Its kind of random. I ride dirt bikes and my neighbor was selling is old 550 for $250. I knew nothing about the sport at the time. I was told it was a good deal and I would enjoy it. He was right!

People rave about how hard it is. Standing wasn’t too bad. Turning is the challenging part. Snowboarding or longboarding helped a lot. Getting fast and staying in control is the hard part.

Once you learned to ride, why did you choose racing stand ups, and when? 

Racing is a recent thing. Honestly we had no clue there was anything at the time. My friend sent me a link for Jet Jam. I literally just raced this last weekend for the first time. I just wanted to try it and see what it’s about. I’m more hooked than ever. Racing is one of the best feelings ever!

Welcome to the fray! What are your accomplishments in racing stand ups?

Well right now, just getting out there and meeting people. 

Nice, the jet ski racing community is second to none, and I’ve made a ton of friends because of stand ups. Pretty neat. Ok, now for one of my favorite questions: what is your favorite ski? 

My old bone stock 550 vintage jet ski was my favorite. It never let me down and always got me on the water. Even found it sunk once, and it ran the rest of the weekend. Tons of fun for putting around.

A reliable 550? Cherish that rare beast! Now that you’ve been around for a race, what is your favorite thing about the racing community? 

I’ve done a lot of sports and other things. Nothing compares to the racing community. I was so nervous at first but seriously met some of the coolest people so far. Everyone is super welcoming and are super cool at the same time. It feels like a really cool small family.

What ski do you currently ride and what classes?

I have a 92 Kawasaki 750sx with a 650 motor. It’s been a weird mystery ski I bought of Craigslist. I ride the 750/650 vintage jet ski class.

What are your goals for your future riding? 

My goal is to stick to it and have a cool group of peeps to rip with and hang with. Maybe some podiums. 

Its a cool feeling to be on the podium no doubt, even better when your buddies are up there with you. How do you practice to work toward your goals?

My cousin and I ride a lot at this place with a hidden local Tullie road. It’s basically 3-5 miles of tight fire roads. It’s a lot of fun to race through there. We hit those on repeat like it’s a radio station. Never gets old. I watch the chixwithtrix video to get the stand up basics down. She has awesome instructional videos!

Is there anything you would like to see done differently in the ski racing world? 

I’m way too new to tell. The only thing I could say is to get the word out there to get more people involved in racing. I’d love to see this sport get bigger. This is easily the coolest racing sport that doesn’t break the bank real bad (in comparison to other types of racing).

Who is your greatest role model? 

I have role models for different things. For this, it’s my cousin that has worked with me a lot. He rode back in the 90s. Never raced but has a lot of knowledge to get me dialed. 

Nice! Other riders’ experience is truly invaluable when learning. Outside of skis, what other things do you like to do?

I ride a Harley a lot and also I want to gain more mechanical knowledge. I work in the medical field so I have a lot to learn mechanic-wise. Working on the ski is something I really enjoy, and has been a challenge as well. Currently I’ve finished school, and work as an EMT for the fire department at night and ski during the day. 

Anything else about yourself that you would like to share? 

This is a tough question, just that I am always looking for more people to ride with during the week. I typically work weekends and have weekdays off. I Also want to thank Chris at HBC Powersports in Livermore. He is a great mechanic and will teach you a lot about getting your ski dialed in. 

Thank you so much for your thoughts and experiences Chris! Looks like you have the right idea about having fun and progressing in this great sport. Ok, last question. Any advice to fellow racers and people interested in learning how to ride stand ups?

Yes, for people learning, introduce yourself and get in the forums and Facebook pages. Literally my last race was everyone from the same Facebook group I get advice from. I’ve only met great people in this community. For fellow racers, I would rather absorb your advice. I’m still a beginner.

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My name is Porter Anderson I’m 19 years old and I love motorsports! I love riding dirt bikes, cruising on Harleys, and recently riding stand ups. I’ve worked really hard to buy my toys with my own money starting by mowing lawns when I was 12 and buying my first dirt bike at 13. I bought my first street bike at 15 and my first Harley at 16. Motorcycles are definitely my passion.

Motorcycles seem to be a common thread with us stand up riders! So, how did you get in to stand ups?

My uncle introduced me and my brother’s to stand ups probably in 2014. He had an old Kawasaki 650 (I think it was) which my dad bought from him. That’s the ski that I learned to ride on, but sadly for me, it had engine problems that haven’t been fixed. I rode it just enough to get “bit” by the jet skiing bug. Five years later I get the itch to ride, and have the money to buy a ski of my own and I bought one about 2 months ago and built a little trailer to pull it to the lake. 

Tell us about the learning process; was it difficult to learn to stand?

For me, at age 14, learning to ride a jet ski (my uncles ski) started with my brother and I kneeling on it and him taking me for a ride. He showed me how to control it and I would ride around on my knees and loved it! The next year I felt more comfortable and slowly started to stand up. From there it was just getting used to the ski and gaining skill from practice. After a couple years without a ski, when I finally got back on mine I had to re-learn a lot of skills and get the feel for it again. I picked it up nicely from my years of riding motorcycles and also doing other water sports.

One of my favorite questions (haha) – what is you favorite part about riding stand ups and what is your favorite ski?

My favorite part about stand ups is the playfulness they have for freestyle riding. I love turning, jumping, drifting, diving, and wheelies! The only skis I’ve ridden are my uncles old Kawasaki 650 and my 2017 Superjet. They act surprisingly similar, but I love the simple reliability of my SJ.

What is your current ride, and what are your future riding goals?

I ride my 2017 Superjet and my goals are to improve! I would love to be able to impress anyone who watches me ride it.

How do you practice or train to reach your goals?

I bought season passes to 2 lakes near me. I’ll go out after work and on the weekends just to ride/practice/have fun! It’s not uncommon for me to ride 3 days in a row. If I didn’t work so many hours, I’d probably ride even more. Before I leave the lake I spend a bit of time pushing my limits on the ski. Riding as hard as I can just before I head home. I feel like this is when my skills really increase is when I push my limits

Since we’re not on the ski all the time, what other things do you like to do?

I love working. I work in a metal shop for about 50hrs/week and I mow lawns for neighbors as well. That supports my other hobbies which I mentioned earlier. Riding motorcycles. I love dirt bikes and I recently did a big engine upgrade on my Harley to make it amazingly fast. I love the freedom of motorcycling and the adrenaline rush I get.

Thank you so much for sharing your story Porter! Final question – what advice do you have for fellow people interested in learning to ride a stand up?

Practice and don’t give up! It’s easy to say it’s too hard or too scary. One of the biggest things I learned is RIDING A JET SKI GETS MORE FUN THE BETTER YOU GET!! Finding that out amazed me. The ski gets more fun the better you are at controlling it. You’ll figure it out, and you have the whole jet ski community cheering you on. 

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First, motorcycles: I got my first dirt bike when I was about 5 years old and had a couple different bikes up until I was old enough to drive. After I turned 16, I got my first street bike, a Kawasaki Ninja 250.  I rode all the way to Colorado on that bike and any time it rained, the airbox would fill with water and would flood out the carburetors. I had to stop several times in pouring rain and drain the bowls of the carburetors just so I could keep riding. On the way back, the oil light came on and I had burned all of the oil in the crankcase. I put in nearly its oil capacity when the light came on. When we got back home, I sold that bike for a profit, bought another bike, sold it for a profit, then purchased the bike I wanted from the start, a 2009 Monster Edition ZX6R. I spent every bit of money I had to buy it when I was 19 on eBay, sight unseen. Landers Harley Davidson in Arkansas had the bike and it just so happened that one of their employees was coming within about 5 miles of my house the following week, so I got free delivery! I still have that bike today.

Watercraft: My dad got a Tigershark 770 on trade and I planned on fixing it to ride. I got a new battery, tried to start it, and nothing happened. I replaced the starter, starter bendix, cleaned the carburetor, and replaced all of the fuel lines. The first time I took it out to the lake, I forgot about the drain plug and it filled up with water at the boat ramp and wouldn’t even start. The next time I took it out, I was able to ride it for about 5 minutes and it ran great! Then after hitting a wave at full throttle, the exhaust hose blew off and filled the hull with exhaust gases. I had to swim it back in to shore. I was frustrated with it at that point and traded it off, vowing to never own anything made by Arctic Cat again.  

After I bought my JS550, I was able to ride it a few times and I started having problems. I ended up having to swim it back to shore a few times. I worked on that ski more than I was able to ride it, for the second time. My family would go out on the boat and I would always be at the shore wrenching on the ski. Frustrated again, I sold it and bought a brand new Superjet.

Ahh the 550 story reminds me of, well, most 550 stories out there. I too was stranded in the lake with my 550 the first time I rode it. Ok, so moving on, how did you get into stand ups?

I stumbled upon a jet ski during my daily Craigslist perusing and the gears in my head started to turn.  I had owned a Tigershark 770 previously and was turned off to watercraft for a while because parts were impossible to find for such an unpopular ski. I was hesitant to buy another watercraft, but the small size, simplicity, availability of parts, and accessibility of the engine compartment of the stand up jet skis changed my mind. I set off to buy my first jet ski which was a red JS550.

Was it difficult to learn to ride a stand up ski, tell us about the learning process.

Learning to ride a stand up ski was actually the easy part for me. I only weigh 120lbs so I had a bit of an advantage.  I stood up the very first time I tried and fell off when I tried to take a turn. Before I even got a ski I watched every video I could find, including several of yours, so I had a pretty good idea of what to do from the beginning. Balancing came naturally to me. For all of my friends and family that have ridden my Superjet, it took most of them a few tries before they were able to stand up.

Happy to hear it was on the easy side, my knees were bloody my first day of riding. So what is your favorite part about riding stand ups?

My favorite part about riding a stand up jet ski is that it requires skill to ride, unlike “couches” that take very little skill to maneuver. I love being able to throw the ski around and fall off at low speeds. It’s satisfying to be fatigued at the end of the day and being able to set goals to work toward to nail tricks and increase riding endurance.

What do you currently ride, and what are your future riding goals?

I ride a 2018 Superjet.  My riding goals include learning every trick that’s possible on flat water with a stock powered ski, mainly hood tricks.  If I have the budget to buy another ski, I would love to try a backflip!

Superjet, nice! They make riding so much easier than many of the older skis. How do you train/practice to reach your goals?

Almost every weekend I go to the lake during the summer. If my family is taking their boats out, I will hang out with them. When we go out, I ride all day. I try to practice tricks when the lake isn’t too busy. This year after all the flooding it has been difficult to find a time where the lake isn’t crowded.

All day on the ski is DEFINITELY a great workout! Outside of skis, what other things do you like to do?

I have a bunch of expensive hobbies including playing and collecting guitars and basses, riding motorcycles, riding quads with my son, mountain biking, playing and collecting video games, and driving my car.

The motorsports addiction runs deep I see! Well Brad, thank you so much for sharing your story! What advice do you have for fellow people interested in learning how to ride stand ups?

It really helps to do research and watch videos before riding a stand up ski, especially if you don’t have a friend that’s available to help.  Everyone that has ridden my jet ski has been able to stand up on it and they all have a blast. Don’t get discouraged just because you fail. The struggle makes the accomplishment that much more satisfying!

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