Brian Grubb is always looking to innovate in wakeskating.
The American took the sport to new territory with his drone tow ride down the Sava Bohinjka River in Slovenia.
Grubb is famous for stunning projects such as wakeskating on the Banaue Rice Terraces of the Philippines, along a volcanic valley in the Jordanian desert, and at the historical Cleopatra Pool in Turkey.
This time around, the New Hampshire native finally realized a dream he has had for years about taking wakeskating into the future with technology.
He teamed up with Infineon Technologies to build an electric-powered quadcopter drone that could tow him down the idyllic, crystal-clear Alpine river, which flows deep in the mountains of Slovenia.
Maneuvering Behind the Drone
The German company delivered a safe and reliable flying machine with a battery as powerful as 158 smartphones put together (1,5 kWh / 51,8 V / 30 Ah) and rotor blades stretching 80 centimeters in diameter.
The impressive 24-kilogram machine could tow Grubb for 10 minutes straight and could even lift him in the air if needed, with the 38-year-old completing a world-first winch-to-drone handle pass as part of the project.
After arriving on an electric-powered Harley Davidson motorbike, Grubb performed a series of daring maneuvers behind the drone, which is a game changer in terms of navigating shallow water and remote locations and leaving a small footprint on the environment.
"Skimming across the surface of a beautiful river, handle-passing from winch to drone on the go, tricking nice little wooden features, and flying the drone under a bridge feels pretty damn good," expressed Brian Grubb.
"It tastes even sweeter when you know your good times are not harming the beautiful surroundings."