b'ECCENTRIC. NO DOUBT. HE WAS QUITE ECCENTRIC. WHAT GIVES A GUY THE RIGHT TO BE ECCENTRIC, ANYWAY? HES GOTTA HAVE SOME KIND OF GAME TO BACK IT UP, OR ITS JUST A STUPID ACT.Love him or hate him, Kanye is allowed to bein New Braunfels. The Henrys family-ownedplex, to be built in international waters in the eccentric. He has the talent to back it up. Didcampground that had quickly become one ofGulf of Mexico. He told us how he was purchas-Steve Jobs have the right to be a reprehensiblethe top tourist attractions in Texas, putting theing and accumulating dozens of retired drilling human being for most of his adult life? Sure, hesleepy Hill Country town of New Braunfels onplatforms at a shipyard up the coast, and how did. He invented the friggin iPhone! And to bethe map in the process, was Jeffs destinyandthey would be used as the infrastructure for sure, being a total jerk can be called eccentric.he knew it as a teenager. his oceanic mega-resort. He figured the cost at They got away with itMel Gibson the Jew- It was a career gamble that paid off, andabout $900 million, a tad more than the Schlit-hating drunk, but one hell of an actor/direc- by the time we met him in 2015 in Corpusterbahn build-out, in case we knew of any in-tormade millions, billions maybe, for movieChristi, Henry was already a reality TV starterestedmulti-billionaires.Hejokedthathe studios and hundreds of workers. That feedsin addition to being the crown prince of themight pitch the idea to his buddy the Sultanpeople,andwhenyoufeedpeopleyoucanwaterpark industry. He carried around a largeafter all he had CAD drawings with him of the damn-near get away with murder. sketch pad onto which ideas bled from his ro- next worlds tallest waterslide that he wanted Jeff Henry fed peoplethousands of thembust imagination, and on almost any topic, theto build in the dream city of Dubai.in any given yearincluding those who were employed at his familys business, Schlitter-bahn Waterparks & Resorts, his construction company, Henry & Sons, on his ranch, oper-ating his private planes, or indirectly at any of thousands of waterparks across the world, wherehiswaterridedesignsentertainand thrill millions. Over a career of some 40 years, Henry earned his spot at the top of the water-park industry through the success of rides and features that he developed at Schlitterbahn in NewBraunfels,thenduplicatedandsoldtoLeft: Brother Gary, Dad Bob and Jeff Henry in happy times building Schlitterbahn.other operators around the world. Above: Underwater hotel room created by Jeff Henry at Atlantis Dubai Resort.Henryssingle,wealthiestclientwas probablytheSultanofDubai,forwhomheone most at-hand at the time being the finalA year earlier, Henry had opened the then-conceived and built Aquaventure, the water- stageofconstructiononSchlitterbahnCor- current worlds tallest, and fastest, and most park at Atlantis Dubai, one of the worlds mostpus Christi Waterpark & Resort on North Pa- thrilling,watersideeverbuiltVerrcktat luxurious and exclusive beach resorts. Henrydre Island. The pad was his tool for pitchingSchlitterbahn Kansas City. For a man who kept also created the astonishing underwater publicideas as well. In one sitting Henry describeda daily count of the estimated remaining days spaces and hotel rooms at Atlantis, consideredandvisuallydepictedhisplanforthefinalof his life, and who outperformed, and out-a cornerstone accomplishment in the hospital- build-outoftheCorpusChristipark,whichaccomplished, every expectation of him after ity industry. boastedthelongestman-madeLazyRiverhe dropped out of high school to work in the Those who met Jeff Henry in a private set- feature ever madeover 8,000 linear feet. Hefamily business full time, Jeff Henry was a man ting (not in front of a crowd or cameras) were,was looking for $20 million or so to constructfully focused on building a legacy as an inven-by intention, not disappointed with the man200 Tree Haus cabins, similar to those at thetor and entertainer.whosereputationprecededhimthatoftheNew Braunfels resort, along and over the LazyMany folks in Corpus Christi and on North renegade autodidact who wore as a badge ofRiver. Padre Island, however, we less impressed and honor the resume of a kid who dropped out ofLater in the same conversation, Henry de- not as interested in Henrys history and as-high school so he could work full-time buildingpicted on his sketch pad his idea for a floating,pirations.Theywereinterestedinthenew the original Schlitterbahn on the Comal Riveroffshore hotel, casino and fishing resort com- Schlitterbahn waterpark that had promised to Read the whole story about Jeff Henry and the tragic death of 10-year-old Caleb Schwab at Schlitterbahn Kansas City, and the charges of 2nd Degree Murder and others that followed.I Could Die Going Down this Ride in our Early Summer 2018 Edition TheCoastalBend.com TheCoastalBend.com THE CGAOASTAL BEND MA 33TheCoastalBend.com THE COASTAL BEND MA ZINEFEATURED: The StGAZINEories that MattFall 2018 ered 91'