 |
Parks Bonifay | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 30, 1981 Lake Alfred, Florida, U.S. |
| Occupation | Wakeboarder |
| Years active | 1994-present |
| Parent(s) | Pete Bonifay and Betty Bonifay |
Parks Bonifay (born September 30, 1981) [1] is an American professional wakeboarder.
|
Parks Bonifay | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 30, 1981 Lake Alfred, Florida, U.S. |
| Occupation | Wakeboarder |
| Years active | 1994-present |
| Parent(s) | Pete Bonifay and Betty Bonifay |
Parks Bonifay (born September 30, 1981) [1] is an American professional wakeboarder.
Bonifay was born in Lake Alfred, Florida. [1] He became a professional wakeboarder in 1994. Parks began competing as a 14-year-old, winning the X-Games in his first visit. [2] He has held many major titles including the Pro Wakeboard Tour titles in 1999 and 2001. He began waterskiing at the age of six months and 29 days old, setting a new world record. [2]
He became the first documented wakeboarder to land the 1080 (a switch toeside 1080), doing so at a Bill Doster photoshoot in 1999. [2]
Bonifay was a recurring star on MTV's extreme action sports show Nitro Circus. He is sponsored by Ronix, Fox, Red Bull, Spy, MasterCraft, and Performance Ski & Surf.
A full-length feature documentary on Bonifay's life was released on August 21, 2009, titled The Parks Documentary. It chronicles the story of his life, from his roots in water skiing and show skiing via his parents and grandparents, to his exploits, accomplishments, and overall success in the world of wakeboarding the past 12 years.
He resides in Auburndale, Florida.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Nitro Circus | Himself | 2 episodes |
| 2009 | Adrenaline Rush Hour | Himself | Episode 1.5 TV series documentary |
| 2011 | Momentum: What Drives You | Himself | Episode 3.5 |
| 2012 | Roast of Parks Bonifay | Himself | TV special |
| 2012 | Ultimate Rush | Himself | TV documentary |
| 2014 | Parks Documentary: The Story of Parks Bonifay | Himself | TV documentary |
| 2015 | Wakecation | Himself | 5 episodes |
| 2015-2016 | Worldies | Himself | 2 episodes |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Jackass: The Movie | Construction crew member | |
| 2010 | Jackass 3D | Himself | Guest appearance |
| 2011 | Jackass 3.5 | Himself | Guest appearance |
| 2012 | Nitro Circus: The Movie | Himself | |
| 2022 | Jackass Forever | Himself | Guest appearance |
| 2022 | Jackass 4.5 | Himself | Guest appearance |
Wakeboarding is a water sport in which the rider, standing on a wakeboard, is towed behind a motorboat across its wake and especially up off the crest in order to perform aerial maneuvers. A hallmark of wakeboarding is the attempted performance of midair tricks. Wakeboarding was developed from a combination of water skiing, snowboarding and surfing techniques.
Water skiing is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or one ski. The sport requires sufficient area on a stretch of water, one or two skis, a tow boat with tow rope, two or three people, and a personal flotation device. In addition, the skier must have adequate upper and lower body strength, muscular endurance, and good balance.
Barefoot skiing is water skiing behind a motorboat without the use of water skis, commonly referred to as "barefooting". Barefooting requires the skier to travel at higher speeds (30–45 mph/48–72 km/h) than conventional water skiing. The necessary speed required to keep the skier upright varies by the weight of the barefooter and can be approximated by the following formula: + 20, where W is the skier's weight in pounds and the result is in miles per hour. It is an act performed in show skiing, and on its own.
The International Waterski & Wakeboard Federation (IWWF) is the world governing body for all towed water sports. Founded in Geneva, Switzerland in 1946, it is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the sole authority governing all towed water sports and has 91 affiliated member federations worldwide. The IWWF is also an affiliate member of the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) and is one of the seven founding sports of the World Games.
The MasterCraft Boat Company is an American manufacturer of luxury high-performance boats. The company was founded in 1968 in Maryville, Tennessee, and is currently headquartered in Vonore, Tennessee. MasterCraft boats are used in waterskiing, wakeboarding and wake surfing. The company has also produced several boats that are not focused on water sports, such as the NauticStar line of fishing boats.
Shaun Murray is an American four-time World champion wakeboarder, and the main character featured in Activision O2's video game Wakeboarding Unleashed Featuring Shaun Murray developed by Shaba Games and released on June 3, 2003 for PlayStation 2, Xbox and Game Boy Advance. A PC port was developed by Beenox and published by Aspyr, releasing on December 22, 2003. A playable demo version of the game was available in the Options menu for the PlayStation 2 version of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4.
Darin Fane Shapiro, nicknamed "The Scud" is an American professional wakeboarder from Orlando, Florida and the most successful rider in the history of the sport. Shapiro is well known for landing the first ever double-flip on a wakeboard, which he named the "Speedball" as well as many other tricks which laid the foundation for what wakeboarding is today. After a 10-year retirement from wakeboarding, Shapiro returned to competition at age 40, at the 2014 Wake Games contest at Orlando Watersports Complex in Orlando, Florida.
Cable skiing is a way to water ski, in which the skier's rope and handle are pulled by an electrically driven cable, whereas traditionally a waterskier is pulled by a motorboat. The mechanism consists of two cables running parallel to one another with carriers between them every 80 metres. The carriers are metal tubes that can hook up tow ropes with riders. Tow ropes are detached and attached at the same time without slowing the system down, which is a main reason for its high efficiency. With a main cable of 800 metres long, 10 riders can waterski or wakeboard at the same time. The speed of the main cable can be up to 38 mph (61 km/h), and slalom skiers can reach much higher speeds. The most common speed is 19 mph (31 km/h), which suits wakeboarders best.
Nautique Boat Company is an American boat manufacturer that produces boats primarily for waterskiing, wakeboarding and wakesurfing. With models in the Super Air Nautique and Ski Nautique lines, they are widely considered the gold standard in the inboard towboat market. Owned by parent company, Correct Craft, Nautique is a member of the oldest family-owned and operated boat manufacturer in the world.
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Betty Bonifay is a professional water skier and mother to professional wakeboarders Shane and Parks Bonifay. In 1976, she and Sally Winter were instrumental in developing the technique for skiing on a 360-degree swivel binding that allowed turning in a full circle while on a single water ski. The 360 swivel ski debuted in the Cypress Gardens' Super Show in 1977.
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Birthdate: September 30, 1981 Birthplace: Lake Alfred, Florida