Try jumping out of a plane bound to a board. Now you're sky surfing.
By Pamela LeBlanc | Photos by Brian K. Diggs
March 24, 2005
» Addicted to Air
» A sky diver-speak primer
|
|
| Above: Jeff Standley, left, and Douva Lewis compete as LAST, or Last American Skysurfing Team. Below: They perform a 50-second routine with Lewis doing skyboard tricks while Standley films with his head-mounted camera. | |
|
With his feet latched to a 5-foot board, Lewis can whirl and cut through the air, turning nothing but clear blue sky into an ocean of fun. The board makes everything faster, more extreme -- and more dangerous. You don't want to get whacked by a wayward skyboard. That's why they're equipped with cutaway systems.
"It's a fringe aspect of a fringe sport," Lewis says. "It's kind of like the difference between surfing and body surfing. There's a wider range of movement -- flips are a lot faster and you spin at incredible speeds."
Not surprisingly, sky surfing has its roots in California, land of the surfer dude. In 1980, sky divers tried lying flat on Styrofoam boogie boards during free fall and called their new trick "air surfing." Others tried jumping with standard surfboards outfitted with snowboard-type boot bindings or jumping with skateboard-sized boards strapped to their feet.
In the early '90s, movies and TV commercials featuring sky surfers became popular, and sky surfing competitions were organized. In 1994, sky surfers performed at opening ceremonies for the Winter Olympics; a year later, the sport debuted at the ESPN X-Games. (It has been dropped.)
Lewis got his first glimpse of sky surfing on TV in 1991.
"(The sky surfer) rode the board across the air just as easily as my dad rode a water-ski across the lake," Lewis says. "I immediately tied an old pair of tennis shoes to a skateboard, hung the skateboard from a tree, and was sitting on the edge of the trampoline strapping this homemade skyboard simulator to my feet when my dad came outside and stopped me."
Eventually, Lewis, who has also tried rock climbing, whitewater rafting and bull riding, tried sky surfing for real.
"It's awesome and scary at the same time," he says. "You're playing with gravity and wind at 120 mph and you have a 5-foot board strapped to your feet. You're teetering on the edge of control. There's another aspect to deal with other than the usual dangers of sky diving."
Today, Lewis, who sells commercial real estate in Austin, and partner Jeff Standley compete as LAST, or Last American Skysurfing Team. Lewis performs tricks while riding the skyboard and Standley captures it all with his helmet-mounted video camera. They perform a 50-second routine in which the videographer's moves counter his own. Judges watch live, but also consider the video taken during the leap. The sport is judged on artistic merit.
For information about the Last American Skysurfing Team, go to www.lastskysurfing.com.
