Thursday, February 22, 2007

I absolutely love hearing from skippers around the world..Here are two examples...The first from a skipper who is 50+...

I'm working up to going skipping down our road regularly, but I think I need a t-shirt first. I was thinking of asking my son to make me one for my upcoming 55 year birthday that said, "Skippers over 50" to give me some "legitimacy" but your website tells the story so well, I want it to say iskip.com. Would you mind? My best skipping story:

In the 80's, I was in Yosemite camping and had just climbed to the top of Glacier Point disappointed after the long trail of switchbacks, that a tour bus had arrived at the same time, and that storm clouds were gathering. Not wanting to get wet, I found that skipping was the fastest way down, and got into a rhythm, had a fun time, and beat the rain. A little while later at the bottom, a man remarked, "There's the wood nymph that was skipping down the trail." He was smiling and so was I.


For the record, iskip.com belongs to all of the skippers of the world...So you can feel free to use the logo on tshirts, etc. for your own use (but not for resale!)

Here's another email from a young skipper who is already getting some slack from her peers who have lost their skipping spirit far too soon. I love her sense of humor!

I am 12 years old. I live in Knoxville, TN. All of my friends at school make fun of me, because apperantly I was left off of the mailing list that sent out the memo that you are supposed to stop skipping in first grade. I don't know. But for me, skipping is a little like flying. Now, ever since I saw Peter Pan I have wanted to fly. And skipping seems like an OK comprimise for the time being. I don't really mind that I was left off of the mailing list, or the phone chain, or the chain letter or whatever. Because I like to skip. And I probabally would have lost the memo anyway.

Skip on! Skip on! Skip on!

Thursday, February 08, 2007

I am psyched to announce what what has to be the most unique, unusual skipping news I've ever had to report in the 8-year history of iskip.com!

As I shared in December, Ashrita Furman got approval from Guinness to establish a 5K skipping record. Ashrita has set a record number of Guinness records....127 in all in his lifetime!

I'm excited to report that he set the record this past Sunday. He skipped the 5K in 35 minutes and 19 seconds...and he did it in a MOST unusual way. Perhaps the best way to tell the story is to let you read Ashrita's email yourself....

Well, it's been a wild journey! I broke the 5K skipping record on Sunday by skipping the distance in 35 minutes and 19 seconds. The time was disappointing but I lost at least 4 or 5 minutes because of a tiger!

i did the record at a place called the Tiger Temple in Thailand where monks allow people to walk with a tiger. So i decided to skip with one! The monastery people were a little worried because they thought the skipping might remind the tiger of an injured animal and provoke him to attack me. But I skipped the first 100 meters with the tiger (on a leash) with no problems, then speeded up by myself and finally tried to do the last 100 meters with the tiger. Unfortunately, the big fellow thought he was going to be put back in his cage and he was moving really slowly. After 75 meters I got impatient, handed the leash to one of the handlers, and skipped to the finish line. That was a foolish thing to do! The tiger saw me rushing away and instinctively went into his attack mode. It took 4 handlers to restrain him!

Overall, it was a great adventure and sInce Reuters Press Agency was there, the story went worldwide. Later in the year, I plan to try again (with no animals) and do a better time. I just love the skipping! Thanks for all your encouragement.

All the best, Ashrita


Wow! Amazing! This one seriously belongs in the , "You couldn't even begin to make this stuff up" file! Sfgate.com even wrote about it! What can I say but SKIP ON ASHRITA! SKIP ON!