Banshee Bungee... a new board sport that doesn’t require a boat or gas!
Who We Are
- 1950’s – Kids in the Northwest tie pieces of plywood to bridges. The current passing under them allows these boards to ride back and forth on top of the water.
- 1970’s – Kids in Boise started using different materials in the rope that tied their board to the bridge to give them a short, fast burst of speed upstream. Inner Tubes, Bungee Cord and even garage door springs were some of the materials used.
- 1978 – Banshee riverboards founder builds his first bungee board
- 1985 – Banshee Riverboards founder builds first high speed bungee system from silicone rubber tubing. Silicone tubing does not stand up to UV exposure and this system only lasted 1 day.
- 1990’s – Compression molded boards. The bungee system is re-designed by putting modern rubber materials through a vulcanizing process. Bungee speed and durability greatly increase. This bungee is capable of pulling a rider up FASTER than a boat!
- 2004: April – Banshee Riverboards incorporates
- 2005 – Release system perfected. Once the bungee is no longer pulling on the board, the bungee releases from the board, allowing the rider to free ride and do almost any skateboarding trick.
- 2006 – Banshee Riverboards wins ISPO BrandNew contest and enters the European Union. Sales of riverboards begin to ramp quickly in the Alp regions of Europe.
- ISPO BrandNew contest:
- World’s largest start-up competition in the sports industry
- 171 participants
- From 25 countries
- 14 expert judges from around the globe
- 2007 – Banshee Riverboards described as the ‘Next Burton’ by the Associated Press and the rapidly evolving sport of riverboarding is featured by multiple TV stations and news outlets. The Associated Press multi-media news release (TV and print)
- The New York Times (full column right next to the sports scores)
- Men’s Health Germany
- Blond Magazine Germany, full page article on Banshee Riverboards
- Kayak Magazine
- Idaho Magazine
- X-Corp and PlanetX TV
- Jackson Hole News & Guide
- Idaho Statesman
- Thrive
- Fox
- ABC
- NBC
- PBS – Extreme sports segment
- 2008 – Banshee riders are now shaping the future of this new sport. Extreme sports junkies are taking riverboarding to a new level, challenging new rivers, and inventing new board tricks. Local riverboarding competitions are forming as riders compete.