Bruce Spencer and his family are literally jumping into action.
Three generations of the California Mormon family have not only come
up with a new, unique business but have set a Guinness World Record
with a simple toy that's actually been around for years.
The pogo stick — a spring-loaded device that propels its rider into the air — was, according to legend, invented in 1918 by
a poor Burmese farmer for his daughter. The jumping devices were
patented by George Hansburg in 1919 and became a fad in the roaring '20s.
But the Spencers have designed an adult, high-performance, extreme sports version that works with a pneumatic spring.
It's quieter, lighter, and stronger than the pogo sticks of the past
and, handled by a fearless, experienced pogo stick athlete, can spring
its rider as high as eight feet into the air, allowing him or her to perform
all sorts of tricks and stunts.
On the David Letterman Show recently, "chief test pilot" Brian
Spencer jumped over a New York taxi cab on the Vurtego Pro pogo stick.
He also set the Guinness record on March 9, 2006 for "Highest Jump
on a Pogo Stick" when he cleared a bar set at six feet. Since that
time, several pogoists have jumped higher at the annual Pogopalooza
conventions, but the jumps haven't been officially monitored or
recorded.
The pogo sticks have been featured on the Modern Marvels television
show as the world's "strongest pogo stick" and the Ellen Degeneres show
featuring a 15-year-old LDS pogoist from Nova Scotia.
The Spencers introduced prototypes of the pogo stick at the Winter
Olympic 2002 Games in Salt Lake City. They were instantly popular, but
with the 9/11 terrorist attack and other economic challenges, it took
them another four years to get them into production. To date, they're
sold more than 6,000 in the United States and 30 other countries.
Bruce Spencer said the pogo sticks are popular with local
missionaries in the Mission Viejo area on preparation days and actually serve as
a sort of missionary tool when they attract the attention of passers-by.
"This
can get teens and adults off the couch and out exercising," said
Spencer. "It's great even for old guys like me." (Bruce Spencer is 64.)
Spencer insists the pogo sticks are not only great exercise but a relatively safe sport as well.
"Our product liability insurance guys looked at them carefully and
the fact that we haven't had a single claim in three years says
something," said Bruce Spencer. "The key is it's self-limiting, you are
always in control. If you don't want to go very high, you don't jump
very high. It's not like being strapped to something that gets going
too fast."
Made with an aircraft-grade aluminum tube, they come in colors —
even in pink — and with a variety of accessories including helmets,
pads and gloves.
The Vurtego Pro pogo sticks aren't cheap. The V2 version, with a
thermoplastic tube, is $249.99. The V3 version retails for $329.99, and the
top-of-the-line Stealth model is $349.99.
The pogo sticks are sold through the Vurtego web site: www.vurtegopogo.com. and at the Mending Shed in Orem, Utah.
E-mail: haddoc@desnews.com