The Ski Show - The Ultimate Show Ski Podcast

He's known as Mr. Show Skiing.  The best male skier award at Nationals is named after him.  Show Skiing is forever changed because of the late, great Skip Gilkerson.  On today's episode we have Matt May and Mark Jackson join us to share all sorts of stories about Skip and his past and his contributions to show skiing.  Skip was a top skier, show director, and official.  He was Show Direc...

This episode is packed with fun conversation with a young, talented star in our sport.  Darian LeBlanc has accomplished so much in her career so far - skiing professionally at Legoland and at Holiday Park, winning Nationals with the Ski-a-Rees, winning the Willa Cook Award, and being a 2-time World Champion member of Team USA.  If you've ever seen Darian swivel, you know she's got long l...

Today we have one of the best tow boat drivers on earth, Dan Jaworski, on the show.  He's been a multiple time National and World Champion, he thrives in any style of boat, he drives for freestyle jump competitions, and in his triple rig seat for Mad-City, he literally does it all.  He's a tactician.  He studies and works at his craft.  He has a long career in show skiing, starting out a...

Today we talk about a TON of great topics relevant to show skiing today.  We have special guest David Rezin on the show and we literally talk shop for an hour.  To help you navigate the various topics in this episode, we break down the times and topics for you here... 6:58 Major sponsor shout out.  Please listen and support these fellow show skiers. 16:24 Boat Insurance 22:30 D2 Nationals 28:48 In...

Yep, we're calling him the Tom Brady of show skiing.  It's hard to find anyone who's been doing it longer at an elite level than Brian Cullen.  He's the most decorated announcer ever in the history of the sport.  He's entertained audiences for years and years.  We talk about his history, the Cullen legacy, announcing for RAJ, Team USA, and this past Worlds with Team German...

We start today's episode with some important breaking news of one team that as of this publication is ineligible to ski their regional tournament, and as a result also ineligible for Nationals.  We then have this week's "Tips In" tip of the week for your show, and we continue to Part 2 of our Freestyle Jump conversation.  If you liked Part 1, you're going to LOVE Part 2. ...

Whether freestyle jump is your jam or not, you will LOVE listening to these guys.  We are joined by Scott Clack, Zane Schwenk, Pete Hegarty, and Derek Buchman to talk all things freestyle jump.  This is a 2-part episode with so much awesome content.  First, we debut our new segment, "Just the Tip" with a tip to help your show.  Then our freestyle jump superstars all share their career hi...

Today we talk to your favorite safety guy and ours, Mr. Kurtis McMillan.  We talk about his background in safety at National parks out west, his love of show skiing, and the enormous challenge that Division 1 Nationals presented from a safety perspective.  He's passionate about the sport, he's built a tremendous amount of relationships within it, and he's committed to keeping this s...

Time to hear from the youth in our sport.  We have four fantastic guests on the show today - Eli Carson (14), Rylie Heilman (14), Skyler Rishling (12), and Owen Shenk (12).  They all come from show ski families and they have a LOT to share.  So much fun and entertainment in this episode.  From embarrassing stories to jokes about their parents to ski team drama and so much more.  These young voices...

Today special guest David Rezin joins us and we talk all about putting a show together from start to finish.  We use the Team USA show as a model and talk through act order selection, theme selection, putting the theme to the acts, installing and running through the show, timing the show, tweaking the show, and the importance of the transition from stage to water back to stage.  This episode is lo...

The World Show Ski Tournament finally happened for the first time since 2018 and we are here to recap all the action.  We have 3 fantastic guests today - first we have David Rezin to break down tournament week, all the events, and the Team USA week and shows.  Then we have Christian Bockweg from Team Germany to talk all about their surprising 2nd place finish, their experience, and what the future...

Known as the Birdman (listen to find out why), Liam Klotzbach is one of the premier skiers in the sport today.  He's one of the most impressive jumpers to watch, sticking everything and performing a variety of tricks.  His 1-ski front flip is amazing, and he's the only skier consistently performing 720's in the sport today.  He spent several years on the Water Bugs, then Mad-City, h...

Dream big, work hard, stay humble.  That's the mantra for so many stars in our sport and it's absolutely true for this week's guest Caroline Grubs.  She started in show skiing at a young age, set goals for herself each and every year, and after being a 12 year old girl in the stands at the first World Tournament, she's now a member of Team USA and will be competing in the World...

Today we have two young superstars changing the sport of show skiing.  Derek and Carter Buchman are brothers, star skiers, and true ambassadors.  They are the architects behind the Buck Up Freestyle Jump Tour that is bringing freestyle jump back to the forefront.  Derek and Carter grew up in Chetek on the Chetek Hydroflights, they've skied pro, and this season was one for the ages for them. ...

Today we interview legend and hall of famer Parks Bonifay on the show. He’s one of the most influential wakeboarders of our time. He’s a pioneer and an innovator. And he grew up in a show ski family before taking the wakeboard world world by storm at a young age. From the X-Games to Pro wakeboard titles to wild stunts for Red Bull and in movies, this guy has done it all and is staying relevant.  T...

What an incredible culmination to the season!  Division 2 and Division 1 Nationals had no shortage of excitement.  From the insane individual acts competitions, to the ultra competitive team competitions, we take you through all the action.  We interview D2 National Champion show director from Silver Lake, Kristen Stilson, about their victory, and we also talk to Cody Coffey, the Skip Gilkerson aw...

We talk all about the largest water ski tournament in the world - The Wisconsin Water Ski Show Championships.  What an incredible weekend!  We highlight all the excitement of the weekend, the shows and individuals that wowed us, the weather delay, and we interview show directors from each of the championship teams.  Justin Mushel of the Aquanuts, Jason Ducane of the Crivitz Ski Cats, and Ian Hawki...

In today's episode we recap the Central Regional, then we have our feature interview with Aquanut legend Kevin Michael.  Kevin was the youngest ever Skip Gilkerson award winner.  After his glory days on the Aquanuts he carved out a long career in professional skiing and in the water sports industry.  He has a passion and love for the lake life.  He's an ambassador and enthusiast for all...

We begin with a recap of Southern Regionals and the Mercury Invite, the great shows, the individuals, the standout performances, then segue to our main interview, which is all about Holiday Park Germany, how and why the show closed, and all the great memories of that show over the years.  We are joined by Juergen Weinerth, Gary Thompson, Dave Thornton, Timmy Snyder, and Geoff Stone for a fantastic...

The 2022 tournament season is upon us.  Which teams are the favorites?  Who are the teams to watch for in each region?  Which teams might surprise us?  Who are the top skiers to watch out for?  We have representatives from the Eastern, Southern, Midwest, Central, and Wisconsin regions on the show to talk all about the teams, the competition, the themes, and the great skiers in their respective reg...

Professional shows have a long history of initiation, pranks, and other shenanigans, and we finally get the inside scoop on some of the best stories from behind the scenes of some of the greatest pro shows.  We have JT Sachs, Steve Hawblitzel, Hunter Hanson, and Steve Bates on the show to have an unedited, unfiltered conversation about some of the great locker room and back stage, and even in-show...

Pete Hegarty is a current star in the sport of show skiing.  He was born into a show skiing family, with both parents professional skiers at Sea World, and he started at a young age on the Maine Attraction team.  He is a tremendous all around skier and showman, and in 2017, he headed to Legoland for what was supposed to be one year, and he hasn't looked back.  One of the top skiers in their s...

Kevin Felien is a Little Crow legend.  This episode is filled with conversation about the glory days of Little Crow, their innovation and cutting edge acts such as 3 high and back barefoot pyramids, the insane way Little Crow climbs down their pyramids at home, the talent in the Midwest Region, the current state of comedy in ski shows, and Kevin's love of making people laugh.  This is one of...

What a fun interview! Nick and Jack not only created Flyman Skis, but they have a long, successful career in show skiing.  Hear all about their early days, their professional days, their experiences on Team USA, their experience with the Sarasota Ski-a-Rees in winning Nationals in 2017, and learn all about how Flyman came to be and what's next for this booming company.  They are genuine and f...

This episode is LOADED with information that will benefit you and your team.  Tips and tricks on how to maximize your tournament scores, no matter your team size or skill.  Special guest David Rezin joins the show as we give the audience  tip after tip after tip on how to score better at tournaments.  We also recap the fantastic Team USA practice weekend and preview the World tournament to come in...