Wind sports pioneer Pete Cabrinha and Floridian professional kitesurfer Jon Modica have announced the acquisition of the Cabrinha brand and its assets.
The company, founded by Pete Cabrinha in 2000, was a subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based Pryde Group, the conglomerate that owns the legendary windsurfing brand Neil Pryde.
The kitesurfing equipment manufacturer has recently relocated to its birthplace on the North Shore of Maui, Hawaii.
Cabrinha and Modica want to keep the firm located in a place with the best wind and water conditions for testing their gear and developing their manufacturing and product marketing operations.
Maui has played an instrumental role in pioneering windsurfing, kitesurfing, tow surfing, stand-up paddleboarding, and foil boarding for the past 30 years.
"The new structure unlocks our ability to be free in terms of innovation, design, and development resources, to be faster, and to have the capacity to expand on our range of products," explains Pete Cabrinha.
"We're also closer to our industry partners and places our customers at the heart of our unrivaled water sports experience."
A New Era for Cabrinha
The new CEO of the Maui-based kitesurfing brand will be Kent Marinkovic (pictured above), president of Adventure Sports, the world distributor of Cabrinha Kites.
"I've worked with Pete since the very beginning of the sport, and it's been an inspirational journey. He has the ability to identify groundbreaking trends, make big decisions, and embrace them at critical times," adds Marinkovic.
Jon Modica has been appointed chairman of the new Cabrinha era. The rider will be in charge of product development and setting partnerships with international athletes and ambassadors.
"I am part of the Cabrinha family since 2003. We are now a fully American-owned company backed by a passionate team of active, like-minded kitesurfers who have worked with each other for years," underlines Modica.
Cabrinha-branded gear is available in 70 countries. The distribution of the kitesurfing boards, kites, foil boards, wingsurfers, and accessories wingsurfers will operate out of Miami, Florida.
Over the past two decades, the water sports company developed the first widely available bow kite (The Crossbow, 2006), and the Switchblade kite, the bestselling model in the world.
In 2016, Cabrinha launched the award-winning Fireball Control System and the strategically placed Pure Profile Panel.
Recently, the brand released the Nano-Ripstop canopy, a material that combines a 3mm micro double ripstop pattern and exclusive coating bonded with a plasma treatment for added strength and reduced elongation.
Company founder Pete Cabrinha promises to maintain the investment in athlete sponsorship, as well as music, the arts, and stewardship of the world's oceans for a sustainable future.