Don Aronow the man , myth , and legend

12-19-2003, 10:18 AM

looks like all that good reading

in the kramer thread is dieing down so i thought ide start a thread about the victim.

what kind of man was he?
who here actually got to meet him?

ide like to learn more about him and i cant think of a better source then oso

TEAMBAJA · 12-19-2003, 10:30 AM

I just bought a copy of BLUE THUNDER off EBAY. Its a pretty rare book I guess, but looks to be some interesting reading about Don.

BLee · 12-19-2003, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by lotoparty

did he do any racing?

Cmon bro! He was a racin fool.

THEJOKER · 12-19-2003, 10:33 AM

I did alot of research and used to worship this guy until I found out the truth about him. Big Time womanizer and would screw your wife if you turned your back. He also had to get the better end of any business deal. I met a guy that worked for him for years and he told me several deals that Don screwed him on. As a business person I would not of liked him and in my opinion just another crook with a high performance boating EGO! He should of paid Myer Lansky that money back and never sold the gov't cat contract to Ben. He might be around today! BH

magnum27 · 12-19-2003, 11:07 AM

If you want to know about him read "Speed Kills' and "The King of Thunderboat Row". Those have much more facts than "blue Thunder". "Speed Kill" is by far the most factual of the three. "The King of Thunderboat Row" has great pictures and is a great coffee table book. Blue thunder I did not like nor even gave any credibility to. It is more like a conspiracy theory.

About Racing: He still is the only racer to launch off of a wave and hit the bottom of a helicopter which since made the rule to regulate the height of them today when flying. He destroyed more boats in his racing career than anyone I can think of all for the glory of winning. Back then it was like gladiators going boat racing. Very few boats would even make it through the race because of such extreme conditions. The good old days.

spitfire1 · 12-19-2003, 11:36 AM

blue thunder.......

spitfire1 · 12-19-2003, 11:37 AM

another

Stormrider · 12-19-2003, 11:41 AM

Met him many a times when I was young.
I think the last time was when I was 13-14...
What a character.

spitfire1 · 12-19-2003, 11:43 AM

I personally thought Blue Thunder had a lot more going for it than did Speed Kills.....In any case I thought it was a better read.......

ThirdBird · 12-19-2003, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by THEJOKER
I did alot of research and used to worship this guy until I found out the truth about him. Big Time womanizer and would screw your wife if you turned your back. He also had to get the better end of any business deal. I met a guy that worked for him for years and he told me several deals that Don screwed him on. As a business person I would not of liked him and in my opinion just another crook with a high performance boating EGO! He should of paid Myer Lansky that money back and never sold the gov't cat contract to Ben. He might be around today! BH

As for the "womanizer" stuff: So what! Cripes, even the president did that!!!!

As for getting the "better end of any business deal": Thats what you're supposed to do in a business deal!! He was just smarted than the rest of doped-up idiots he was dealing with.

If you look at his accomplishments you can only come to one conclusion,,,,, this guy was good at what he did. That includes racing. Aronow raced when it was truely "off-shore" racing, not this closed circuit, calm water, pickle-fork bull**** they run today. He ran with no helmet, no canopy, no race suit, no nothing. And he won!!! He did not only win because his boats were fast and strong but because HE was strong. Those were races of attrition and not just mechanical attrition but human attrition.

He was a cool and charismatic man. He knew his business better than anyone else, period. No one could compete with his product success (that's why they bought his companies). Thats the amazing part of his success; He'd sell a successful company then start another and be right back on top again,,,,,, absolutley amazing and unequalled,,,,,,,, to this day.

So, don't be looking for some saint within his soul, don't look for some ethical leader, don't look for what YOU might think makes him a great guy. Personally, I think he was as cool as they come. If a few wives strayed from home to be with "The Don", well, its not like he raped them. They were looking for it just like he was. And, if a few guys got "screwed" in a business deal, tough s**t. Its a nasty world out there and the smart tough guys usually win.

Don Aronow was a smart tough guy!!! I wish he was still with us. (I wish John Lennon was here too)