Soap Opera celebrity and Ehiku Rademacher’s husband, Ingo Rademacher is most popular among people as charming Jasper “Jax” Jacks on ABC’s General Hospital. The DWTS 2013 competitor originated the character of “Jax,” having first aired on General Hospital in January of 1996. His other TV credits include Hawaii Five-O, Titans, Veronica’s Closet and According to Jim.
As a sportsperson, Rademacher has amassed an surprising list of accomplishments: During his adolescence, he was a ski winner and a spirited equestrian. As an adult, he has competed at a high level in beach volleyball and triathlons (winner of the Nautica Malibu Triathlon, personality division, for three uninterrupted years). He took the pole position in the 2005 Long Beach Grand Prix and he lately completed the grueling 32 mile Molokai to Oahu “Channel of Bones” stand-up paddle board race, all this when he wasn’t on the track racing dirt bikes or street bikes. Rademacher moved to Hawaii in 2012 to chase his passion for the sport of stand-up paddle board racing. He and his wife, Ehiku, have two sons, Peanut and Pohaku.
His wife Ehiku also has a wide-ranging paddling background, which started at age 12 when she was a canoe paddler and steersman on a six-man outrigger canoe team. Growing up in Hawaii, she is an enthusiastic surfer, free diver, and now SUP surfer and racer. She and her husband are intricate part of the camp, from teaching to co-ordinating the events.
How Camp YOLOboard was born, according to Ingo:
I grew up in Australia and started paddling surf-skis and paddle boards when I was about 15 at the local surf lifesaving club. When I moved to Los Angles in 1994 I started training with Life guard champs Mike Newman and Craig Hummer, who quickly helped me take my paddling to the next level. For many years I competed In So-Cal and Hawaiian lifeguard competitions. In the late 90’s I became interested in long distance surf-ski races, and headed up to San Francisco to compete in the 15-mile long Alcatraz race. In 2000 I completed in my first 32-mile long Molokai race, from the island of Molokai to Oahu (Honolulu). I placed 22nd in the ski at 4:20 hours, a time and place I hope to improve upon this year.
In 2006 I was introduced to the new sport of SUP stand up paddling. I was never much of a surfer, so the thought of using my paddling skills to surf was very appealing to me. Paddling in and out of the breaking surf, learning to turn around and spin the board fast to catch a wave, getting pounded and getting back up again… I didn’t even realize but I was learning a whole new set of skills for yet another new sport, SUP racing.
After finishing my 16 year run on the TV show and before moving from California to Hawaii full time, I had booked a movie some months out in Detroit, MI. My wife and I decided to head out to Rosemary Beach, FL on a road trip then drive to Detroit for the movie shoot. We arrived at my buddy D’s vacation house in FL which is near the YOLOboard headquarters. I had emailed the owner but he wasn’t to responsive on returning my emails about me wanting to Teach SUP while in FL. I needed a pair of surf shorts so I thought we’d just drop by the YOLO store anyway. When I pulled up, I thought I was in the wrong place for sure… a warehouse? Can’t be right.
Anyone who’s been there knows what I’m taling about. Luckily there was a young chap outside packing a van in the FL heat with YOLOboard plastered all over it, must be the right place, I thought. Turns out that the guy was one of the owners… the one that never returned my emails, Jeff Archer. Anyone who knows Jeff guessed that already. Anyway a “hello” turned into a 2-hour conversation, and a great friendship between me and Jeff, and the whole YOLO family was struck. Even our dogs became best of pals……rewind…nope, no dogs.
Ehiku and I would workout with Jeff every afternoon for almost 2 months straight, even going for a paddle in between lighting and rain storms if we had to. Those were some of the best times I have ever had. Jeff might not be the best at returning emails, but man was he committed to our afternoon workouts. I started getting faster and winning some local races, always with Peanut on the front, placing 2nd at a WPA race in GA. Soon I became a YOLO Elite rider and shortly after that, the Camp YOLO Hawaii idea was born.
Thanks to Jeff and Mitzi Archer for their friendship and shared Vision.
Ingo and his pretty wife Ehiku got married on October 3rd, 2009, they have two beautiful sons together Peanut Kai Rademacher, born on July 11th, 2008 and Pahaku Zen Rademacher was born on May 13, 2012.
See Ehiku Rademacher on Twitter here and check her on Instagram here.
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