Stoke Riders

Stoke Riders is a kiteboarding school on southern Lake Michigan run by Tyler Spence, a certified IKO instructor who has been teaching since 2013. Based in St. Joseph, Michigan, the school is mobile: it follows the wind to find the best learning conditions around southern Lake Michigan and Chicago, where it is permitted to teach at Montrose Beach, the city's only kite beach.

Lessons follow the IKO programme, and the certification is issued free of charge at the end of a lesson package. The school also offers wing foil, eFoil and, in winter, snow kiting lessons, as well as gear rental, kite repair, boat support and a pick-up service at the end of downwinders along the dunes.

It also runs an online shop (kites, boards, bars, harnesses, wings, foils, eFoils, wetsuits, lake surfboards) and publishes guides to Lake Michigan spots.

Lessons by appointment, from sunrise to sunset depending on the wind: call or text 312-952-0888.