My name is Tracy and I live in Cabarete, Dominican Republic. Touted as the action-sport capital of the Caribbean, we have wind about 300 days per year. When I moved here 3 years ago I was fond of the water, having grown up in Pompano Beach, Florida, but I was by no means a “water athlete” at the time. Cabarete just has this way of wooing you into the water and transforming you into one when you least expect it – and that is exactly what happened to me.

I started off kiteboarding. Seeing hundreds of beautiful colors flying through the air on a daily basis was simply irresistible. At first I remember thinking, “I can’t wait until I can just go upwind!” Well, that didn’t last very long. As  soon as I learned to go upwind, I was keen to start jumping, then trying backrolls, frontrolls, then the next thing you know I am unhooking! Now that I finally have raleys and s-bends down pat, I am working on landing blind and passing the bar consistently. Never in a million years would I have thought I would end up here. I think that is one of the most beautiful things about kiteboarding. It pushes you to keep trying different things and just when you think you won’t get it, you stick it! And that give you the motivation to move on to the next thing.

More recently, I have picked up an addiction to paddle surfing. At first I thought paddle boarding was going to be lame. After all of the action I encountered in kiteboarding, I didn’t see paddle boarding on flat water as something that could get me excited. Well, that was before I realized you can actually catch a wave on a paddle board! Now I find myself out every morning at sunrise chasing that feeling of being on a wave. There is just nothing like it and it is a nice contrast when paired up with kiteboarding.

Obviously, since I spend a lot of time in the water I have become sort of a water-wear buff. Over time I have started to lean toward more practical stuff over cute stuff. That being said, I have found that Platinum Sun delivers both! When I came onboard with the company, I didn’t really know what to expect. Frankly, I had never heard of Platinum Sun before I happened across the brand on Instagram…and even then the presence is very small. Once we agreed that I would join the team, I waited patiently for my batch of rashies to arrive. I cannot put into words how stoked I was when I started pulling items out of the box.

I don’t mean to leave you hanging, but my next post is going to break down all the reasons that I LOVE wearing Platinum Sun! I figured I needed to pump up my credibility before I start trying to convince you of the quality. Anyhow, after that I hope to use my pictures, videos, and testimonials to spread the good word about why everyone should check them out. So stay tuned, and in the meanwhile…keep shredding!