Eagle1

Very sad news. Andy inspired skiers to push themselves to greater heights and inspired industry leaders to constantly strive to develop better equipment for those skiers. I didn't know Andy well. I only met him a couple times, but being in the industry, you'd feel his presence everywhere. I don't think a week has ever gone by that I haven't had a conversation with someone about Andy's accomplishments on the water or about a new project he was working on off the water. My heart goes out to the Mapple family and the entire watersports community. Some big shoes to fill. C. Gleason

We typically pit the shortbus student against my now 12 yr old daughter Kathryn who can barefoot quite well. She's been in school all week but is looking forward to the weekend. If Kathryn beats them, they have to be her slave for a day. She's been telling him all the things she's going to have him do during that 24 hrs. Nate, on the other hand, is paying her $10 to wash and WAX his truck. I told Kathryn she'll find out how good a deal that was when she's waxing on and waxing off.

BTW, I really appreciate all the posts. Nate's a great sport all around, and yes, he's been giving me slalom tips in return. Unfortunately, there's no video of me skiing. Go figure.

For all you folks that are new to the Freestyle Barefoot scene and old farts who refuse to raise the boom above your knees (LOL!), here's the video Nate watched that inspired him to want to learn an ADV. ADV stands for Andre De Villiers. Andre has invented over 30 new barefoot tricks in the last 5 years and can do them all high, low, shortline and longline. One of my favorite tricks is the suicide hand-plant. See if you can point it out. vimeo.com/38067853

I had to give Nate the morning off today. He's pretty sore. When you see the video of Day 2 you'll understand. Day 2 he learned how to jump in and out of the boat at 42mph, Dolphin starts, Side Slides, more backwards, long-line starts (I was surprised he'd never gotten up long-line before), and long-line wake crossing. That's a lot for one very long set.

Don't worry, we're utilizing the slalom course as well. Most slalom skiers I know don't ski early enough to see water that smooth because of the morning glare from the sunrise. At least Nate tells me he typically doesn't.

He's definately tough. Barefooting is something that you'll get one day and feel like you totally forgot the next. He's a natural at all front tricks. He's never come up long-line before, but as soon as he did, he crosses the wakes like it's no big deal.

Here's the link to the video that recaps Day 1. vimeo.com/92723319

Day one was quite amazing. Nate learned two front toe holds (2 on shoes and 1 on feet). In the same set, he learned backwards on shoes, and by the 2nd set did a back to front. His comment was "It's been a long time since I've been this sore. I'm definitely using muscles I don't use in slalom". Finished with an hour in the hot tub and off for a Mexican dinner. 6 am comes quick and that's also a new thing for him.

It's in your head. The patterns are the same. The silver coating we laminate to the front is a thin rubber to prevent water penetration. It's less flexible than without it and makes the vest feel more snug, so I'm guessing that's what you're feeling. We add room in the pattern to compensate, but what each person feels is different. I get more requests from our promo skiers for that vest than any other vest and they can have any vest they want. We don't deliver to an agent in S. Africa. That's the worst country on the planet to ship to. We have several customers in S.A. that order products from barefootcentral.com due to their discount program. Most South African skiers visit the US once a year, and they'll have the products shipped to their hotels or to friends in the US.

Chad is correct. We offer floatation in 6mil, 9mil, 13mil, and 20 mil. Up until this year, all of our men's vests were 13mil front and 13mil back. Due to the popularity of the Platinum series, which we made 13mil front and 20mil back, I decided that the 2014 line would come standard 13/20. Women's vests have always been 13/20. Shorter & smaller bodies need thicker since they don't have the length. Most top ranked skiers want a vest as light as possible and have never complained about the 13/13. The platinum vests definitely stay the lightest and seem to dry out instantly. Our padding is sewn in so it won't float or move on you even after countless sets. It costs a lot more in labor to sewn each pad like we do. We must first bevel the edge of the foam, then apply an light adhesive strip to keep it in place, and then make sure the sew lines are accurate. Very time consuming! 80% of my cost is labor. Most vest manufacturers sandwich the foam between two layers or neoprene and quickly sew around it. Once the padding flips inside the cavity, it's a pain to get it back into place. We make a lot of custom vests (colors, sizing, and custom padding). Just contact your Eagle dealer and explain what you're looking for and they'll get it into the works for you. We definitely appreciate the support you give us. We're committed to being a US Made manufacturer. ...Chuck

Anyone that would like to watch is welcome. Bring a lawn chair or two and be careful not to park on anyone's lawn.

If you guys visit www.eaglewetsuits.com , you can see the camo vests (male & female versions) that we offer. Then if you don't like the standard color options, you can click and create your own version. There's literally thousands of options. We offer a digi-camo in a barefoot suit, but if someone wants one bad enough, we'll do a digi camo vest. The ladies stock camo is pink based, but can be customized to any color combo. You can spend hours creating your favorite color combination.

Being that it's the 1st year for this event, I wanted to keep it small and have an event that featured the WR Holders. It's so hard to break a WR, I thought it would be nice to have an event just for them. Plus it's the only way I could think to pit Regina against the guys. This is an invitation only event and is no cost to the skiers. If it's a success, I could see opening it up to skiers like Will, TGAS, Whitney, etc who think they could beat them in this format, but everyone would be skiing against the WR. Maybe the WR Holders continue to get in for Free and everyone else has to ante up an entry fee. Winner takes the entry fee pot. Let's see how the first one goes. I really appreciate the support we've received from these skiers themselves and the sponsors (Goode, Nautique, Malibu, and D3). I just wish my old friend Dana Reed was here. He'd love an event like this. He always like the out of the box type stuff.

I've been footing since 1987. Got to where I can do every trick including line steps, side slides, etc.. After buying Eagle Sports and getting involved with slalom skiing, I'm now finding myself on the ski more than barefoot and really enjoying the challenge. I've traded slalom lessons for barefoot lessons with some of our pro skiers.

If you were to look inside the back zip vests, they have instructions printed on how to take them off the easiest way. From the sounds of things, I should save the ink. Touch your right thumb to your right arm pit. From that position, slide your hand back into the arm hole and push it down in front of your stomach, then lift the right arm up at the elbow and it will come off much easier. If your left handed, do the opposite.

This is Chuck. Chad told me I should check this out, so I read through it. First off, we warranty our vests for 1 year from purchase date. If threads are coming loose, you should contact the dealer you purchased the vest from and have them contact us to arrange for it to be repaired. Take pictures of the issue and be ready to email them prior to shipping just in case we have questions. Our vests are designed to fit very tight. With that comes a lot more stress on threads compared to competitive products that fit fairly loose and float up on you in the water. We produce thousands of vests each season and I'd bet we only had about 15-20 returned for loose stitching all last season. When we decided to come to market with a product designed to fit so tight, we knew we'd have certain issues, but we're constantly looking for ways to reduce them and improve on the functionality of the product. We're also always looking for ways to reduce production variances at the factory. 3 years ago, we were hand cutting every vest. Today, the cutting process is 100% automated with roller & laser cutters. We're the only company that I know of that'll make a custom fit vest, custom color, and kids comp vest. We're not cheap. If I wanted to be cheap, I'd make everything in China like all the other companies do and only offer a few color options. And trust me, when wage is 80% of my cost, I get why the other companies have moved off shore. But I take pride in being US Made and employing US workers. Three of my employees just celebrated their 25 year anniversaries with Eagle. My goal with Eagle Sports is to build products that the best athletes, in the watersports that we market to, want to wear our products because they feel they perform better in them. We're designing products that are lighter, dry faster, perform better, and fit like a 2nd skin. It's been a pleasure getting to know the top slalom and jump waterski athletes over the last 3-4 years as we've grown in this sport. We have a Factory Team that isn't shy about voicing their likes and dislikes and they're always throwing curve-balls my way. Simple example: Regina asked me to make a vest for her dog. That sparked an idea. Pet vests to match the owners vest (logos, custom colors and all). We're small enough, and crazy enough to try it.

Don't get me wrong. I get the value of the Pros. But I just look at the definition of Pro differently. I have a great group of talented athletes on our team. TGAS, Jaquess, Stisher, Parrish, Dodd, Tyler & Chad Scott. A group of varied ages and life paths sharing a common interest & passion. Some have life figured out more than others but they're all working hard to make the right choices. Heck, TGAS may end up becoming a dancer. Won't that be a hoot? The biggest value the top skiers have is their youth and perception that they have yet to make all the decisions that narrow their path. They appeal to our kids, and your kids appeal to you. Here's how it works. Your kids like what they see (whether it be skill, lifestyle or the fact that they see the pros don't have life figured out either) and they deem it cool. They want to be like them. That results in you getting bombarded with "Mom/Dad, I gotta have this or I'll just die..." You think their fashion style is nuts, but look around. How many 40-50 yr olds have you seen wearing Billabong boardies, Afflication type t-shirts, Oakleys etc... The quest for youth includes the quest for cool. What's funny though, is that on our team, I'd vote Chad Scott and Seth Stisher as having the highest fashion IQs. Have you ever seen Chad at a tournament? He comes with multiple vests, matching board shorts, the works. You'll find it as hard to compete with Chad on the fashion side as you will on the water skills side. We have fun kidding Parrish about his color coordination skills. He loves the edgy neon green stuff but doesn't always match top to bottom. We all laugh about it at the photo shoots. Chris is great because he's willing to try things the others won't. I always say, "How you look when you're skiing is just as important as how you ski". You never know when that perfect photo is going to be taken during an amazing run. Don't give anyone a reason not to put you on a cover no matter what level you ski at. Wait til you see Regina's bathing suit that she found to match her Flower Power Tie-dye vest.

It took me a couple days to read all the posts. This topic is one that I do have an opinion on. Being the owner of Eagle Sports, I've gotten the chance to interact with the skiers you all classify as pros, ones you classify as Big Dawgs, tons of amateurs, event organizers, USA Waterski officials, boat manufacturers, coaches, and other sponsors and manufacturers. I believe everyone involved with the sport has the same wish and that would be to see the sport grow to a size that would get it back in front of the masses (i.e. TV). You wouldn't believe how many conversations Dana Reed, Jen Abel and I have had on that subject. One thing I can tell you with certainty is that the Big Dawgers are viewed by the manufacturers as the heart and sole of the slalom sport. They are the guys (mostly successful business owners & professionals) that truly understand the economics that drive a company or sport. They've seen a lot and get it. They know how fast time flys. They know the hard work that's required to put on events. They know what it feels like not to have events. They know what it costs the sponsors to support there events and they all make a point to put out their hands to thank you when you do support them. We wouldn't be in slalom skiing if it wasn't for the Big Dawg skiers. It's guys like Chad Scott that introduced me to so many people and he never asked for anything in return. Instead he asked me how he could help us expand into new areas. The Pro skiers are typically young adults that are just getting out of college, or in college, and still are looked at by the masses as needing help to get started in life. You can easily tell who they are because they keep putting stupid stuff on their Facebook pages (that's a complete rant of it's own). They aren't climbing the corporate ladder or running a business. They're chasing the fun and are more about self promotion. It's truly rare to find a young pro level skier with the maturity to understand the market and their eventual place in it. When we do spot those individuals, we as sponsors quickly grab them up. The Big Dawgers have seen a lot and have positioned their personal lives and incomes to allow them to do what they really love (slalom ski) into their later years. They've played out "The American Dream". My hat is off to them. Dave Miller is in better shape than most 20 yr olds. Isn't he 60 or something? Just kidding Dave. All my life I've viewed being a professional athlete (at the highest level) as a person who is given the opportunity to get paid more money for playing their sport than they could ever dream of earning in an office or factory. Pros have sporting agents to represent them with contracts, endorsement deals etc... Making enough as an athlete that you'd never have to work a regular job (assuming you didn't blow it all of course). That's the real dream. When I look at waterskiing, I don't see any professional athletes that I ever dreamed of. I see a bunch of young skiers with exception talent & skill, with equipment sponsors, country expense stipens and podium incentives. No skier that I know of is making the denero I dreamed of as a kid. Waterski pros are forced to face the reality of age and having to enter the real workforce, and wondering if they'll have a place in the waterski industry when their skills deminish. Every year more skiers enter the coaching ranks competing for the same pool of students. They compete are hard off the water as they do on the water. Skiers like Regina Jaquess are putting their college degrees to work in fields that'll allow them the option of skiing on their own time later in their lives. She's a pharmicist btw. The #1 topic on every agenda when organizing an event such as the Malibu Open is "How do we get more spectators to the event?" More spectators equals more potential customers and hopefully new boat owners. No boat sales = no desire for boat manufacturers to be there. It's the Big Dawg skiers that are buying new comp boats every year. There's no secret as to why Nautique is expanding that series. The top pros want free boats. They ultimately get a boat loaned to them. And at the end of the day, who's advice would you take more seriously when buying a new boat, a Big Dawger who's been around a long time and probably been in and out of countless boats, or a 19 yr old slalom phenom who's yet to understand how he does what he does? That's another reason why Nautique supports Big Dawgers. I think people in and watching this sport need to re-define what we all consider Elite Pro. It can't be based on prize winnings because money payouts in this sport won't sustain anyone for very long. Six figure incomes are few and far between in watersports. There are no players unions, pension funds, health insurance or paid vacations for pro waterskiers. If earnings from the sport are the ultimate judge, then Dave Goode is the #1 ranked skier in the world. Does any other skier own their own jet? Should it be based on tournament wins? Or should it be based on # of times the skier has set a new World Record? Or should it be purely posting a specified score (i.e. 3 at 41 off). Personally, I think it's a skier that can compete in the top 10 of their peer group (34mph or 36) while maintaining and/or building a successful career and family life. There is no better pleasure than knowing your family is watching you succeed and then helping your kids follow in your footsteps or helping them succeed on their own path. A real pro is someone that can teach others. When an overall balance is there, I think there's a better chance that a person will go the extra mile to promote and/or volunteer help to the event and to others. We will never have a Pro Level like NFL, MLB, Golf, etc... We may never be on TV again because our fan base isn't there. But that doesn't mean we can't have a definition for Pro level (that isn't income based) that everyone can aspire to be. I'm sure many of you will disagree with me. What is your definition of Pro?

stone88 Please call the Eagle factory and ask for Larry about the dealer we have in Europe, 1-800-862-4424. theanimal: Regarding your shy wife, we take pride in custom fitting ladies with similar special needs. I make sure to oversee those personally, that is one of the few fun things in my job that I refuse to give up. You can send in measurements only or measurements and pictures and we will be happy to make a vest to fit.

theanimal:  This is Chuck Gleason, owner of Eagle Sports. In regards to the sizing of your Eagle vest, fit is a personal preference but I can tell you I designed the vests to fit like a 2nd layer of skin unlike others on the market that typically fit loose. I have a 42 in chest and I wear an XL but I can also fit into a large if I want a tighter fit. At 39 inches I would expect you to wear a large unless your waist is bigger than usual. For instance, Chris Parrish who is taller than I am and has the same chest measurement prefers a large since he likes it tight like most of the top end skiers. Due to the fact that our vests are purposely designed to fit tight, we find that people who would normally wear a large would go up a size in Eagle. for best results I recommend contacting one of our approved reatilers like H20 Osmosis, SilverSpray Sports, Miami Ski Nautique, Bennett's, Wiley's, Jim Feltchall  in Oklahoma or Sunset Ranch. Those dealers are most experienced with our sizing or lookup one of our factory promo skiers such as Chad Scott, Chris Parrish, Seth Stisher, Marc Austin. Tim Wheelus or Chet Raley.