Date: 12/13/99
Reviewed by: David Williams

I was really excited when I finally got my Indo Board in the mail. I had heard so much about it and was impressed by its large following of professional athletes. I had tried something similar about ten years ago so I was pretty confident in my ability to re-master this balancing challenge. They say it takes about 10 to 15 minutes for the average Indo Boarder to get some consistent balance going, but I was up and running in about two minutes...and I didn't get off for about two hours.

The Indo Board was invented by surfer Hunter Joslin and consists of a board and a roller. The object is simple; stand on the board while balancing the board on top of the roller. If you can keep the ends of the board off the ground for any length of time then you're successful. It requires some of the same balance techniques and body english that you use for wakeboarding.

After my initial success with simply balancing the board in one place, I was wondering what else could be done with this slab of wood. The answer to my question came in the form of a video that is also available from Indo Board. It showed several pros, including Darin Shapiro and Parks Bonifay, riding the Indo Board and attempting all kinds of maneuvers. You can do shuvits, ollies, every kind of grab, 180 and 360 jump up spins, 180 and 360 board spins and probably many others that nobody's even thought of yet. The scene with Parks Bonifay and his incredible afro sporting a pair of Adidas short shorts from the mid 1970's while doing a little Pee Wee Herman dance on the end of his Indo Board was worth the price of admission alone.

The thing I like about the Indo Board is that it's a fun way to work on your balance. It's perfect to use while you're watching TV, on the phone or doing any other mindless tasks. It's great for just about anybody. Even my three-year-old daughter insisted on giving it a try (with a little help from Daddy, of course).

The Indo Board can be a bit dangerous. As most things that are fun, it has the potential to do damage to your walls and buddy's ankles if you really make the wrong moves at the wrong time. However, even this potential is greatly reduced by the addition of little stops on the bottom of the board that keep the board from rolling past the end (and off into oblivion) in most cases. So if you're looking for a way to improve your game while your off the water, I would definitely recommend this $100 training regimen.

To find out more about The Indo Board or to purchase a board or video visit their website at http://www.indoboard.com or email them at hunter@indoboard.com

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