The Young Gun: Eric Silverman Profile

Eric Silverman

If you've been paying any attention at all to flowboarding recently, then the name Eric Silverman should be ringing all kinds of bells. At 17 and with less than two years riding experience he's one of the youngest competitors on the scene, but what he lacks in experience he more than makes up for in drive and talent. Considering some of the groundbreaking stuff he's trying, the mind boggles when you think of what he could be doing in a couple of years time. The future looks bright....

 
How long have you been Flowboarding?
I have been flowboarding for about 18 months.
 
What sparks your creativity on the FlowBarrel?
Watching Bob Burnquist skate, because his tricks and style are so unique. When I watch the stuff he does it blows my mind because I can't believe that he thought of doing that. And that's what I want people to be thinking when they watch flowboarding.
 
Why risk launching out of a perfectly good wave?
Because everything's better when you can be flying through the air.
 
What's your favorite trick and explain it:
My favorite strapped trick right now is a new one that I just did - a wall step up to backflip. What I do is I come out of the barrel fast and when I get to the edge, by the first pump, I jump over the wall and stairs, landing on a ledge that is about 4 feet away from the wave and 4 feet high. Then to get back down and into the water I backflip off the wall onto the wave. My favorite strapless trick to do at the moment is a trick I invented which I named the JOO flip. This trick is a combination of a Christ air to a late finger flip.

 
What is your goal in Flowboarding?
Hopefully one day to be able to make a living off of it and to travel the world riding.

Who do you look up to in the sport and why?
Greg Lazarus. When I first saw him ride I never thought I would ever get close to as good as he was. Laz has helped me out on learning some of the tricks that I do now.  I still look up to him. To me he is the Godfather of this sport. He is one of the main reasons why flowboarding is where it is now.
 
If you could change one thing in the flowboarding sport, what would it be?
One thing that I would love is a bigger barrel - something around 13'-15'. I would also like to see more wall rides and rails, because if you look at any other sport they all have different obstacles. The only other thing that I would want to change is find some way to get it into the X-Games.