Ben Merrell
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Benjamin Judson Merrell also known as Ben Merrell (born July 26, 1983) is a hydroflighter. He placed third in the world at the 2013 Flyboard World Cup Championship in Doha, Qatar.[1] Since then, he has become well-known and well-respected as a competitor and innovator.[2]
Early life and education
After graduating, Merrell enlisted in the U.S. Army shortly after 9/11. He completed basic training and Airborne Qualification at Fort Benning, Georgia. He served as an infantryman and was stationed at Schofield Barracks in Oahu, Hawaii. For 12 months during 2004 and 2005, he was deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom.
After being honorably discharged in 2006, he moved home to Florida where he began his own business, Power Up Watersports.[3]
Flyboard
After ventures in car sales and real estate, Merrell found his passion in 2012 and started one of the first United States Flyboard rental companies, Power Up Watersports, located in the panhandle city of Destin, Florida. Merrell quickly became proficient on the Flyboard and qualified to compete in the 2013 World Flyboard Championship in Doha, Qatar where his huge, arcing back dolphins, daring trick combinations, and crowd-pleasing showmanship put him on the winners platform in 3rd place. This led to sponsorships from Skat-Trak and Powerfly Products, national and international performances, and attention from other companies looking to place their products on the market.
After a summer of Flyboard performances, a competitor company, X-Jetpacks, contacted Merrell in August 2014 about trying out a new Hydroflight product they called the Jetblade. With no contract interest from Flyboard, Merrell decided to test this new board and absolutely loved it. His endorsement of the Jetblade created a firestorm of controversy in the Flyboard community that has ultimately taken Hydroflight Sports to a greater level of competition and respect for all hydroflight competitors and innovators. He has been interviewed on international television and written about in national and international magazines and newspapers. He recently did stunt work on the Steve Harvey show[4] in Orlando, Florida.
Working with a group of dedicated hydroflight professionals, Merrell attended the St. Pete Fly-In in St. Petersburg, Florida in November 2014 as lead judge for their amateur Flyboard competition. He was instrumental in drafting fair and standardized guidelines for the judging process, an area of heated debate in other competitions. Competitors were awarded points (similar to the ISU system used in Olympic judging) for their performances based on a variety of criteria instead of being forced to compete in a bracket system that is better suited for other sports.
Flytronics
After seeing a need in the Hydroflight Sports community for a wireless remote control throttle, Merrell teamed up with (title) Jeff Elkins to create one. In August 2014 they designed and began manufacturing their beta version of their wireless remote control throttle, aptly named “The F4 Flight Controller”. After witnessing issues with other products that would lose signal, dropping Hydrofliers out of the air, they went back to the drawing board with Flytronics wireless to incorporate a new code ensuring that Hydrofliers from that point forward would not experience the same with Flytronics product. They incorporated the first “Flytronics-safe-fall” technology into their wireless remote control throttle, which enables the Hydroflier to be lowered into the water, much like an elevator ride, if signal should be lost.
Shaw Kaake, owner of Stratospheric Industries and inventor of the JetBlade, a Hydroflight product, has had a hand in the design lending to a more polished and applicable handle. Flytronics is very excited to incorporate this design into their finished product.
Now that a final version has been completed, production will start Spring of 2017 with world wide availability expected by June, 2017.
Performances and interviews
Competitions
Placed 1st in 2016 JABA International Championship held in Osaka, Japan (2016)
Placed 4th in 2016 Louisiana Hydroflight Invitational held in Shreveport, LA (2016)
Placed 1st in 2016 Hydrofest held in Pahrump, NV (2016)
Placed 7th in 2015 World Flyboard Championship held in Dubai (2014)
Placed 5th in 2015 National Flyboard Championship held in Shreveport, Louisiana (2014)
Placed 3rd in the 2014 World Flyboard Championship held in Doha, Qatar (2013)[5]
Placed 9th in the 2014 National Flyboard Championship held in Toronto, Canada (2014)[6]
TV interviews and magazine articles
Interview with Leslie Roberts on The Morning Show in Toronto, Canada (2014)
Photography in National Geographic Traveller India (2012)
Articles in Emerald Coast Magazine (2013 & 2014)
Article in Northwest Florida Daily News (2013)
Article in Destin Log (2013 & 2014)
Article in Beaches, Resorts, and Parks (2014)
Article in Destin Magazine (2014)
Destin Boat Parade (2013)[7]
References
- ^ Blaine, Jeffery. "Ben Merrell". www.flyboardmagazine.com. Jeffery Blaine. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ Merrell, Amber. "RTC". www.flytronics.com. Merrell. Archived from the original on 11 January 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ Broome, Mark. "Powerup Water Sports". www.powerupwatersports.com. Trip Advisor. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ Knoxville. "Visit Knoxville: Boomsday 2014". www.moretoknoxville.com. moretoknoxville.com. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ Jeffery, Blaine. "3rd in World Flyboard Championship in Qatar". www.flyboardmagazine.com/. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ Jeffery, Blaine. "9th place in H2R0 awards". www.flyboardmagazine.com. Flyboard Magazine. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ Galiotto, Shawn. "Interview with Ben Merrell". www.flyboardmagazine.com. Flyboard Magazine. Retrieved 11 January 2015.