If you've ever spent any time in the Gorge during the summer months, you probably have seen Ken. Ken Winner rides and tweaks with kites more than anyone you'll ever meet. But this is no halftime hobby – this is North Kiteboarding's meat and potatoes. Testing every ridable summer day in the Gorge, then spending 4 months in Australia during the winter, Ken's focus is constantly on innovation and evolution. And he's very serious about it.

We talked to North's pro rider, Jaime Herraiz, briefly about what it's like working with Ken.

"Ken Winner is the most interesting person I've ever meet. He marks his goals way above the possible and he spends 18 hours a day, 7 days a week pursuing that goal. He's a warrior and never gives up, any challenge encourages him to try harder and harder. Although it is sometimes tough for the mortals to keep up with his pace. At the end it always pays back.

With the Rebel this past summer, we went to hell and back with testing, but the satisfaction that the whole R&D team had after we were done was well worth the effort.

On a personal level I believe I'm blessed to count K.W as one of my friends and as a kiter. I have to thank him for thousand of hours of fun and joy knowing that I was on the best equipment I could possibly be. I know how hard that road has been for him and how many personal sacrifices he's done to achieve what he believed on.

I feel like the Kiteboarding community has a great debt with him. "