What a ride

From the time he was 6, Jeff Pike ’98 knew he wanted to design and build roller coasters.

The Cincinnati native enrolled at UofL. After graduating, he landed a dream job at Great Coasters International, where he spent 16 years designing, selling and overseeing construction of some of the world’s largest, most exciting wooden roller coasters.

His career took a slight turn after the birth of his third and fourth children (twins) in 2011. Pike realized a globe-trotting career and a growing family did not mix well. So, he and three partners started their own company, Skyline Attractions.

“I was looking for a way to continue to be involved in the business that I love but have a little bit more self-direction,” Pike said.

The venture involved a steep learning curve, however. Skyline’s first design was a new concept that combined a ride with an arcade game called Strike-U-Up™ for two-player teams. One player used a hammer to strike a button, sending their seated teammate up a tower. The first team to get the player to the top would win a prize.

The concept won the Brass Ring Award for best new attraction at the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions industry trade show that year, but Pike learned that prizes don’t always turn into sales.

“We sold zero,” he said.

Their next design was a kids’ ride called Crazy Couch, also an award winner.

“We sold five or six of those,” Pike said. “But to be really profitable with a piece of equipment like that, you have to sell five or six a year.”

Skyline’s latest creations, P’Sghetti Bowl kids’ coasters, are a maze of twists and turns on a weld-free track covered with dazzling LED light displays. Pike said they are fun, exciting rides and with two installed at Six Flags parks, he is optimistic about their future.

In addition to their own rides, Pike and his partners continue to do contract work for Great Coasters, with three designs under construction in the U.S., China and Saudi Arabia.

While he admits the roller coaster business has had its ups and downs, Pike still enjoys riding roller coasters, watching them and seeing people get off them. One of his favorite designs is Mystic Timbers at King’s Island in Ohio. Pike enjoyed fitting it around park features such as a railroad, a white-water rapids ride and a lake.

“When you're restricted in your design choices, it creates challenges that make you work a little harder and I think it results in some really cool rides,” Pike said.

So far, Pike has designed 25 roller coasters for parks in eight countries on three continents and has been involved in building, repairing or improving about half of the world’s wooden roller coasters.

“I love that when I'm gone, my kids will probably be bringing their kids to King’s Island and ride Mystic Timbers,” Pike said. “And my little girls, who are 12 now, will be bragging to their kids, ‘You know, my daddy designed this!’”