GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Grand Rapids Boat Show wrapped up Sunday, with wall-to-wall exhibitors and an estimated crowd of more than 20,000 organizers say it was a huge success.
For families that came out to the show, one exhibit captured attention by being both novel and heartfelt. Surrounded by boats, a 20-foot diameter pool gathered crowds that would block walkways and produce thundering cheers. Who else could it be but Twiggy, the Water-Skiing squirrel!
Chuck Best is Twiggy's handler and the emcee of the shows. In between puns about nuts, he's an advocate for water safety as much as an entertainer.
"In a nutshell, there’s a lot to it," Best said. "It’s a fun entertaining act, but the message behind it means a lot more to everybody as well."
Twiggy is an act that's been going since 1979, after Chuck's father, Chuck Sr., bought a toy RC boat. He joked with his friends that he could teach a rescued Squirrel to water ski, and from there, the act was born.
"After the original twiggy got famous everyone thought we were squirrel experts," Best said. He says people will send them injured animals, and they have learned how to rehabilitate them and get them back into life in the wild. The animals that don't take to re-entering nature become Twiggy's.
Much like the Dread Pirate Roberts, there is no one Twiggy. The two performing at the Grand Rapids Boat Show are named Hollywood and The Baby, two of the 11 Twiggy's to earn the moniker.
What started off as a simple act became far more meaningful in 1997. While spending time on their family houseboat one day, Chuck's grandfather fell overboard. Chuck senior didn't hesitate to jump after him.
"My dad jumped in to help him, and ended up having a heart attack and drowning," Chuck Jr. said. "I pulled my dad out of the water, but it was too late."
Following the death of his father, the Twiggy act spend a year on hiatus before returning with a brand new purpose. Twiggy is now the spokes-animal for the WEAR IT campaign through the National Safe Boating Council, encouraging boaters and anyone out on the water to do their life jacket.
"Adults, hopefully they get the message," Best said. "But I get a lot of messages from kids saying ‘hey I wore my life jacket just like Twiggy.'"
Best says the Twiggy shows are his passion. The act started by his dad carries on his legacy. Best says if he can save even one life, everything he does is worth it.
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