About us
Coastal Authority Virginia
1340 N Great Neck Road
Suite 1272-362
Virginia Beach, VA 23454
757-621-9253
brian.c@coastalauthority.com
The ISO Balance Board Trainer was created by Brian Crist in Virginia Beach, VA. My 9-year-old son came home from school with a flyer advertising surf lessons. He handed it to me and said “Dad, I want to do this.” So, in the summer of 2013, my son took his first surf lesson. He loved it, couldn’t get enough of it and asked nearly every other day, “Dad, how’s the surf look today? Can we go out? I bought used surfboards for both of us. I retired from the Navy in 2010 and I had not surfed since the early ‘90’s when I was stationed on the West Coast. Even though I was in decent shape, I definitely didn’t have the balance capability I had when I was in my early 20’s. But hey, it’s like riding a bike, though, right? Well…not so much. It was a little painful getting back into surfing after 20 years of being away from it.
At the same time, stand up paddleboarding (SUP) was exploding in popularity. I soon bought a stand up paddle board. It didn’t take long to realize that SUP wasn’t as easy as it looked either. I knew I had to work on my balance and core strength. I started looking into balance board trainers. I had heard about them, knew guys that used them but until now, hadn’t really considered working one into my own fitness training. I started researching balance boards extensively. I spent several hours looking online. I ordered different ones and tried them out. I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for. I wanted something not too big, not too small, more than one size of roller, and one that could go front-to-back and side-to-side. I wanted it all-in-one. And my wife can’t stand clutter, so it had to store compactly.
Being the woodworker and craftsman that I am, in the fall of 2013, I started designing my own balance trainer. I consulted with other woodworkers and carpenters. I tried different types of wood, nails, glue, etc. Quality and durability are of the utmost importance to me. I developed a few different prototypes, tried them out and had a few friends in the surf and SUP community try them out. I kept tweaking the design and materials. Then, in about May 2014, I ended up with the design, quality and durability of ISO Board you see today…three balance styles incorporated into one board, with a stand that compactly stores all the associated components neatly against the wall or in a corner. In 2017, I obtained a patent.
It goes without saying my balance, core strength, reflex response time, and muscle coordination, as well as my son’s, has improved tremendously from using the ISO Board. I’m confident that yours will too. It is high quality, produces results and is fun to use!
A portion of our proceeds go to the UDT SEAL Association and Coastal Authority Care Foundation for veterans with service-related injuries.