Eliott Piltz Galán

Eliott Piltz Galán was a freestyle footbag player best known for his innovations in the sport, lifting it to new heights. He was a member of the Big Add Posse, a group of the best freestyle players in the world, as well as an event director, club organizer, video producer, footbag company owner, promoter, and creator of multiple freestyle events that continue until this day.

Eli began playing footbag in the mid-1990s in the Austin area of Texas. He focused on freestyle which he pursued with a passion. His early schooling partner was Kyle Crawford, who would also go on to be inducted into the Big Add Posse. Together they developed their skills and attended various footbag events. He attended his first World Footbag Championships in Portland, Oregon, in 1997. This event marked the introduction of many up-and-coming players who would carry the torch of freestyle footbag through the late 1990s to the mid-2000s.

As a player, Galán displayed a flexibility that allowed him to execute intricate combos and moves. He invented a variety of tricks including Paratoxin (Paradox Miraging Symposium Whirl), which is still considered an extremely difficult move today. Eli helped advance the game into what some refer to as the ‘shuffle’ age of freestyle, emphasizing technical guiltless (all three ADD tricks and above) and tripless (all four ADD moves and above). This included stepping, pixie, fairy, and atomic sets.

Eli was inducted into the Big Add Posse at the conclusion of 1998 World Footbag Championships in Montréal, Québec. His fellow inductees that year were Kyle Crawford, Carol Wedemeyer, Brian McKenzie, and Eric Windsor. His BAP name was ‘Intergalactic’, a nod to his impressive talent and the Beastie Boys song by the same name.

Galán would continue to advance his freestyle game, eventually moving to Boulder, where he helped build a new incarnation of the Colorado group; the Boulder Blades. This renowned club would eventually include fellow BAP members David Holton, Jonathan Schneider, Daryl Genz, Brian McKenzie, Red Husted, and the iconic Rippin’ Rick Reese out of Fort Collins. Later members included Sunny Freeman, Brad Kaplan, and Kyle Zender.

Developing a fascination for filming and editing, Eli began producing footbag videos on VHS. He worked with David Holton in his days in Colorado, producing such freestyle classics as Sultans of Shred, Worlds ‘99, Reese’s Pieces, and California Connection.

During this time, Eli also created the Colorado Shred Symposium. The first event, held in 2000, was a huge success, leading to several more over the subsequent years. With this, Galán created a new freestyle event; Shred 30. The popularity of this event quickly grew, with other tournaments adopting the format.

Galán was also the 2003 Texas State Footbag Champion for both Shred 30 and freestyle routines.

Eli moved to San Diego, California in the late 1990’s to join future BAP member Richard Abshire in representing the Southern California scene. He continued to develop his editing skills, creating a series of videos under the name Flipsider. These videos included The Sickening, and his most iconic video, Where the Ripwalk Ends, which debuted at the 2002 World Footbag Championships in San Francisco. This video highlighted both the current generation of freestylers (World Champion Ryan Mulroney, Chad Devlahovich, Lon Smith) and the up-and-coming generation, including future World Champions Vasek Klouda, Honza Weber, Ales Zelinka, and Jim Penske. Eli produced the highest quality footbag videos for several years, inspiring editors in the sport to go further with their craft. With his mastery of Final Cut and Adobe Premiere—the foremost non-linear editing programs at the time—Eli essentially became the father of modern-day footbag videos.

Galán created the popular website, flipsider.com, which acted as the primary hub for freestyle during its years active. Flipsider was a massive catalyst for freestyle, with many players watching and downloading videos from the site.

Eli next moved to Montréal, Québec, where he helped organize the local group. This included Big Add Posse members Yacine Merzouk and Sebastien Duschesne, as well as Caro Bourgoin, among others. There they opened a physical location for footbag players to practice.

Galán created more freestyle events that became mainstream, including Sick 3 (best three tricks in a row), Sick 1 (best trick), Rippin’ Run (head to head freestyle), and most notably, Circle, in which four opponents faced off in a circle. Many of these events continue today.

He also worked with Ianek Regimbald to reshape/rename freestyle footbag concepts within the ADD system to make them more efficient.

Galán relocated to Vancouver, BC where he lived for many years. With his attention increasing on film work, he announced his retirement from footbag in the mid-2000s. He went on to be a successful indie editor and director, winning an award in 2024. He currently resides in the Los Angeles area of California.

Eli is considered to be one of the most creative and innovative personalities in footbag history. He inspired generations of players while contributing to the game on multiple levels. For this, he was inducted into the Footbag Hall of Fame.

Eliott Galán