Bouncy Bouncy

People around the world have enjoyed the practice of stuffing themselves into a huge plastic ball and then hurling themselves down a hill -- but strangely, it hasn't been here in the United States.

Until now.

As Pelon tells the story, it all started one day in January of last year when he was watching a reality show where poor suckers were strapped into a giant inflatable ball and pushed down a hill. Intrigued, Pelon wanted to try it for himself — only to find that there was no place in North America where you could, although it's very popular in Australia, the UK and New Zealand, where it originated in the late '90s via a company called Zorb (zorb.com).

So, the industrious Pelon started researching. A business trip to England, a couple of recruited buddies and a year-and-a-half of planning later, Pelon acquired all North American rights to the UK company SphereMania (www.spheremania.com), a competitor of Zorb. And thus, Sphere USA opened at the Mt. Brighton ski resort in June.

Pelon won't go into details about the cost of the operation, but says each sphere costs "about as much as a used car." (He didn't specify Volkswagen or Pinto.) He's hoping the investment will pay off; given how popular the activity is in other parts of the world, he thinks sphereing could be huge in the States. And thus far he's had a solid response; on word of mouth, he's getting 10 to 20 riders a day (he'd eventually like to have 50) and has gotten inquiries about a franchise from business owners in Atlanta.

The reporter of the article -- being a true journalist -- decided to take a ride himself in one of the man-szied bouncy ball. It was apparently a very jostling experience.

Does crawling into a huge plastic ball and chucking yourself down a steep grade sound like fun to you?

Written by johnmscalzi Blog about this entry

This entry has 8 comments: (Add your own)

#8 Comment from loveingcalizz
1/27/07 3:58 AM | Permalink

AMAZING!! they actually have zorb balls for sale now at www.zorbasales.com
#7 Comment from kaydeejay5449
7/25/06 1:12 AM | Permalink

I saw Peter Gabriel in concert a few years ago.He had a smaller version of this ball on stage. He got that thing bouncing, rolling and rocking! Awesome. Sure looked fun!
Kathy http://journals.aol.com/kaydeejay5449/ALittleLeftofCenter/
#6 Comment from demandnlilchit
7/24/06 4:54 PM | Permalink

Oh my pet hamster has been doing that for years! lol lol lol

http://journals.aol.com/demandnlilchit/Ishavedmylegsforthis/
#5 Comment from glendar0812
7/24/06 12:33 PM | Permalink

i'd be happy to watch the kids give it a try ... i suffer from vertigo so i'm not saying if I didn't have that to deal with I wouldn't try it, well 15 years ago I might have been fool enough to give it a go - 25 years ago it probably wouldn't have made me wonder whether i'd lost my mind.
#4 Comment from nzforme
7/24/06 11:45 AM | Permalink

I zorbed in New Zealand! It was WAY fun and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Especially the "wet zorb," when they put some water in the zorb with you.
Journal entry with photos here: http://journals.aol.com/nzforme/Sothisisatreadmill/entries/317
Text here:
http://journals.aol.com/nzforme/Sothisisatreadmill/entries/302
In retrospect, both entries spend way too much time on the issue of my undergarments. :(

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Bouncy Bouncy