Video: Flyboarding turns reporter into water-powered rocket man Flyboarding was invented a year ago by a jet-ski champion called Franky Zapata. A video of him using one has been watched over five million times on YouTube and the first flyboarding championships have just taken place in Qatar. The craze has now arrived in Britain where the cold, wet weather appears to not have dented its apeal. The first company to offer the experience has already been hired out for birthdays, stag dos and corporate events. Read Jake Wallis-Simons account of his flyboarding experience in London's Docklands.