waterski

Bob Soven has been in the wakeboarding game since the sport was invented pretty much. His older brother Phil, aka Froggy, was one of the most dominant riders of the time and Bob, who was known as Robert or Tadpole, was the little brother that didn’t want to be anything like his older brother. Bob was always the more likable Soven and over his career, he won, not as much as his brother but while his brother is done with wakeboarding, Bob is still one of the more influential guys in the sport.

Bob Soven Show Notes:

3:00:  Hair, inclusivity, and Orlando

6:00:  Jewish, ski shows, and growing up with pro friends/his brother

11:00:  Dominating contests, pressure, and wakeskating

16:00:  2006 burnout, head injury, and recovery

20:00:  Stanley:  Get 30% off site wide with the code drinkfast

10 Barrel Brewery:  Buy their beers, they support action sports more than anyone

22:00:  Becoming Bob Soven, stuck on his sailboat, and video projects

28:00:  The Pro Tour, partying, and school

31:00:  Wake Bros Reality Show, social media, and influencers

40:00:  Money, sponsors, signature products, and money management

42:00:  Peter Glenn Sports

46:00:  2013 Rider of the Year

47:00:  Inappropriate Questions from Harley Clifford

Dave Wingerter is an aerospace engineer, a brand manager and vice president of HO Skis, and a pro water skier. He's been leading the Syndicate design Team for 10+ years, and has gracefully overseen some of the best water ski product designs of the past decade. Take a few min to listen to this in depth discussion between MB and DW.

HOSports.com

Bob LaPoint, true life Hero that changed my life -

The year is 1987. The World has 2,700,000,000 less people than it does today, the Giants beat John Elway in the Super Bowl, Richard Branson makes the first Transatlantic flight in a Hot Air Balloon (2,790 miles) & Freddy Krueger is a serial killer....and a 3 event skier. I remember that Plane flight like it was last year though, because it was my first time in an Airplane. Scared, excited, and eagle eyeing out the window harder than anyone in history...there was soooo much to see!!!! And everything looked unlike anything I'd ever seen before....houses, roads, lakes, mountains....all the stuff I'd already become familiar with in my 8 years of life....but it all looked so different from up here. As we made our approach into West Palm Beach Int'l Airport, I remember looking out the window and pointing to the trees and asking my dad "DAD DAD, look at those trees!!!....they look like pine trees!!??...how is that possible??!" See, on the west coast, in my world, I had only ever seen pine trees in the mountains...where it snows. I knew Florida had neither of those things, so it blew my mind.

A couple days later, after my brother competed in his first U.S. Water Ski Nationals, my mind was about to be blown again. This particular year, 1987, was the first year the Nationals week would be capped by a US Open on the weekend. It was my second year skiing, and I knew all the names of the best in the World...but I'd never seen them ski anywhere other than ESPN (remember when water skiing was on ESPN?). The weekend didn't disappoint. As an 8 year old kid with stars in my eyes....I remember standing on the shoreline thinking, "These guys were INSANE!!!" Some guy no one had ever heard of, Jeff Rodgers, showed up and cranked the shit out of some 1,3,5's. I remember the rumor being that he'd just started skiing a few years before and ran the slalom course the first time he ever tried it. That, to my little pea-brain, was hard to fathom. And here he was already fighting to beat the best in the World. A West Coast legend, Carl Roberge, ended up tying for 2nd at that US Open, right before my eyes. In 1987 he was the defending Tour champion (5 years later Terry Winter and I were chasing Carl's Jr Boys Western Regional slalom record...3 @ 35 off). I had 2 hero's before getting to watch that US Open..Bob & Kris LaPoint. They were West Coast skiers, and legends around the World. In 1987 Bob LaPoint won the World Slalom Title at Thorpe Park, London (5th World Title) and won at Marine World and the MasterCraft invitational. And when I left Okeeheelee, after witnessing the greatest sporting event I'd ever witnessed, I had a new goal: I wanted to be out there someday, doing what those guys did. The US Open was the seed planted...it was everything I needed as a kid looking for something to hold onto..and it was a pivotal moment in my life..the moment that sparked everything that was to come.

---------------

Exactly 20 years later, in 2007, I found myself standing on the dock at the US Open, shoulder to shoulder with the best skiers in the World: Drew Ross, Thomas Moore, Nick Parson, Will Asher, Jamie Beauchesne. MasterCraft & Chris Sullivan had joined forces and pulled off one of the greatest water ski events I've ever been a part of. They brought the US Open to Disneyworld. It was at night, under the lights, and I was fortunate enough to make the 6 man final, squeaking in by beating out Jeff Rodgers..one of the Legends that inspired my ski bug 20 years prior. The conditions were pretty tough: dark, rolly, lumpy,...unpredictable,...just how I like it. The boat ran its simulation pass, I pooped in my pants a little...and it was time...

And somehow, when the spray settled that eve, I ended up in a Tie-breaker with my buddy Thomas Moore.

Going out first, I was able to run 38 off cold - not very pretty tho. Coming back at 39, I knew buoy 2 was going to be all or nothing...TMo could crush 39 on his second effort & I knew I had to leave it all out there. I think I got lucky,...I blacked out at 2, slammed it as hard as I could, and somehow my ski stayed in the water. I ended up running the pass, and finishing with 1 at 41. TMo looked so solid in that runoff. I'm not sure what happened at 39, but he was late at 3, and couldn't finish the pass.

Afterward, I was standing on the shoreline, bare feet in the wet florida grass, just like it was only 20 years before...gazing down the lake, lights half blinding me, thousands of people lining the waters edge...realizing that two decades prior and a couple hours away, I had been lucky enough to witness this very event, an experience that had changed my life. I stood there in disbelief that I had won the US Open....hoping that my buddies and I had actually inspired some kids that night....hoping that we had sparked a light for the next generation. - Marcus Brown

Benny Stadlbaur, who just tied teammate Nick Adams for 4th at the Moomba Masters in Australia, is one of a kind. He's funny, sometimes loud, and very analytical, yet when its all on the line, he can charge just as hard as anyone else in the world. This is yet another conversation between MB and a Syndicate team member, from the Syndicate testing summit at The Ridge in California last September.

To see what Benjamin's up to, take a peek at his insta and give him a follow: www.instagram.com/benystadlbaur

Wade Cox was one of the most dominant water skiers in the history of the sport. He was the ProTour Champion in 1995 and 1996, 3-time Masters Champion, earned 47 Professional Slalom Titles, and was inducted into the Water Ski Hall of Fame in 2012.

To be honest, Wade inspired countless skiers throughout his years on the Pro Tour and on ESPN. The rivalry between Wade and Andy Mapple was unmatched....and unfortunately for the rest of the slalom skiers at the time, the two of these guys were almost unbeatable. Out of a run of 60 pro events, Andy won 29, Wade won 22, and the rest of the field only won 9.

It is our great honor to get to share this full interview with you. We hope you enjoy one of the greatest characters the sport has ever seen!

**This is the second in a 2 part episode...make sure to check out Part 1 here, if you haven't already: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9VQK08SgPY

Jenny LaBaw is a living Legend. As an athlete, she was a Collegiate Multi-Sport athlete, a CrossFit Games competitor (NorCal Champion and 6th at the CrossFit Games), and she ran 500 miles across Colorado in 30 days to raise $50,000+ for the @Epilepsy Foundation of America

Out of the competition circles, she has spent over 15 years as a Strength and Conditioning coach, and is a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner. As an athlete, a coach, and a health and wellness expert, Jenny is one of the most well rounded individuals in the business. Most of all, she cares...deeply...about helping people on their journey to become the best possible versions of themselves.

Marcus sat down with the one and only Jenny LaBaw in the Motorhome, for a long and varied discussion. This is the second half of that discussion.

Show Notes:

• 0:30 - Supplementation
• 4:00 - How does off-water training help on-water performance?
• 6:50 - Pain, and what it means...and how to fix it.
• 9:05 - Jenny's Online Training videos
• 11:30 - Cross Training for injury prevention at toughest passes
• 19:55 - Importance of sport, and why we do this.
• 21:10 - MB: why we ski
• 27:30 - MB is going to Moomba??
• 36:32 - Kristen Wiig is a Water Skier?!

Jenny's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/jennylabaw

**This is the first in a 2 part episode...make sure to keep an eye open for Part 2!! Jenny LaBaw is a living Legend.

As an athlete, she was a Collegiate Multi-Sport athlete, a CrossFit Games competitor (NorCal Champion and 6th at the CrossFit Games), and she ran 500 miles across Colorado in 30 days to raise $50,000+ for the @Epilepsy Foundation of America . Out of the competition circles, she has spent over 15 years as a Strength and Conditioning coach, and is a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner. As an athlete, a coach, and a health and wellness expert, Jenny is one of the most well rounded individuals in the business. Most of all, she cares...deeply...about helping people on their journey to become the best possible versions of themselves.

Marcus sat down with the one and only Jenny LaBaw in the Motorhome, for a long and varied discussion. We are going to split the Interview into 2 parts, so this is Part 1, of 2.

Topics discussed:

• -Tips on how to take better care of your body
• -Nutrition and Performance
• -Cross Training and Performance
• -The importance of a year
• -round training Program to become the best skier you can be.
• -Jenny and CrossFit
• -The importance of sport

Jenny's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/jennylabaw

Between rounds at the 2019 California ProAm, MB got to sit down with Matteo Luzzeri for a few.  Unfortunately, the camera on Matteo ran out of battery, so we filled in the last few minutes with some 2018 HO Skis film footage of Matteo, for all you visual people out there...

Will Asher just won the Malibu Open last weekend, in unbelievable style....beating Nate Smith in a head to head match up, by running potentially one of the best 41 off passes in history...when it counted.

Here's a sit down between MB and Willy, in the motorhome, from last weekend at the California ProAm.

Shellie Blum was the first female freestyle waterski ramp jumper in the world. Yet, shortly after this incredible feat, she broke her neck attempting a record setting jump.

We talked with Shellie about her incredible story, about how she got into the sport, and how she came back from such a terrible injury. Shellie has written and shared her story in the book, Waterski Girl Wonder, which is available on Amazon. For more information, check out Shellie's website.

And to hear Shellie break down which Go-Go was the best waterskiier, check out our website or our YouTube page.

The road to wakeboard industry that Don Wallace took was different than most. From humble beginnings in Grass Valley, CA where life revolved around street rods, skiing, and hanging out with his brother/crew.  From there it was on to college in the big city of Eugene where his Surfing Magazine subscription parlayed itself into and internship and eventually a career that is highlighted by the sinking of an $80,000 boat amongst other things.

Don Wallace Show Notes:

1:14:  working with engineers in the Liquid Force world

2:31:  The Road from Nevada City to Southern California

3:49:  Life and work balance at Liquid Force

5:30:  University of Oregon and Ski racing

7:51   How a subscription to Surfing Magazine  changes his life

12:07:    Evo (listen for special offer) and Diecutstickers.com (Listen for 10% off your first order with DCS 15) 
14:07:  The job of a lifetime out of school, being Liquid Force’s TM

16:20:  Cutting athletes

21: 00:  Spy (25% off site wide, listen for code) and Sierra at Tahoe spots

22:00:  Vice President of Sales and Marketing

24:00:  Aaron Grace’s role

25:25:  What is he most proud of in his career?

27:05:  What is his biggest career regret aside from sinking an $80,000 boat?

28:30:  What’s next and needed in wakeboarding?

31:00:  How to get into the wakeboard industry

Shane Bonifay has been a professional wakeboarder for 21 of his 33 years. From bringing closed toe set ups to the masses, to wake-pants, to acting as the driving force behind the ‘Pointless Crew’ Shane has done a lot over his 21 years of being a pro and shares the best and worst on the podcast

Shane Bonifay Show Notes

 :10:  The hit and run saga

8:05:  Photo shoot for Liquid Force

9:39: Growing up in Lake Alfred, FL , his parents, waterskiing babies and Cypress Gardens

12:28:  Competing in three event and then getting a boat and wakeboard in 1994

13:34:  Picked up a sponsor a year and a half later (Liquid Force) and being on them for 20+ years

14:30:  Going under the knife

15:25:  Wakeboarding is a sport for the privileged, how was his lifestyle growing up?

16:30:  Waterski school at his house and the perks that came along with that.

17:41:  Other sports, rollerblading and ramps in the backyard 

19:21:  What is high school like for him?  Was he on the standard program?

20:43:   Evo (listen for special offer) and Diecutstickers.com (Listen for 10% off your first order with DCS) 

22:30:  School continued

23:28:  Growing up with an older brother who is crushing it on a global level and who are his influences

25:05:  The Pointless Crew and video shooting and editing today.

28:49:  Controversy on the internet and how did it impact his career?

32:14:  What does he think of contests in general?

34:36:  Spy (25% off site wide, listen for code) and Sierra at Tahoe spots

35:47:  Was there any jealousy of Parks’ success?  What was it like coming up in Parks’ world and who wins at fights?

37:35:  What are his hobbies outside of riding? 

38:30:  Jetpilot Wakeboard pants and JNCO’s

39:47:  2008 and being looked at as one of the second wave of rail guys….Any features that stick out?

42:29:  How much can a pro wakeboarder make in a year?

44:19:  The party aspect and lifestyle of his career compared to pros coming up today

45:11:  The closed toe innovation in wakeboarding and Shane’s influence

47:35:  The worst trick names in the world come from wakeboarding

48:18:  What’s next for Shane?