50 Different Ski Rides in One Day to Celebrate Turning 50!
WHO: Tony Klarich, the Guy Who Rides on Anything
WHAT: 50 Unique Rides in 1 DAY to Celebrate Turning 50 Years-Old
WHERE: Long Beach Marine Stadium in Southern California (5255 Paoli Way Long Beach, CA 90803)
WHEN: Saturday August 22, 2015. 8:00 am – 5:00 pm. A FREE event, open to the public.
WHY: A 100% Charity Event for Boys Town California
Front Page Feature Story in the Friday Flyer (click to read entire story as it appeared in print)
<<CLICK>> for Friday Flyer Online Version
50 for 50 Complete WaterSki Magazine Interview
Schedule
High flying thrills, costumes and comedy, a history in towed watersports, and much more was featured on the big day. Tony ride from 8:00 am – 5:30 pm with a few breaks for some great exhibition rides.
I. OPENER: barefooting, wake kite, ski racing…
II. SHOWTIME: shoe skis “Skip Gilkerson”, Cypress Gardens vintage doubles, human pyramid, “Twiggy” the Squirrel…
III. WOODEN WONDERS: pallet, paddle, aquaplane, grandma’s picnic table…
IV. HISTORY OF WAKEBOARDING: surfboard, skimboard (Skurfer, “Tony Finn”), original Hyperlite wakeboard…
V. HISTORY OF HYDROFOILING: stand up foils, kneeboard hydrofoil, sit-down hydrofoil…
VI. ODDS & ENDS: car hood, skateboard, hot dog slalom ski, ice chest…
VII. WORLD RECORD RUNS: world’s tallest hydrofoil, chain of skiers, something new…
All 50 Rides*
Click below for a list of all 50 planned rides!
50 for 50: Working Ride List (updated Aug 16, 2015)
World Record Attempts
World’s Tallest Hydrofoil: Mike Murphy rode a 11’3″ foil for a pending World Record!
(record = wing pierces surface of water with recovery to the riding position)
Official Guinness Attempt!
Most Documented Unique Rides: Tony Klarich, attempting 60+
Chain of Skiers: unbroken chain of doubles skiers, each rider towing every person behind (going for 5 or 6).
photo: Rachel Rivera
Tribute Rides
Tony will be “dressing up” to pay honor to these 3 influential riders.
Hall of Fame wakeboarding pioneer Tony Finn: Fashion Air on a Skurfer
photo: Tom King
Hall of Fame Show Skier Skip Gikerson: shoe skiing in a green sequined “Elvis” suit
Life Sized “Twiggy the Squirrel”
*rides and riders subject to change
Follow the Journey to 50 rides on Instagram @WaterSkiersLife
Videos & Updates on Facebook: Adventures in Water Skiing
Now seeking SPONSORS to partner with Tony in the journey leading up to the big day. Millions of impressions already generated on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, this site and more. Tony is seeking not only industry sponsors, but also companies whose demographic is 50+, preferably fitness based.
“Riding It All” by Tony Klarich
It all started as a birthday stunt in 2004 inspired by my grandmother, Mary Murphy. I rode 40 different things for 40 miles on my 40th birthday. The event was called the MasterCraft 40-40-400.
Ever since then I’ve been on a mission to see how far I can go with riding just about anything, and am having fun trying to create a theme to go with many of the rides. At the beginning of 2015 I started to realize the historical importance of this event. In searching for new rides I have stumbled upon forgotten classics like the aquaplane, jitter board, Ski-Skat, and more. Now my mission is not only to ride these items, but share how they fit into the entire history of towed watersports.
Many people ask if I have some sort of record for this kind of riding…not yet. Guinness World Records turned me down for the 40-40-400 in in 2004 for the “most ski rides on different things in one day”. They said my attempt was “a little too specialised for a body of reference as general as ours.”
Unfortunately Guinness has once again officailly turned down this 50 for 50 record attempt saying “we do not feel it would be appropriate to monitor this as a Guinness World Records title. Each and every application we receive is different and has occurred as a result of various circumstances, however each record we verify must be standardisable and we do not feel that would be possible in this case.”
So if I can’t be in the book for this record setting day, at least I can be on the book!
I learned a lot from the MasterCraft 40-40-400, and am making adjustments for the best possible conditions. I have a private day rental of the Marine Stadium in Long Beach, CA for controlled conditions. I actually turn 50 in the fall of 2014, but I’m waiting for the warmer conditions of Summer 2015 that will be more conducive to photos, video, and multiple costume changes.
I hope to see you there!
-Tony K
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