George A. "Banana George" Blair
George Alfred Blair (born January 22, 1915) is a successful businessman, entrepreneur, and waterskier, known for his barefoot waterskiing and trademark yellow "banana"-like wetsuits.
[edit] Biography
George A. Blair was born on January 22, 1915 in Toledo, Ohio. He enrolled at Miami University, where he was a member of the Delta Upsilon Fraternity. He graduated in 1937 [1].
He was not exposed to water skiing until 1955, when he was in Florida recovering from a fusion operation on his back. Already a successful businessman from New Jersey, Blair observed the local waterski school, and it was not long until they convinced him to try waterskiing himself. He fell in love with it, and he and his family returned to the Northeast and opened two ski schools, which they successfully owned and operated for over 20 years [2].
Blair learned to ski on his bare feet when he was 46 years old. Since then, he has won many awards and holds numerous records, including several entries in the Guinness Book of World Records [3]. Today, he continues an active lifestyle barefoot waterskiing and snowboarding at the age of 97.
[edit] See also
- Cypress Gardens A special tribute was held at Cypress Gardens on March 30, 2008
