About Us
JAY:
Jay hails from Ocean City, Maryland and is the first-ever pro bodyboarder from the east coast. He was born in 1964, and learned to ride waves on inflatable rafts in his early teen years, switching to a bodyboard when his brother Mitch loaned his to Jay one day. He hasn't looked back since. Jay began bodyboarding full-time in 1980 at the age of 16, and entered the local contest scene right away in between working at mom and dad's bakery and playing drums and singing in a rock band. He dominated competitive bodyboarding on the east coast through his college years. During that time, he amassed 4 ESA Championship titles, 1 Mid-Atlantic Regional Title, was an ESA All-Star, and was the winner of the ESA's Marsh Scholarship. Jay was U.S. Amateur Champ in 1986, and took out the Morey Nationals in 1984 and 1986.Jay is recognized as the first-ever east coast champion in the sport of bodyboarding by virtue of winning the 1982 Eastern Surfing Championships Bodyboarding division in the first year it was offered in that event.
His travels began just after finishing high school when Reale went to Hawaii for the first Morey World Championships at Pipe in 1982. He competed in that event 17 years in a row. In 1987, Jay relocated to San Clemente, California to join the fledgling U.S. Pro Tour, and enjoyed success over the course of the next several years ending up as high as 4th in the year-end ratings. During that time, Reale started a whirlwind of travels that took him to 5 continents, over 20 countries, and hundreds of beaches around the world. Promos, contests, and photo shoots were Jay's life, and he gained a reputation as an ambassador for bodyboarding. He also wrote articles for dozens of magazines worldwide, and acted as beach announcer for several contests as well as television commentator for ESPN and Fox Sports broadcasts of bodyboarding events. Jay loaned his announcing talents to several bodyboarding videos as well participating in 5 different How-To videos and even provided the voice for Mike Stewart's Pro Bodyboarding video game. With the advent of the GOB World Tour (now the IBC Tour) in the mid-90's, Jay began focussing his competitive efforts on not only that Tour where he ended his best year-1997- ranked 5th, but also on the Australian Tour, the U.S. Tour, and the BIA Tour. He managed Top 16 finishes on all four up until 1998. In 1998, his last full year on Tour, Jay ended the all-new GOB Dropknee Tour rated 6th in the world.
In 2002, Jay regained his amateur status and competed in several events in the 30-and-over division becoming the 2002 U.S. Champion and runner up in both the ESA and BIA Championships as well as the FlowRider World Bodyboarding Championships, and was elected to the ESA All-Star Team for the first time since he was last an amateur in 1986. He came back in 2003 and defended his title as U.S. Senior Bodyboarding Champ once again. Also in 2003, he was honored by being recognized by Eastern Surf Magazine as one of the top ten wave-riding competitors ever to come out of the Eastern Surfing Association, ranking as the lone bodyboarder amongst that group and was also the first bodyboarder ever on the cover of that magazine.
In 2022, Jay was inducted into the Ocean City, Maryland Surfing Hall of Fame.
His career has been long and illustrious nabbing 15 magazine cover shots worldwide, countless posters, profiles, and other articles and photos. Jay has appeared many times on ESPN, Prime Ticket, MTV, the Discovery Channel, Nickelodeon, The Learning Channel, and too many local television shows to mention. He's hosted programs in Japan, the U.S. and Australia, as well as commercials for Morey, and radio ads in the U.S., Australia, and Europe. Jay resides in San Clemente with Vicki and their daughter Saige who was born in September of 2003 and son Kieran born November 2007, and he is busy concentrating on keeping eBodyboarding.com on top as the Internet's Bodyboarding Superstore. He spends most of his spare time running and riding waves and has completed over 70 triathlons including 11 Ironman finishes, and over 35 ultramarathons. He continues to surf and bodyboard over 300 days a year, competing occasionally in the Master's division, and enjoys trying out for various game shows.
To date, Jay has appeared on "The Dating Game", "Don't Forget Your Toothbrush", "The Weakest Link", "Whammy", "Pet Star" (with his dog Kea), "On The Cover", "Camouflage","Bullseye", "TKO", "Master Minds", "People Puzzler" and "Person, Place or Thing".
He has also dabbled in community theater and has appeared in 4 musical productions and has performed twice in the Disneyland Candlelight Choir. He is also a published writer having written pieces for nearly every bodyboarding publication as well as The Inertia online surf magazine.
Jay is currently also part-time webcast commentator for the IBC World Tour of Bodyboarding.
Vicki Reale
Vicki was born in the mid-New South Wales coastal town of Port Macquarie, Australia, and began bodyboarding in 1989 because her brother Pete (a former pro bodyboarder and current top bodyboarding photographer himself) got her into it. She started competing right away, and excelling in all levels of competitive bodyboarding. After high school, Vicki began traveling, meeting up with Jay in Hawaii in the winter of 1991. They had met two years before in Australia when Jay was in town for some international competitions. It was there that Vicki got a taste for the big, hollow surf at spots like Pipe and Off-The-Wall.
Vicki began her pro career that winter and quickly caught the eye of major sponsors allowing her to go on magazine photo trips, and eventually join the new Global Organization of Bodyboarders World Tour. Vicki, the lone Aussie on the Tour held her own with the top girls, and managed Top 10 finishes in the year-end ratings for several years.
In 1998, she became the first Australian Women's Pro Champ, and her last major event was the 1998 World Surfing Games in Portugal where she finished 3rd. Additionally, Vicki is several-time women's World FlowRider Bodyboarding Champion! Her bodyboarding travels took her to 5 continents on promotional trips, photo shoots, and for competition. She continues to compete very occasionally in local Southern California events.
Her accolades include being the first female bodyboarder ever on the cover of Australia's Riptide Magazine. She also appeared on "Baywatch", and in a "Pepsi" television commercial that aired in Australia and New Zealand. Vicki won the BodyBoarding Magazine and Australian Bodyboarder Readers' Polls numerous times and has placed top 5 in the Riptide Peer Poll. She also appeared in over 15 bodyboard-related publications worldwide, in addition to women's sports magazines, newspapers, local and national television, and has hosted TV shows in Japan and the U.S. She loves running and surfing most days and enjoys eating healthy and staying fit, and has completed numerous triathlons and foot races including the LA Marathon and numerous half marathons. Most importantly she loves being a mom to her daughter Saige who was born in September of 2003 and her son Kieran who was born in November, 2007.
Email: vicki@ebodyboarding.com
