Face Level Live Est. 2003 8 elements · 1 position
A riverboarder headfirst in whitewater, holding a camera and looking straight into the lens Tana 2027 15/30 Boards committed

Headfirst & horizontal to gravity

Face Level IndustriesThe original face-level sports collective, since 2003

Reserve a Tana · $100 Watch onboard

Running order

Face level sports (n.) Naturally powered sports experienced with forward motion, headfirst & horizontal to gravity. The full guide

P1

Riverboarding

River
A riverboarder on a red board running a turquoise rapid between dark boulders
Onboard · Kiyotsu Gorge, Japan
What
Whitewater on a buoyant board, lying prone, fins on your feet, face inches from the current. Where Face Level was born.
Also called
Hydrospeed · sledge · nage en eau vive. Cousin: the Bellyak.
On the record
First riverboard descents of Gorilla on the Green River Narrows and the 15 m Hollin Chico, Ecuador. The first Riverboarding World Championship, 2013.
The board: Lekker Tana
A rider in a red helmet low in the white water of a dark rock chute
Cam 2 · Japan
A riverboarder on a blue board dropping over a wide brown waterfall
Cam 3 · Quebec
A rider lying on a white Bellyak in river current
Cam 4 · Bellyak
P2

Wingsuit flying

Air
A wingsuit pilot in a yellow and white Face Level wing flying low over a grey canyon
Onboard · the Face Level wing
What
Fabric wings between the arms and legs turn the body into the aircraft: belly to the earth, headfirst, gliding forward through open sky.
Also
Tracking · hang gliding.
On the record
A Face Level wing, yellow and white with the gas mask on it, flew in the FLI years.
A wingsuit pilot banking past a mountain ridge
Cam 2 · Over the ridge
P3

Airboarding

Snow
Four riders headfirst on inflatable airboards racing down a snow slope
Onboard · Four abreast
What
An inflatable sled ridden chest-down, chin over the nose, carving the mountain at eye level with the snow. Born in Switzerland.
Also
Snow bodyboarding · Hammerhead sledding · the Krazy Karpet, where it all started for us.
A rider chest-down on a yellow inflatable airboard carving across fresh snow
Cam 2 · Fresh snow
P4

Bodyboarding

Wave
A bodyboarder launching off the lip of a huge breaking wave
Onboard · Heavy water
What
Prone wave riding: the original horizontal school of surfing, closer to the water than any stand-up ever gets.
Also
Bodysurfing: no board at all, just fins and the body.
P5

Xledding

Road
A rider in a full-face helmet lying headfirst on a street sled, from the 2012 Face Level flyer
Archive · 2012 flyer
What
Headfirst down a paved road on a wheeled sled, chin just above the asphalt.
Also
Street sledding.
Photos wanted
All we have from this one is the old flyer. Ridden it? Send us yours.
P6

Skeleton

Ice
Katie Uhlaender headfirst on her skeleton sled, coming straight at the camera in a white helmet painted as an eagle's head
Onboard · Katie Uhlaender, 2021
Photo: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0
What
The Olympic sliding sport: a sprint start, then headfirst down an ice track on a small steel sled, face a hand's width from the ice.
Born on
The Cresta Run, St. Moritz. Riders have gone down it headfirst since the 1880s.
On the record
In 2009 we interviewed Katie Uhlaender, who went on to race skeleton at five Olympics. That's her on the main camera.
A rider in a leather helmet lying headfirst on a skeleton sled, chin up, on the Cresta Run in St. Moritz, 1935
Cam 2 · St. Moritz, 1935
Photo: Nationaal Archief / Spaarnestad
A rider headfirst on a sled turning into the straight of the snow-banked Cresta Run, around 1906
Cam 3 · Cresta Run, 1906
Photo: Swiss National Library, public domain
P7

Freediving

Sea
A diver swimming horizontally beneath a dolphin, from the 2012 Face Level flyer
Archive · 2012 flyer
What
One breath, then down: horizontal and headfirst through open water.
Also
Scuba diving · snorkeling.
Photos wanted
All we have from this one is the old flyer. Ridden it? Send us yours.
P8

Windrafting

Sail
A man lying in a small raft under a hand-held sail, from the 2012 Face Level flyer
Archive · 2012 flyer
What
Sailing lying down: prone on a small raft, a hand-held sail pulling you across the water.
Photos wanted
All we have from this one is the old flyer. Ridden it? Send us yours.

OnboardMultiview

Onboard · P12:13
GorillaGreen River Narrows, North Carolina. Off the top, into the slot.
Board cam · P22:37
7 SistersRouge River, Quebec
Board cam · P31:24
Pozo AzulA 10 m waterfall
P43:29
First descentThe first riverboard run of Gorilla
P50:55
The AnvilThe board before the Tana
P6 · TV, 20085:01
BoardercrossThe Gorge Games, on national TV
Every whitewater film on YouTube

Team radio

From the pit wall, 2024: Face Level is back on the air.

On airFLI → all riders

  1. FLIWe disappeared for a decade, lost to ambition all over this beautiful, crazy planet.
  2. FLIThe world changed immeasurably. We didn't.
  3. FLIStill headfirst & horizontal at the core: sun, rain, and rivers running swift through wild canyons.
  4. Race controlFace level sports: naturally powered sports experienced with forward motion, headfirst & horizontal to gravity.

TelemetryEvery lap feeds the next

  1. 1981

    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. 2024

    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.

Gorilla, the big rapid of the Green River Narrows, seen from the rocks above
2013 · Gorilla
The old Face Level flyer: eight headfirst sports around the gas-mask logo
The FLI flyer
A riverboarder low in a dark gorge chute in Japan
Japan

ShopLekker Tana · 2027 run

The green LEKKER Tana riverboard punching through a brown rapid on a test session
Test session · pre-production hull
Tana

The hydrospeed-style riverboard from Lekker Kayaks, ready to mold. It goes into production when 30 boards are committed.

  1. ReserveFill the form and put down $100, card or PayPal. It comes off your board's price.
  2. Hit 30At 30 boards the run is greenlit. If it doesn't get there, every deposit comes straight back.
  3. Ride 2027Boards ship worldwide for the season. Final price confirmed before production.
Reserve your Tana · $100 See the board

Archivefacelevel.com, 2003 on

Twenty years of riverboarding films, races and first descents. The old site is coming back here, one piece at a time.

Pit wallGet the updates

Build news from the 2027 run and what's next at Face Level. You don't have to reserve a board, and we only email about Face Level.