December 2009 - The Kiteboarder Magazine

Lou Waiman and Chis Tronolone’s friendship goes back more than a decade. Many people do not realize that it
was Chris Tronolone’s footage that inspired a revolution in kiteboarding. No one can debate that Lou and Elliot are
the original wakestyle riders, and it was Chris that exposed them to the world. Photo Tronolone Productions
Caught
on
Tape:
Chris Tronolone
By Paul Lang and Ryan Riccitelli
Ican remember the first time Gary Martin, the Technical Editor
here at The Kiteboarder Magazine, came home from the first
Surf Expo trade show. He managed to get a promo tape from
Airush with some of the very first footage of Lou and Elliot and
the rest of the Maui crew throwing it down wakestyle. The video
had it all, and Lou Wainman and Elliot Leboe made jumping 30
feet on two line kites look easy as pie. Within a few months, that
very first footage progressed into the video that changed my life. I
have spoken with many people over the years who say that High
is the video that grabbed them by the balls and made them want
to learn to kiteboard. There are always unsung heroes hiding out
behind the lens, and Chris Tronolone and his crew at Trononlone
Productions have been there every step of the way. It gives me
great pleasure to tell this story about a crew of regular dudes
who helped put kiteboarding on the map. Led by Chris Tronolone,
the kiteboarding movies made by Tronolone Productions have
been instrumental in inspiring people to learn to kiteboard and
in exposing kiteboarding to a much wider audience than would
otherwise know about the sport. – Ryan Riccitelli
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