The Athlete: GENO YAUCHLER
Episode: Hydrofoil Jump | Premiere: Feb. 5, 2007

Perry's Thoughts:
Being a lover of all water sports, I was excited at the opportunity to meet Geno Youchler and to watch him try to do a backflip over a ski boat with his hydrofoil. Although I have seen hydrofoils at a distance before, this was the first time I got to see the science behind how it works. I found the hydrofoil fascinating, and Geno's ability to control it remarkable. Although a lot of pressure was on Geno to complete the stunt successfully, there was also a lot of pressure on the boat drivers. They would be going in the opposite direction of Geno and had to be in the right spot at the right time to avoid a head-on collision with him. It took Geno several tries, but he finally nailed the stunt and back-flipped over a moving boat going in the opposite direction. I left this show wanting a hydrofoil for my own toy box.

Eli's Thoughts:
First hearing of Geno's stunt, I knew that it would be dangerous and I hoped he knew what he was up against. When we met, we saw where he was going to be doing the stunt — a nice lake in Florida; everything seemed to be well planned and Geno was well up for the challenge. We watched him pull some tricks, and man, did he get some air. He was obviously well-trained on the air chair and made it look very easy, but jumping over a moving boat and going for the height record was going to be a whole other story. I got the chance to give it a try, and although I made it up, I also showed how difficult it really is — the only air I got was when I was in the middle of a crash. We got the boats in the water and started working on the timing it would take to get this stunt right. After lots of practice it was time to get it on. Stunt Day was as perfect as we could hope for, so Geno went right to it. He hit it a couple of times and the timing was a bit off. However, with his team working together, he not only made it happen, but also walked away with the height record he was looking for. The stunt was exciting and the timing ended up being perfect. Nice job to Geno and he now holds a record that, I think, will hold for some time to come.