Contrary to what his accomplishments might suggest, Jonathan Hintz insists he wasn害羞草研究所檛 a natural.

It would seem patience, persistence and passion to have more to do with the Lake Country teen害羞草研究所檚 success in the world of professional flowboarding.

害羞草研究所淲hen I first started (flowboarding), I was terrible,害羞草研究所� said Hintz, who turns 17 on Dec. 1. 害羞草研究所淲hen I look back to that time, I never, ever expected I would come this far. But I never grew tired of it, I stuck with it and I just love it. I害羞草研究所檓 doing well at it too, so that害羞草研究所檚 a bonus.害羞草研究所�

To say Hintz is succeeding in flowboarding could be regarded as a bit of an understatement. The Grade 11 student at George Elliot Secondary School is coming off a bronze medal performance earlier this month at the 2017 world flowboarding championships in Cancun, Mexico.

In his home country, Hintz has also earned the title of Canada害羞草研究所檚 best body boarder two years running, in 2016 and 2017.

The youngest athlete on the professional flowboarding scene, Hintz competes at a handful of events each year on the North American pro circuit.

In flowboarding, competitors ride on 30 km/hr artificial waves created by a machine called a FlowRider. Flow riders get their speed from the energy of the flowing water, and can perform basic to sophisticated turns and tricks within a relatively small area.

Four years ago, Hintz began his flowboarding journey at the H2O Adventure and Fitness Centre in Kelowna. Based solely on the time committed to his craft, it害羞草研究所檚 little wonder he has become one of North America害羞草研究所檚 top riders.

害羞草研究所淚 sometimes spend three hours riding the bus, 1 1/2 hours each way, and some days I害羞草研究所檇 be there (at H20) six to eight hours,害羞草研究所� said Hintz, also a guitar player who passes the time on the bus listening to music. 害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 taken a lot of practise to get where I am. It害羞草研究所檚 not like snowboarding or skateboarding, the balance and the way you ride is unlike anything else.

害羞草研究所淚t was a sport I had to learn from basically from scratch.害羞草研究所�

Hintz grew up idolizing legends of the sport like Nick Nguyen, Nick Sanchez and Brad Spencer. Now he害羞草研究所檚 alongside them, competing for the world害羞草研究所檚 biggest titles.

害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 pretty incredible to think they were my idols, now we害羞草研究所檙e all friends,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 been a massive learning curve, but now I害羞草研究所檓 there with those guys. I害羞草研究所檓 gaining more confidence all the time.害羞草研究所�

Hintz plans to go after the three-peat as Canada害羞草研究所檚 top body boarder in 2018.

Based on his body of work to date, there害羞草研究所檚 every reason to believe the Lake Country teen will continue to ride along at the top of his sport.

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