Wave House – Sport
The Family Tree of Boardriding runs from present day into the misty past of Hawaiian royalty. It twists and turns, doubles back on itself and along the way we’ve seen the birth of surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, wakeboarding, skimboarding and countless other offshoots and mutations. Flowboarding is where these meet, join and become something else entirely. It is truly the Future of Nature®.
Describing the origins of Flowboarding is like trying to describe the colours reflected in an oilslick. They change depending on your point of view. The three strongest influences are surfing, snowboarding and skating but elements of wakeskating, wakeboarding and skimboarding can be seen in everything from board construction to the riding styles and trick names.
The required area for a FlowBarrel® and FlowRider® means that they can be built anywhere. Riders quickly clock up hours on the waves so the learning curve is much steeper than the gradual process of other boardsports. Once someone experiences the exhilaration of getting barreled, shooting out and nailing their first air or carve the bug bites hard and never lets go. The limits are restricted by nothing more than commitment and imagination. Double flips and 900º spins? Sure. Just so long as you put in the time and effort.
Flowboarding is an awesome spectator sport. Everything happens right in front of the crowd. You’re near enough to get splashed by the spray of a turn. An audience can see the expression on a rider’s face as they miss their landing and get worked as they go over the falls. The beauty of a sheet wave is that while the look and feel is inspired by the ocean, the waves themselves lack the hit and miss tendencies of Mother Nature. Come wind, rain or shine, it’s guaranteed to be offshore and pumping at Wave House.
The FlowRider® is a stepping stone into the fraternity of standing Sideways. Instructors are on hand to teach you the basics, no-one is going to drop in on you, and the soft surface of the wave prevents the frequent bails experienced during those first awkward stages from resulting in painful and time consuming injuries.
Boardriding legends like Terje Haakonsen, Mike Stewart, Tony Hawk and Kelly Slater have played a key role in the evolution of the sport. Bll Bryan, Chris Miller, Scott Byerly and Rush Randall helped push the limits of what can be achieved on a flowboard. A new crop of riders are now pushing the boundaries even further, vying to be the first generation known as professional flowboarders. Who knows what names will be venerated as the athletes that took flowboarding onto the global stage to stand alongside it’s older cousins.
