Living under a shadow...

n8t3d0gg · Posted: Jul 25, 2005 10:00 am Post subject: Living under a shadow...

Is it just me or does anyone else feel that the sport of wakeskating needs to step out from under the shadow of wakeboarding? I would really like the see the sport branch away from wakeboarding more. Wakeskating right now is featured in wakeboarding magazines, but if wakeskating had its own mag i think the sport would be alot more renown, and as a result grow alot faster.

Schimkat · Posted: Jul 25, 2005 10:01 am Post subject:

Wakeskating is a fairly young sport. Give it time.

-=AlexXx=- · Posted: Jul 25, 2005 10:01 am Post subject:

i think its gunna be stuck under wakeboarding for a while... but everyone will agree wiht you that it would be awesome if it got its own magazines and stuff... but its not likley to happen soon i dont think.

cfxomega · Frontside 180 Joined: 29 Jul 2004 Posts: 466

It won't happen until it's in the X-Games...then the general public will know about it
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n8t3d0gg · Posted: Jul 25, 2005 10:26 am Post subject:

Wakeskating is going through similar stages as skateboarding. Skateboarding was under the shadow of surfing for a long time("sidewalk surfing".) When the first skateboarding mag came out the sport exploded. The ollie was envented soon after and the sport took off. What wakeskating needs is some entrepreneurs to start a mag.

electricsnow · cassette Joined: 14 Sep 2003 Posts: 10756 City: Jefferton

You know, as much as people want wakeskating to "be its own thing" (which, I think it is already), I think it will always have this connection to wakeboarding. Just given the circumstances, like where we have to ride, what we ride with, and even who we ride with (chances are, there's going to be at least one wakeboarder on your boat)...I think they'll always be connected.

And I suppose if you look at the debate of "what is wakeskating?" Some will call wakeskating "riding behind a boat without bindings." So we all know that there were people in hawaii, and even in the US riding behind boats with surfboards, and it went by three different names: wakesurfing (no rope involved), wakeboarding (yes, seriously!!), and freeboarding. If one subscribes to this ideal, then we basically come from the same place. We just came to fruition at different times and took different paths and realistically, attract different personalities.

Will a magazine make wakeskating blow up? I actually don't think so. It will take more than a magazine to increase wakeskating's appeal to other riders. And for starters, to get a magazine, you need an audience, and you'll need a few advertisers or someone to fund the mag. Also, I was talking to someone else recently and he had some interesting insights when it came to wakeskating's success and the spectator appeal, which is very important, and a little work needs to be done there (which should be clear if some of the most important riders in wakeskating don't show up to the pro tour).

All in all, I'm just happy to see wakeskating somewhere. Alliance has a kick-ass issue with a whole lot of wakeskating in it--and it's not just pictures either. There are two or three stories about wakeskating or trips to go ride (three, actually).

Anyway, in the end I'm not all that bummed. Wakeskating has time to grow (which is what it needs to do). We have very special, dedicated riders that are putting their hearts into various wakeskate-specific projects, whether it be a board company, rider driven competitions or something like volume. And I know that others are getting an itch to try and make something special for wakeskating. I'm just psyched to be involved at this early stage...I like that it's small, and it's something special.

I guess that in the end, what I don't like are all of the secrets. And who the hell knows if those would end up in a magazine anyway.

And realistically, skateboarding was a completely different thing than what wakeskating is, and is going through. Skating was a huge, fadish thing in the beginning...it was seriously on a completely different level. And skateboarder had mags out years before allan invented the ollie.

For a brief time, wakeskates were almost marketed or portrayed (by some) as expensive toys--just by the way they were made and "ride it when it's rough!" But we all know that we want flat water just like anyone else, and maybe even more so. But anyway, wakeskating seriously has more of a core following, which I would say skating truly developed after its first crash (IMO). Anyhow, I"m not saying core dudes were the ones buying sponges and waterskates (because they just might have a lot of money to spend), but it's still going to take a certain dude to spend 250.00-300.00 on such an item when it's an unknown and they could be breakdancing with bindings.

I will say that a magzine is a huge thing for any action sport. Someone said that "it's where the history starts". and in a certain era, that was pretty true. But now we have the net and what not, and any interested joe can make a project for everyone to see. Anyway, when wakeskating gets something true, it will be a pretty big deal.

Anyway, that's just what I think. It's probably too much to read...

BillyOLDS · Posted: Jul 25, 2005 11:27 am Post subject:

i read the whole post Crazy Eyes

and it was good

imo i think there isnt enough stuff going on in wakeskating for there to be a monthly magazine and people would get sick of only seeing stuff from orlando and small amounts from other places. im not saying other places dont have a scene or anything, i just think an editor will get more stuff from orlando easier.
also who cares if our sport is in a wakeboard magazine, it pisses the hardcore strappers off! and the riders of our sport are gna get more money for photo insentives in a bigger magazine than in a small wakeskate only mag.

dont get me wrong i think a wakeskate only mag will be the tits of the sport but i still love seeing us take over a wakeboarding magazine.

scott a · "a" is for angel Joined: 17 Feb 2004 Posts: 4126

why does it matter how this sport is portrayed? even if it stays in wakeboarding's shadow will it really make a difference in whether or not you land a bigspin? i dont personally think wakeskating will be as big as wakeboarding for at least another 5 or 10 years.

and yeah, wakeskating is gettin quite a bit of love from the magazines. before this thread dies id like to remind you guys that numerous attempts have been made to start magazines.

-=AlexXx=- · Posted: Jul 25, 2005 10:02 pm Post subject:

esnow u always have the best posts... i agree 110% Wakeskating will always be some what connected, but even if wakeskating goes to the x-games, i dont think it will be that known, i went on a cruise last month and people didnt know what wakeskating was, so i asked if they knew what wakeboarding was and some people didnt know! i was very suprised.

el · Backside 180 Joined: 07 Oct 2003 Posts: 1739 City: The Sea

I look at wakeskating as an opportunity to do more raley variations! Twisted Evil

electricsnow · cassette Joined: 14 Sep 2003 Posts: 10756 City: Jefferton

El, I'll bet your dismounts will be amazing!

Yeah, wakeskating would need some work in order to get into the x-games. It all goes back to spectator appeal. Does anyone remember how the x-games used to be? Uhh, adventure racing, extreme bungee jumping, downhill mountain bike racing, street louge. And if anyone has noticed, I believe that any sort of "official" rollerblading event is no longer in existence when it comes to the x games.

With that said, my heart's not breaking that wakeskating isn't an event there. Very Happy

tribal · Posted: Jul 26, 2005 9:51 am Post subject:

Why would we care if wakeskating was in the X-games.Do we really want the masses and to become mainstream?
I always prefered doing it for the love rather than what other's thought.Skating,surfing,skiing,moto-x was alot cooler in the old days when you were looked at as scum rather than cool.We had to fight hard to do our sports and it made the players that much more hardcore.
We don't need no poser's in this sport,it's just fine the way it is for me now.I would be bummed if this sport went mainstream.

88skisupreme · Backside 180 Joined: 11 Nov 2004 Posts: 1342 City: ATX

here's the readers digest version:

who cares, just go ride

2-Keys · Ollie Joined: 29 Jun 2005 Posts: 92 City: Kingsford, MI

you couldnt have said it better^^^

electricsnow · cassette Joined: 14 Sep 2003 Posts: 10756 City: Jefferton

the x games bit is really a hypothetical since it was brought up. Some want to see it get bigger, some don't--same story, different sport.

And I'm sure we have "posers" anyway. Something cool will always have an alure to an outsider who may not want to put the time in to show they actually care about what they're doing. In the end, it doesn't matter because they're going to drop out before you will, and you won't even have to deal with them.

PIRATE · Guest

does anyone remember the thread that i started called "make up your mind" or "what do you really want" pretty much the same thing and if you want to see my views on this use the search button.