Not Just Your Average Joe, Part II: Joe on Joe, and on what it was like to have his first photo shoot ever, in front of the Statue of Liberty

Posted Wednesday 17th October 2007

Some days, or weeks, working for Best, are more exciting than others. This one went down in history. After a 3-day weekend of non-stop kiting, mostly on the RV in Islamorada, I picked up Alvaro Onieva at the airport at 7 AM Tuesday morning (hot off the final stop of the PKRA in Chile, where he earned an overall ranking of #3 in the World for Freestyle, after Hadlow and Langeree) and sent him immediately off to the cable with Andy, Joe and Video Steve. Alvaro and Joe hit it off and ended up hanging out together that night ... "You teach me tricks, I'll hook you up with girls" is how I understand it went down ... busily hatching a plan to do a photo shoot (that very weekend) in front of the Statue of Liberty. Alvaro had been talking about this for months, by the way, but due to the sheer logistics of it all, none of us thought it was actually ever going to happen.

Meanwhile, an unsuspecting Gavin made a last minute decision to leave his plans as is, and flew out of Brazil early Wednesday morning, after the Best party, on almost no sleep. He came into the office Thursday morning, and was pretty much hit up with a determined Alvaro's fait accompli: Alvaro and Joe were going to New York THAT NIGHT and Gavin could come if he wanted to, or not. Which meant, of course, that Gavin only had a few hours to work out all the details and do all the coordinating ... getting someone to approve the trip, booking the tickets, getting to the airport, etc. Thursday was a whirlwind for all of us ... looking at forecasts, getting them their gear, packing them up ...

... not to mention all the stress associated with such a gamble. This is kiting. You never can tell with forecasts. What if there's no wind? What if the police shoot down their kites the moment they launch? What if one of them drops his kite and gets run over by a ferry? What if they end up in jail? What if we don't get any shots? Is it really worth it? Do we hit the button and buy the tickets, or not??? And plus, if it was so easy to do, a million other people would have gotten the shots already. There had to be a reason no one else had pictures of themselves kiting in front of the Statue of Liberty. Gusts, currents, flukey winds due to all the buildings, NYPD on jetskis, ferrys, laws about getting too close ... yes, it was a gamble. And it could either pay off, or it could be a huge disappointment.

Fortunately, however, despite some major challenges, it seems to have paid off. Thanks, in a big part, to Joe Ruscito, our newest Best team rider, and his loyal Connecticut support crew.

Here, Joe ... with a little help from his friends ... talks about his life as a kiter, how he got here, and what it was like to have his very first professional kiteboarding shoot in front of the Statue of Liberty.

Joe, getting ready to kite in front of the Statue of Liberty. (Folks, don't try this at home.)

Full Name: Joseph Eugene Ruscito

Nickname: Pollyanna

Originally from: Fairfield, Connecticut

Age 19

Current occupation? Student at Florida Tech, Melbourne, FL.

When was the first time you saw a kite? Not soon enough.

What went through your mind? I wanna do that.

How did you get into kiting? Well one day me and my friend Charlie were very bored. And when Lane (Du Pont) walked into the room with a kiteboard that needed to be fixed the idea hit me. We'd learn to kiteboard. Bought kites the next day.

Vic Gubinski (Father of one of Joe's best friends), and Alexa (Vic's daughter), on Joe: Joe has a habit of, when bored, sitting down, thinking hard and coming up with a plan—that will definitely happen. So it was, a few years when he started to see the local CT crew on the water that he literally just sat down and said “Where can I buy a kite?”. His first kite (a Best Yarga) was in the mail the next day. Having spent (all) his money on that one kite, he needed a board — so he started construction that night. The limited edition JRONE was a flat, half-inch, 10-pound glorified slab of wood. Given Joe's reckless, but talented approach to all high-risk sports, lessons were highly recommended for his own safety. Against Joe's desire for instant gratification, Vic intervened and forced him into the teaching hands of Enzo. Success! A couple of years, one broken leg, a few concussions, some assorted stitches later and Joe's never looked back. With his natural talent, unending determination and constant belief that it will get windy Joe's college plans lead him to Florida and conveniently around the corner from Best headquarters.

Was it easy for you to learn, or hard? Fairly easy, but I had a lot of help.

How long did it take you to stay upwind? Couple hours.

Enzo Merluzzi (Kite Instructor) on Joe: Joe has a history of being a very energetic guy, as far as sports are concerned ... climbing trees, building snowboarding ramps, throwing huge jumps off of roofs, and ending up with broken arms and legs. Everyone knew he was the craziest one and no one would let him get into kiting for a year ... we didn't think he was old enough to understand the dangers of kiting. He wakeboarded, and he'd been flying a stunt kite on the beach, but he when he got too crazy with the stunt kite we had to get him into the water. Everyone came to me and had me give him a lesson, and basically the lesson was 2 hours of me telling him how he could kill himself. Then I gave him a kite and a board, and off he went.

What was the first kite you bought? Well the first kite I bought was a Wipika school kite, very low aspect and could be converted from two to four lines. But after Vic had a look at that in his backyard we quickly sent it back and got some real kites. Buy two get one free Yargas. Split the price with Charlie and we each had a 13.5 and a 9 to share.

What was your first trick? Backroll

What is the last trick you landed? One footer downloop transition? Maybe.

What trick are you determined to land within the next month? Slim chance.

How did you get to be so good, riding in front of a camera? Am I good? ... I guess showing off for people in the gut.

You're a sophomore at Florida Tech, studying Mechanical Engineering. 1) Why Florida Tech? Because its warm and windy and I got in. 2) Why Mechanical Engineering? I don't know ... I like to build things.
Above photo by Christopher Varjas. Location: Frisco, NC

Vic and Alexa, on Joe: Joe is always coming up with new and exciting ways to alleviate any day-to-day boredom. He's tried just about every exciting sport there is and has always found ways to make them happen. He snowboards and so what to do when there's no snow on the ground? Make his own snow machine! Can't get to the mountains? Build a 15-foot drop off with homemade snow off of a friend's deck! He wakeboards, and when there's no boat around he welds his own winch together. No skate park nearby? He built a half-pipe in his backyard! Too much highway traffic? He got his pilot's license! No driver's license? Motorize anything with wheels — much to the chagrin of the local police. Not 21? Open Photoshop, buy a laminator… well, never mind. No wind? Joe hasn't solved that one yet, but we're sure he's thinking about it. Joe will always find a way to keep himself entertained but this whole kiting thing looks like its going to stick.

What do you want to be when you grow up? Older

How do you plan on maintaining your 4.0 GPA this year? Lots and lots of kiteboarding

Why do you like Best, and are you a fan like Brandon with a myspace page that looks like a fansite? Haha, well I haven't seen Brandon's myspace, but I like Best because they make great kites.

You're a C-kite person. Why? What is it about your style of riding that benefits from the use of c kites? I like the pull. I like the loops. You just don't get the same effect with bow kites.

What are you hoping for with the 08 Yarga? A legit C kite. Like the 06's. No bells and whistles, just power and speed.

What's so great about riding with the Connecticut crew? Everything.

Why do you like everything so much? How can you be so damn HAPPY all the time? I don't like everything. I just love kiting.

How can you live on no sleep? Energizer batteries.

What is the hardest part about kiting for you? Waiting for wind.

Where is your favorite riding location? The Gut, CT

How would you describe your riding style? My own.

Who (as a kiter) inspires you? People having fun and pushing their own limits.

I guess you mean me. Thanks! Have you had any bad kitemares or accidents? Nothing too serious, but I've gotten lucky quite a few times.

If so, did you maintain your Pollyanna attitude throughout? Of course.

How did you get the nickname Pollyanna? One day at Delray, Stacey met someone even more positive then she is.

Touche. So what nickname would you LIKE to have? Not that you have a choice; you can't give YOURSELF a nickname, but you can try. Something that makes me sound as good as "Grasshopper" or "Tiger." I'm still working on that.

What was your BEST SESSION ever. And you have to pick one. You can't say, "Every time I go out is my best session ever." When I was in Cape Cod this summer with Paul Porter, we got one sesh in on a sw wind, right before dark, on our last day. We got to the beach around 7 and rode until we couldn't see anymore. It was light at first and slowly picked up till I was lit on my 16. The whole time we were both pushing each other's limits and riding really well.

Do you have any kiting pet peeves? Ie, anything bother you on or off the water about other kiters? Yes.

I repeat: so, what bothers you on or off the water about other kiters? I don't want to put anything and be negative.

Thanks, Pollyanna. I should have guessed. What's the maddest you've ever been about anything? That I can't think of anything I've been mad about to answer this question.

You are one funny boy. Why am I not surprised by that answer. Do you have any "theories" on kiting? "If you're not crashing, you're not learning." "Be positive." "It's all it your head."

I'll try not to take that personally. So what are your plans for this year, as a kiter? Kite a lot. Get to as many competitions as I can. Have fun. Get better.

What do you plan on doing for Best? Ie, why was it a good idea to put you on the team?

I'll do whatever they need. I like being involved in the sport, talking to people and helping it grow. Best makes great kites and when people ask, www.bestkiteboarding.com is one of the first things I tell them to check out.

You just got back from a video shoot in NYC in front of the Statue of Liberty, that you played a major role in getting together. How did that come to happen?

Oh, man ... well I got brought into the picture almost right before it happened. I got to meet Alvaro last Tuesday and we ended up going to the cable park with Andy and (video)Steve. On the way there just talking about kiting, he brought up the idea. I said, "Sure, ya know, my dad's got a boat, we could do it."

From there it all happened very fast. Thursday I got the call that we could do it and that night I packed, crammed some homework in, and drove to Delray. The next morning we were driving to my house in CT to get the boat. Even before I met Alvaro, as Gavin told me, everything worked out just right to get all three off us there at just the right time.

Gavin said it was the hardest video shoot he's ever done. How did it feel from your end?
Well, it was my first "shoot" so I don't have anything to judge by. The whole trip was really fun. Sometimes trying to line up the gusts and the lighting was a little frustrating, but kiting in front of the Statue with the Manhattan Skyline in the background was unlike anything I've ever done. I was just having a great time. Between trying to get the photos I would look up and realize what we were doing and just think how sick the whole thing was.

Did you have any idea what you were doing or were you just riding around hoping?
I was just trying to have fun. I figured if I was having fun I'd ride well. Gavin was a huge help and explained everything so I had an idea, but ya I was hoping everything would work out and we would get some good pictures.

Any sketchy/scary moments?
The first launch I think we were all a little overwhelmed, especially when a NYPD officer started cruising around on a jet ski. A couple times me and Alvaro started drifting into the shipping lanes, when the wind was light, that was scary.

Any police involvement? There were NYPD choppers and coastguard boats everywhere, I think just checking us out, but on the second day when one of us got a little bit too close to the Statue, the coast guard wasted no time sending a boat to cut us off and tell the guys on the boat what we did wrong. They were very nice though, just wanted us to keep our distance.

How far were you from the boat? What were the conditions like ... wind, weather, and water temp? The conditions weren't perfect but it was still fun. The first day was kinda light and very gusty. The second day though was much better, still very gusty but enough to ride some smaller kites. The water wasn't too bad; we wore wetsuits and were alright. The weather caused one of the biggest problems, both days there were spotty clouds blocking out the light most of the time. It was a challenge to time the light, the wind, and your

Anything else you'd like to say about anything? World Peace? Price of tea in China? Violence in Movies? "Live The Life You Love, Love The Life You Live."

Are you accepting applications for girlfriends? If so, I can post one for you on-line. Just give me a brief description. If a girl fills out an application to apply to be my girlfriend, I'd like to meet her.

Phil Burke, Kitewise: Joe was a star from the beginning. He really put in his heart and soul. I recall that he just about stayed upwind from day one. He was crusing on a home-made board every chance he could. At the end of the first season he was asking about handle passes. A week later he had a bar in his back yard. The first fall he wasn't prepared for the cold weather. In the beginning I loaned him a wetsuit to wear. He broke his leg and wouldn't let the ER people cut off my suit. Joe's the kid you want your daughter to meet!

Enzo, on Joe: I never thought he'd turn out so well. Six years ago, if you met him, he was a crazy wild kid and you just knew he was going to get into trouble with his crazy stunts. But kiting, he actually became very good and safe. He wanted it so bad, and he was smart enough to know it was stupid to get in trouble, because his parents would take away his gear. He was extremely focused on kiting, and kited as much as he could. He listened to everything we said, and was very concerned with his safety and everyone else's. The way he was progressing, within the year, he was blowing everyone's minds. Kiting turned out to be a good thing for him ... it was a way to use up all the energy he had.

JOE, on Enzo: Now, I don't have the best memory but I don't think anyone stopped me from kiting for a year. It was kinda like I had watched them all do it but never really got up and did it (no idea why) but then Lane (DuPont) came over to Luc's one day to fix a board when me and Charlie and the crew were really bored, and we decided right that second to learn ... bought kites the next day. I forget if my parents threatened me with taking my stuff away but I don't think they did. But other than that sound alright. I just don't want anything to be not true.

Said like a true Pollyanna ... the truth, the whole truth, and nothing BUT the truth. Thanks, Joe, and welcome to the team! Now get to work! Sell some kites! And do your homework! Anything less than an A and there'll be NO KITING for you, young man!

Best Kiteboarding would like to say a serious thank you to Joe's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ruscito (for the boat, the accomodations, meeting the guys on the freeway with their packed-up clothes so they wouldn't miss their flight, etc) ... they truly went above and beyond To Enzo Merluzzi (for driving the boat on Saturday, staking out the launch site, helping out with the forecast, screaming instructions to the guys about when to jump for the camera, etc), and to Vic and Alexa Gubinski for their help driving the boat on Sunday. And also a big shout out to Gavin Butler for taking such a huge gamble on what was essentially a big crapshoot, to Ian for approving the big crapshoot, and to Joe and Alvaro for getting out in the challenging conditions and giving it their all. There are REASONS no one's ever gotten such shots before, and we couldn't have pulled off such a photo shoot without all your help and support! THANKS!!!