Brett Swanbom can be considered a rising star in the extreme sport of barefoot water-skiing.
The 11-year-old, who lives in Land O’ Lakes, has the medals to prove it.
Swanbom won first overall in the boys B Division (12 & under) at the 2017 United States Barefoot Nationals on Aug. 5 in Polk City. There, he claimed gold medals in jump and slalom events, and a silver medal in tricks.
In April, Swanbom entered — and won — his first-ever tournament — the 2017 PGA Opener in Palm Beach Gardens.
He also went on to win a handful of other tournaments in Florida and Texas over the summer.
Those achievements paled in comparison to capturing the boys B Division national barefoot title, however.
“It didn’t really feel like it did at nationals; people come from all over America (to compete),” said Swanbom, a sixth-grader at Pine View Middle School.
A relative newcomer to the sport, Swanbom began barefooting just about a year-and-a-half ago. He first learned from his father, Bob Swanbom, a former show skier on the Wisconsin-based Tommy Bartlett water-ski team.
It became clear Swanbom was a natural.
“He just excelled real fast,” his father said.
Barefoot skiing, also referred to as “barefooting,” is water-skiing behind a motorboat without the use of water skis. It requires skiers to travel at higher speeds than conventional water-skiing (30 to 45mph); the necessary speed required to keep the skier upright varies by the weight of the barefooter.
There are three events in traditional barefooting:
- Tricks: The skier has two passes of 15 seconds to complete as many different tricks as possible. All tricks have specific point values depending on difficulty. The skier also is awarded points for the start trick they performed to get up.
- Slalom: The skier has two passes of 15 seconds to cross the wake as many times as possible. The skier can cross the wake forward or backward, and on two feet or one foot.
- Jump: The skier travels over a small, fiberglass jump ramp. They have three jumps and the longest one successfully landed counts.
Swanbom already has earned a name for himself in barefoot water-skiing.
He’s one of just 23 sponsored skiers by the World Barefoot Center (WBC) in Winter Haven, where he receives training and equipment perks.
There, he’s been called Brett ‘Slalom’ Swanbom, for his masterful displays in the wake slalom event.
(Kevin Weiss)
“He’s very, very good at the slalom ski,” Brett’s father said. “They think someday he’ll beat (two-time World Barefoot Champion) Keith (St. Onge) in the world slalom record.”
David Small, one of Swanbom’s instructors at the World Barefoot Center, is spellbound by the 11-year-old’s slalom skills.
“As soon as he could stand up beyond the boat, he’d be tearing up the slalom,” said Small, the world’s top-ranked barefooter and a six-time world barefoot champion.
“Natural ability helps him. The power-to-weight ratio on that kid is unbelievable. He’s so strong, and he weighs next to nothing.”
Besides his moniker, Swanbom’s abilities spawned a new rule allowing the barefoot jump event for boys under 12 years old, colloquially referred to as the ‘Brett Rule.’
“…They didn’t allow 11 year olds to jump, so I said, ‘Well, how can he ever win boys B Division?’” Brett’s father recalled telling barefooting officials. “Now if you qualify, and they see you’re really a good barefooter, they’ll let you jump. You have to go through some qualifications. They just don’t want somebody to go out there and get hurt.”
Swanbom is currently ranked 27th in the world in the boys junior division (17 and under), according to the World Barefoot Council’s latest rankings. Many ranked higher are 15, 16 and 17 years old.
“I’m very proud of him,” his father said. “He’s accomplished a lot in a short period of time and, with the guys at WBC, he’s learning from the best.”
Swanbom stays humble, realizing there’s ways to go to reach the world’s elite.
“I’m not there yet,” he said, modestly. “I haven’t really mastered tricks. I haven’t really mastered slalom, either.”
Doing so is contingent on flawless barefooting technique.
“He’s progressed fast,” Small said, “so it’s our job to keep him mentally grounded so that he doesn’t act up, and really to solidify the fundamentals of the sport…so he can really push forward and compete at a high level.”
Meanwhile, Swanbom has incorporated several sophisticated tricks to his repertoire.
That includes ‘tumble-turns’ — a 360-degree spin while butt-sliding on the water, then coming back around with feet planted — and ‘toe-ups’ — where a skier, with one leg locked onto the ski handle, rocks their body up on the water on one foot, without using hands.
“When you learn new tricks and you finally get it after a long time, you’re relieved, but proud of yourself at the same time,” Swanbom said. “Some part makes you proud, some part makes it fun.”
During events, Swanbom focuses on setting personal-bests, rather than his opponents.
“It’s not about going against another person — it’s (about) going against you,” Brett said. “First, you try to beat yourself, then you worry about the other person. But, I don’t really do that much.”
“If you win or not, it doesn’t matter. It’s just like if you had fun,” he said.
“With the kids, it’s all about them having fun,” added Small. “He really enjoys the sport. So, it’s not like he’s going out there and training and not having fun.”
Swanbom someday hopes to compete professionally and set a world record “at least in one event.”
A more immediate goal is joining the United States World Team, perhaps even the 2018 junior squad.
“I don’t see why he can’t be on the U.S. team for the junior world championships, and start actively competing against the rest of the world,” Small said. “As long as he keeps enjoying it; he’s got the mental ability, and the physical ability to do it.”
It also doesn’t hurt that Swanbom resides in Central Florida, often referred to as the “Water Ski Capital of the World.”
“Florida’s a great place to water-ski because you can ski year-round,” Bob Swanbom said. “You can’t do that in Wisconsin, and you might not be able to do that in Utah, and in Texas you can’t, sometimes.”
Interestingly, Land O’ Lakes is home to a pair of the sport’s most recognizable names, as both Don Mixon Sr. and Don Mixon Jr., live in Lake Padgett. Mixon Sr. is the past president of the American Barefoot Waterskiing Association and a former coach of the United States Barefoot Team. Mixon Jr. is a former barefoot professional, winning the 1994 World Barefoot Championship in Sydney, Australia.
Published August 30, 2017
