Sports

‘FlowGang’ makes waves in a new, interesting sport

Nighthawk News Alumni • November 13, 2019

Freshman Jackson Meyers performs a sick flip on the FlowRider at H2OBX. PHOTO SUBMITTED BY NICK BERNARD

By Noah Kinnisten, Staff Writer

These groms are the bomb at this newfound boardsport on the Outer Banks called the FlowRider.

Freshman Nick Bernard also practices his FlowBoarding skills at H2OBX. PHOTO SUBMITTED BY NICK BERNARD

H2OBX, the water park right down the road in Currituck, always has a few familiar faces, but some are more recurring than others, like FFHS freshmen Jackson Meyers, Nick Bernard, Griffin Ash and Noah Boddicker. Over the summer, these FlowBoarders (someone who uses the FlowRider) would be at the water park multiple days a week for hours on end.

Closer to the back of H2OBX lives the FlowRider: a wave riding machine where a normal FlowRider board is used to simulate boogie boarding, and a “stand-up” board used to simulate surfing.

And though they are freshmen, these four are extremely skilled FlowBoarders who do tricks which seem physically impossible – pulling off different flips, spins, turns and other tricks with ease.

These elite FlowBoarders have called themselves the OBX FlowGang.

“It started about a week after (H2OBX) opened,” Ash said. “When the waves were bad at the beach, we would just go there.”

Added Meyers: “I just (started FlowBoarding) one day, then I did a couple of tricks, then I started to do it more and more.”

Now they spend as much time as they can at the water park.

The group even went to a few tournaments for FlowRiding over the summer in places such as New Jersey, Florida and Alabama. Ash went to two different competitions in New Jersey and got first in both of his heats.

Meyers, who spends up to “five to six days a week” practicing his technique to the best of his ability, went to Waterville USA in Gulf Shores, Alabama, during August as well as Florida and New Jersey.

“My favorite was Alabama because it was the national championship, so there were a lot of pros there and it was set up really nice,” Meyers said. “I had a stand-up pro staying with me and there was a lot of free food.”

Meyers also explained that the national championship changes locations every year and there is a chance it could be at H2OBX in the coming years.

He came in fourth in the country for his age group: “I think I have a good chance to get first this summer.”

Sophomore Noah Kinnisten can be reached at 22kinnistenno93@daretolearn.org.

Donate to Nighthawk News Magazine

Your donation will support the student journalists of First Flight High School. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.