TABLE OF CONTENTS
A TURNING POINT – MIKE MURPHY’S TITLE ROLL
FIRST FLIGHT > STAND-UP FOILS – (1906-1989): Learning to fly on water: from boats to people
KNEEBOARD HYDROFOIL > AIR CHAIR – (1983-1991): Developing the first sit- down hydrofoil
3 NEW MOVES – Strapping one on to invent the wake front roll, air wrapped 360, and Skidder.
SHOOT TO KILL – A […]
The genie is out of the bottle.
Lovers of towed watersports may not want to hear this or even consider the possible long-term effects caused by multiple hard falls.
Who wants to find out that the sport they love can have a direct and serious affect on brain function later in life?
I’m all about assumed risk. People […]
19: THIS IS THE END – OR IS IT?
The golden days of kneeboarding ended when it got dropped from the Pro Tour. Gone was the industry backing with big cash tournaments, and the spotlight of TV and constant magazine coverage. Without those incentives , there was little reason for riders to advance the sport. After […]
18: A NEW DIRECTION
A trio of riders from North Carolina refused to roll over for the wakeboarding juggernaut. Jonathan Macdonald and his brother David were joined by Billy Rossini in an effort to resurrect kneeboarding., The triumvirate of tricksters pushed kneeboarding into a new direction that was based on big air. Not the big air […]
17: SWITCHED STANCE
In 1992 The Budweiser Water Ski Pro Tour added kneeboarding and wakeboarding competitions. For the first time in several years, the kneeboarding event was not a Hydroslide exclusive, and all the best riders had a chance to participate. But even that couldn’t lure me out of retirement from competitive kneeboarding. Sea-Doo was the […]
16: THIN IS IN
Kneeboarding was on the Pro Tour as an exhibition competition from 1986-1991. I was there, but was not invited to compete. That’s because Hydroslide was the exclusive kneeboard sponsor, and I worked for HO. I took my turn on the water performing my hot dog slalom routine, but the kneeboarding was left […]
15: SCARED STRAIGHT
One of my scariest moments in skiing came during a ski show in Guayacil, Ecuador. Fabrizio Malnati invited the HO/Hyperlite team south of the equator to help promote his ski shop. The team consisted of Darin Shapiro, Bebe Anderson, and myself.
During one part of the show Darin and I both rode behind one […]
14: DIGITAL DRAMA
In the fall of 1989 I wanted to do one last sick kneeboard move for the record. My longtime photographer Rick Doyle was behind the lens to capture the action frame by frame. I was on home waters; the Parker Strip, so it only seemed right to go back to the move that […]
13: ROAD WARRIOR
The 1980s were a whirlwind of shows, competitions, photo shoots, and all the craziness that comes with being single and on the road.
Rick Skinner, the Midwest rep for HO, took me on a 10-day tour of Michigan and Wisconsin, don’t you know.
We hit the road to call on Rick’s dealers over the region. […]
12: WIN SOME, LOSE SOME
If you compete long enough there will be times you should win, but lose. Conversely, there are also times that you deserve to lose, but somehow manage to a win. It’s all supposed to balance out. I’ve had a mixed bag.
My day to squeak out a win at a major event […]
