Dave Shenkman -- WORKING

Angelique Flores

HE IS

Hooking you on kites

KITE MAN

Shenkman, 33, runs The Kite Connection on the Huntington Beach Pier.

The Huntington Beach resident has been flying and selling kites, flags

and spinners on the pier for three years. Before that, he ran his shop on

the beach next to the pier for seven years.

“I introduce people to kiting, flags and spinners,” Shenkman said.

There are hundreds of different kinds of kites that range in size from

6 inches wide to the size of an apartment. Although kites are Shenkman’s

main hobby, he mostly sells flags and spinners.

His most popular spinner is the hypno-twister, a windsock-like spinner

with four long streams that intertwine and twist as the wind blows

through them.

The best-selling flags are the new Surf City flags depicting a

surfboard. Locals still like the original blue “HB” flags. However, with

scooters being popular with young people, Shenkman plans to start selling

them too.

FIRST FLIGHT

The now-avid kite flier wasn’t much into kites as a child. He does

remember flying his first kite -- one made of inflatable Mickey Mouse

ears.

When Shenkman was 16, a friend of his flew stunt kites every weekend.

Stunt kites are controllable, high-performance kites that use two or more

lines. The friend invited Shenkman to try it one weekend.

“As soon as I got a handle, I was pretty much hooked,” Shenkman

recalls.

Now, his favorite kite is the Revolution, which can accelerate from 0

to 90 mph in less than a second. He also has a ring in the shape of the

Revolution kite given to him by his kite sponsors. The white gold ring

with two diamond inlays is in the shape of the kite and spells out

“Revolution” across it.

OUTSIDE THE SHOP

Besides flying his acrobatic kites, Shenkman does other kite sports,

such as kite bugging, where a huge kite pulls a three-wheel buggy. He’s

just getting started with kite skiing and kite surfing, in which a large

kite pulls a person on skis or a surfboard in the water.Kites don’t take

up all of Shenkman’s time. He also scuba dives and plays baseball. He

enjoys spending time with his Labrador retriever, Rev, who he named after

the Revolution-style kite.

BEFORE THE KITES

Kites have been Shenkman’s living for the past 10 years. But some of

the other odd jobs he’s held are cleaning pools, importing leather

jackets and managing a scuba diving shop. He also worked as an assistant

to a speech therapist.

He has a degree in speech pathology from Cal State Fullerton.

“But this is much more fun,” he said. “I’d honestly say if I won the

lottery and could do anything in the world, I’d still do this. I’d just

cut the hours in half.”

FLYING ON HIS OWN

Shenkman started out by buying kites from a local shop where he struck

a deal with the owner. He would send referrals and interested customers

to the shop in exchange for discounts. However, Shenkman said that when

the shop owner stopped holding up part of the bargain, he stopped sending

business that way.

He started selling his own kites out of his parents’ house when he was

about 17.

“I have fun and meet a lot of people and sometimes get paid for it,”

he said.

Shenkman learned about kiting by reading about it and going out to fly

kites himself. He also trains his employees in kite flying because kite

knowledge is a must, he said.

FLYING ALL OVER

Now that the shop has taken off, Shenkman does assemblies for

elementary schoolchildren all over the state. He gives presentations on

the history of kites, kite safety and the latest high-tech designs. Then,

after a demonstration, he helps the kids build their own kites out of

paper, fiberglass sticks and crepe paper.

“This is the most fun job there is,” Shenkman said.

ON THE PIERBeing on the pier, Shenkman has met people from just

about every country in the world. But he still enjoys the locals, who he

says are “extremely friendly.” He’s gotten to know the regular beachgoers

who frequent the beach and the pier by name.

“I’ve seen every type of individual known to mankind at one time or

another,” Shenkman said. “People that carry on conversations with

themselves at a loud tone are common.”