| It’s an age-old question: Can man walk on water? According to a video released by Hi-Tec USA, he can—with the help of the brand’s newest trail runner, of course, the V-Lite Infinity Hpi. But the stars of Discovery Channel’s popular show MythBusters weren’t convinced.
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The video, which features a group of adventurers running on the surface of a lake in Portugal, quickly went viral after its release last April, garnering almost 10 million YouTube views and sparking a name for the new sport: “liquid mountaineering.” In fact, the video stirred up so much interest, the Discovery Channel decided it was time to investigate. During last Thursday’s MythBusters episode everyone from world-class sprinters to acrobats in specially designed footwear tried to skim the surface of the water—and sank. Unfortunately for any aspiring liquid mountaineers, the episode debunked the concept as myth, but for Hi-Tec, the boost from the video’s publicity is definitely a fact.
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“The response has been tremendous,” says Bill Berta, Hi-Tec Sports USA CEO. “We’ve launched a new ‘sport,’ gotten the attention of media and bloggers around the world, stimulated seemingly endless discussions about the possibilities of walking on water and prompted many to actually give liquid mountaineering a shot,” he notes. Berta says it’s too soon to measure the impact on sales, since the V-Lite Infinity Hpi just launched, but the brand has seen a “dramatic increase” in the number of visitors to its website, he reports. “The video has afforded us the attention of new audiences and potential customers, and I have no doubt it will help to increase sales.”
—Audrey Goodson
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