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Picture Marty McFly, except Drew Brees has one up on the famous time traveler — his board works on water.
The New Orleans Saints’ QB legend is enjoying his retirement by taking up eFoiling, a recreational sport that appears to elevate the act of surfing to something like hovering. Brees can hover a foot over water at up to 20 MPH.
eFoils have a thin post underneath the board pointing down into the water with wings on each side. This structure causes the board to stick out above the water and allows for surfing in calmer waters.
The eFoil came into existence when, as Brees explained on “The Ellen Degeneres Show,” someone thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool if we added a motor on here and a battery?”
The extra gear, which uses technology developed for drones, electric vehicles, and smartphones, allows eFoilers to cruise above the water for 90 minutes at a time — just make sure you’re near land when the charge runs out.
Brees’ enthusiasm could provide a lift to the water sport.
“There’s pent-up demand for something like this,” Lift CFO Stew Wagner told the San Francisco Chronicle. “There’s a huge growth opportunity.”
- In September, Lift and Flite were the main producers of commercial eFoils. The boards cost around $12,000.
- Now, a handful of other brands offer the unique boards at prices from around $8,000 to $20,000.
- The estimated worldwide demand for the boards has hit 100,000, Wagner noted, and added that the biggest markets were the U.S., Germany, France, and the Middle East.
“It’s a cross between surfing and flying,” Brees said.
Sounds like a nice alternative to getting sacked.
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