
Finding flow on a single wheel
Clip: Season 11 Episode 8 | 5m 5sVideo has Closed Captions
Onewheel enthusiasts take to the trails in northern Wisconsin.
Onewheel enthusiasts race the trails of Northern Wisconsin, describing the unique "flow state" experience of this futuristic device, a self-balancing electric skateboard. Midwest Onewheel hosts a race on the WinMan Trails in Winchester, Wisconsin, challenging riders from across the United States in time trials to test their skills and abilities.
Wisconsin Life is a local public television program presented by PBS Wisconsin
Funding for Wisconsin Life is provided by the Wooden Nickel Fund, Mary and Lowell Peterson, A.C.V. and Mary Elston Family, Obrodovich Family Foundation, Stanley J. Cottrill Fund, Alliant Energy, UW...

Finding flow on a single wheel
Clip: Season 11 Episode 8 | 5m 5sVideo has Closed Captions
Onewheel enthusiasts race the trails of Northern Wisconsin, describing the unique "flow state" experience of this futuristic device, a self-balancing electric skateboard. Midwest Onewheel hosts a race on the WinMan Trails in Winchester, Wisconsin, challenging riders from across the United States in time trials to test their skills and abilities.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship[mellow music] ♪ ♪ - Zak Gruber: Once you start kinda cruising and feeling the wind and everything else, it's just one of those things where, like, your body gets into it.
Might not be the way to get into your Zen, but for a lot of people who try it, it seems like it definitely is.
[laughs] [board rattling] [gritty music] ♪ ♪ - ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ [crashing sounds] - Kyle Arn: Nice.
♪ ♪ I talked to my wife.
And I was just like, I gotta get one of these things.
They're really expensive, but I gotta get one.
And we made a deal that if I quit smoking cigarettes, she would get me a Onewheel.
And four years later, I'm still not smoking cigs, so it worked.
[laughs] - Brooks McMahon: It's kinda different for everybody.
Some people, it's, like, instantly, they're natural, and they'll just take off.
And some people, you need to, like, help them balance.
For me, it was more like that natural feeling.
[board clanking] - Zak Gruber: I've seen these things tumble down sheer cliff sides and, like, just roll for hundreds of yards.
And the guy's freaking out, like, "Oh, my baby!"
You know, he goes down there, he's like, "It still works.
There's nothing wrong with it."
[thud, clattering] - Brooks McMahon: On the trail, you're looking for rocks, roots.
You're looking for different line choices, what might be the easiest path, what might get you off the ground and get you some air.
- Kyle Arn: Like, in the fall here, the trails, they can get kinda gnarly.
And there's leaves covering things up and smash into a rock, and you don't see it, and all of a sudden, you're on the ground.
- Zak Gruber: You're almost mind controlling it, you know?
It's like all-- it's all one part of your body.
And I think once you get going, all these things come together at once.
And you kinda just are very focused on what you're doing.
It's funny 'cause I've asked a lot of people this same question.
"How does a Onewheel work?"
Honestly, I don't really know.
[dynamic music] - Kyle Arn: You got the wheel, which is the motor.
You have the battery.
And then you have the controller.
And then you have the rails, right?
- Brooks McMahon: At 20 miles an hour, 19 miles an hour, so it gets you around town, gets you out in the woods.
- Zak Gruber: Whatever this is, you know, it is the future.
It's a different type of board sport.
- Brooks McMahon: It's very freeing.
Like, what we all kinda relate it to, it's called 'flow state.'
[soft music] [echoing vocalizations] - Zak Gruber: Flow state is something that I think is different for everybody.
♪ ♪ - Kyle Arn: With the Onewheel, there's just some sort of connection that happens.
And you kind of just let go.
Like, for me, I like to put on music.
And just-- it's a good time to reflect and just have to myself.
- Zak Gruber: You can just do something and completely zone out everything else that's going on around you.
You're just so focused on what you're doing at that point in time in that moment.
♪ ♪ - Kyle Arn: I have met so many good friends in Onewheeling, just great people.
And it's like everybody-- you're just so passionate about it, you know?
And everybody has that passion, and you share that passion.
[dynamic music] - Brooks McMahon: It's just that I've always loved the board sport.
Like, I like the freedom of being out and about.
For me, getting out to trails like this and finding really beautiful spots-- it's cool just to bring that community together.
And so it's just a group of friends, a group of people that love to do the same thing.
[boards rattling] [wheel whirs] - Zak Gruber: It's just something fun for everybody.
It's a vast, wide thing that someone who's into tech can ride and someone who's into sending crazy jumps or whatever can ride, you know?
It's a-- it's a really cool group of people that are coming together around this thing, you know?
It's so crazy.
[laughs] ♪ ♪
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Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipWisconsin Life is a local public television program presented by PBS Wisconsin
Funding for Wisconsin Life is provided by the Wooden Nickel Fund, Mary and Lowell Peterson, A.C.V. and Mary Elston Family, Obrodovich Family Foundation, Stanley J. Cottrill Fund, Alliant Energy, UW...