New London, Ohio, April 1, 2009 – The ShadowBox® is a revolutionary new concept in action sports that, with its first software application, allows wake boarders to track their rides and share them with friends.  

The ShadowBox is a tough, fully-waterproof device, no bigger than a deck of cards which attaches securely to a wake boarder’s deck.  When the ride is over, riders can check out their ride data directly on the device, or upload the data to their computer later and analyze every aspect of their performance in 3-D detail.  

Similar to the electronics in an aircraft, the ShadowBox uses gyros, accelerometers, magnetometers and GPS to determine position.  In its first release, the ShadowBox features a software program called WakeTracker 1.0 that will capture the wake boarder’s pathway; the height, distance, hang time, and speed of every jump; the rotation and spin rate of every trick; the speed and angle into the wake or at any point during the ride, as well as various other measurements.  From training to competition to simple bragging rights, the ShadowBox will allow riders to truly see what they’re doing and back up their hype.  Riders can also send their 3D ride data to others on the web where, via the website and a free download of the WakeTracker 1.0 software, anyone can view their ride for free.  While this first software application is tailored to the sport of wakeboarding, it is only the first of many sport and science applications to come in ShadowBox’s future.  

Backed by Kent Water Sports, the parent company of several major water sports brands including HO Sports, Hyperlite, Accurate, WakeKite, Liquid Force, CWB, Connelly, Pro Line, O’Brien, Absolute Outdoor and more, ShadowBox is a new brand and product line set to re-define how riders view and talk about their rides.  

The ShadowBox is the brainchild of Joe Van Niekerk, a South African-born, Stanford University grad that holds his Master’s in Mechanical Engineering.  Working alongside Joe from the beginning, and doing the brand management and marketing for ShadowBox is Dan Meyers, a Portland, Oregon native and graduate from Oregon State University in Business.  Also key in the design of the device has been Two One Nine Design (www.219design.com), a product engineering firm founded by a group of Stanford graduate students. Involved in marketing material creation and ad design has been:  www.nonbox.com, a top-notch marketing group out of Portland, Oregon and Brian Ziffer, a Flash web designer whose prior web works include Burton and Red Bull.  The World Champion of Wake Boarding, Rusty Malinowski, has signed on as an enthusiastic endorser of the product.

For purchasing, the ShadowBox is available online at www.shadowboxlive.com.  Pre-orders will begin online on April 1, 2009, with shipping to fulfill orders starting in late May 2009.  For more information please contact Dan Meyers at 503-550-6110 or dan@shadowboxlive.com.