Slackline

Who knew walking on a 2 inch wide line of stretchy fabric could be so fun? I found out about slackline when I was listening to a podcast about Josh Beaudoin and some of the stuff he is into. Click here to listen Link

Everything that Josh said really stuck in my mind as I listened. I found myself searching youtube for some of his videos and thinking I really need to meet this man. He was facebook friends with one of my friends so I sent him a message asking if I could friend him and seeing if I could come tag along on a slackline adventure. Josh being the super nice guy he is said of course to both. He had to take his slackline partner to the airport one weekend and I live near the airport so he suggested we meet up and I could try it out. When he came over we picked out the 2 best trees in the yard and set it up. He got on first and blew my mind. Walking backward and forward and spinning around and doing backflips the guy really is amazing. Once I got on I found out quickly that it’s way harder than it looks. His suggestion was to practice standing on one foot and practice building up balance and the muscles in your ankles. That was all well and good but I wanted the sense of accomplishment from walking from one end to the other. Sadly the only way I was going to feel that victory was with Josh holding my arm and helping balance me as I walked one foot in front of the other.  We made dinner and he kept encouraging me to practice as often as I can and to really get the basics down in order to have a solid foundation to build on.  I did practice almost daily but the spot I could set the slackline up wasn’t the greatest and I knew I wanted something better and permanent so I could leave the slackline up all the time. Josh and his partner Heather came over early one Sunday and we set up a 35 ft slackline in the backyard. It was great I didn’t have to keep falling off in the front yard and giving the neighbors a show. Once it was all setup Josh and Heather showed me something they are creating called Tandem Slackline   If I thought walking the line solo was proving to be a challenge watching these two preform tricks and walk the line together was insane. After hanging out and practicing for several hours however I was able to start walking further and further and was starting to get more confidence. Now I’ve been practicing for several months and can walk down and back and I’m trying to learn more tricks for the line. It feels so great to see how far I’ve come in what feels like a short amount of time.  I highly encourage you to find a slackline and get up on it and see for yourself just how awesome it can be.  Be sure to check out Josh’s company Slackline Industries