florider with Tony Hawk today...

[mapleleaf]

I know it's not boat or wakeboarding related, but I rode a FloRider surf machine today in Toronto with Tony Hawk, my idol when I was a kid!
One of my family member's runs a fair here in Toronto and Today they brought in the birdman!
I only have video of it, but what an awesome time, sharing turns surfing with a true skateboarding legend, and watching our kids play together while he signed a private autograph session.... I don't get starstruck often, but today is one for the record books!
FloRider was awesome, kinda like wakeskating with a lot more water pressure, gonna try it again tomorrow, goodtimes!!

[techsledder]

Wow! That is cool as hell! I can still remember his Tony Hawk Skate board I bought and skated over the years... brings back some memories. thanks for sharing!

[tg0824SSVGG]

Umm - I had on Tony Hawk board shorts at the lake tonight ... no where near
as cool tho.....

)

[mapleleaf]

So it made the Toronto Sun on saturday....the guy in black shorts sheepishly still holding the rope is me!!!!! Going back for more surfing this week, hope I don't bankrupt my family trying to learn this!!! $20 a half hour!!!!

http://img408.yfrog.com/i/xnw.jpg/

Also got to sit front row to listen to Bill Clinton talk yesterday.....another very cool deal.....

[87SunSportMikeyD]

DUDEEEEEEEE that is freaking SWEEEEEEEEET!! Bet you wished you woulda been surfin the 'Brio all summer, huh???! Clinton too wow! Thanks for sharing

[mapleleaf]

ya, all I wanna do is surf......

[wotan2525]

How hard is the florider? I missed it but a group of snowboard instructor and wakeboarder friends went to the one in minneapolis last winter and said it was one of the hardest things they had ever done. And these are all people that wakesurf pretty regularly.....

[mapleleaf]

Wotan, it is the hardest boardsport I've tried, apparently skimboarder's get it the quickest, they're used to riding in shallow water. It took me 5 try's just to stand up for a minute, and past that I still never let go of the rope...... I've been skateboarding for 26 years! Snowboarding for close to 18 yrs.!
The balance between front foot and back foot is very touchy, and it's about %90 backfoot, so the moment you lean forward you're down and shot back by the water, which is moving incredibly quick...
I wish I could do it all the time, falling doesn't hurt that much and your arms don't get tired.........

[87SunSportMikeyD]

I have been meaning to try the one in MN but I heard it was one-at-a-time with a long line of people waiting and short sets....

Did you guys hear that WI Dells is supposedly getting a cable park this year?????!

[wotan2525]

It is one at a time and there's long lines and they are complete nazis after a guy broke his back there right after they opened. We tried to rent it for a private party for the end of the snowboard season and they wanted $30 per person per hour. We told them we planned on bringing around 150 people and they wouldn't budge on the price.

There already is a cable park in WI! I've been trying to push Afton Alps to add a cable park since you can do it all for around $100k now.... There's also some small lakes in St. Paul that would work perfectly for this. Anyone want to invest?

http://www.nordicmountain.com/wakepark.html