About Gary King

I’m a writer, speaker and lover of all things that raise the heartbeat and tickle the senses. If there is one thing that I’ve learnt from my years of extreme sport and adventure travel is that life is for living - not spectating.

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Abu Dhabi Wakestock 2010

by Gary King on 16-Mar-10 13:31

JD Webb 360 nosepress © Sim Bradley

JD Webb pulling a 360 nosepress. Pic: Sim Bradley

The first ever Wakestock in Abu Dhabi has drawn to a close and was deemed to be a huge success. The annual Abersoch wakeboarding festival was exported to the United Arab Emirates and attracted the best riders in the world for the first stop of the WWA Wakeboard World Series. Although the first two days of action were hampered by strong winds normal order was restored on Saturday when 16 year old Harley Cliff set the standard by laying down a peerless run. The young Australian took away the $10,000 prize in the men's event and became the youngest person to take the title.

Harley Clifford 1st place © Sim Bradley

Harley Clifford in top spot action. Pic: Sim Bradley

Filed under: Water

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Peetu Piiroinen TTR World Snowboard Champion 2010

by Gary King on 12-Mar-10 07:17

After a fantastic twelve months Finnish snowboarder Peetu Piiroinen rode to glory at the Oakley Arctic Challenge in Norway. Taking his 3rd 6Star event this season his lead at the top of the table has become uncatchable meaning that he will crowned TTR World Snowboard Champion at the Burton US Open in Stratton / Vermont next weekend.

Filed under: Snow / Ice Snowboarding

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Talk at Middleton Primary School Nottingham

by Gary King on 10-Mar-10 10:12

I've just done a talk at Middleton Primary School's morning assembly in Nottingham and showed a few pictures from my various trips. What a great bunch of children. They listened, asked pertinent questions and were particularly taken by the picture I took of an orangutan in Sumatra. At the end, Deputy Head Mrs Sadler Penn asked them if any of them fancied a bit of bungee jumping and sky diving. Judging by the show of hands I reckon we've got a right bunch of budding adrenaline junkies in the making. Thanks for having me Middleton.

Filed under: Adventure

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Travis Pastrana Skydives WITHOUT a parachute

by Gary King on 08-Mar-10 14:59

So what he's basically doing here is jumping out of the plane without a parachute, having a bit of a fly around and then being strapped into a tandem rig with another skydiver. Technically there are many skydivers who could do this as it's basically about manoeuvrability in the sky. But you're putting a lot of faith in a lot of people. Bonkers. Truly bonkers.

Filed under: Air Sky Diving

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Kate Foster at Animal Snowcamp

by Gary King on 06-Mar-10 10:24

Animal Pro Rider Kate Foster showing how it should be done

Filed under: Snow / Ice Snowboarding

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Kicker Day Animal Snowcamp

by Gary King on 05-Mar-10 18:13

Jumping Kickers at Animal Snowcamp.

Filed under: Snow / Ice Snowboarding

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Animal Snowcamp

by Gary King on 03-Mar-10 07:01

P3010029

Andy Dempsey from Scotland in the Snowpark

This week it's all about Snowcamp - 1 week of snowboarding tuition from the guys and girls from Animal in the mountains of Austria. Very good is it too.

Filed under: Snow / Ice Snowboarding

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Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong - The Snow Leopard - 25 Feb 2010 Update

by Gary King on 25-Feb-10 06:46

Kwame

With only two days to go until Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, The Snow Leopard takes part in the Slalom at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver here's the latest dispatch from the Ghanaian Ski Team.

From The Ghana Ski Team in Vancouver

Ghana’s Snow Leopard looking for a fairy tale end to an incredible journey

when he races in the Slalom on Saturday 27th Feb 2010

After an incredible roller coaster ride of a journey from novice skier to Olympian

in a little over 6 years Ghana’s Snow Leopard is looking to beat a few smaller

nations to achieve ‘Middle Dog’ status. Standing at the top of the Dave Murray

Downhill course the Ghana Ski Team will be looking for a fairy tale end to the

incredible story.

Training has been going well with the Ghana Ski Team training alongside ski

racers from Greece, Uzbekistan and Ireland. Given the slow start to the season

with only a little over a month in Val Di Fiemme, Italy and a week on Mount

Washington, Vancouver Island this training time has been essential. The Snow

Leopard feels he is ready and commented “ Training has been a very nice

experience, as skiing on ice has been very different from the usual ski slopes I

have trained on, the icy slopes of whistler have been a real confidence booster.

The last time I skied on ice like this was in the World Champs in France and its

nice to have some practice on such slopes before the big day. So we as a team are

waiting for Saturday and our chance to make our own Olympic history“. Ghana

Ski Team Coach Denis Grigorev added ”Training has been going well and

Kwame’s confidence is high and he will be ready for the race.”

Kwame was disappointed not to be racing the Giant Slalom having originally

been sent the forms and told he was allowed to do it. Watching it he said”I would

really have liked to race the GS, it is an event I really enjoy”. The Snow Leopard

has become a phenomenon attracting the attention of the world media and fans

across the planet. This is all part of a much bigger plan to create a future Ghana

Ski Team and athlete development programme. “I am a guinea pig and I want to

show the world what we have achieved in a little over 6 years. With funding,

government support and resources then Ghana and African nations could

provide serious competition to the bigger nations” – Kwame.

The world will be watching and fans have been expressing their words of

support via the Paddy Power Kwame’s Army on facebook. Kwame has called for

his fans to follow his lead and come to support Ghana with their faces painted

with Ghana Flags or as Snow Leopards. “We may not be the biggest team, and

skiing is new to Ghana but our Kwame’s Army fans have done us proud” –

Richard Harpham, Team Manager.

Ghana’s Snow Leopard is looking for a fairytale end to an incredible journey when he races in the Slalom on Saturday 27th Feb 2010.

After an incredible rollercoaster ride of a journey from novice skier to Olympian in a little over 6 years Ghana’s Snow Leopard is looking to beat a few smaller nations to achieve ‘Middle Dog’ status.

Training has been going well with the Ghana Ski Team training alongside ski racers from Greece, Uzbekistan and Ireland. Given the slow start to the season with only a little over a month in Val Di Fiemme, Italy and a week on Mount Washington, Vancouver Island this training time has been essential. The Snow Leopard feels he is ready and commented, “Training has been a very nice experience, as skiing on ice has been very different from the usual ski slopes I have trained on, the icy slopes of Whistler have been a real confidence booster. The last time I skied on ice like this was in the World Champs in France and its nice to have some practice on such slopes before the big day. So we as a team are waiting for Saturday and our chance to make our own Olympic history”.

Ghana Ski Team Coach Denis Grigorev added ”Training has been going well and Kwame’s confidence is high and he will be ready for the race.”

Kwame was disappointed not to be racing the Giant Slalom having originally been sent the forms and told he was allowed to do it. Watching it he said, ”I would really have liked to race the GS, it is an event I really enjoy”.

The Snow Leopard has become a phenomenon attracting the attention of the world media and fans across the planet.

This is all part of a much bigger plan to create a future Ghana Ski Team and athlete development programme and Kwame says, “I am a guinea pig and I want to show the world what we have achieved in a little over 6 years. With funding, government support and resources then Ghana and African nations could provide serious competition to the bigger nations.”

The world will be watching and fans have been expressing their words of support via the Paddy Power Kwame’s Army on facebook. Kwame has called for his fans to follow his lead and come to support Ghana with their faces painted with Ghana Flags or as Snow Leopards.

Richard Harpham, team manager says, “We may not be the biggest team, and skiing is new to Ghana but our Kwame’s Army fans have done us proud.”

Filed under: Snow / Ice

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The Ultimate Guide to Marathon Running

by Gary King on 22-Feb-10 17:41

running

Ever fancied running a marathon? Ever considered what you might need to know before embarking upon a training programme? The Ultimate Guide to Marathon Running (£7-99, www.magbooks.com) is jam-packed with information and is split into individual sections on Getting Started, Kit, Training Goals, Nutrition, Technique, Injury Prevention all building up to Race Day.

It's aimed at all levels from beginners to semi-pros and this is reflected in the spectrum of information it contains. For the novices there are the basics like how to stretch properly and for the more advanced tips on how to tweak your posture and increase your stride frequency. The other sections are comprehensive, informative and follow on from one another in a logical manner that reflects how you might undertake your own marathon training.

They say that the hardest thing about doing any kind of exercise is putting your running shoes on in the first place. This might be just the book to get you tying those laces.

Filed under: Sport Fitness

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Amy Williams Slides to Gold in Vancouver

by Gary King on 20-Feb-10 07:26

Amy Williams won Great Britain's first women's Winter Olympic gold for 58 years with a fearless show of skeleton expertise on the fastest ice track in the world. The former sprinter maintained her overnight lead and executed two clean runs that saw her take top spot by a substantial lead of 0.56 seconds. There were grumblings and even an official complaint, led by the Americans, that her helmet design gave her an unfair aerodynamic advantage. This protest was thrown out by officials.

The bath daredevil has slid into the annals of British Winter Olympic history and deserves every ounce of praise that she is guaranteed to get.