The Athlete: TAO BERMAN
Episode: Kayaking El Salto Falls | Premiere: Feb. 26, 2007

Perry's Thoughts:
This is the second stunt we have had a chance to do with Tao, and it is never boring with him. This time, we got to go deep into the jungles of Mexico, to one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. The only thing to say about Tao is that when it comes to kayaking, he is the man. And as we sat there and watched him go over a 180-foot waterfall, with a smile on his face, I thought better him than me.

Eli's Thoughts:
We traveled to central Mexico to meet up with Tao Berman at El Salto Falls, remote tropical location. Tao is one of the best kayakers in the world, and seeing some of the waterfalls he had run in the past, I knew this one would be impressive. We got to the location and I said, "You're not going down this, are you?" He calmly said, "Oh, ya," and you could tell right away he lived for this type of thing. I'd never watched kayaking live before and I was impressed because the force of the water on these types of falls is so massive that if anything goes wrong, you are in some real trouble. Tao took us to some calm water to teach me and Perry how to do the very important "roll" maneuver. We were terrible at it and the thought of being stuck underwater upside down scared me big time. We took a closer look at the falls to see Tao's line and the water was roaring with little sympathy for those who dared to defy it. On Stunt Day, Perry and I went down to the bottom of the falls to watch the action. When he went for it, Tao was right on the mark, making it look easy, but one false move and the stunt would have gone a completely different way. For Tao, he now can clearly say he has conquered the El Salto Falls, and I'm sure he won't stop there.