Face Level Est. 2003

About Face Level

Face Level Industries is the home of the face-level sports: naturally powered sports experienced with forward motion, headfirst & horizontal to gravity.

Founded 2003by Josh Galt

Josh Galt riverboarding headfirst through whitewater, holding a camera and looking straight into the lens
Onboard · Josh Galt
Short answer

Face Level Industries (FLI) was founded in 2003 by Josh Galt, a riverboarder from central British Columbia, Canada. It started as facelevel.com, the English-language home of riverboarding, and grew into one home for every sport ridden headfirst and horizontal to gravity. Today it runs the reservations for the LEKKER Tana riverboard's 2027 production run.

The storyWhat Face Level is

In 2003 riverboarding was one sport scattered across languages: hydrospeed in France, sledging in New Zealand, nage en eau vive, riverboarding. facelevel.com went live that year to give it a home in English, with gear reviews, how-tos, river reports and a store that sold the boards.

By 2008 Face Level had taken in every sport ridden the same way, under one line: Adrenaline at Face Level™. That year riverboarding boardercross reached national TV at the final Gorge Games, with riverboarding events produced by Face Level's founder.

The race years followed. Face Level riders took first riverboard descents, rode the Fluid Anvil for years, and raced the first two Riverboarding World Championships: on Indonesia's Citarum River in 2013 and Guatemala's Río Lanquín in 2015, where an FLI rider took the overall world title.

Then Face Level went quiet for a decade, lost to ambition all over this beautiful, crazy planet. It came back in 2026, still headfirst & horizontal at the core, with Lekker Kayaks building the next board. Read the eight sports in the face level sports guide.

The 2012 Face Level flyer: eight headfirst sports around the gas-mask logo
The FLI flyer, 2012

FounderJosh Galt

Josh Galt running a steep waterfall on a green riverboard
Josh Galt

Josh Galt founded Face Level Industries in 2003. His hometown is Fort St. James, in central British Columbia, where at four he launched off a jump headfirst on a Krazy Karpet. He has riverboarded in more than a dozen countries since the early 1990s.

His first riverboard descents include North Carolina's Green River Narrows, a high-water descent of Japan's Kiyotsu under snow bridges, and the 15 m Hollin Chico Falls in Ecuador. He served two years as President of the World Riverboarding Association, created and directed the first two Riverboarding World Championships, and sat on the committee behind the first international riverboarding guide certification through the IRF. He was Water Director for two editions of Primal Quest and produced the riverboarding events at the final Gorge Games in 2008.

His riverboarding has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Canoe & Kayak and Outside, and in 2014 Gear Junkie named him one of its 110 Outdoor Ambassadors. He rode the Fluid Anvil as a sponsored rider and is on the design team of the LEKKER Tana. He writes about riverboards at Rescue board vs riverboard.

Away from the river he builds companies. The rest of his work is on his own site, joshgalt.com.

First descents
Green River Narrows · Kiyotsu at high water · Hollin Chico, 15 m
Championships
Created and directed the first two Riverboarding Worlds, 2013 and 2015
World Riverboarding Association
President, two years
Gear Junkie
110 Outdoor Ambassadors, 2014

TelemetryEvery lap feeds the next

  1. 1984

    The first headfirst run

    A four-year-old launches off a jump in central British Columbia, headfirst on a Krazy Karpet. The position sticks.

  2. 2003

    FaceLevel.com goes live

    The English-language hub for a sport scattered across languages: hydrospeed, sledge, nage en eau vive.

  3. 2008

    Adrenaline at Face Level ™

    FLI becomes the home of every face-level sport. Riverboarding boardercross reaches national TV at the final Gorge Games.

  4. 2012

    Hollin Chico + the Anvil

    First riverboard descent of the 15 m Hollin Chico in Ecuador. The Fluid Anvil launches after years in development.

  5. 2013

    Green River Narrows

    First riverboard descent of Gorilla. The first Riverboarding World Championship runs on Indonesia's Citarum: 40 athletes, 10 countries.

  6. 2015

    Worlds in Guatemala

    The championship returns on the Río Lanquín, and an FLI rider takes the overall world title.

  7. 2026

    The return

    Back after a decade lost to ambition, with Lekker Kayaks building the next board.

  8. 2027

    The Tana run

    30 committed boards greenlight production. The grid is filling.

FAQAbout Face Level

Who founded Face Level Industries?

Josh Galt, a riverboarder from central British Columbia, Canada, founded Face Level Industries in 2003. His own site is joshgalt.com.

What does "face level" mean?

Your face at the level of the water, snow, ice or road. Face level sports are naturally powered sports experienced with forward motion, headfirst and horizontal to gravity, such as riverboarding, bodyboarding and skeleton.

What does FLI stand for?

Face Level Industries. The site has been facelevel.com since 2003.

Is Face Level still active?

Yes. After a quiet decade Face Level came back in 2026, and it is running the reservations for the 2027 production run of the LEKKER Tana riverboard. The archive is coming back to facelevel.com a piece at a time.

How is Face Level connected to Lekker Kayaks?

Lekker Kayaks builds the LEKKER Tana, a plastic hydrospeed-style riverboard that Josh Galt helped design. Face Level runs the reservations for its 2027 production run: a $100 deposit holds a board, and every deposit is refunded if the run doesn't reach 30 boards.

How do I contact Face Level?

Email [email protected] or call +1-762-FACELEVEL (762-322-3538). The line takes calls, not texts.

The next board: the LEKKER Tana goes into production when 30 boards are committed. $100 holds yours, and comes back if the run doesn't happen.

Reserve a Tana · $100 See the board