This episode is with one of the industry’s most colorful characters - 1991 World Champion, Chris 'the Flyin Fish' Fischetti

The Fish was one of the rock stars of the early 90s and was always easy to spot, even amongst the bright colors, due to his signature shark fin that he wore on his back.

Not only was the Fish a weapon in the water, but he was a great leader in the community out of it, starting the Fish Syndicate.

His dad, affectionately known as Pops, was his leading mechanic and between them they had some amazing machines, at times having an edge over their rivals at PJS.

Listen in for not only some amazing set up tips, but some crazy stories from the scene in the 90s with all your favorite legends

Show notes:

• You’re loved in the community, you started the Fish Syndicate, tell us about that
• Everyone who ran the show for the jet skis went straight to X Games
• You guys were rock stars back then, it was a beach party with a jet ski event
• Running into Troy Lee
• It must have been so much fun to be on a tour like this
• Fish’s Adventure - tell us about that
• Scott Watkins was the best rider who did Jet Dreams and then moved to Jet Pilot - he was the guy
• The jet ski tour really blew up after the big jetski videos
• Tell us about the Paris indoor race series in Bercey, that must have been great!
• What do you remember about the Australian Surf Series racing against Todd Ross and Scott Miller?
• How did you all go over to race in Japan?
• Jet skis were manufactured in Nebraska and distributed from there
• Where did your shark fin come from?
• Your business Hole Shot Engineering and the X2 650 Supercharger
• The supercharger giving you the edge against the PJS riders
• You had fierce rivalries but were great friends off the track, what trouble did you guys cause back in the day?
• Fort Worth, Texas race in 1990 and you have a throttle linkage issue and ended 15th
• You’re always doing R&D, everything you needed you had to bring with you
• You had good support from a bunch of sponsors: Hole Shot, Mariner, Sano Pads, Solas Impellers, Jet Pilot, Oakley, Arai Helmets, Graydon Proline and Gold’s Gym to name a few
• I started off racing for Fun Tech who made “The Wedge”
• What’s the story with Bum Bum?
• Tell us about the 1990 World Finals
• 1991 you became World Champion, but you got badly injured in a car accident!
• Two weeks after the crash was the first of the Hot Water Tour, I hit someone's ski and I fractured my arm
• Your dad was a monster engine builder involved with Indycar
• His race savvy was a huge advantage
• 1991 was the pinnacle for the 550 engines with an engine your dad made for you
• It forced us to run a stock flywheel
• Explain the water cooling system for the bearing
• Was that your favourite 550 engine?
• How did you modify the pump? We built the pump, bent and tuned the props, lightened drive line, worked on the steering and intake, dad build the cranks, pistons and the carbs
• My dad hand built all of this in our garage
• What was it like competing against a factory backed rider using your own parts?
• Secrecy in the pits
• Jeff Jacobs used lead on his ski to keep the nose down, did you do that too?
• Scoop grates and the ride plate length are important
• What did it feel like winning the World Championship in 1991?
• There was no social media, you had to attend events
• Handling: Fish Sticks - Rhaas Five5Zero Sponsons: tell us about them!
• This is the first mod that you should do to your ski
• Having the handle pull height right and having a short steering plate, to make the steering Wedge some foam under the handle pull to stop it dropping too low
• Engine setup: Have a good set of carbs that you can tune well
• Your best racing memory: Famous desert parties and the World Finals
• How many “real” world champions are there on pure jet ski hulls?
• The journey is more important than the race results

Today’s episode is with Rob Hallstrom, former editor of SPLASH magazine! He was definitely a lucky man in the right place at the right time to ride the wave of the golden era of the Jet Ski world. Get an insight into the inner workings of SPLASH Magazine, what it took to put together, some of the challenges they faced and some of the unreal perks he got as an editor covering a sport that he loved! We hope you enjoy this interview with a man at the forefront of the Jet Ski world!

Important times:

01:20 Hello and welcome Rob
01:40 How did you get involved in the world of Jet Skis?
04:15 What work did you do outside of Jet Skis? VW Trends Magazine
06:20 The perks of being editor means you always have a great ski
07:55 What does an editor actually do?
10:00 How did you start at Splash Magazine?
13:45 How did the interviews work back then? Technology has changed!
16:00 Splash Magazine’s had the best colour
17:20 What makes a good interview?
18:30 In Your Face
20:25 Bad interviews
21:45 Getting onto the cover of the magazine
25:40 Getting to test Jet Skis
26:35 New model releases
29:50 We always got to test the latest tech
32:45 Trips to Australia with Jet Pilot
36:20 Yamaha special testing with new Jet Skis getting to ride 120 miles
37:55 The right time at the right place
39:00 Big money changed the industry
42:15 Ed Miller’s PJS Ski the VHP
44:40 The Fish Report
47:55 Custom Corner
49:40 Custom of the Month
52:05 What was your favourite part of the magazine?
53:10 Splash Bash and the Mex Rager
57:00 Riding motorcycles on Route 66 with Spat
01:01:30 The infamous riot
01:03:30 The end of your Splash Magazine career and starting with European Car Magazine
01:06:25 The demise of the magazine as a concept
01:09:00 What are you doing these days? 714 Media
01:10:15 What does your Splash collection look like?
01:12:15 Thank you so much for your time!
01:12:40 Outro