Over the past 43 years Mike has participated and
excelled in just about every aspect of skiing. For much of that time
he has been considered the best in the world at kneeboarding, hot dog
slalom skiing, and hydrofoiling. He co-invented and pioneered two waterski
products enjoyed by tens of thousands, the kneeboard and sit down hydrofoil.
He has been an innovator of new tricks, with over 50 to his name, and
the list is still growing. These are just a few of the highlights of
a skiing career marked by versatility and longevity.
Check out Mikes biography
page.
Mary Murphy has
had an extraordinary life in skiing and hydrofoiling. She started in
skiing with her family in 1957 at age 39, enjoying slalom, shoe skiing,
kneeboarding and bare back (no fin or bindings) riding. She once won
a trophy from the Carlsbad Boat and Ski Club for the most improved skier,
even though the club members said she skied too long. None of them ever
wanted to observe for her hour long slalom rides! Mary's first crossing
to Catalina Island (26 miles off the coast of Los Angeles) on a slalom
ski. The ride was a breakfast run when she was just 50 years old. "We
just figured we shouldn't waste the ride, so I jump out there. It was
fun", says Mary.
It was another quarter
century before Mary learned to hydrofoil for a promotional video in
1993. Her son Mike taught her behind a SeeDoo over the course of about
a week.
Catalina called
to Mary again, and at age 79 she made the crossing by hydrofoil in just
over one and a half hours. After that amazing trip the press plugged
into the skiing great granny. Inside Edition, Extra and the Discovery
Channel were just a few of the TV shows she appeared on. Mary also made
it big time in the National Enquirer, and numerous trade magazines like
Water Ski and Powerboat. The latest and greatest came last year when
Mary rode her Sky Ski to the island and back! The 52+ mile trip took
over four hours. Not bad for an 80th birthday celebration. Her skiing
genes have been padded down to son Mike Murphy and grandson Tony Klarich.
Today Murphy lives in Southern California with her husband of 52 years,
Nick. They still enjoy going to the beach and cruising the scene. Congratulations,
Mary!
Links to Mary:
Mike
Mack : Inducted 2000
Hydrofoiling for
the boys started back at Mike Murphy's ski shop. I remember laying down
in the ski shop looking up at all the ski pictures cut out from ski
magazines, and reading articles on the ceiling. We saw this ad in the
magazine with this guy riding stand up hydrofoils, cruising through
the everglades." WOW, is that a trip. We need a pair of those." So we
ordered a pair and anxiously waited. Well, UPS delivered the Hydrofoils
and the adventure began. After a few trys and no success, we figured
out how important it is to have the wings on right, (ha ha) It took
me probably 16 tries until I could fly them. People could not believe
their eyes, and the attention we got made us show off even more. As
time passed, more and more friends joined in the fun. Flying along the
Colorado River became a part of our lives, little did we know what was
ahead. After years of riding hydrofoils, Mike Murphy and Bob Woolley
went further ahead and started trying foils on kneeboards and sit skis.
From all their trials, I got a chance to be a part of history, testing
new ideas. I guess you could say we were test pilots. Years later the
Air Chair was born and the explosion of popularity was growing like
crazy. Because Murphy was on the road showing off their new invention,
I remained on the river, broke and happy. Since nobody knew much about
the Air Chair, I started teaching people how to ride it and became the
first official hydrofoil ski school in the world. As the sport grew
and the product got better, so did the riding ability. I remember riding
the Air Chair without foot straps or a seat belt. That was all right
until we realized that it was safer to be strapped in so it wouldn't
chase you when you fell. I started tuning foils after Woolley showed
us how to shape the front blade for better performance. From my background
in surfing and being involved with shaping boards it was a natural progressing
to shape my foils and T-Bar. I learned how much it really made a difference
in stability and performance. After tuning hundred of foils I have learned
how to just look at a foil and know what needs top be done. Our next
step is single wing foils! As people got better, the tricks got better,
and when Tony Klarich got involved, the sport went to a new level. With
Tony's experience in competition came the birth of Hydrofoil World competition,
now known as FLIGHT WORLDS! Being involved in the beginning, I was fortunate
to win my first world title in Colorado. Then 2 years later in Lake
Elsinore I won 2 more world titles, something I never would have expected.
In the middle of all this, I was testing a new Idea of my own. The AIRBOARD,
a hydrofoil wakeboard. By this time people were used to seeing the Air
Chair and the Sky Ski, and wakeboarding was going off. So when I would
ride the airboard, people just couldn't believe their eyes. This sport
is the newest in hydrofoiling and is here to stay. This winter, Laird
Hamilton, Mike Murphy and myself will take the sport to another level,
riding the ocean waves, jumping huge swells, and riding swells with
no tow boats, just nature's own energy. The ocean will be a new frontier
and the adventure will go on!
See
Mike Macks team rider page.
Information
