85-Year-Old Arizona Man Water Skis Over 2 Hours Without a Break
October 19, 2026
Contributors
Robbie Stahl
Ahead of his 85th birthday, Joel Weldon held on to the rope behind a ski boat for over two hours, and he never let go.
That alone would be something. But Joel has also had both knees replaced, both rotator cuffs torn, and open-heart surgery.
So how does someone with that history know his body can take two hours on the water?
Joel didn't figure that out on his own. As he says, "You need somebody who knows what you don't know."
If you've ever wondered how much your own body can take right now, it's the same question Joel had help answering.
The answer starts nearly 70 years ago, when Joel was a teenager with a bad knee.
From a Trick Knee at 15 to No Pain at 85
When Joel was 15, he broke all the cartilage in his knee. From then on, he had what he calls a “trick knee.”
His neighbor was an orthopedic surgeon, and he told Joel he didn’t need a knee replacement yet. “You’re going to know when it’s time,” he added.
That time would come, and when it did, Joel would need to be ready.
So Joel lived with that knee for decades. By the time he was 59, he had two bad knees.
He found himself in a gym doing 35 or 40 different exercises. But he had no idea whether he was doing any of them right.
That’s when Joel discovered Robbie Stahl. Robbie has worked in the fitness field for 27 years, and he only works with people over 50.
Robbie built Joel’s program around his body, including how to move well with the cartilage he’d lost in his right knee.
Today, Joel says, "I go to bed with no pain. I wake up with no pain. Nothing hurts and everything works."
Robbie talks about two lists. Your Can-Do List is "the things that you can do." When you catch yourself saying "I used to be able to do this," Robbie says it "means your can-do list shrank, it lost that item and your Can't-Do List grew."
At 85, Joel is still doing so many of the things he did in his 40s and 50s. Robbie calls those things Joel's Can-Do List, and for Joel, the Can-Do List hasn't shrunk.
Water skiing is on Joel's Can-Do List. At 70, he turned it into a birthday run.
The Birthday Run Joel Started at 70
Joel has a second home on a private water ski lake, about an hour from where he lives in Arizona. On that lake there's a slalom course, where a motorboat tows him through a zigzag pattern of buoys.
One time through the course, end to end, is what Joel calls a pass. For anyone at any age, a pass is a test of balance, speed, and agility.
When Joel turned 70, he decided to ski 70 passes on that course, one for every year of his life. The next year, he did 71 passes. Every birthday since then, Joel says, he has water skied his age in passes.
Each year's birthday run was one pass longer than the last, so Joel always had a day to get ready for. He also had a guide who knew what his body could take. "I don't know my body as well as Robbie knows my body," Joel says.
Then Joel's body faced two even bigger tests.
Two Knee Replacements and Open-Heart Surgery
In his 70s, the surgeon’s words came true. It was time to replace his knees.
Because Joel had been working with Robbie for years, he wasn't starting from zero. Before the first knee surgery, Robbie worked with him to build up the muscles that would support his new knee.
About a month after that surgery, Joel had the other knee replaced. Two months after the second surgery, he was back on the water.
Later came something nobody could have planned for. A routine teeth cleaning led to an infection, 6 weeks in the hospital, and open-heart surgery.
Joel couldn’t wait to start his rehab exercises, and his doctors were amazed. Two months later, he was skiing again.
He thinks of his years of work with Robbie as deposits. He made them long before he knew he'd need them, so when something unexpected showed up, his body had something to draw on.
At 78, Joel Wanted to Challenge Himself Even More
Joel says, "On my 78th birthday, I wanted to challenge myself even more." So he switched to a different kind of water ski called a Sky Ski.
On his 80th birthday run, Joel skied 80 passes. He held on to the rope for 1 hour and 47 minutes nonstop.
Joel says that when he finishes a birthday run, "I'm not tired at all. The driver's tired."
Ahead of his 85th birthday, Joel held on to the rope again for his birthday run: 85 passes… over two hours, without letting go.
Joel says, "That's not willpower. Robbie Stahl and the experts at the Fitness Doctor really helped me maintain my strength."
Joel shares his success (along with many others) in his own words. [Click here >>]
Make Your Next Birthday About Your Own Can-Do List
You don't need 85 passes on your next birthday. Your goal can be your own Can-Do List: the things you do now and want to keep doing.
Maybe you still take walks. Maybe you still get out and hike, and you want to keep hiking, not just walking.
If walking and hiking are on your list, it helps to know how much your body can take right now.
Joel tells audiences, "Your age should be no limitation. The older you get, the better you should get."
Robbie says your Can-Do List and your Can't-Do List are "not going to both be growing. So which one is growing?" Wherever you're at today, you can be someone whose Can-Do List is the one growing.
Holding Back, Overdoing It, and Where to Start
You can walk, stretch, and do the things you enjoy and still not be sure how much is right for your body. If so, you may hold back so you don't overdo it and hurt yourself.
Robbie says holding back has a cost too: being so careful that you do less is probably why many people keep losing strength.
Other people already do a lot, and they worry they're overdoing it.
On a Live Fitness Doctor Coaching Show, one longtime Fitness Doctor VIP Client said, "I want to continue as I age, but I don't want to be dumb about what I do. I want to be like Joel."
Dr. Trent Nessler, a doctor of physical therapy, called what Joel did "a true testament to what fitness can do, and what Robbie and his team have done for him."
For 25 years, Joel has worked with Robbie on a program built for his body.
Maybe you've been trying to figure out on your own how much your body can take. Robbie and Dr. Trent answer that question in a training called Get Your Strength Back Over 50 Without Overdoing It. It's a place to start on the same question Joel has had help with.
It's 60 minutes of training, then Robbie and Dr. Trent answer the questions people asked live. You can watch it from home, whenever you want.
Your next birthday is coming either way. You can start getting your body ready for it today.
Click here to get access to the “Get Your Strength Back” training now >>
No credit card required.
How did an 85-year-old water ski for over two hours?
Joel Weldon has worked with Robbie Stahl for 25 years on a program built around his body. In Joel's words: “You need somebody who knows what you don't know.”
What is the Can-Do List?
It is Robbie Stahl's name for the things you can do. When you catch yourself saying “I used to be able to do this,” your Can-Do List shrank and your Can't-Do List grew.
How do you know how much exercise is right for your body?
Holding back can cost you strength, and doing too much can hurt you. Robbie Stahl and Dr. Trent Nessler answer how much your body can take right now in a 60-minute training, Get Your Strength Back Over 50 Without Overdoing It.
Robbie Stahl
