Keith St. Onge, 29, is certainly no stranger to this phenomenon, and about a year ago he had the opportunity to test the theory. He was on a lake neighboring his own when the skeptics who lounged in the boat that pulled him pointed out a nearby gator. St. Onge was compelled to demonstrate for said skeptics that the gator was indeed harmless.

He was about 150 feet away from the alligator, and he decided to confuse the animal by going under water so it wouldn’t know where he went. He popped back up after about five seconds of hiding, and immediately the gator attacked. 

And that is how St. Onge, perhaps the world’s premier barefoot water skier, almost lost his bare feet that day.

Fortunately for aspiring young barefooters everywhere, St. Onge escaped unscathed on those very soles.

St. Onge, the 2006 World Overall Champion of barefoot water skiing, is in his seventh year instructing at his own ski school, which, until recently, was known as Gliding Soles Ski Camp but has now merged with Barefoot Central.com to become Barefoot Central.com Ski and Training Center.

“I remember a reporter asking me what I wanted to do with my barefooting career when I was 14 or 15 years old,” St. Onge said. “I said, ‘I want to become a professional barefoot water skier, I want to move to Florida and I want to run my own ski school.’”

And so St. Onge, fresh out of a New Hampshire high school, left for Florida with $1,000 in his pocket and big dreams.

His career reached faster success than his school, as he was recognized as the 1996 Barefooter of the Year and was the 1997 and ’99 National Overall Champion. It was in 1999 that he found his first lakeside residence and started Gliding Soles in Orlando.

St. Onge’s childhood dreams were being realized.

But in 2002, St. Onge, competing in a world competition, should have easily won the overall gold medal. A few small mistakes was all it took, and a heartbroken St. Onge turned to friend Patrick Wehner.

After listening to a dejected St. Onge crying on his shoulder, Wehner handed him a small, laminated card.

“If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. If you can dream it, you can become it.” Those were the words printed on the card.

St. Onge knew these words were true, as he was essentially living his dream, but he had bigger dreams, and he was ready to rise to greatness in the world of barefoot water skiing.

“I brought this card everywhere with me,” St. Onge said. “I always looked at it, always pulled it out, always read it.

“I’m gonna pass it on to the next person that needs it just as much as I needed it back then,” he said.

Since the day Wehner handed him the card, St. Onge has been the National Overall Champion in 2003, 2004 and 2006, and the 2006 World Overall Champion. He is the only barefoot water skier who has held world records in all three barefooting events (trick, slalom, jump).

He moved his ski school to Tampa after its success grew in Orlando, and last year he moved to Winter Haven, Fla., the water skiing capital of the world. With this move came the opportunity to merge with Barefoot Central.com, and Barefoot Central.com Ski and Training Center was born.

St. Onge’s dreams now include growing his business, but that in no way means his retirement is in sight.

“I think I can hang in there until I’m at least 45 or 46, easily,” he said. “Well, I don’t know about easily, but that’s my goal.

“I don’t think I could survive without skiing,” he continued. “I love to ski, so I’ll always compete.”

After 15 years of really focusing on his skiing, St. Onge thinks it’s time to take the next step forward with the business. With his thriving ski school, his merger with Barefoot Central.com and his other sponsors potentially interested in merging as well, the future certainly looks bright for the dreamer.

“I’m ready to focus on the business part to become a better businessman and learn those new ropes,” St. Onge said. “That keeps me motivated because I know it will keep me involved in the sport that I love to do.”