Episode #84 - Brian Grubb

[00:00:00] Hey everyone, welcome back to the show. This week we have our first Red Bull athlete joining us and his name is Brian Grubb. He is a two-time world champion and pioneer of wakeskating. We had the opportunity to talk to him about his professional career and trips around the world with Red Bull, the infamous Dubai base jump project that was a dream come true in 2023, how we got into foiling, the founding of FSRL and much more.

[00:00:28] We really do hope you enjoy this episode as we get to know Brian a little bit more. Last week we had Benjamin Kastenoid on the show. He is an amazing young ripper from Tarifa, Spain. He spends his winter in La Ventana and I was fortunate enough to ride with the kid a few weeks back watching Pulse in 1440s. Absolutely insane.

[00:00:50] He is the youth race, under 14 world champ, youth freestyle vice world champ and male Grum athlete of the year. We can't wait to see him compete on the GWA Tour this coming season. So we really do hope that you enjoy that episode as well.

[00:01:06] Now I want to take this opportunity to thank our team for making this show a reality. We have Frank that helps with media and consulting. We have Matthias on guest relations and we have Stefan on audio mastering. A big thank you guys as a lot of work goes into each and every episode.

[00:01:23] Next, I'd like to say a big thank you to our sponsors. Visit foillifepodcast.com forward slash sponsors to see who supports us behind the scenes. We want to give a shout out to North Foils for being our first sponsor. Thank you very much guys. We look forward to working with you for 2025. Lastly, we have some trips coming up. So make sure to check out foillifepodcast.com forward slash trips. You guys should come join us in Bonaire in May. Now I hope you enjoy this episode with Brian.

[00:01:58] Welcome to the Foil Life Podcast, where we talk about foiling and the lifestyles of those who enjoy these great spots. All right, Brian. Hey, thanks for taking the time. Yeah, no worries. Actually, for everybody tuning in, it's our first episode of the Foil Life Podcast. So thanks, Brian. Thanks for kicking it off for us. Yeah, happy to be the first guest.

[00:02:20] We were doing a bit of back digging into you and really cool history, actually, of everything that you've done, everything you've accomplished, Red Bull, all that kind of thing. Where did all that start or how did it all start? I mean, I guess it originally started just I moved to Florida when I was 11 with my family and got into water sports and riding behind the boat and doing all that stuff. And and yeah, I was doing a sport called wake skating for a long time and kind of got into the sport real early, like when it was first kind of coming out.

[00:02:48] So we kind of like pioneered the sport and helped kind of, you know, push it into what it is now. And so, yeah, we had, you know, a bunch of contests and, you know, shooting videos and getting shots on the mag and all that stuff. So, yeah, my background's in water sports and toad water sports pretty much. And then, yeah, back in like 2017, I started finding the foils and getting into that. And yeah, that's kind of what I've been focused on the last five or six years now.

[00:03:16] It's just kind of the same thing, like a kind of a new sport that's just incredibly fun. And and everything's just like changing and, you know, growing so so quickly with new equipment and, you know, more riders getting into the sport and stuff, too. So it's it's kind of like, yeah, kind of doing it all over again with with foiling now. Oh, that's sick. We were able to find some of your videos and whatnot. Like, is there any of the trips that you've done over the years that stands out the most?

[00:03:43] I know that that Dubai base jump was absolutely insane. Yeah, we worked on that one for a long time. That was kind of like my dream project to try to put that together. So, yeah, we were really happy to do that last year. But yeah, we had to, you know, just kind of a crazy idea for a long time. But then, yeah, we had to build the drone and then find a location to do it. We originally wanted to do it off a waterfall. But yeah, I couldn't really find like a good waterfall that was high enough and had enough water like right to the edge.

[00:04:13] And then we found that building in Dubai and it like set up perfect for it. So once we found that, yeah, it was kind of it was on from there. And yeah, with all Red Bull's connections around the world, we got all the permissions we needed. And I've been base jumping for a couple of years and then trained all last year before it with Miles Dasher. He's like a Red Bull base jumper. So him and I spent the summer together just traveling to Europe and getting a ton of base jumps and ride behind the drone. And then, you know, we put it all together like last December and do it.

[00:04:42] Breaking it down into sections. Is that kind of like what specifically about that training did you have to focus on more? Was it the fact that you're getting towed off, which could get thrown to you into a spin? Like so many things I'm assumed you guys thought of, right? Yeah, there was a lot of variables that you couldn't really put all together until you did the until you actually went over the edge like and did the did the stunt. So the drone is flown by a pilot. So he had to like, you know, fly the right speed. And, you know, I'm like running onto my board. So the drone needs like more power in the start.

[00:05:11] And then you kind of feel like level off the power. So we practiced that a lot. And we were working with two pilots to just so we had a backup. We had like a backup for everything. We had two drones, two base rakes, two boards. Like so if anything failed, like we had a backup. But so, yeah. So we were just training together with those guys, you know, making sure that they both fly the line. And so, yeah, we did a lot of that training with the drone. And then, yeah, we base jumped a lot. We got to jump the building like 10 times before we did the project.

[00:05:42] And the day before we did like I rode through the pool without the kicker and just like let go of the rope. So we like practiced, you know, going through it. And then, yeah. And then the day of the project, we only had the way the weather was. It was like kind of crosswinds and like not really good winds for it. And we had like a three-hour window. We ended up doing it like in the last five minutes of the window. So it was pretty nuts. Like just standing at the top of the building all morning, like waiting for these winds to change. And then they finally did.

[00:06:10] And so when it was time to go, like, yeah. I mean, when we made the call, I mean, it was over like four or five minutes later. We were like on the beach and celebrating. Celebrating? It happened quick, like once everything aligned. But, yeah, we only got like one try at it. I mean, I wouldn't have changed anything. Everything went perfect. But, I mean, yeah, there was a lot of risk involved. Like we had the board tethered to the drone. So if I would have got tangled up in that tether, it would have been, yeah, really bad. I mean, we could release the rope from the drone.

[00:06:39] And we had some like kind of safety precautions in place. But that was like the biggest obstacle is making sure I didn't get like tangled up in the drone at all. So, but I knew if I got good speed from the drone pilot, then I was going to be able to do the wake skating part and get a good exit and like get good separation from everything. And then, yeah, once you're in the air flying, that's the fun part. So it was great. Yeah, I can imagine. On my 18th or 19th birthday or something, my mom and I went skydiving once.

[00:07:08] But we were like, it was a pilot shoot, right? So I can't imagine the base jump feeling. Yeah. It's an amazing feeling. Yeah, it's great. Yeah, I got, we spent, Miles and I went to Switzerland like three times last, like for a week. Like so three weeks in Europe, just in the Waterbrunnen Valley in Switzerland. Just like, yeah, jumping all these different exit points. And yeah, really just falling in love with that sport too. I mean, I'd done, I had like maybe 35 jumps before that, but all off like bridges and lower stuff.

[00:07:36] And so, yeah, when you start doing the big like slider up jumps, it's, it's an incredible sport. It's an amazing feeling. Yeah. Pretty addicting to, yeah, it's great. How did you tie that stuff with your whole career with Red Bull to foiling? Was that just something that came up that you thought, oh wow, like this could be the next thing or? Yeah. I mean, I've been skydiving for a long time. So I like, yeah, I really loved doing air sports and got into base jumping like in 2019 or 2020.

[00:08:04] And so that was like always kind of like, how can I combine like these two sports together and do something? So like, that's when like the wake face idea came, came together. But yeah, it took a long time, I think like seven years or something to kind of plan it. And then, you know, we didn't have a location for a long time too. So that was like, yeah, big problem. So, but then when we saw that they built the, you know, it's like the highest invisible edge pool in the world. It's almost a thousand feet high. So, and it actually makes it a lot safer.

[00:08:32] Like, you know, if you're, if you're base jumping around like a waterfall, you know, if you get, if you get turned back into like the, into the waterfall, it can like collapse your canopy and stuff too. So having it be a pool where it's all just like clean air and, you know, so it made it a lot safer for the, for the jump too. And, and yeah, it was cool for the video too. Cause I think, you know, it did really well. I got crazy views and everything, but I think it's cause a lot of people didn't realize we were on top of a building. And then all of a sudden I just kind of go off the ramp and just like fall away, you know?

[00:09:00] So like, so yeah, the way it like kind of, kind of got shot and the way we all put it together, like, yeah, it was super crazy. It was fun. Hey, congratulations. That's a lot of work. And I think a lot of us sitting behind the scenes that pop on and find this and watch it and celebrate for that little minute. Don't necessarily realize like the lifetime and the years of dedication to get something like this done. Yeah. It's pretty crazy. Yeah. I mean, it's like a 30 second clip or something and yeah, it takes years to do that.

[00:09:28] And you see that with a lot of Red Bull projects, you know, like, yes. Yeah. It's like, yes, this crazy thing that's never been done before, but yeah, there's so much planning and getting permission and permits and all that stuff, you know? And Red Bull is just really good at making that stuff happen. How did you connect? Let's say that with the sport of foiling, like how did foiling kind of enter into your life? Yeah.

[00:09:51] Well, yeah, doing a lot of wake skating and stuff and just being in water sports, like, you know, like in the last, I don't know, maybe 10 or 15 years, like wake surfing got really popular. Like the wakeboard boats that we use, they have surf systems on them now. Um, like I ride for a boat company called Malibu boats and they have a system called surf gate and you can basically just push a button and you can make a left or a right way behind the boat. Um, so wake surfing was getting really popular and stuff too.

[00:10:17] But then when the foils came out and we started riding those, it basically makes like an endless wave that you can foil on too. So it was like real easy to learn on that. And then, you know, you can learn how to pump and you can learn how to do the turns and you can kind of like learn all the like basic stuff, like how to control the foil. And then, you know, you can take that out into the ocean and start riding waves.

[00:10:37] And, and so it's like, it's, uh, it's gotten a lot of people into the sport like that or have like a wakeboard background or that have these, uh, wakeboard boats or these surf boats just cause it's, um, yeah, it has just like a perfect way that you can foil on. Nice. So it's kind of like a natural progression of what you're doing. Yeah. It's just like another water sport that's like, yeah, right in the backyard, you know? So, and I just, I fell in love with it. Like first time I did it, I, yeah, it was just a crazy feeling.

[00:11:04] And then once you start learning how to pump and connect all the waves and do all that stuff, it's just, yeah, it's awesome. Obviously they're like flips and all this different stuff that you can do on the wave behind there if you're strapped in. And I assume that would be pretty sweet behind there. Yeah. Yeah. And you got a lot of guys like, you know, like Noah and those guys that are just incredible wakeboarders, you know, and then they get a foil under them and they're doing all these, you know, crazy flips and, you know, 360 flips and backflips. I mean, he did one with no strap backflip, you know?

[00:11:31] So yeah, the tricks that you're seeing are like pretty, pretty wild, but yeah, I think it's because he like has this background of being behind the boat like his whole life and then like being such a good wakeboarder. So he's got great air awareness and everything. And then, and then he's just an incredible athlete. So you put a foil under him and yeah, he's doing some pretty crazy stuff. Yeah. I can imagine. How, how did the idea of, of the foil surf race league come to be? Yeah. Yeah. The, the foil racing started. Um, I spent a lot of time down in Puerto Rico with Nick from lift foils.

[00:11:59] I've been, uh, working with those guys since 2018. And, um, and yeah, we, there's this, uh, this wave like, uh, right under his old house, uh, called surfers beach. And we would basically go out in the mornings and we'd take off on a wave and then you just ride waves and pump like all the way down, like around this point. And then there was like one little exit zone, um, where it wasn't coral that you could just get off on the beach and then you run back up to the top. And we were just doing laps and like, he just does it for exercise, like in the mornings. And I was like, man, this is so fun.

[00:12:27] And I was like, man, this would be like a cool format for, cause I couldn't keep up with him. He's like so dialed in. So I was like, man, this would be like a great like format for an event. And, and, you know, with my background and in toad water sports, all of our events are, are judged, you know, they're all like subjective scoring and you have like two passes like down and back and you do as many tricks as you can, but you're judged by three people, you know, against all the other guys in your heat. And so sometimes, you know, you get burned by judges or, you know, it's subjective.

[00:12:57] So you just never know like what the outcome is going to be. So, um, with foiling, I was like, man, this would be cool to like do a race where there's a clear winner every single time. And we don't have to like judge it or anything. And it's, um, you know, it's super high endurance. There's like a ton of strategy involved.

[00:13:12] And we kind of tried to set up the FSRL with like not a lot of rules, but just roles that could, people could interpret their own way and kind of like, um, kind of play like to their strengths on how they were going to like finish their two laps the fastest. Um, so yeah, so I partnered with my buddy, Billy Bosch that owns the foil outlet over in Cocoa Beach. Um, he's run some events like with beach and boards, bestest event in Cocoa for a long time, like doing kiteboarding stuff. And then I kind of came to him with this idea for this format.

[00:13:42] And so we partnered up and, and we did our first race in 2020. All right. So what is the whole premise of it just for people who have never heard of it? Yeah. So, um, it's a race format where we basically have like, uh, an area it's about a hundred yards long, or maybe just inside of a hundred yards, but we call that like the action box. Right. So we have like two boundaries, so we have like a buoy and then like some flags on the beach. So, so you start outside of like the action box. So everyone starts on the beach, everyone runs into the water.

[00:14:13] And then you basically like have to stay outside the action box until you catch a wave and you get up on foil. So once you take off and you're inside the action box, you can only move inside the action box if you're up on foil. So whether that's riding a wave or just pumping, um, but then you get down to the other end, like the downwind, uh, boundary line. And we have like a flagger on the beach. So as soon as you pass that line, you look up to the beach, you get your green flag and then you can start heading back. And so, so on the way back, you can either, you can get it back as far as you can.

[00:14:43] Depends on the conditions. Like if you have a really strong headwind, it's sometimes hard to get back. If it's like calmer, it's pretty easy to like do two laps. Um, so that's like part of the strategy too, but if you do come off foil, like on the way back upstream, you can hit the beach and you can run back and then get back in the water for your second lap. Or you can catch another wave and like work your way back depending. So it depends on how far you, how far out you are, if there's a way that you can catch right away. But if you're just stuck there and you can't move, like you can actually on your, on your way back up, you can get out of the water and, and go around.

[00:15:12] And then, uh, a race is two laps. So if you go down and back, you have to stop, you know, get off your board and then catch a second wave for your second lap. So you can't just pump like down, back, down, back. So it's not like, like a pump race. You do have to like get two takeoffs. And then the race finishes on the beach, like where you, um, where you started from. So on your second lap on the way back, like, yeah, you kind of work your way to the inside. And we've had some races where, you know, a guy will hit the beach early and just be sprinting, you know, trying to beat some guy that's like still in the water and stuff too.

[00:15:40] So if you're a fast runner and, um, you know, you can pick up some time on the beach sometimes, but yeah, you do finish. So, so yeah, there's a lot of like room and a lot of time to like, you know, everyone kind of like looks at the race differently. You want to try to like get on one of the first waves, but since you do have to stop in between laps, like even if you don't get on like one of the first or second wave, sometimes, you know, on the second lap guys can't take off quickly. So then everyone starts like getting bunched up again. Um, but yeah, we do big heats too.

[00:16:07] Like, you know, last year we were doing like some of the first rounds where like 25 guys in the water all at once. So it gets pretty like chaotic and like, and there's like a lot of action going on and, and yeah, so it's pretty fun, pretty exciting to watch and really fun to do too. Yeah. I can imagine. You've had some big names come out, right? Like you've had a lot of since 2020, like I was just looking up some early videos that you were having back then. And yeah, it's, it's awesome to see. Yeah. Last year it was great.

[00:16:34] We had, um, Alex Hayes came from Australia and Jacko came from Hawaii. And we had a couple of guys come from Hawaii and Europe. And, uh, there's a bunch of guys from Puerto Rico that come every year and stuff. So like James Jenkins been coming since the beginning and, uh, Eric Geiselman was there last year and stuff too. So, and Austin Kalama. And yes, we got a lot of like really great athletes that are super competitive and yeah, it makes the events really fun. Absolutely world-class. And then you have to what? Like board choices, foil choices. Absolutely. Everything goes into something like this, right?

[00:17:32] Yeah. You know, with the new, with a lot of people running downwind boards. Um, now we had a, we had a huge like growth in that category last year. We had like over 20 guys competing in that last year too. So, and we've had a women's division. We didn't have any women last year, but two years ago we had a few. So, we really hope that, yeah, we get some girls to sign up this year because yeah, we want to get everyone involved. Mm-hmm. And what kind of ages are you, are you getting? Oh, I think the youngest was maybe 12 or 13 that competed in it, um, last year.

[00:18:01] But, but it's a lot of guys, you know, from, from all ages really. I mean, in the open category, there's guys in their 40s and 50s and some of the sub guys are a little bit older and stuff too. But, um, but yeah, it's just a full range of, of everybody that's kind of into foiling, you know? It's not just like young kids doing foiling. It's a lot of like guys my age and even older than me. So, it's, it's cool to get everyone involved. You're 44 now? I'm 44, yeah. Yeah, yeah. I'm just turning 42 in a month. Yeah. Yeah. I'll have to come down.

[00:18:32] It goes quick. 40s are good. Yeah, it's been good. It's been good. So, but yeah, we also do, you know, so we do the races on the first day and then we, we started doing like an expression session, like trick contest, like four, four years ago or so. Um, so now we basically are running like two events in one. So, first day, well, depending on conditions, but normally we'd try to race on Saturday and then Sunday we do like an expression session. Um, so we tow, C2 has been a sponsor of ours for a while.

[00:18:57] And so we do like C2 assist so you can like get whipped into waves and you can also like paddle into waves if you want, but we do like 35 minute heats. And, um, on, on, uh, strapless last year we did like best wave. So like combination of turns or errors or any of that, those like maneuvers. And then for strapped, we did like, we did best trick. Um, so we saw like a lot of flips and spins and stuff like that too.

[00:19:21] So we're trying to like, yeah, kind of offer, you know, categories for everyone to kind of push boiling and, you know, the racing's like really fun. But, um, but you know, like when people are riding on a daily basis, they're out there just, you know, trying to do stylish turns and errors and stuff like that too. So we wanted to like give guys a place to, you know, start pushing that side of the sport too. And that's based out of Cocoa Beach? Yeah, we've been running the events in Cocoa Beach. That's where Billy's shop is.

[00:19:47] So it's like really easy to just kind of run everything through there and we get pretty consistent conditions in March and, in, uh, in Cocoa Beach for foiling. So, um, so yeah, it's been a great, great, uh, yeah, great place to do it. But obviously, um, you know, we want to, we want to start growing it too and trying to do more of them. And, um, this year we're actually partnering with foiling week in Pensacola. Um, they reached out to us about running, uh, a race up at, up at their event.

[00:20:13] So they have like a week long event going on up there in Pensacola and we're doing the races on Saturday and Sunday up there, like kind of at the end of the week. So pretty excited to get it in a new location. And, you know, Pensacola is not known for like great waves all the time, but I think there'll be a little something up there. So we should be able to get some races in. Yeah. We're in final talks with Luca there to get out there and do a bit of coverage for it. So I'm going to be down. Yeah. Frank who's behind the scenes is going to come down as well.

[00:20:41] So we'll have to get together and just meet you guys. And I think that'd be sweet. That'd be great. Yeah. We're going to be up there for probably four days or something, probably two days before the event, just checking it all out. And, and, uh, but yeah, I mean, they're going to have, I mean, there's a ton of categories between the sailing and wing foiling and downwinding. They're doing a pump, a pump race. And then, yeah, we're doing our, our, uh, surf race and stuff too. So it should be really cool. And I think there'll be a lot of foil athletes from all over the world there to kind of meet, hang out with.

[00:21:08] Did you ever think that you're, that you would be like launching a league like this? Did you ever think that foiling would kind of take off as quickly as it did, even though people were doing it like a long, long time ago? Yeah. I mean, even in like the, the wake side of stuff that I do, I've been working with like the WWA, which is like our governing body, like in wakeboarding and wake skating. So I've been like a wakeboard judge for a long time. So I've kind of like worked doing these events.

[00:21:33] And, uh, so I have like, yeah, a little bit of experience and background, like, you know, helping run these events and the judging and, and all that stuff. So, you know, back in 2018, 2019, 2020, like there was no foiling events anywhere. And I was like, man, well, like, you know, there's so many athletes that, you know, are getting really good at this. And, um, you know, to be like a pro athlete in a sport, you got to kind of compete and see who's the best.

[00:21:59] And, you know, try to go to some events that have some like prize money that you can actually like make money, like doing this stuff. So that's kind of like another motivation why I wanted to like start the FSRL just so that we could provide a place for, for guys to come and show their skills and, you know, make some prize money. And, you know, that's good for them with their sponsors. They can kind of be like, Hey, I won the FSRL event this year. And then they make some prize money with us.

[00:22:22] And, and, uh, you know, if we can get a full tour going or if we can get other people to be running events like this with like, you know, good prize money and stuff, it's just going to help the sport out, you know, overall and in the future. Cause I think it was, you had some decent amounts for prize money too, right? Yeah. Last year we gave out $10,000 and then we had a bunch of, um, like a bunch of gear and stuff from a lot of our sponsors. Like we gave up full foil setups and I think three or four boards and stuff like that.

[00:22:48] So, uh, we only give the money to like the pro classes, but we do like, you know, the guys in the open classes are winning, you know, foil gear that's worth, you know, 1500 bucks or two grand or something like that too. So, and we give everyone like a, like an athlete, you know, a bag, like when they check in and stuff too, it usually has like a surf leash and clothes and hats. And, you know, so you get about a hundred dollars worth of like gear just with your entry fees and stuff too.

[00:23:13] Um, so yeah, we try to like make it as easy for everybody as possible and just, you know, really just try to have a good time and get everybody out there and, you know, see what's possible in the foils. So if anybody is looking to just kind of do their first competition, is this something that would be good for them?

[00:23:32] Yeah. Especially, you know, if they, if they know how to prone foil, I mean, um, you can tow in like in the expression session, so you wouldn't have to like paddle into waves unless you wanted to, but yeah, with the racing, like, yeah. Anyone that's been, uh, yeah. Prone foiling, like, yeah, we have, you know, the open class for people that don't want to compete against the pros, but it's still a very competitive, uh, race. And we have just as many guys like in that, in that category as we do in the pros. Um, so yeah, I mean, we kind of tried to set it up so everyone can be involved, not just at a pro level.

[00:24:02] Um, but yeah, I mean, that's kind of what we're doing every year. We try to just like learn from the year before and then try to change it to, you know, make it more accessible and make it better for everyone that comes to it. But yeah, every year we've seen, um, you know, athlete participation grow and last year we had, I think 82 riders, uh, come from all over the world. So yeah, it's growing a lot and it's like really, really fun. Yeah. So it's pretty sick.

[00:24:26] Are you going to cap the size, um, of people coming in like the GWA does or other kind of other organizations do or. Yeah, this year we will have to cap, um, the expression session. So we'll, we'll take 40 guys in strapless and then 40 guys in strap, but the racing, we do like those. Big heats, like I was saying, so we can do like, you know, we don't really need to limit those ones as much, but, but yeah, we only have so much time like on Sunday to like run, you know, all the heats throughout the day and stuff.

[00:24:53] And we also added this year, um, like a foil assist category in the expression session. So, so guys that are riding foil drives or if they're, you know, riding in e-foil or whatever they want to do, um, we're going to have that category too, just to kind of try it out. Cause yeah, I feel like that's like a, you know, pretty growing sector and foiling and there's guys like doing some pretty cool stuff with that. So we'll do like strapless, uh, foil assist and the expression session too. When, uh, when is it this year?

[00:25:20] Um, this year, uh, the Pensacola race is March 1st and 2nd. And then our race in Cocoa beach is the following weekend, March 7th through 9th. So Friday, the 7th, we're doing like a demo day with all our sponsors out on the beach. We're going to like set up all of our tents and everything. And, uh, so people in the event or not in the event can come out and like ride, you know, all of our sponsors gear.

[00:25:41] They're going to bring out like demo equipment so people can go try stuff. And then we do a shop party and like a registration party that night. And then we, um, Saturday, we try to do the races and then Sundays we do the express. What kind of conditions would be ideal for you? Like, what are you open for? I mean, ideally it's, you know, two to three foot or maybe, maybe a little bigger, but, uh, light winds is the best.

[00:26:02] Um, we've had some years that we have like a real stiff, like North wind. So the downwind, you know, uh, run is super easy. And then, you know, trying to work back into that headwinds, like it's pretty challenging. I mean, so, but it does, I mean, that's, what's kind of cool with the format too, with the racing, at least like, you know, uh, yeah, you kind of have to like, you know, play to your strengths with the conditions and, you know, but we've had some really like two years ago, we had some really nice surf, like, you know, three to four foot, no wind.

[00:26:31] And, and it was just beautiful. And, uh, it was great for the express session. And then, um, yeah, for the racing and stuff too. Last year we had pretty good conditions. Um, we had low tide, uh, on Sunday. Well, it was like kind of middle of the day. And then we had this crazy, like onshore wind kick up, like for the final. So we had like great conditions all morning for the express session. And then during the finals, the waves just kind of got blown out.

[00:26:53] And it wasn't like super good, but, um, but yeah, you just never know, but there's always waves that time of year. So we can always like get in the water and, and, uh, and start flowing. Yeah. So it's cool. Not bad. All right. Looking forward to that. So that's things coming up. Not too far away. We're 20th of January. So we'll look forward to seeing you guys in Pensacola. I've never been to that part. I've been to, I think I've been to Florida when I was four years old. So that's the last time since I've been to Florida. Probably changed a little bit since then.

[00:27:24] Probably, probably. Um, is there anything else you want to mention about the FSRL, the people who are brand new to it, that they might, can we follow it obviously online? Do you have any, um, feeds or anything videos that we can catch before or after or during? Yeah, we put most of our media on our Instagram page, um, which is foil surf racing league. Um, so everything's on there. You can link to the, to the website to sign up for the event, uh, through the link in the bio. It's all set up through Billy's shop, the foil outlet.

[00:27:55] So, um, and yeah, you can sign up for the Pensacola race and for the Cocoa beach race, um, on the website. Um, but yeah, just want to, yeah. Thank all of our sponsors. Lift's been a sponsor, um, of the event for a long time. And now that we're doing like basically two events in one, we have like two title sponsors. So this year, uh, lift is sponsoring the race day and then Armstrong is, uh, sponsoring, uh, the expression session. So, but yeah, foil drive has been sponsoring us for a couple of years now.

[00:28:23] And, um, yeah, we just have a lot of great sponsors. We got F1 and codes coming on this year. And, um, so, so yeah, it's just great to get all the companies together too. And that's why we kind of wanted to add the demo day this year too, because we just have, you know, all the best foil brands, um, out there, you know, all coming to this event. You know, want to just try different equipment out and, you know, if they can just get their hands on it, on the beach right there and take it out for a quick spin, you know, they can kind of try stuff. So we want to like offer that to people too.

[00:28:52] And just, you know, we just want to like have fun and stoke people out and get people in the water foiling. So we're just trying to, you know, manage that as best we can and get people out there. Yeah. I think there's so much good equipment now and it's becoming more and more accessible. Uh, it's awesome that you're offering demos so that people can come in and try stuff because all we're trying to do is obviously spread the stoke for these sports and say, Hey, maybe a little water, wind, whatever is going to help you and bring you maybe somewhere different in life. Right. So that's amazing.

[00:29:21] Um, I see you, what are you drinking a little Red Bull there too as well? Oh yeah. I got some over here. Oh yeah. Nice. How, uh, going back to yourself, how has that whole journey with Red Bull been and, and like you've gotten to see so many amazing and cool places around the world to kind of do something that you love? Like, how has that journey been for you? Yeah, it's been incredible.

[00:29:44] I mean, when I got at Red Bull back in 2001, I mean, it wasn't what it is now, you know, like they'd only been in the U S for three years or something. And, um, you know, it was still like the whole, you know, like Red Bull athletes can only wear hats and all that stuff was just like so new. It didn't like, we just did it, but it didn't really have the meaning that it does now.

[00:30:03] But I mean, yeah, I've, I've been able to travel all over the world, you know, doing all these sports that I love and come up with, you know, crazy ideas to try to put, you know, wake skating in places that it's never been before. And also foiling, you know, like that's how we kind of did the underground, uh, cave foiling last year. Um, you know, like we found this underground river and they kind of pitched it to me like, um, you know, do you think you can wake skate down here?

[00:30:29] And we have done some like wake skating in caves before too, but it was so narrow and like not really big enough to wake skate down there. So I kind of suggested, Hey, we could bring an E foil down here. It's all electric, like no, like fumes or anything like with the winch or any of that stuff. And, um, and they're like, yeah, let's try it. You know, I mean, we've never done a Red Bull project like with foils yet. So, uh, and it was super fun to do. I mean, we were, we shot it at night, like when the park was closed, I mean, it doesn't really matter because you're underground.

[00:30:55] So, you know, we're bringing all our own light in, but the water's like, you know, 60 degrees or something. I'm in the water for like five hours. And, but it was just like a blast. I got to work with like all my friends, uh, shooting it and lighting the cave and everything too. So we've shot for like two days down there. And, um, yeah, it was crazy. We shot like drone clips underground, like running back down this like super narrow, like hallway. And like, it was just crazy, but yeah, rebels down to just like try cool stuff like that.

[00:31:23] And, um, but yeah, with the wake skating projects that I've done, um, yeah, I mean, I did one, like kind of like my first big, uh, rebel project was I rewrote on these rice terraces over in the Philippines. It's like this natural, like drop basically. And we put a rail in and, and like hold it with a winch and stuff. So, um, and yeah, we've done like snow wake skating and we wrote through cranberries and just all kinds of like crazy places that you'd never expect to see like water sports being done.

[00:31:53] And then, yeah, we just, yeah, shoot these videos and Red Bull, you know, produces everything for us and we just get to have all the fun. It's awesome. Oh, that's amazing. That's amazing. Is there anything coming up, um, in 25 slash 26 or further beyond that you're allowed to mention or, uh, not really that I'm allowed to mention, but yeah, we're always, you know, got some ideas trying to get approved and, you know, that's kind of how it works with rebel. Like kind of come up with an idea and then you pitch it to them and, and then, yeah, while they're going through budgets and stuff, they're kind of like try to pick the best

[00:32:23] ones, like with all their athletes in different like areas of the country and different locations and stuff. So, um, so yeah, we're always like pitching them ideas and trying to come up with like, you know, the next big project and stuff. And if it's, you know, a good note projects that they can, they think that we can, uh, make happen and yeah, it gets funded and then we get to, you know, start the fun part of it. I guess. All right. Community come out to the race in Pensacola and then in March and then pitch some ideas. Why not? Right. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. That's how it works.

[00:32:54] Nice, Brian. Well, Hey, I don't want to take too much of your day, but I really do, um, appreciate you taking the time to come on and chat with us. Yeah. Looking forward to meeting you in, uh, in Pensacola. Cause I think we're going to, we're going to be there and, uh, yeah. Anyways, looking forward to meet you guys, getting to know you a bit more. Yeah, me too. That's going to be great. I can't wait to see everybody up there and hopefully you can make a go beach too. That's a fun one. Yeah, that could be something. I could look into it. You're going to be in Florida anyways. I know. I mean, that's kind of why we did it too.

[00:33:22] Cause you know, we're going to run these events like back to back weekends. So people that are traveling from, you know, from far away, they can, you know, just kind of be in Florida for the whole week. I mean, we got great foiling up at new Samarna beach, you know, all the beaches there. There's a, there's a little scene of foilers like kind of at every beach in Florida these days too. So, um, so yeah, it gives people the opportunity just to hang out in Florida for the week before the Cocoa beach event and, um, yeah, do some foiling with everyone around here and kind of get the whole like Florida foil scene, you know, check it out.

[00:33:51] So you guys got some good food. You got lots of no gators where we're going. No, just sharks here. Just sharks. Yeah. Yeah. It's a little sharky here, but just small ones. That's fine. Yeah. It's all right. I saw my first pack of dolphins here in La Vantana, Mexico and stuff. There's no sharks here. Are there? Is it? No, no. It was just dolphins. But yeah, man. Well, Hey, thanks again for joining. Thanks everybody for tuning into our, our first episode of foil life and looking forward

[00:34:21] to the other ones. All right, man. Yeah. Thanks for having me on. All right. I'll see you guys. Absolutely. All right. Later.