Banana George is the most popular barefoot water skier in the world.  When Joe Public names a barefoot water skier, they don’t say Ron Scarpa or Mike Seiple, they say Banana George.  I had the pleasure of skiing with George at Cypress Gardens, and he truly is an amazing man.  George turned 88 years young this past January 22^nd and he continues to explore new challenges.  Today we are excited and honored to talk with him one on one.

Stokeman:  Thank you for speaking with us today George.  How is life treating you?

Banana George:  Fabulous.  At the age of 88 and 5 months doing what I do.  It makes me happy to have my feet massaged on the water everyday.  All I can say is fabulous.

Stokeman:  What got you hooked on the color yellow, and who first called you Banana George?

Banana George:  The good Lord said, “young man, your going to like yellow”, and I said “yes sir”.  It’s been my favorite every since I can remember especially in a bikini.  I had two ski schools for twenty years in New Jersey.  In the late 50’s, a women named Peggy Goodman and her family came to the school.  She was an artist and one day presented a shirt to me with a banana on the back pealed back and ready to eat and on the front it said Banana George.  That’s where the name started.

Stokeman:  At some point, you turned your love of yellow into a great marketing machine?  Tell us how that developed. At some point, you turned your love of yellow into a great marketing machine?  Tell us how that developed.

Banana George:  It wasn’t planned, it just developed over time.  I have just remained active as usual and things just happened.  I recall Cheerios calling me out of the blue and they wanted to use me for a print ad.  The money they offered was I thought astronomical.  The ad went in Readers Digest, AARP, and a few other magazines.  They were circulated to hundreds of thousands of readers around the world.  Another time, Armorall called me out of the blue as well.  They used me for a television commercial that I am proud to say boosted sales immediately by over 20%.

Stokeman:  At what age did you learn to barefoot water ski?

Banana George:  Ski at 40 Barefoot at 46

Stokeman:  Describe why you love barefoot water skiing so much?  Is it the people, the exercise, the adrenaline, the attention…

Banana George:  All of the above.  Barefoot’n made a man of me.  In my late 30’s, I had a back injury.  I knew I had to have a fusion.  Back then, this was a big deal.  Lyle Lee Ski School in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida talked me into learning to ski.  I was very leery, but I did it.  He said, “if you can walk, you can ski.”  Though skiing did strengthen my back, it was mostly beneficial to my psyche.  I was active again, and that was a changing point in my life.  That is why I love the sport and support it so much.  My favorite of all was foot’n at Cypress Gardens; I loved the electricity from the crowd.

Stokeman:  How is your back doing now?

Banana George:  The back is fine.  I’ve had four broken backs over the years, but it is doing great right now.  I haven’t done long line for quite a while.  I’ve just been foot’n on the five foot.  I’m taking it easy this time around.  My wife can’t take another broken back.  It is almost harder on her than it is on me.

Stokeman:  The most interesting accomplishment that I remember is your Guinness World Record for being the only man to have barefoot water skied on all seven continents.  That is really something.  Tell us about the adventure. The most interesting accomplishment that I remember is your Guinness World Record for being the only man to have barefoot water skied on all seven continents.  That is really something.  Tell us about the adventure.

Banana George:  The idea came from a conversation I had with my wife and her brother.  Her brother said “Where all have you skied”.  I showed him the list of 65 countries that I had barefooted in.  He said, “My gosh, you’ve skied on six continents”.  I said, “How many continents are there”.  Then he said, “Seven, you only have one more, Antarctica.”  So my wife and I planned a trip to the Antarctic.  We had to fly to the tip of South America, which is Argentina.  From the tip of Argentina, we took a boat out to the Antarctic Peninsula.  The captain had heard of my adventure and had taken it upon himself to find a boat.  I was floored when he showed me a 14 foot boat with a pylon and a 100 hp Mercury, “It was perfect”.  It’s not too far to the Antarctic Peninsula, but you have to cross the roughest waters in the world.  This particular trip, according to the captain, was one of the roughest ever.  We arrived at Whalers Bay, which is where we would go for it.  Whalers Bay is mostly a volcanic island, all black, which helped hold some heat.  Early the next morning we unloaded the boat.  My grandson was along for his graduation present.  He was a big help.  It was January, their summer, and the water was 28 degrees and the air was 38.  I know what you are thinking, but salt water doesn’t freeze at 32.  This was actually quite a warm day for them.  First I skied on trick skis to test out the boat and let the driver get used to everything.  I took a barefoot run after that and everything went smooth.  Luckily I had some great yellow equipment including a dry suit and thermo gloves.  My hands were still colder than my bare feet.  It was quite the experience.

Stokeman:  Do you hope to be the first man over 100 years old to barefoot ski?

Banana George:  I’d like to make it to 89, and then 90.  If I even water ski much less barefoot each year it makes me happy.  I take it one year at a time.  I’m blessed to do what I do today.

Stokeman:  I can’t resist, how has Viagra impacted your life?

Banana George:  It hasn’t impacted my life at all.  I am very happy to report that things are still functioning very well.

Stokeman:  Thank you so much for your time.  Is there anyone you would like to take this opportunity to thank?  Thank you so much for your time.  Is there anyone you would like to take this opportunity to thank? 

Banana George:  My wife, JoAnne, and my previous wife, who both supported me in my adventures and understood my time away from home.  I’d like to thank Dr. Russell Warren and Dr. Kenneth Cooper for helping me stay healthy and taking care of me.  I’d like to thank Lyle Lee for introducing me to the sport of water skiing, and Lynn Novakowski, who was the show director at Cypress Gardens for 22 years.