Meet the man who’s aiming to earn £60k just for f lying kites!
HIS school careers adviser thought he had his head firmly in the clouds when he solemnly confessed he wanted to fly kites for a living.
But ever since that priceless moment, Andrew Beattie has proved that his eventual job choice was no flight of fancy.
The Scot is now just one of only a handful of professional kite flyers around the world – a hugely successful occupation that sees him travelling to far-flung parts of the globe for ten months of the year.
Recently, Mr Beattie has travelled to Kuwait, China, India and throughout Europe, flying an assortment of weird and wonderful kites – which can cost more than £3,000 each – at a variety of tourism-related events.
Mr Beattie, who lives in Skelmorlie, Ayrshire, said: ‘There is huge interest in kites, especially in the Far East where there is a great fascination for them.
‘They tend to make people happy, which is great, especially as I can make a living out of it.
‘There are only a small number of professional kite flyers around who do it full-time. I am just thankful that I am one of them, and it has actually gone from strength to strength.’
His kites, which are manufactured in New Zealand by the Peter Lynn company, normally weigh around 12kg and some of them can be 30m long. He said: ‘Once they are airborne they are quite spectacular and you can see why so many people are attracted to them.
‘My collection of kites presently includes a humpback whale, a giant teddy bear and various other animals – but we are always looking at coming up with something different all the time.’
He revealed there is the potential within kite flying to earn sums approaching £60,000 a year, through sponsorship with major commercial companies, such as Red Bull.
Whilst not there yet, he said: ‘That would be a dream.’
Mr Beattie, who met his wife, Kathleen, while flying kites at an event near Blackpool, says he feels extremely lucky to be doing a job that thrills him.
He said: ‘It’s funny thinking back to when I went to meet with my secondary school career adviser and he asked what I wanted to do.
‘He just looked at me when I said “fly kites”, but then realised I was being serious. I suppose there aren’t many youngsters who have suggested being a full-time kite flyer.
‘But at the end of the day I am being paid for something that I seriously love doing – flying kites and making people of all ages and sizes smile. There are not many people who can say that nowadays, so I count myself being very lucky.’
Despite travelling the world, however, it would appear there’s no place like home for flying a kite. He revealed the best place for kite flying is, in fact, Scotland.
He said: ‘Sometimes our weather just lends itself to the activity, especially down at Ardeer, near Stevenston, Ayrshire.
‘There is a huge grass field overlooking Arran which is just perfect for me, especially as there are no fences around.
‘I try to go down there as often as possible, even just to dry off my kites if I have been flying them at various weekend events.’
‘They tend to make people happy’