Skill level? Out of this world. Photo: Skid Kids//YouTube
Editor’s Note: This feature is presented by our partners at Isopure.
A few years ago, during the heart of the pandemic, Blair Conklin and I found a way to put together a sweet little trip through the American West. It was the perfect mission, actually, because we naturally had plenty of space (social distancing was in). The Inertia took the skimboarding world champ to three of the West’s best natural river waves to see what a guy used to shredding shorebreak could do in rapids of the whitewater variety.
To say he killed it would be an understatement. He was so fun to watch. But there was one moment that struck me. As we were passing through Boise, a little city that forms the eastern tip of a triangle with Seattle and Portland in the Pacific Northwest, Blair was getting out of the water after skimming Boise’s standing wave. On the sidewalk that overlooks the river feature, he couldn’t make it two steps without a kid coming up to talk to him, or someone asking him to sign their board. He graciously obliged.
The reason is two-fold: first, Blair’s just a good dude. Second, his ability to create viral skim content has made him recognizable around the world, with people of all ages – and helped him garner more than 3.5-million YouTube subscribers.
The Laguna Beach, California native is now a certified legend. He’s a three-time world champion and his enviable athletic prowess has helped turn the once-niche sport of skimboarding into a global, viral phenomenon. When we sat down he spoke about some of those viral moments, and discussed his path as a social media entrepreneur. No one has balanced visual stimulation and social analytics quite like Blair. So much so that you can’t pass a wave in the ocean, or on a river, without someone knowing his name. It was pretty remarkable to witness. Enjoy the listen!
