TO HERO.

My first board attempt I rode over 50 plus meters and from that day we was sold, that feeling of ripping along the water attached to a kite, ahh, it’s magical. We stayed for 5 months and gave it our all, there are so many things we loved about kiteboarding but what appealed to us most was the lifestyle, I remember arriving fresh from Europe and had my first taste of this life, I watched the instructors closely and imagined us in their position, it was the life I wanted, the life we both wanted. 

It all started on the shores on Tenerife but the pair have now travelled the world as kitesurfing professionals.

Tell us where you were living at the time and the opportunities you had to get out on the water?

Before kiteboarding, Scott was in the Military for six years and I was backpacking around Europe, when we meet we had a mutual love for adventure, however, I was always terrified of the water, so much so,  I had never actually swum on my own before I meet Scott, and when I swam with him id be on his back.

We both grew up in the center of England, quite far from any beaches so we never really grew up around the ocean although my happy place has always been the beach, I just feared the unknown. The love of kiteboarding is so strong that eventually, i got over it, nightmares, kite mares, it took a few years …. but I had a taste of kiteboarding and that was enough.

The sport has seen the couple not only compete but also enjoy epic kiteboarding trips.

When did you start competing in the sport and what were any early successes you had?

I started competing in Egypt in 2015,  I had been riding only for a year and a half at that point. The competition was for fun, I wanted to push myself and this was the perfect motivation for me.

I won 1ST Place and was crowned Queen of the Lagoon, This gave me so much confidence, I started to believe in myself. This is where I started to take it seriously and I wanted more. Since I have entered another competition in Sri Lanka in 2016, where I took 2nd place for the Race and 2nd for Hangtime . This was a great event for me as I got to compete with the  female Asian freestyle Champion, Aya Oshima. Back in 2014 when I couldn’t even ride upwind yet there was this girl, Aya, she was amazing! she inspired me when I first started and here I was in 2016 giving her a run for her money. 

Scott rides for pleasure, his passion lies in sharing it with others and not competing, but he is a good coach pre-comp.

The couple share each moment of their exhilarating lives as kitesurfing professionals.

What have you gone on achieve since and what have been your career highlights?

Since early 2014 we have embarked on a journey so incredible that it all feels like one big highlight if we are honest, the competitions, the epic kite trips, filming with media companies and of course getting sponsored by Zian Kiteboarding, Lieuwe boards, and Josea surfwear. 

How hard are you currently training and what are your goals and aims in terms of competition as well as other kiteboarding projects in the months and years ahead?

When there is wind, we are riding! Light wind, storms, you name it, I’ll be riding. When there isn’t wind we are training getting prepared for the next session. our plans for the future is to open a kitesurfing school/resort of our own where we could hold our own competitions and female progressions/yoga kite camps.

Despite their achievements to date the pair are looking forward to even more success in the future.