The ‘Interesting Moto Interview’ – Nic O’Neill

I first met Nic when she asked me if she could use some of the content for her new project that I had written on my cycling site about bikes and kites, which I happily agreed to. This then led to further Messenger exchanges, which highlighted a number of other common interests that we shared. In fact, the only way to learn all about the interesting stuff that Nic does, was to do an ‘Interesting Interview’, so here it is! Enjoy!

Q: As a taster for the rest of this interview, how would you describe yourself in one sentence?

A: An absolutely chaotic Unicorn that is spreading magic everywhere and drinking up everything that life has to offer.

Q: Which part of the world are you from and where do you live now?

A: I am from some islands north of Seattle, Washington in the United States, and after travelling around the world, ended up back here again.

Q: If I visited there, what are the local food and drink specialties that you would recommend I eat?

A: Smoked King Salmon, Dungeness Crab, Oysters, uhm… Huckleberries. We are on the Canadian border, so would likely feed you some Poutine as well.

Q: Have you got any pets?

A: Currently have 6 chickens, 2 cats. A dog will be coming back into our life soon…. and surely all of the wildlife around our house thinks we are their pets. Except the dang squirrels. I am having a fight with them at the moment.

Q: What is your favourite food that you make using your chicken’s eggs?

A: “eggs”… Really I just eat them anyway and every way. I am a bit weird though, because if I am pan frying them, I want them sunnyside up with a runny yoke. If they are hardboiled, I don’t really like the yoke. I love them whipped up into other things, drinks, soup, sweets… all of it.

Let’s get the motorcycling questions done first……..

Q: Which biker has inspired you to ride bikes the most and why?

A: Uhm… I don’t know. I just like to ride and sometimes I see cool stuff. I love Adventure Bikes, and that is really where my heart and mind has always been at, so I guess right now, I am just finding some of the smaller ADV (Adventure Category Motorcycles) creators and watching what they do. In the bigger creator realm, I like watching Itchy Boots, Alex Chacon, and the Motorcycle Travel Channel (I actually met and hung out with him for a weekend)

Q: How long have you been riding AND are you in a local bike club?

A: Off and on for a few years, with a big break in between. No, not a member of a club.

Q: What is the weirdest/funniest thing that has happened during your times riding a motorcycle?

A: A deer nearly hit me… twice… Same deer.

Q: What bike are you currently riding, and what is good and what is not good about it?

A: 2004 Suzuki V-Strom DL1000. It is stupidly comfortable and easy for a 1000cc bike without being overpowering or super torquey, nor is it unmanageable. I was originally looking at the 650 but came across this as a decent deal, fully loaded with racks & panniers so I said to myself “why the ‘F@@@ not”. The not so good thing about it is that it is older, has a bunch of miles, and it has the tell tale V-strom clutch chudder.

Q: What big bike events have you attended, and which is the most memorable, and why?

A: I have done the Oyster Run in Anacortes, Washington State (not on a bike, but I was there a few years). It’s all kinds of bikes, usually about 20,000. It really is not my thing, and it’s too many people trying to prove how freaking cool they are. The event that I recently went to for the first time and ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT, was the Touratech Rally in Plain, Washington. 3000 or so Adventure and Dual Sport bikes, tons of training, rally routes, test rides, and camping in a field with way too much awesome stuff. Waking up in camp, I knew I had found my tribe.

Q: What would you say has been your biggest motorcycling adventure to date?

A: The Touratech Rally was a big one for me. I did it on a whim, drove about 5 hours there over a mountain pass with a bunch of rain, and then 3 solid days of riding on all sorts of terrain. I am working on some big camping tours in the next few years. Planning a trip to Alaska, and doing the BDRs. (Backcountry Discovery Routes). I would LOVE to do a trip abroad, but haven’t picked where I want to go first!

Q: What specific things does motorcycling provide you with in your daily life?

A: A sense of fun, freedom, and adventure. If I put on the Unicorn helmet cover, it really just makes me laugh and reminds me to not take life so freaking seriously!

Q: What do you have on your motorcycling ‘bucket list’? and what is your ultimate, aspirational bike?

A: I had a chance to test ride a Honda Africa Twin, but missed out. I really want to test ride it along with a Yamaha Tenere, and a newer Suzuki V Strom, then I will see how I feel. I LOVE the idea of the fully electric Zero FX, and saw one take on a rally course alongside the other adventure and dual sports bikes, and it held its own… and I really want to have one as maybe a destination bike, or my commuter bike. I’m not sold yet on the ‘get there then play with it’ bike just yet.

Q: What is the most used and useful tool in your workshop?

A: Rok Straps and my mini camp chair. I mean, yah, my tool kit that goes with me on my bike has come in handy both at home and on the road for repairs or maintenance, but the straps and the chair I use all the dang time. I guess they aren’t tools really. But, when you are sitting in the ferry line and your options are to sit resting on your bike, or stand next to it, it’s really nice to pop out the little camp chair and stretch out. It packs up to the size of a large water bottle, so it fits in the panniers without an issue.

Q: Who is your local ‘go-to’ person when you need some work doing on your bike?

A: Right now…it’s me. I do have resources around me that if I needed help, I could probably go to them, but I have been doing most of the work myself.

Q: What is the one piece of advice that you would give to someone who is thinking about buying a motorcycle for the first time?

A: Lessons… specifically, also go take some off road and adventure lessons even if you never plan on leaving the pavement. The style of riding and the things they go over really, really, REALLY help build confidence in feeling your bike and knowing it.

Shifting questions a bit now………

Q: What is your day job, what is great about it and what is a pain in the @ss (PITA)?

A: I am a Risk Based Inspection Analyst for Oil & Gas. I just changed employers… and… well… 99% of it is great. I am fully remote, so I may have taken my work computer with me and gone moto-camping 🙂…. The biggest PITA right now? I am not sure. It probably has to be that I don’t actually produce anything, so sometimes there is a lack of a real sense of accomplishment. “Hey you did some data analysis that somewhat made these numbers into this other set of numbers and look at the pretty colours?” It doesn’t necessarily hold the same feeling as holding up a cup you made at the pottery wheel.

Q: Do you have an ultimate, aspirational job, and if yes, what is it and why?

A: I am doing it… it’s my other ‘job’. It is doing content creation and social media marketing and management for the kite world. It definitely doesn’t make enough to pay the bills, so that is why I have a regular job. I do love it though, and it really is a passion project of mine.

Q: What is the one skill that you would like to master in life?

A: I am constantly working on and improving my video editing and working up to full-on documentaries. So it really isn’t the only skill in life I want to master, it is just the one I am working on right now.

Q: Tell me about your passion for kites, the podcast, Fortuna Found, the new magazine and anything else I have missed?

A: Hahahaha… how much time and space do we have? So, I love kites. They are something that came into my life (talking about as an adult, not playing with them as a kid) when I was having a crisis moment, and I fell fully in love. I dove in hard, ended up sponsored by HQ Powerkites as a power kiter and ran the North America Snow Kite Tour for a few years. Then ended up meeting folks that flew indoors and the other kinds of flying, and well, it has been a never ending love affair.

Nic power kiting in Snohomish, Washington.

I run Fortuna Found which is an overarching company that covers a few different ventures and smaller companies. If you were to look up Fortuna Found you would see the outward facing side is a free resource supporting the kite community in general. I produce tutorials, kite videos, a weekly newsletter, and now a digital magazine all for free on that platform. A subsidiary of it is the more niche focused Sportkite.org which is geared to just sport kites and sport kite fliers, and that has the Podcast, training/fellowship camps, learning events, and is the official home of the USA Sport Kite Team.

There is a bunch of other stuff behind the scenes that Fortuna Found does that helps fuel the love of kites, like I shoot and edit promo’ videos for festivals and events, content and marketing for brands, and more. But that is all boring and technical and is a way to help direct funds right back to the kite community, and to provide support to the fliers/builders/makers/people

Click on this link and you’ll be able to experience the magic of Fortuna Found https://www.fortunafound.com

Q: What was your first ever kite and what do you fly now?

A: I don’t remember the stuff from my childhood, and I think my very first kite as an adult was a Prism Nexus. The first kite that really meant something to me was a custom made Skate by the founders of Focus Kites (one of which I would go on to be partnered with for the past 13 years 😀). I still have it, still love it, and it means a lot to me. My first ‘art kite’ is the one gifted to me by my partner and made by one of my mentors. It was a gift to ‘us’, and it hangs over our bed.

Now, I fly just about everything, but mainly the Level One Badass (dual line sport kite), the Skate, and iFlite (single line light glider kite)

Q: Do you enter kiting competitions?

A: Not really, I have in the past, but honestly now I have morphed into the one that is supporting and promoting the sport and trying to grow the foundation for kiting competitions to happen. The whole scene, especially in the USA, saw a massive downshift in competition, and we are in a rebuilding era.

Q: What does motorcycling and kiting have in common for you?

A: A sense of freedom of expression. It really is that simple. I don’t like being boxed in, or told how I have to be to conform to expectations of everyone else, and both of these communities are filled with people like me.

Q: What type of experiences has kiting provided for you?

A: I have travelled all around the world flying and sharing the love of kites. On pure trust alone, without ever having met the organiser, I flew to India, twice. I met the love of my life on the kite field, and also some of the greatest mentors and friends I have ever had. Oh, and I achieved a life goal of standing on the TED Talks stage because of kites. I talked about the power kites can have in our lives, and even flew a kite on stage!!!

Q: I was really impressed with your new digital kiting magazine ‘Between Lines’, so what inspired you to create it?

A: Thanks! The big thing all of these years is giving back to the community that gave me a ‘home’ when I most needed it, and that is why I have kept pushing so hard to make some of these things happen.

It is just the start, this first issue is just to show what is possible and we are going to grow the content and everything else from here. I used to be the head of a large kite related non-profit organisation, and I really tried to make a lot of things happen there. I got so much push back from some of the other leaders and a small but very vocal portion of that organisation made it evident that I was not going to be able to make some of the big ticket dreams happen. One of them was creating a digital kite magazine. I was told by many of that vocal sub-group that it couldn’t work, that nobody would be interested, and that there is no way it could be produced for less than what they were creating the print magazine for. I presented data, case studies, and more… and still it wasn’t enough to convince them…. So I am proving it with actions. It is a resource that I know needs to exist, that many have been asking for (sadly, it is way overdue), and now I am finally in a good position to make it happen.

Q: What feedback have you had from readers on the new mag’?

A: So far it has been great. I was worried that people would think ‘is this it?’ and not think it was enough, but thankfully, everyone understands that this is the first edition. They are buying into the idea that the whole thing is about growth. I can take their suggestions and make it happen in a short time frame, giving folks more of a sense of ownership over it. I wanted that all along!!! The critiques that have come in have all been from the mental standpoint of growth and curiosity, and that just fuels me even more!

Q: The kite world is quite diverse with all of the different kite categories around the world, so how do you see kiting developing in the future?

A: I honestly don’t know. I have spent a lot of time in the past trying to focus on the big future and see where I could make the kite world into what some of us ‘kite lifers’ were dreaming of, and it was exhausting. Right now I am just trying to grow the little ripples I am making, into slightly bigger waves that splash up onto someone else, and so that we can make even bigger waves.

Q: Should there be a kite flying competition in the Olympics?

A: There was, and technically this year there is if you count kiteboarding. Should there be? I dunno, maybe. Really, I think we have so many other problems to work on as a kiting community that if we put our attention and energy to those things we would see a SIGNIFICANTLY bigger return than trying to get it into the Olympics.

I dunno, other sports I play are also having this question, and I find myself less and less interested in it. I do love the Olympics though, so go figure.

Q: What other interests do you have?

A: I coach and play Roller Derby. Love it. I love gardening, reading, open water swimming, camping, hiking, playing in the snow, anything in the wilderness, and I say yes to pretty much everything at least twice before saying no.

Q: Do you grow things in your garden to eat? If yes, what?

A: Yes, but not as much as I want right now, which is why we are cutting out some trees and expanding the garden to be a full and rich producing food garden. If it comes from the garden, I like to eat it. I also really like wild foraging and do quite a bit of it around here. It helps that I grew up knowing all of the native edible and medicinal plants that grow here. I know that I will never go hungry.

Q: What magazines do you read or have subscribed to?

A: None at the moment…that’s bad isn’t it…Oops!

Q: Do you have any tattoos?

A: Yes. I have two tattoos. One of a Nootka rose, which is a local wild primrose on my left shoulder. On my left side, I have of a western red cedar, Madrona tree and Mount Baker, which is my favourite mountain. In fact the second one I just got yesterday (September 2024).

Q: Favourite item of clothing and why?

A: In the vein of this interview, currently it is the unicorn helmet cover. I have had kids, adults, and grandparents all super excited to see me riding down the road. Taking my picture, waving, laughing. I can’t help but smile and laugh as well.

Making people smile with that Unicorn helmet cover😁

Q: What music are you listening to at the moment and what book(s) are you reading right now?

A: Books – ‘Was it Worth It – A Wilderness Warriors Long Trail Home’ – Doug Peacock, ‘Fighting for Space’ – Amy Shira Teitel, ‘You are a Badass’ Jen Sincero, ‘Travels in Arabia Desert’ – Charles M Doughty, ‘My Secret History’ – Paul Theroux.

Music: depends on the mood and what I am doing, everything from Xavier Rudd and Rusted Roots to Apashe, Daft Punk and Marshmello. I’m not really into rap or country music. Work time has me listening to classical music, or acoustic covers, or some really bumping EDM (Electronic Dance Music) if I need to dig deep.

Q: What advice would you give to someone who wants to strap a kite to their motorcycle or bicycle, so that he/she can ride to a favourite kite flying location?

A: I guess it would depend on the kite and the bike right, but ultimately BALANCE and WEIGHT is the most important right? Like I have no problem strapping my dual line sport kites on my bike resting up against the back top pannier. It keeps them in a safe and straight position and less likely to get crushed by anything or have the Rok Straps compress them. I know a guy that put a long PVC tube down his bicycle on one side so he could slide kites in there, so I guess you could do that!

Q: What has been your biggest life learning to date?

A: ‘Don’t believe them’. It’s a hard one to learn when you are trying to balance things like integrity, respect, commitment, mental bandwidth management, priorities, etc…. Sometimes when folks (well meaning or not) tell you something that is contrary to what you believe is possible, just don’t believe them. It will be hard, and you will want to believe them. Believe in yourself.

Q: And finally, what is your plan for today?

A: Finish up work, catch up on back recordings of the podcast, digitise some old kite VHS tapes, make dinner, run a board meeting for my roller derby team… and.. uhm… campfire until late at night so I can watch for some shooting stars?