Entertainment

Body Surfing Boards Are Heading To 'Shark Tank'

by Rosie Narasaki

Are you a fan of surfing? How about body surfing? Then combining the two, like one company is doing, might sound like a dream come true. Slyde Handboards are heading to Shark Tank , and the products are set on putting two of everyone's favorite watersports together to create one very fun new way to enjoy the waves. Founded by Steve Watts back in 2010 (he was later joined in his entrepreneurial pursuit by his wife, Angela Ferendo in 2013), Slyde Handboards sells what are essentially supremely crafted mini-surfboards. The company started out as a Shopify venture, but has expanded considerably since its 2010 inception — in fact, it completed a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2014, raising over $22,000, and was recently valued at $1 million.

So how do these tiny (but clearly, successful) hand surfboards work? Well, you attach them to your hand while body surfing, which helps you cut through the waves with ease. Essentially, they help boost speed, maneuverability, and, well, fun, and according to the Los Angeles Times, they "added a new dimension to the experience" of bodysurfing.

With all that in mind, where can you get one of these contraptions for yourself? Well, they're available for purchase on the Slyde Handboards website, where they retail from $119 and up, with the fancier models topping off at around $200. You can also buy items from the online store in sets, which include the board itself, along with accessories, like a wrist leash and fins. Here's one with a GoPro attachment:

Hipster Wedge Handboard for Body Surfing with GoPro Attachment, $169.99, slydehandboards.com

Funnily enough, Watts was first inspired to create his handboard by regular old fast food trays, according to The Huffington Post. Watts wrote for the site that when he was a kid on the beaches of South Africa, he and his friends used to steal the trays (much to the dismay to the local mall's food court), in order to catch better waves. Fast forward a decade or two (and add in a degree in product design), and now Slyde Handboards are about to swim with the Sharks on Shark Tank.

Think they'll bite? Perhaps more importantly, do you think handboarding has what it takes to become a worldwide trend? Guess you'll have to watch and find out.

Images: ABC; slydehandboards.com