The King Of Poker Runs - Florida Powerboat Club Founder Stu Jones
An ambitious Canadian with a flair for showmanship and contempt for the cold, Florida Powerboat Club founder Stu Jones arrived in the Sunshine State in the early 1990s and started an event-organizing business that has lasted more than 30 years. Jones and his wife, Jackie, haven't just produced poker runs for the go-fast boating crowd for the better part of three decades; they created lifestyle-experiences and that have helped support and build the high-performance marine industry, and in the process the Florida Powerboat Club became a brand. Long before the dawn of the Internet, the media-savvy Jones knew content was king and he maximized the club’s dramatic action photos and footage through his own magazine, videos and television program. His story is one of vision and the work it takes to build a successful event-production business. But after 30-plus years on the clock, Jones appears ready to take a few steps back from daily operations. The question is: Will he be able to let go?
Get to know Jones and his business better by watching “In The Lead with Stu Jones,” episode No. 5 of the third-year video series that tells the stories of the most accomplished and innovative racers, builders, influencers and entrepreneurs in the high-performance powerboat industry. Special thanks to supporting sponsors, MYCO Trailers, Bluave Marine Audio, CP Performance, DEFCO Trucks, Hamilton Marine Finance, Hardin Marine and Race World Offshore.
Chapters
00:37 In The Lead with Stu Jones
01:16 Florida Powerboat Club
02:27 Canada, Eh?
03:10 Pursuing a powerboat dream
03:28 Key West
04:23 Sunny Isles Marine
04:57 Sunny Isles Powerboat Club
05:38 Reincorporating as Florida Powerboat Club
07:09 Early days of Florida Powerboat Club
07:44 Emerald Coast Powerboat Week
08:45 Powerboating in Paradise Magazines
10:20 Creating a TV Show
13:43 Manufacturers start getting involved
15:00 Summer Poker Run Tour - 1000 Islands Charity Poker Run
17:01 Next Chapter of FPC
17:39 Credits/Sponsors
In The Lead Season 3 features include:
Ep 1: Jeff Harris, Fountain Powerboats
Ep 2: Steve Curtis, Offshore Racing Throttleman
Ep 3: Michael Howe, Howe2Live / Howe & Howe
Ep 4: Kruis Retherford, GSX Powerboats/Glasstream
In The Lead Season 2 features include:
Ep 1: Peter Hledin, Skater Powerboats
Ep 2: Johnny Tomlinson, TNT Custom Marine
Ep 3: Randy Scism, Marine Technology Inc.
Ep 4: Tyler Miller, M CON Racing
Ep 5: Stephen Miles, Stephen Miles Design
Ep 6: Bob Teague, Teague Custom Marine
In The Lead Season 1 features include:
Ep 1: Grant Bruggemann, Grant's Signature Racing
Ep 2: Nils Johnsen & Trond Schou, Nor-Tech Hi-Performance Boats
Ep 3: Shaun Torrente, Shaun Torrente Racing
Ep 4: John Cosker, Mystic Powerboats
Ep 5: Mark Waddington & Brett Manire, Performance Boat Center
Ep 6: Tony Chiaramonte, DCB Performance Boats
Ep 7: Justin Wagner, Waves and Wheels
In partnership with:
MYCO Trailers: www.mycotrailers.com
Bluave Marine Audio: bluaveaudio.com
CP Performance: www.cpperformance.com
DEFCO Trucks, www.defcotrucks.com
Hardin Marine: www.hardin-marine.com
Hamilton Marine Finance: / hamiltonmarinefinance
Race World Offshore: raceworldoffshore.com
Produced by:
Scrapyard Media: www.scrapyardmedia.com
Follow SOTW
Website: www.speedonthewater.com
Facebook: / speedonthewatermag
Instagram: / speedonthewater
Subscribe to see the newest episode of In The Lead every month: / speedonthewater
Keep going Stu! It will always be YOUR club!! It would never be the same without you.
I remember calling and talking personally to Stu in 2008/2009 ish for the first time and telling him I wanted to do the KW Poker Run but I didnt want to pay the full membership because I wasnt sure how much I would need it because I maybe wasnt gonna being able to do other runs as a new broke high performance boater lol. He said "no problem ----> just pay straight entry fee and come on down and enjoy yourself with your friends" ... I took my ICBM and had the most awesome, memorable and wonderful time ever. We went down plenty after that because of the awesome laid back approach and experience. Thanks Stu & Jackie for all your hard work, dedication and vision. Enjoy your next chapter Stu !! GOD Bless
hey @speedboatmaninac410 what happened to your videos? they were awesome and very fun to watch when i discovered during the covid lock down. can you please bring them back?!
yea, i laid it to rest ... GOD Bless@@ef88888
Wes this is a great story and I am glad you shared it! So even a cheapass Canadian like me will make some deals with members just to get them to come along! Glad you were able to make it, and thanks for sharing!
I laid them to rest ... GOD Bless@@ef88888
Thank You Stu and Jackie. We did a lot of PR's with ya'll from 2003 to 2011 and enjoyed all of them. Thanks for keeping the sport alive... A true legend !!
2003 to 2011 wow that is going back a ways in time! Thanks for your comments and I am glad that we were able to make an impact on fans and enthusiasts like yourself!
Stu and Jackie 🎉 love hearing the history behind all of this! 🎉 well done!
Thanks for all you do for the powerboating world. I have been a video and magazine club member since the 90's, watching all the videos and getting so much enjoyment from them. I still have the early VHS tapes and all the DVD's. I never get tired of watching them. I also learned so much about boating and doing it safely from you.
Thank you Robert - appreciate all your support over the years. You might have to explain to some of our viewers what a VHS Tape is..LOL
Stu will always be a legend. Great job Stu
Thank you David, you are most kind! Happy 2024!
Awesome video of your life Story Stu, and I know long ago I said I was going to join as a Non Boat owner??. Well right now I'm in the planning stages of building my own Tiny Houseboat that will be 100 % OFF GRID and Solar powered but like all things in my life right now I'm trying to take care of my 87 yr. Old Mother who has Dimentia,let's just say that I'm her driver and she currently lives in a Senior housing community about 8 miles from my house and I'm basically on call 24/7 365 days a year. And then about a week ago now my ex wife Tracy from Colorado Springs passed away she was only 59 and had alot of health issues ?. And I'm waiting to see the next Florida Powerboat Club Video on KZhead as I now have a nice Home Theater with THX surround sound as well as my Premium Membership to KZhead so NO MORE COMMERCIALS and or Neighbors lol. Have a wonderful season of Poker Runs and maybe you'll be at Boyne Thunder this year????????.
Thanks for helping make this sport a great one Stu. If it wasn't for like minded and passionate people getting together at your events the sport may not have gotten as great as it has. Good luck with everything.
Thanks for the kind words! Always nice to get support from my boating peers! Happy new year 🎉 - Stu
Looking forward to rekindling my love for loud boats soon. Great job Stu & Jackie!! congrats on all your success!!
Thank you- we can only attribute success to having the loyal support of our club members and sponsors so we are truly thankful for that!
Fantastic Video Stu and an amazing accomplishment, Proud of you!
Hey Grant....thanks for sharing I guess you were always aware what was going on down here in florida all these years but I just wish you were able to spend more time down here and go out on a poker run with us! Well there's still time so dont forget where we are! Thanks for your friendship all these years since we were getting in trouble as teenagers in Welland!
Stu is an amazing guy, at least from what I can see! I would like to do one poker run before he retires.
Great video about stu! Come up to the Battleship Poker Run in the Finger Lakes!
Hat’s off to you Stu from the UK, we follow you ! Larry Goldman ( RIP ) built one of my boats, fastest thing in the UK at the time ( until we crashed ! ) currently running one of the two Pantera 41’s
Thanks SIMON, yes miss Larry dearly. A great friend and the reason FPC got off to a roaring start with his partnership every step of the way!
Great video of Stu 🇺🇸 Greetings from Norway 🇳🇴
Thank you hope everything great in Norway - cant wait to come back for Arendal Poker run again soon!
Thank You Stu , Had a great time 25 years ago back in 1999 Jacksonville poker run to Silver Glen ...Excellent job !!! Chappy Moody
Hey Chappy - wow that is a blast from the past! Nice to hear from you I really loved doing those runs on the St Johns and still miss it alot. I might come back up there one day and do another poker run. We did the Toy Run last year in Palatka and had a blast!
That’s some life! Way to go Stu, keep up the good work 👍🏼🇺🇸
Stu, great video. I thought this channel had started with the 1080 project. But now I realize you have been doing this all your life. Now I appreciate even more what you do to make this great videos an eventful experience. Thanks for sharing your story, many thanks to Jackie for helping you to create this fun project.
Feel free to dig in all you want on the Florida Powerboat Club KZhead page: www.youtube.com/@FLpowerboatClub
Yes Project 1080 came along in 2018 - just about 27 years after staging our first poker run in 1991! Yes it has been a pretty wild ride!
BAD ASS,,,,, ONLY IN MY DREAMS ENJOY POWER ON BROTHER,, ENJOY THE H.P. BUDDY
Coral Gables 🌴🇺🇸 We Summer in Vermilion Ohio on Lake Erie.. STILL waiting for restoration of the Miami Marine Stadium ? ? ? 🏄
fkn legend
LOL, fkn funny . thanks man:)
60% of our body is water, 71% percent of our planet is covered in water , It would seem to me that , PBC would be in our blood ! Thank you Stu for all that you have done for us water rats and the love you have brought to the sport !
Thanks JUNIOR some good stats to share and I appreciate the kind words, it has been a fantastic ride every step of the way and I wouldnt trade it for anything!
Ask him about the time he got shit faced drunk in Miami and left a $3,000 Cannon XL-1 camera in a cigar shop with all of the tapes and 4 days worth of video footage of the Miami boat show. The party was his bigger concern.
Friendly advice... No matter what your involvement in the business is going forward you need to do something about your diet and get some exercise. If you don't there may not be any going forward
you are absolutely fkn right man. My good friends tell me this and I appreciate hearing the harsh truth...time for Stu 2.0 !!!
Stu - PLEASE follow BKMDano17's advice! My wife and I want to meet you some day...maybe be on a poker run with you!! 🙂