Comfort or Concussion?

When I first laid eyes on Zorbing, it was on a T-mobile commercial a few years ago. The oversized smile and constant laughter from the typically beautiful blonde model inside, combined with the smooth camera work and regular rolling sensation of the Zorb made me think "that looks like an amazing thing to do, it'd be such an unreal experience".  Then Simon and I decided to give it a go during the 50/50 Challenge event we did in September and to tell you the truth I had a slightly different experience from the ever-happy blonde model...

Strapped in by the wrists and ankles (with an unnerving amount of slack) and at the top of a steep hill with an even steeper drop to start with, it was only then that I questioned how smooth a ride this was actually going to be. I can only really liken the experience to what it must feel like if you were in a NASCAR race in one of those crashes when your car does 8 flips hitting the ground a number of times to finally settle on its roof. The Zorb bombed down the hill only making contact with the ground through REALLY heavy irregular bounces every few seconds, (typically each time being on my head).

Ok, so in hindsight being in a gorilla suit may not have been the greatest idea with the mask blinding me the whole time as well as the rubber doing its level best to suffocate me, but even if I was in a man-sized romper made purely of cotton wool I doubt it would have softened the experience much. Don't get me wrong, it was still a great laugh and an experience I'd recommend to anyone...just maybe pick a site that looks suitable for Zorbing and not one more suited to a Slinkey.

Oh and if you are a fan of Zorbing look into WOW (Walk-On-Water) Ball, if you go with a load of your mates it is truly hilarious. This was another activity we were lucky enough to try out as part of the 50/50 Challenge which we will be uploading to the site and our new YouTube channel (theconchTV).  You are zipped inside your own small inflated ball and cast out onto the water to see how well you can literally 'walk on water'.

Keeping your balance alone is hard enough but trying to do so with the supervisors hitting you with waves created from their jet skis is nearly impossible. If you are one of the lucky ones and can actually keep your balance long enough to stand up in the ball, as soon as you try to move you find yourself running on the spot like a hamster in a wheel. Unfortunately unlike the hamster there is only one outcome for you and that is to end up falling head over heels in an array of impressive but none too elegant forward rolls. The experience is described by the designer as like "trying to stand on an inflatable bed drunk on holiday" lol  what more could you ask for.

Be careful though because it can get rather stuffy inside the ball as well as a little wet so don't wear too many layers. Once again a gorilla suit is definitely not recommended, I promise you that!

If you want to try out WOW Balls then call the owner Simon on 07999788605, he's an absolute mentalist and really good guy. Alternatively you can check out their site at: http://wowballs.co.uk/default.aspx  It's also really great value at £5 for 10 minutes (trust me you won't want to be in there for more than 20mins maximum). They have 2 sites located in Liverpool with the possibility of bringing this new craze to Manchester in the future so we will keep you all updated on this.