Jet Ski Champ A Miami Tourist Attraction

40-Year-Old Miami jet skier is unlikely champ

If you spend time on the water in South Beach, you may have noticed a man doing crazy tricks on a jet ski. He's become a one man tourist attraction, not to mention a national champion.

Alex Petrovic is an unlikely champ. He's a 40-year-old graphic designer in Miami Beach and only started the extreme sport of Freestyle Jet Ski three years ago.

"When I showed up at the first competition," Petrovic said, "I basically surprised everybody."

Petrovic entered his first amateur competition a year ago and just six months later, he won the National Freestyle Championship.

He later competed in the World Finals and finished in 4th place.

In Freestyle Jet Ski, competitors get two minutes to wow the judges and crowd with high-flying, dangerous tricks.

"I've cut my face, I've got bruises, ankle twists," says Petrovic, "but it's perfectly normal."

Petrovic first practices his tricks at Markham Park in Sunrise, but then takes his talents to South Beach. That's where he enjoys getting people's attention with gravity-defying moves.

"They record and take pictures," Petrovic said of tourists who see him out on the bay. "They're going to go back home and say, 'wow, Miami is great. I saw this guy flying there!'"

Petrovic's goal is to turn pro, and he says he knows he can compete at that level.

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