There is one thing you know when you shake hands with a water skier. Well, you know those hands are special. You know those hands can hold on to things even when things are getting rough. When you shake the hands of a water skier, you can’t help but notice the grip and the calluses. They’re like an old sailor’s hands over the years…not much can blister them any more. You can tell a lot by a person’s hands.

The handshake of men and women prone to hanging onto a handle to try to fool 343 horses into working for them conveys a message other than one of hands who have only touched a keyboard. The story behind a slalom skier’s calluses is one of countless hours of determination, not hardship, but pure joy. You get the feeling that once they commit, maybe they don’t easily let go.

It’s also a story about backbone. Those people have strong backs. You tend to like people with strong backs. They have a spine that is trained to be straight. It’s hard to be spineless when you are a water skier. I like that.

Thomas Brenemark
Sweden