What do the best footbaggers in the world do for a living?

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 14 Apr 2009 16:33

I'm curious to know what the best players in the world, both past and present, do for a living. With the current players I'm curious to see how they find the time to practice and stay so good. With former players, I'm curious to see where people end up. As for "best players in the world," I'm thinking people who were BAP level, as in BAP or honorable mention.

I may update the first post of this thread as I learn more. Feel free to correct me or other posters if they are wrong.

Active Players

*Olav Piwowar- College student majoring in architecture
*Phil Morrison- Works in a gym
*Dave Clavens- College student majoring in marketing
*Laroche- Makes living off of music.
*Sebastien D- Owns a cleaning company.
*Scott Bevier- Dominos' Pizza Delivery man
*Lon Smith- picks berries
*Ken Somolinos- does safety policy for the Department of the Interior.
*Will Digges- Construction
*Byrin Wylie- landscaping/construction in summer, operator/mixer in a food production facility that deals with canola oils during the winter
*Damian G- College student studying video editing. Part time work at movie theater.

Retired

*Sunil Jani- finished med school, doing a residency
*Ahren G- Clerk in a cornerstore grocery.
*Eric Wulff- Software tester
*Johnny Murphy- College student, studying graphic design
*Eli Piltz- Film editing of some kind

Still plays, but no longer competes

*James Risden -works in a Machine shop setting up CNC mills for production
*Jon S. - Works in a bank
*Tu Vu- Advertising firm
*Brian MacKenzie- got PhD in Neurology (not sociology?), looking for teaching job.
*Allan H- freelance computer programmer

Jeremy · Post by **Jeremy** » 14 Apr 2009 17:44

Lynton Stephens works part time as a pharmacist, collects sea shells and does volunteer work identifying them in a museum.

Laroche · Post by **Laroche** » 14 Apr 2009 17:56

Thanks for asking, Ken, I make music for a living now.

defender · Post by **defender** » 17 Apr 2009 23:03

I work in a Machine shop setting up CNC mills for production, and even running production myself. This is James Risden, honorable mention at CSS2.
Blurry Flurry you ARE trippin'+1

Max Power · Post by **Max Power** » 18 Apr 2009 08:20

I think Lon Smith picks berries and works in a Magic (the card game) shop. You should put what you do up there too Ken. Will Digges works in construction for his dad and uncle. Brian Mckenzie just finished his PhD in Neurology, I think, and is looking for a job in that field. I'm sure I know more I just cant think of them, to be continued.

slapdash21 · Post by **slapdash21** » 19 Apr 2009 07:51

oh man if bevier ever delivered a pizza to me i would seriously shit myself.

Muffinman · Post by **Muffinman** » 19 Apr 2009 08:14

Allan's name is spelled Allan Haggett

B_Man · Post by **B_Man** » 19 Apr 2009 09:40

My dad and I own our own company and we do parging, stuccoing, and rock work in the summer. During the winter, I am an operator / mixer in a food production facility that deals with canola oils.

Matt K · Post by **Matt K** » 19 Apr 2009 13:43

First year college major (Computer Science)

-Whoops, I thought it was just footbaggers in general.

habitat · Post by **habitat** » 19 Apr 2009 14:34

B_Man wrote:During the winter, I am an operator / mixer in a food production facility that deals with canola oils.

Best damn hand jack operator this side of the prairie.

Cod · Post by **Cod** » 19 Apr 2009 23:26

Damian Gielnicki studies video editing and he works as a ticket seller in a cinema.

And Olaf's name is Olaw Piwowar

.

FlexThis · Post by **FlexThis** » 20 Apr 2009 16:11

Richard Abshire - Stitches footbags FULLTIME.
Jason Crook (just plain badass back in the day) - Trades stocks.

Not BAP worthy - But about as BAP as a few of the people listed above.

ME - Fulltime Senior Web Designer for the Active Network.

Slowsis · Post by **Slowsis** » 20 Apr 2009 19:28

Last I heard Nick Laroche was doing in-store demos of cooking knives and Johnny was working construction.

hackmonkey · Post by **hackmonkey** » 07 May 2009 06:22

Aside from the typically sarcastic response of "Your Mom" (which is additionally humorous since that's also the unofficial name of a certain footbag maneuver), my response as a moderate non-competitive footbagger remains that of a career in Electrical Engineering at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

Charlie

Max Power · Post by **Max Power** » 11 May 2009 17:59

You're right Ken, Brian did get his degree in sociology. Kenny is in marketing some how, right? Someone on this forum should know exactly what it is. I heard awhile back that Carol was a flight attendant, I don't know if this is still true or if it ever was. Peter is juggling on the streets of the bay area, at least that was his plan when he moved out there.

I really like this thread I want to know about so many more players. I really want to know how Vasek, Honza and Jorden make their livings.

King Monkey · Post by **King Monkey** » 16 May 2009 10:46

You should add Lynton to the list as Jeremy posted early on, he was a pioneer.

Laroche · Post by **Laroche** » 16 May 2009 12:59

King Monkey wrote:You should add Lynton to the list as Jeremy posted early on, he was a pioneer.

I remember when I first heard of him and he was hitting some futuristic tricks. Not my favorite style, but who can argue with atomic gyro dlo, and blurriest swirl back in '81??

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 16 May 2009 16:37

King Monkey wrote:You should add Lynton to the list as Jeremy posted early on, he was a pioneer.

BAP inductions have traditionally only taken place at Worlds, but really the overall rule is that they occur at an important event where there are lots of members of BAP present. The thinking behind this, is that in order for somebody to make BAP, they need to impress the current members in person with their talent.

Look at the video in my signature. I am proud of the tricks and combos I hit in it, and I definitely had to achieve a high level of skill in order to hit those tricks and combos. That said, I did all of them on my own time, under no pressure, and had an unlimited number of attempts. So while I'm happy I hit blurry flurry in the video, the video really doesn't indicate what is my average level of play, nor does it say anything about how I play in a circle with intimidatingly good players, nor does it say how I hold up under the pressure of competition.

I included Olaf (Worlds 09, Euros), Byrin (USO, Worlds 07), and James Risden (CSS2) because they attended tournaments where BAP inductions occurred, and they played well enough at those tournies that they got BAP honorable mentions.

For as good as Lynton may have been back in the day, he never attended Worlds or other majors, and as far as I know, never was in the BAP discussion. I really want to emphasize that many people play well "on their homecourt" when there is no pressure to impress others, and they are the big fish in a small pond. This was the case for me when I lived in Japan. That doesn't mean they are bad players, but it also doesn't mean they can replicate those performances on the big stage.

To emphasize my point, I will finish with a few anecdotal examples:

1. I spent the summer of 2001 in Denver, Colorado, and I had regular weekend sessions every weekend with Rippin, Daryl, Jon Schneider, and sometimes Red. I didn't attend Worlds that year or next, but BAP discussed inducting me those years. They decided not to, because I was not there to prove myself (also, some hadn't seen how I reworked my game after I came back from a 6 month retirement).

2. Before Worlds 2004, people thought Derek Vandall was a shoe-in for BAP. He was hitting ridiculous tricks and combos on Hackrifice videos, and he seemed like a monster. He attended Worlds 04, but his inconsistency resulted in BAP not inducting him. A similar thing happened to Juan Rangel that year at Worlds. It should be noted that the BAP class of 2004 was really big (7 players!), and players like Lasse and Jere L. made the cut ahead of Derek. They made the cut because they showed consistency throughout the week.

3. In Worlds 2000, Toby made BAP despite having a limited repertoire of moves. While he didn't have huge tricks or combos, he was extremely consistent, and held his own in the big name circles.

4. In 1999 Richie Abshire didn't make BAP, and the reason given was that he didn't play in enough big-name circles, and he also scratched from competition. The video of Abshire's game before Worlds led most people to believe he'd be a sure-fire entry, but he wasn't.

My point is that while Lynton undeniably hit some amazing tricks that were ahead of his time, it's impossible to say whether or not he would have made BAP (or received an honorable mention) had he attended Worlds at the time.

Colin · Post by **Colin** » 16 May 2009 17:24

Laroche wrote:who can argue with atomic gyro dlo, and blurriest swirl back in '81??

Was this rhetorical? Because I think I can answer!!!

(Surely 81 is a typo. 91 MAYBE...??)

Asmus · Post by **Asmus** » 17 May 2009 01:14

What would the problem be in including all of the players you mention in your post Ken?

Why can't Abshire, Lynton, Derek Vandall, Ken Somolinos (;)) be on the list just because they didn't get into BAP? I am still interested in what they are doing with their life.