Episode 119: Larry Imperiale is the Bionic Man

Larry GitisLarry talks about connecting with Bill Wright, which was the beginning of their long and brilliant partnership. He talks about competing in the US Open in 1982 & 1983 with the legendary 2001 Space Odyssey themed routine. In 1984, Larry left the bay area to relocate to San Diego. He has fond memories of the Friday cove jams, all the great players, and how it influenced his game. After surgery, Larry had a little gap while he recovered, but was lured back in the 1988 World Championships where he filled in for John Jewell joining Skippy Jammer & Tommy Leitner. This was the beginning of his journey with Team SideOut.

Episode 118: Amy Schiller Comes Full Circle

Amy UTLWelcome to Amy Schiller, who has had great success in ultimate, overall, and freestyle, is a 7-time mixed pairs Freestyle champion and is one of the best beach jammers in the world. As a student at the University of Illinois in 1981, and already an accomplished athlete, Amy was introduced to Ultimate and quickly realized she had found her tribe. After playing some co-ed, she and her friend Nan, soon started “Drastic Plastic”, a women’s Ultimate team. It wasn’t until she road tripped to Santa Cruz, that she witnessed competitive Freestyle firsthand. Thanks to Donnie Rhodes, Carolyn Hubbard, and Stacy McCarthy for piquing her interest. Although Amy continued to play overall, she and Dave Schiller started competing together in 1994, and as she says, “I fell in love.” Find out what world record Amy still holds.

Episode 117: Krae Van Sickle in the Time of Invention

Krae LacerKrae takes us back to the 1970’s, when so much discovery and invention was taking place in Freestyle. He shares the excitement of working on new moves that often seemed impossible became a reality after a month or so of practicing. Hear about the multi-skill set shows he became part and the impressive community it was connected to. Hopefully, we’ll see some video of that soon. Krae attributes some well known moves and styles to Joey Hudolklin, Jeff Felberbaum, Richie Smits, Kerry Kollmar and the V-Brothers. He shares some interesting insights and talks about how his own play was influenced.

Episode 116: Crazy John Brooks is Back!

Bud Light Frisbee TeamCrazy talks about his early freestyle partners in 1979 in Kansas City and how he ultimately ended up in Santa Barbara in the mid ‘80’s. He talks about the origins of the Bud Light team and how the tours began. He shares some wild experiences, including meeting Miss Budweiser and being around the always impressive Velasquez brothers.

Congrats to Jake and all the winners of the 2010 Decade Awards!

Stay tuned for another Tiny Room Challenge. You can watch the livestream on Frisbeeguru.com on July 18th, 19th, 25th, & 26th hosted by Daniel O’Neill and James Wiseman.

Episode 115: Skippy Jammer Plays to Maximum Intensity

Skippy Pointed ToeThe selection criteria for some people choosing a university is the academics, but in 1979, Skippy chose Sonoma State University based on who he’d be able to play Frisbee with.  Find out how Kevin Givens became Skippy Jammer. Skippy was into a variety of sports that required maximum intensity. He shares how he was also able to apply what he learned to Freestyle. Listen to the tales of Skippy meeting “Little Tommy Leitner” and how their relationship evolved. Both Skippy and Tommy were mentors to Jake as they played together in Northern California.  
Jake reminisces about the 2013 World Championships in Santa Cruz after coming from behind and experiencing an unexpected win with Arthur Coddington.

Episode 114: Larry Imperiale and the Incredible Summer of 1980

Laerbs early 80s brushingThe summer of 1980 was special for Larry, as he shares his memories of all the travel and tournaments. Listen how he describes his admiration for one particular player, whose athleticism and flow was influencing the entire Freestyle scene. Through sickness and beginning work, Larry’s passion for jamming continued, including some success at the Rose Bowl with the Toe Jammers!
 
Jake and Randy describe the most memorable routines they’ve ever seen. Their descriptions will make you feel like you saw them too!   

Episode 113: Krae Van Sickle Witness to Magic

Krae as a KidWelcome to Krae Van Sickle who is Hall of Famer and a true pioneer of the sport. In the beginning, Randy finds himself a little verklempt with one of his idols. Krae started playing Frisbee in Greenwich Village, NY in the 1960’s, first given a Wham-o Pluto Platter by his father when he was just a small tot. While many Dad’s connect with their sons by tossing a ball, Krae and his Dad tossed the Frisbee. Krae shares his early memories of playing in Washington Square. He also talks about his transition to playing at the bandshell in Central Park at the age of 12. He reminisces about the melting pot of players, and their mutual passion of a sport brought so many together. Krae recalls being witness to some significant evolutions in Freestyle, which really changed to game.    
 
What are you binge watching these days? 

Episode 112: Crazy John Brooks Gets His Delay On

Crazy John Brooks Gets His Delay OnWelcome to Craze, who is a great overall Frisbee player, best known as the captain of Bud-Light Freestyle Frisbee Team.

John was given the gift of Frisbee’s when he was 8 years old, living in Jackson, Mississippi. He quickly became obsessed. While studying music in college he connected with other players & played in his first festival. For a while, it was “Fribsee” in the day while making money with his music at night. That began to flip a bit as John started making money doing Frisbee shows. John also highlights some players from the Midwest, an area of the USA whose frisbee history is often overlooked.

Big shout out to Doug Korns, it was great to see you out and about on Facebook. Sending both you and Jeannie lots of love!

Episode 111: Skippy Jammer – Modesto Mutant

Skippy Digitron setWho else is missing jamming and blasting out the carbons?! The Tiny Room Challenge was amazing. Thanks to Daniel O’Neill, crew, & competitors for making it happen, you entertained many of us for hours. Daniel rocked it as the commentator! Congrats to Pablo Azul & Juliana Korver for taking home the gold.
 
We have a recent inductee in the Freestyle Hall of Fame, Skippy Jammer, with us today. Skippy had most of his firsts in Modesto, California, which is known as the city on the way to where you’re going. Skippy started playing Frisbee in high school and in 1976 after going to a tournament and seeing others play, the Modesto Mutants were born. Skippy talks about some of his unique moves that had even more unique names. After some success in his first competition in Santa Barbara, he was hooked for life. He recalls joining the Chico State Freestyle scene in the late 1970’s, and meeting “fearless” Larry Imperiale.
 
Thanks again to all our supporters!  It is especially meaningful during these uncertain times.  

Episode 110: Larry Imperiale – The Journey Begins

Larry 1980 Detroit chest rollThe record holder for most coop world titles, Larry Imperiale, joins us today.

In 1975 Larry attended Chico State University, where he was first introduced to all Frisbee sports. His curiosity was peaked as he started playing catch in the parking lot of his apartment building. The Quad on campus attracted lots of players that started to experiment, not knowing there was a freestyle community that had already formed.  Larry recalls acquiring the bronze card, which Randy remembers too. The Chico Airheads make a statement in a big tournament in 1979 that really opened their freestyle life. Larry talks about Skippy Jammer and how meeting him changed his life.   

Stay tuned for upcoming interviews with Skippy Jammer, Crazy John Brooks, and Krae Van Sickle. Also, next Saturday the Tiny Room competition will be live streamed 12pm EST

We’re thinking of our Jamily during these times.  Everyone stay safe and healthy!