Staging a show: Flyboarding — from plain fun to world record
Since the launch of the first Flyboards in 2011, Lindsay McQueen has become one of the best-known names in the sport. He is responsible for the legislation that governs their hire in Spain, and his backflip has taken him all the way to Hollywood. He now has five different companies and business in Ibiza and Formentera is booming for the Briton.
When in spring 2011 the first Flyboard videos appeared on YouTube, it looked as though they had come straight out of a James Bond film. But without any special effects. Finally it was possible to hover above the water with a motor on your back. It was sensational. It quickly became clear that this new sport would be a great success in the Balearics. In the following summer, Lindsay McQueen opened his new Supertoy Store in Port Adriano and invited guests and the press to the marina for a breathtaking display of aquabatics. In addition to other kinds of equipment such as Jet Skis and Seabobs, McQueen Luxury Toys also hired out and sold Flyboards. Very soon a franchise was opened in Ibiza. Since then Lindsay McQueen’s initial company has grown into five independent companies. He himself regulates standards in the sport, working with Franky Zapata, the inventor of the Flyboard, who recently also set a new world record.
Today, according to Spanish law IS27/05/2014, anyone who wants to open a business in Spain hiring out Flyboards must first complete one of McQueen’s training courses. For this we have to thank the doggedness with which in 2012 he lobbied the Spanish authorities to authorise Flyboarding. His Flyboard and Hoverboard school based in Ibiza has become a top destination for VIPs. Here, during the summer, celebrities such as Leonardo Di Caprio, Vladimir Klitschko, Nicole Scherzinger and Leo Messi learn how to fly over the water. But McQueen reveals his true skill above all in his breathtaking shows. He started doing stunts in hotel swimming pools and soon became a global sensation. Whether at the famous Ushuaïa Beach Hotel in Ibiza, Nikki Beach in Mallorca or in TV commercials for Vodafone and Heineken, his aquabatics are legendary.
And he demonstrated his famous backflip in the Hollywood blockbuster Edge of Tomorrow starring Tom Cruise. In his private life McQueen likes to fly high, too. He and his wife Anastasia do an extraordinary double act in which she plays the saxophone while on the Flyboard. It is very popular with wedding couples as the highlight of their important day.
But all this talent doesn’t just come from nowhere. By the age of five Lindsay was already water-skiing and at eight years old he entered his first competitions, winning various titles. When he left school he worked in Madrid as a water-ski instructor, and even taught King Felipe VI of Spain. All of which goes to show that with him you are in the best of hands. If during the summer holidays you want to take to the waters off Ibiza and Formentera — using the very latest equipment — you can find McQueen’s fleet for hire at yachtwatersports.com. If to begin with you would rather just watch, or go to see one of his unique shows, visit the-best-shows.com to find the McQueen events calendar. Have fun.
Editorial as seen at https://issuu.com/home/statistics/publications/deluxe_mallorca_summer_2017.
Find out more about Mallorca at www.deluxemallorca.com.
By Birgit Unger. Translation Celia Moody. Photos courtesy Lindsay McQueen.
