Ian Lauder

I’m Ian Lauder, founder of Foiling Freaks, a lifelong foiler, software developer, photographer, designer, and outdoor adventure addict based in the Pacific Northwest. I built Foiling Freaks as a way to give something back to the hydrofoiling community: a place that connects disciplines, people, resources, stories, records, and the weird, wonderful personality that makes foiling feel unlike any other sport.

My foiling roots go back to the mid-1990s, during the early years of modern hydrofoiling. I was part of the original Lake Sammamish Sky Ski scene with the Air Junkys, a small crew that rode hard, experimented constantly, and tried to figure out tricks long before most people had any idea what a hydrofoil board was supposed to do. In those days, we were launching old Air Chairs off boat wakes, chasing flips that often ended in brutal wipeouts, and learning through trial and error and stubbornness. Then Mike Murphy showed up, offered a few critical riding tips, and suddenly the impossible started to feel possible. By the end of that day, we were riding out backrolls.

Because Mike’s board manufacturing was happening nearby, the Lake Sammamish crew became part of those early formative foiling years. That era led to fly-ins, competitions, and a lot of photography. I shot original Sky Ski imagery and worked as a senior photographer for Flight Magazine, the first hydrofoil-focused publication, created by Tony Klarich. Photography has remained a major part of my creative life ever since, with work spanning outdoor sports, publishing, editorial projects, and many years of capturing adventure in motion.

Foiling has stayed with me across three decades. As the sport expanded, I followed it into newer disciplines and equipment. I went deep into boat wake foiling and eFoiling, then branched into dock starting, freefoiling, and winging. I still foil year-round, often several days a week, rotating across multiple disciplines depending on conditions and mood. I ride a wide variety of wings and boards, enjoy experimenting with gear, and still occasionally bring out a vintage stand-up Sky Ski with snowboard boots just for the pure nostalgia.

Along the way, I became one of the first 500 recognized pump foilers to break the one-minute mark. But what keeps foiling compelling to me is not just milestones or equipment. It is the feeling of unlocking something difficult through persistence, the generosity of foilers helping other foilers, and the fact that every discipline has its own culture, challenges, and flavor of obsession.

Outside the water, much of my life has been spent in the mountains. For years, my rhythm was simple: climb on the weekends, foil during the week. I am one of fewer than 100 people known to have climbed the 100 tallest peaks in the Pacific Northwest, and I spent more than 15 years instructing in rock climbing, ice climbing, and glacier travel. That mountain background shaped how I think about risk, progression, respect for conditions, and the joy of pursuing technical sports for the long haul.

My professional life has centered on building things: websites, automated systems, software tools, visual designs, and publishing workflows. I have worked extensively with photography, illustration, Photoshop, Illustrator, AI development, media production, and online business systems. Foiling Freaks is where all of those paths finally merged: decades of foiling history, a love of visual storytelling, and a career spent building systems that organize information and make it useful.

Foiling Freaks exists because I wanted a foiling website that feels like foiling actually feels: broad, technical, playful, evolving, a little ridiculous, and full of personality. The idea fully clicked during a long, exhausting North Cascades climb, far from the water. I realized the foiling world lacked a community hub that helped beginners find their way in, helped experienced riders easily discover new disciplines and resources, and celebrated the full menagerie of people (the real foiling freaks) pushing the sport forward.

• I helped document the early Sky Ski hydrofoil era through photography and media work.
• I have foiled across three decades, from 1990s Air Chair and Sky Ski riding to modern wake foiling, eFoiling, dock starting, freefoiling, pump foiling, and winging.
• I was one of the first 500 recognized pump foilers to ride past the one-minute mark.
• I have a long background in software development, automation, photography, design, and outdoor media.
• I spent more than 15 years teaching rock, ice, and glacier climbing.
• I built Foiling Freaks to connect the broader hydrofoiling world and give riders a fun, useful, community-centered place to explore it.

When I am not building Foiling Freaks, chasing the next foil session, or climbing a peak, I am usually thinking about how sports communities preserve their history, how good design can make complicated information easier to use, and how to celebrate the riders, creators, innovators, and delightful weirdos who make foiling so much fun.

You can learn more about my broader work at IanLauder.com.