Issue link: https://bluemagazine.uberflip.com/i/26434
InFront "This wave is a vehicle for reentering the stinctual world of predatory huma sport/ritual."-Tom Lochtefeld, Flow Rider inventor ---------------- ------------------------- � The Wave of the Future � I THE LATEST IN BOARD SPORT INNOVATION, THE FLOW RIDER BRINGS A RADICAL WAVE TO URBAN DWELLERS. » A typical late-sum mer's day in Florence, Italy, sees scooters rip ping through the stone streets, tourists rushing about and peo ple drinking espresso in outdoor cafes. But today a crowd has gathered on the hill behind the replica of the David statue at the Piazzale Michelangelo to gawk at something a little more unusu al: Modern-day gladiators dueling on the Flow Rider, the world's first transportable artificial wave. Back in the 1980s, wh i Ie watch i ng the overcrowded surf at La Jolla, California, a guy named Tom Lochtefeld proph esied what many surfers had only dreamed of: an endless ride on an endless wave. Ten years later, Tom fulfilled his own prophecy by inventing a machine that shoots thin sheets of water at speeds of about 35 miles per hour over a stationary, padded wave form. He called it the Flow Rider. Produced by Tom's company, Wave Loch, this hollow tubing wave can reach four meters in height, rides like a mountain and provides a challenge for all types of boarders including surfers, skateboarders, snowboarders and wakeboarders. Flowriding has become a sport unto itself. "The board is a portal to sublime experience," says Tom. "It allows you to be in control while placing your life in the grasp of a greater force, whether that be a wave, a moun tain or a concrete jungle." By bringing the ocean to the street, Tom has opened the door to new possibilities. Urban surfers can feed their addiction in the heart of a city. And the consistent nature of the wave will allow people to create new tricks. Just picture surfer Christian Fletcher dialing a backflip or skimboarder Bill Bryan riding switch-stance in the tube. The future is looking New Wave. In the summer of 1999, with the help of Swatch and over 20 mud-guzzling tractors, Tom took his wave on the road. The Swatch Wave Tour '99 first introduced the wave to Germany and Italy, and this spring Flow Rider will come to North America.