LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS 11) – Thunder Over Louisville’s famous air show is all about showing off, but one of its main players continues to stay as grounded as ever. In this week's edition of our Five Questions series, we introduce you to the man making the tradition a reality year after year.
We need water to survive. For John Hollis, that's more than a fact. It's a foundation.
"I was raised on the river,” John said. “I was actually raised the first ten years in Portland. During the summer, we lived out on Sand Island, on the other side of the falls back there.”
Summers spent on Sand Island led to a lifelong commitment to the Ohio.
"I can't get away from the river. That's what it is,” John said.
Even his name is a tribute.
"My grandpa was John Manning, better known on the river as Hot John, and that's it,” John said.
As the captain of Heavy Fuel, John helps power Thunder's air show in a big way. While the planes fly, he floats.
“There’s an air box, which is no man’s land. Nobody is allowed to go into it. It’s set up for all of the stunts and the flyovers. Everything else is done in that air box. The planes will drop in lower there. Basically, for security reasons, nobody is allowed to get close to it. The center line marker, which is what I’ve got, the beacon, it basically tells them where to come in on. That’s their focal point,” John said.
This light goes on top of the boat, guiding each and every plane in the Thunder line-up. John's steered this ship for nearly 20 years.
"I take pride in what I do,” John said.
It's no tiny task. John doesn't shy away from tackling the tough stuff and doesn't think you should either. When asked what the world could use a little more of, he had an idea.
"Responsibility, people taking responsibility for what they do,” John said.
This captain prefers to run the river, but if he ran the country, he knows which route he'd take.
"I would try to unite people into making U.S.A exactly what it used to be when I was growing up,” John said.
He’d also instill in people some words of wisdom.
"Probably the best advice I ever got was to treat people the way you want to be treated and never, ever ask somebody to do something that you're not willing to do yourself,” John said.
John could probably ask you to do just about anything because he does just about everything, elevating the energizer bunny mentality to a whole new level. He’d pick a different animal though, if given the choice.
"That's a hard one. I guess I'd probably be close to a cheetah because I'm always on the move doing things, and I'm always in a hurry,” John said.
Thunder is just one day, but John's dedication to it is around the clock.
"I work months ahead of time to get ready for it,” John said. “Actually, Saturday is the easiest day. We get out. We get our position. We get the anchor down. We turn on all of the equipment and the beacon, and I can actually go down and take a nap for a while.”
Thunder may be all about what's above, but it wouldn't happen without this boat below.
"It's just being able to be out there and be part of something,” John said. “It’s just constant from the minute it starts until the minute when the last fireworks are going off. It’s all excitement. There’s no lulls in it.”
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