Chris 'The Flying Fish' Fischetti Ride by Day, Wrench by Night

This episode is with one of the industry’s most colorful characters - 1991 World Champion, Chris 'the Flyin Fish' Fischetti
The Fish was one of the rock stars of the early 90s and was always easy to spot, even amongst the bright colors, due to his signature shark fin that he wore on his back.
Not only was the Fish a weapon in the water, but he was a great leader in the community out of it, starting the Fish Syndicate.
His dad, affectionately known as Pops, was his leading mechanic and between them they had some amazing machines, at times having an edge over their rivals at PJS.
Listen in for not only some amazing set up tips, but some crazy stories from the scene in the 90s with all your favorite legends
Show notes:
You’re loved in the community, you started the Fish Syndicate, tell us about that Everyone who ran the show for the jet skis went straight to X Games You guys were rock stars back then, it was a beach party with a jet ski event Running into Troy Lee It must have been so much fun to be on a tour like this Fish’s Adventure - tell us about that Scott Watkins was the best rider who did Jet Dreams and then moved to Jet Pilot - he was the guy The jet ski tour really blew up after the big jetski videos Tell us about the Paris indoor race series in Bercey, that must have been great! What do you remember about the Australian Surf Series racing against Todd Ross and Scott Miller? How did you all go over to race in Japan? Jet skis were manufactured in Nebraska and distributed from there Where did your shark fin come from? Your business Hole Shot Engineering and the X2 650 Supercharger The supercharger giving you the edge against the PJS riders You had fierce rivalries but were great friends off the track, what trouble did you guys cause back in the day? Fort Worth, Texas race in 1990 and you have a throttle linkage issue and ended 15th You’re always doing R&D, everything you needed you had to bring with you You had good support from a bunch of sponsors: Hole Shot, Mariner, Sano Pads, Solas Impellers, Jet Pilot, Oakley, Arai Helmets, Graydon Proline and Gold’s Gym to name a few I started off racing for Fun Tech who made “The Wedge” What’s the story with Bum Bum? Tell us about the 1990 World Finals 1991 you became World Champion, but you got badly injured in a car accident! Two weeks after the crash was the first of the Hot Water Tour, I hit someone's ski and I fractured my arm Your dad was a monster engine builder involved with Indycar His race savvy was a huge advantage 1991 was the pinnacle for the 550 engines with an engine your dad made for you It forced us to run a stock flywheel Explain the water cooling system for the bearing Was that your favourite 550 engine? How did you modify the pump? We built the pump, bent and tuned the props, lightened drive line, worked on the steering and intake, dad build the cranks, pistons and the carbs My dad hand built all of this in our garage What was it like competing against a factory backed rider using your own parts? Secrecy in the pits Jeff Jacobs used lead on his ski to keep the nose down, did you do that too? Scoop grates and the ride plate length are important What did it feel like winning the World Championship in 1991? There was no social media, you had to attend events Handling: Fish Sticks - Rhaas Five5Zero Sponsons: tell us about them! This is the first mod that you should do to your ski Having the handle pull height right and having a short steering plate, to make the steering Wedge some foam under the handle pull to stop it dropping too low Engine setup: Have a good set of carbs that you can tune well Your best racing memory: Famous desert parties and the World Finals How many “real” world champions are there on pure jet ski hulls? The journey is more important than the race results