Extreme Ironists Cross the Pond and Begin to Press Their Way Across the U.S.

		ROWENTA EXTREME IRONING TOUR IN AMERICA Starch, a.k.a Mat Scull, of the Extreme Ironing Bureau, gets some ironing practice in prior to heading off for the Rowenta Extreme Ironing tour in America. Starch and his fellow Extreme Ironing team members, Steam (Phil Shaw) and Short Fuse (Penny Wilkinson) will Extreme Iron from Boston to Mount Rushmore to Times Square from 5/17 - 5/31 during their first Extreme Ironing tour in America. (PRNewsFoto)[RV] BOSTON, MA USA

No Stone To Be Left Unturned; Mount Rushmore, Devils Tower, Lobster Boat, Sea Kayak Among Challenges To Be Smoothed Over BOSTON, May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- With iron in-hand and ironing board strapped to their backs, "Steam," "Starch" and "Short Fuse," (a.k.a. Phil, Mat and Penny of the U.K.) will hike, climb and cave their way across the U.S., completing their first-ever American Extreme Ironing tour. Although they find many of America's landmarks to be pressing challenges, all three veteran Extreme Ironers agree that the experience should be seamless. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040512/NEW003 ) The two-week long adventure begins in Boston, on May 17, continues in the Black Hills of South Dakota at Mount Rushmore among other locations, with a grand finale in Times Square on Memorial Day. America will have the opportunity to watch the Extreme Ironers' progress on the Extreme Ironing and Rowenta web sites through daily diary updates with photographs and video. Some highlights of the Extreme Ironing crusade will include: * Climbing around and ironing in front of Devils Tower * Hiking through Custer State Park and ironing with the bison * Hiking around Mount Rushmore and ironing with past presidents "looking on" * Climbing down a rock quarry in Rockport, Massachusetts and ironing at the bottom * Ironing in a sea kayak off the coast of Boston * Ironing while riding on a "Duck Tour" vehicle (amphibious assault transport from WWII) while visiting many of Boston's landmark sites as well as on the Charles River * Ironing from a cherry picker overlooking the hustle and bustle of Times Square "As the leading manufacturer of high-performance irons, Rowenta has admired from afar the undertakings and successes of Steam, Starch and Short Fuse in other parts of the world," said Paul Pofcher, president of Rowenta. "It was clear that America was missing out on something extremely important; America needed to be pressed in the great outdoors," Pofcher continued. "After our victory at the Extreme Ironing World Games in 2002, I knew there was no other place for us to go but America," said Phil Shaw, a.k.a. "Steam." "We liken it to the last unconquered territory. If you haven't extreme ironed here, you haven't truly mastered the art," Steam continued. What is Extreme Ironing? Extreme Ironing was created by Steam in Leicester, England in 1997, after grappling with the choice of either spending his day off indoors doing his laundry or outdoors rock climbing. Steam's decision would be a life-changing one for him -- he decided to combine the two activities. And so, Extreme Ironing was born in the backyard of this entrepreneurial minded, outdoorsy young man as he ironed his clothes outside. As the months and years passed, Steam recruited Starch and Short Fuse and they found themselves Extreme Ironing while hiking, rock climbing, skiing and doing many other outdoor activities they love. In June 1999, Steam and Short Fuse embarked on a worldwide recruitment campaign for Extreme Ironing. Armed with a "training" iron, he toured Fiji, New Zealand, Australia and Southern Africa converting latent Extreme Ironists everywhere he went. A chance meeting in New Zealand with a party of thrill- seeking Germans, led to the next stage of Extreme Ironing's development -- Extreme Ironing International. Today, Extreme Ironing has a broad international following, from South Africans ironing at the top of Kilimanjaro to marathon runners completing the London marathon with a full ironing kit on their backs. In 2002, the German Extreme Ironing Section even organized the first ever Extreme Ironing World Championships in which 80 competitors from 10 countries took part. One thing they all have in common -- they all like to mix the thrill of danger with the satisfaction of a well-pressed shirt! When asked how long before the sport of Extreme Ironing takes off in America, Steam replied, "It's just around the corner -- I'm currently campaigning for it to become an Olympic sport." For other information about Extreme Ironing visit: http://www.extremeironing.com or http://www.rowentausa.com