Now residing in Portland Oregon in the USA, John first picked up a sport kite in August of 1990 at the age of 15 and during the years since he has one of the most successful competitors in the United States having won national championships in nearly every discipline, including his role as one of the members of three national champion sport kite teams in 1993, 1995 and 1997... Each of which represented the USA in the World Championships amidst the best in the world!

In 1992 John was voted American Kite Magazine's Experienced Class "Rising Star" (like rookie of the year) by his kite flying peers... Then in 1997 he was again recognized by his peers, this time as the "Outstanding Flyer" among other Masters Class competitors. In the 11 years that American Kite Magazine was published, John is the only flier to have ever received both the "Rising Star" and "Outstanding Flyer" awards.

Having mostly retired from competition in 2002, John now travels throughout the United States and some of the world demonstrating his performance routines... Since 2004, he has been invited to perform at festivals in India, China, France, Malaysia and Taiwan. In May of 2006, John also co-founded Team iQuad (www.iquad.us), a specialized 8-man quad line team which can be seen at many festivals throughout the year, including Lincoln City's Fall Festival in October.

As the owner and publisher of Kitelife Magazine since 2003, he has made kiting his full time job with what is now the largest kite-oriented web site in the world, including an on line magazine, video collection and historical archive devoted entirely to the world of kite flying.