“Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak is known for bending technology to his will. In 1976 he cobbled together microprocessors and circuit boards to create one of the world’s first personal computers. Today he’s focused on using his Segway PT–a two-wheeled, self-balancing personal vehicle–to play polo,” Zack O’Malley Greenburg reports for Forbes.
“Wozniak, 59, a member of the Silicon Valley Aftershocks, isn’t the only one. Segway polo has captured the fancy of global technophiles; since 2003, 15 clubs in nine countries have formed, the latest this year in Sweden. In July, 7 squads descended on Cologne, Germany, where they clacked and whirred before 1,000 onlookers in the fourth annual Woz Challenge Cup, named for a 2006 duel between the Aftershocks and a team from New Zealand. This year’s cup went to the Barbados Flyin’ Fish, a motley bunch trained by a horse polo veteran,” Greenburg reports.
“The sport was given life by Bay Area mechanical engineer Alex Ko, now 38, and real estate investor Jonathan Van Clute, 36, both Segway owners. Two years after the Segway’s 2001 introduction they were spending their free time goofing atop their silicon steeds in a park. They fashioned makeshift mallets from PVC pipe and used them to hit a miniature beach ball,” Greenburg reports. “Three weeks later the second outing drew six players; soon a crowd of Silicon Valley elites,including Wozniak, began fortnightly pickup games. Now regional tournaments occur a few times a year. Many players have upgraded to the Segway X2, which boasts off-road wheels.”
Full article here.
Forbes’ Q&A with Steve Wozniak on Segway Polo, in which Woz lets slip that “on a national level, Segways come under consumer electronics code, not vehicle, [so] there’s no DUI for a Segway” [Thank God], is here.
Woz’s transformation from technological visionary to clowish side-show is just about complete.
——RM
I didn’t realize he was an alcoholic.
Kamen is a genius but the Segway makes its users look like dorks.
But there is an OUI for a segway or any other machine you are operating when drunk..
RM –
If I helped invent a revolutionary product back in the day, I’ll just be chilling out right now, doing what I want. My days in the spotlight would be over, and I’d have felt I accomplished something worthwhile. But yes…he’s now quite an entertainer, in a different light.
The Segway is awesome. I will be buying one but am waiting for all new models.
Sorry Woz, but it has a motor. The law in most states speaks to a “motor vehicle,” in connection with driving under the influence. The Feds have nothing to do with it.
Woz is cool because he’s actually a normal, albeit nerdy, guy who made it rich. Just like most people, he’s not seeking to become FILTHY rich, and instead he’s enjoying himself and his life. He’s funny, he drinks some alcohol, he’s real, and because of that many people hate him and enjoy saying hateful things about him. Interesting.
Woz, you better not bank on that. People get DUIs while riding horses, lawn mowers, etc. You can bet you’ll get one on a Segway.
He’s delirious. Drive that motor vehicle drunk in public and you can expect to be thrown in the slammer. Same goes for bicycles and they’re not even motorized.
No DUI.That’s why I ride a bicycle AM, PM, Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.
You could get a “public drunkenness” or similar, but a not a DUI on your driving record. But I’m not a lawyer so I could be wrong.
I like Woz, anyway. He’s livin’ a good life.
Polo, a (nonetheless vigorous) pastime of the inbred aristocracy, is not brought down to the hoi polloi by replacing the horses with $6K devices used by idiots with money.
A rare Woz wiz photo.
@cascadians
you better already have a girlfriend/wife because guy + segway = not getting laid.
I wonder if he poops while on that thing.
And this is news?! Woz hasn’t done anything in years and continues to trade off past glories …
@Laclan. And what’s wrong with that? At least he did something.
Actually, you can get a DUI riding a bike, or even a horse.
I’m sure you could be charged on a Segway as well.
My favorite story is the guy who got a DUI riding a motorized bar stool.
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0331091stool1.html
DUI charges vary from state to state. For instance, in New York State, if you drive anything that has a motor while impaired (alcohol or other drugs), you can get charged with DUI. If you’re on a bicycle, however, you won’t get a DUI, probably just public drunkenness, a misdemeanor. Although, if a person really smashed, I’d love to that person even try to ride a bicycle, let alone actually getting anywhere.
The man made a joke, he wasn’t offering legal advice.
hell sit drunk in a parked car not running with keys in the ignition and you go DUI in some placed.
Chastened Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak preps to beat Barbados Flyin’ Fish Segway polo team
Steve Wozniak “Woz” and his team were grilled for lunch last time they met Barbados Flyin’ Fish in the 2009 Segway Polo final in Germany. Now they are coming to Barbados in June to seek revenge ’cause we’re hosting the 2010 Woz Cup Segway Polo championship.
OK folks, here’s de Barbados Flyin’ Fish victory plan involving Woz & rum punch…
http://barbadosfreepress.wordpress.com/2010/05/06/chastened-apple-co-founder-steve-wozniak-preps-to-beat-barbados-flyin-fish-segway-polo-team/