Genres pop, rap, Name Vaclav Zacek Website www.ICEMAN.info | Years active 1992–present | |
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Birth name Vaclav Zacek (Vaclav Zacek) Born January 17, 1978 (age 46)
Prague, Czech Republic, Europe ( 1978-01-17 ) Occupation(s) Extreme Sport Athlete, Record Producer, Deejay, Rapper, Singer Role Hip hop music performer · iceman.info Record labels Universal Music Group, EMI, Ariola Records, PolyGram | ||
Instruments turntables , keyboard, | ||
Václav "Iceman" Žáček (born January 17, 1978, in Prague) is a Czech professional extreme sport athlete who performs freestyle on a personal watercraft. He is a founding member of the Freestyle Personal Watercraft Association (FPWCA) and founder and organizer of the US and European Freestyle Championships on personal watercraft.
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He is also a former member of the Czech hip hop group T-Boyz, and was a hip hop DJ, radio host and music producer.
Music career
Žáček was a member of Technoboys from 1992 until 2003. The band was changed its name to T-Boyz in 1997. Žáček wrote lyrics for the group, and later also contributed to composing the music. Their album Nejsi Jediná was certified gold.
From 1995 to 2006 Žáček also worked as a DJ of R&B and hip hop music, in the Czech Republic and other European countries. He had resident nights in Prague clubs such as Radost FX, Mecca and Karlovy lázně. From 1999–2001 he appeared as the DJ on TV Nova's Rande. From 2003–2006 he hosted the show Soul Night R&B Top 10 for Prague's Radio Deejay.
From 2003–2005 he produced music for Czech R&B singer Victoria.
Competitive career
Žáček became interested in personal watercraft freestyle in 2002. In 2003 he travelled to the United Kingdom to train with multiple World Champion, American Eric Malone. In 2004, he trained with 2001 World Champion Alessandre Lenzi of Brazil, also in Great Britain.
In 2005 he competed in the Czech Republic Freestyle Championship, finishing 2nd. He turned professional in 2006, and that summer he became the first Czech rider to perform a back flip on a personal watercraft. The same year Žáček took part in the European Championship Series, finishing 4th overall, the highest ever position for a Czech rider.
In the 2006 season Žáček participated in the Alpe Adria Cup, a joint championship of Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia and Czech Republic, finishing 2nd. After this Žáček qualified for the World Cup Open in Russia. Competing alongside the world's top riders including his former instructor, Alessandre Lenzi, Žáček finished in 6th position. Later in the season Žáček became the first Czech rider to participate in the World Finals at Lake Havasu, Arizona, in the United States. Competing against riders from 28 different countries, Žáček finished in 10th place.
During his career Žáček has been Czech champion several times, British champion once (2007), won the Alpe Adria Cup twice, finished in 3rd place in the World Championships in the United States twice (2008 and 2010), and finished in the top five in the European Championship every year from 2006 to 2014.
Other PWC activities
Outside of competitions, Žáček is involved in attempts to popularize his sport in the Czech Republic and other countries, via exhibitions of his freestyle art at various sporting and cultural events. As founder member and secretary of the Czech Jet Ski Association, he has appeared on Czech television to discuss the development of jet ski in the Czech Republic. Žáček has cited as his top career achievement his success in establishing several public tracks on Czech inland waterways, after years of jet ski prohibition. This was achieved by the Czech Jet Ski Association following negotiations with the Ministry of Transport and Shipping SPS.
In 2011 Žáček and others established the Freestyle Personal Watercraft Association (FPWCA), dedicated to the promotion of freestyle on personal watercraft. In 2012 he founded the European Freestyle Championship (EFC), the first championship dedicated exclusively to Freestyle. Freestyle competition had previously been a part of high speed racing events. EFC events have been organized in France, the United Kingdom, Austria and Poland.
In 2016, the EFC series was brought to the United States as the US Freestyle Championship (USFC). USFC organized two competitions in 2016, one on the west coast and one on the east coast.