wakeskating

[greg van wagnen]

how big is wakeskating? is it like comparable to snowskating or sky skiing or what? also is it like a joke to people outside of wakeskating? just was thinking about it and wanted to know what everyone thought

[freerider4]

it's definitely not a joke to people I think people take wakeskating way more serious than say wakeboarding because there's a lot of people who just wakeboard for like family fun in the water who aren't serious but i have only met people who are really serious about wakeskating. is sky skiing the same thing as sky surfing where you have a snowboard or something like it because i would say wakeskating is bigger than.

[nick]

im not sure how it goes on the outside

[electricsnow]

Good question greg. I've often wondered the same thing....how big will it get, do others think it's stupid (you know, why not skateboard? that's rhetorical at this point, but I'll actually be answering it later), etc. For starters, I do think it's more "serious" than snowskating. Granted, last year they put on the us open of snowskating, but I kind of had to laugh just becasue snowskates seem more like a toy than anything. The bi-decks are nice and some riders have done some cool stuff with them, but I guess I dont' see it as becoming too serious. But you know, I could always be wrong.

As for other's perception of wakeskating, the people at my snowboard shop love it, and they do everything-snowboard, skateboard, dabbling in wakeboarding,etc. The guys I've talked to are way more into wakeskating because it's more challenging and they're already into skateboarding. One interesting fact is that the wakeskates have outsold the wakeboards at my shop...I consider that to be a good sign.

However, I have heard things that there are..."purists" that are not so into wakeskating. You know, there will always be people to hate...It's happened to almost everything. SNowboarding still catches sh it but they've legitimized themselves nicely, so whatever.

As for the question "why wakeskate?" instead of skateboarding, I think it just comes down to maximizing the terrain you're given. Not including jason messer, the florida guys that got into wakeskating in the beginning were boardsports enthusiasts (spelling, spelling spelling) who happened to live in a hot climate with lots of water. You know, it seems practical to do a watersport in a hot climate, so it just seems to me that wakeskating makes sense (sorry I'm not being more articulate....I'm a bit scrambled at the moment). THe same thing could really be said for snowboarding ..you know, I've heard people say that they snowboard because it's too cold to skate in the winter or what have you. And skateboarding basically came about as a way to surf when it was flat. Actually, I should correct myself: certain styles of skating spawned as a result of surfing, but I think the first skateboard dates back to the 40's...possibly earlier. So anyway, skateboarding was still a "take-off" of something else, but you know, being inspired is a good thing.

Anyway, that's the way I see it. I'm happy to be involved in something that's so young and is full of potential....things are more fun when they're small.

[WWSA]

I think a lot of people in the wakeboard industry thinks it is a joke. Same with some boat companies. When talking with some high up people with these kind of companies I get the brush off from them and they have an attitude about it. Like wakeskating wont last and will not survive with out wakeboarding. Wakeskaters are a lot more serious and hard core than wakeboarders, just my view on it...

[el]

Those companies are the fat cats of the wake industry. They can't see wakeskating going anywhere if riders can't flip like a monkey and make onlookers go "ooh aah". They have no sense of awe in what they aren't used to. I personally think wakeboarding, with the direction it's going in right now, is on its last leg. Their ignorance is blissful.

In my area, almost nobody wakeskates, there's one other dude I've seen on video who can go wake to wake, and I've seen somebody trying to wakesurf with one. I've only gotten one friend to go out and try the wakeskate, and that was two summers ago. It's lonely right now. The dudes I usually ride with only wakeboard. People seem to be really afraid of wakeskates. I hope that will start changing soon...

[nasty]

well down here in lil old NEW ZEALAND no to many people know about it i tell amany people about it as i can and everyone i tell is stoaked on the idea and then you have a list the length of your arm for people who want to give it a go!!!
but im just stoaked to be into a sport that i love and love to get it recognised by asmany people as possible!!!!
like WWSA said i dont think the boat companies are in to it because you can do it behind anything, not just the flash boats and dont need the flash gear, just a keen crew

[Parky]

people around me think skating is a joke...

[stussy]

everyone i talk to think its rad

[Catalyst]

uhh alot of people still dont know what wakeboarding is so them knowing what wakeskating is another story. But i do see wakeskating more at the level i guess that like wakeboarding is in a sense. Most people that wakeboard do know what wakeskating is and in most cases have atleast tried it once. I do hope however it doesnt turn into snowskating (the goobiest thing around) I apploud alot of people that actually go to resorts with em and do some other cool stuff but there is so much stupid crap that goes with and people take it way to seriously. Just go to the premier site and take a look. Other than that though i think wakeskating is doing good

[livewirelp]

I am very new to both wakeboarding and wakeskating. I bought a wakeboard and went out all of about 3 times before buying a Gate. I'm now exclusively into wakeskating. I do agree that there is a lot of elitism in the wakeboard community. A lot of them do think that wakeskating is just plain silly. However, I think wakeskating is definitely on the right track. We have riders like Grubb and Byerly who really go big in their tricks, making even wakeboarders turn their heads. And then we have all those guys at Cassette who are really pushing the sport along a more skateboard style. That and the amount of press we are seeing nowadays in WBM and wakeskate-only videos really makes it so no one can ignore it. Have you guys seem the latest WBM? Practically half of the magazine is wakeskating (okay, slight exaggeration). In any case, I'm happy to be part of such a growing sport.

[manacubus]

[el]

The same way skateboarding has died. It won't dissapear completely, but it will take a step back and many companies will jump ship seeing that the initial excitement has died down. Don't get me wrong, I still wakeboard every once in a while, and I still love to do it, but it's a sure thing that down the road in the next ten years or so there will be some "downshifting".

[funnyfeni]

i always felt the way greg did. do people think this sport is gay? i think inline skating is gay and that freestyle walking shizzle too, but what if there stoked to be doing what they are doing as to us with wakeskating. im really proud of wmb for stepping up and putting up some wakeskate pics. but wtf is up with the rail building thing??? umm..sounds like something i did for subvert.

[RUSSIAN]

wakeboarding will definatly recess, there is to much "look at me" and "I do it for the chicks" involved with it. Most people don't respect it and therefore won't be around when the "extreme" fun wears off. I personally love wakeboarding, but being a skater draws me to wakeskating in a way that wakeboarding never has. I can relate to it more. skiing>wakeboarding>wakeskating, its all progression and the skiiers thought that wakeboarding would never last

[Parky]

skating is blowin up tho! just look at the stuff the pros are doing... sex changes, backside flips are just some things... like there in awhole different leage...

[el]

Parky, no doubt the tricks in skating are blowing up. Check out this clip of Bastien Salabanzi and Tom Penny playing SKATE. Insanity.

http://thrashermagazine.com/images/content/v5436.mov

But skateboarding has already "died" two times. Let's go back to the 1960's when surfing was hot- skating made a major appearance on the sidewalks and caught on- lots of companies from the surf and toy industry got in on the fun and parks even started to be built. But it dissapeared almost as soon as it came about; it had gotten too big for its own good, too fast. Popularity dropped, companies pulled their hands out of the cookie jar, and parks got shut down. Skateboarding died.

And then a revival came in the 80's with the mainstream introduction of the halfpipe, and the birth of street skating. Bigger boards were made to better handle transitions and landings instead of the smaller surf carve oriented boards, and skateboarders also had the post-punk-new-wave mindset, skating and destroying in their search for Animal Chin- this was also when skate videos came about. People couldn't understand it- movies specifically about skating! But this greatly contributed to the sport and continues to in just about every "extreme" sport today. But at the end of the 80's, most skate companies' team rosters read like a phonebook, people got bored with vert skating, the new wave got old, and the industry became stagnant. Thus skateboarding's second death.

Companies dropped off and a few companies stayed around to keep the dream alive. One was SMA/World Industries, headed by the infamous Steve Rocco. Steve bought a small number of blank decks and screen printed graphics on them, and somehow the company took off. In the early 90's, the twin shaped deck was introduced by Mike Vallely who was pro for World at the time. The design is still the shape used by just about everybody today. Street skating became prettymuch the only skating, and vert was knocked out of the picture for a while. Skateboarding at this point was like snowskating is these days- a lot of tech stuff was being done, but mostly with horrid style on very small obstacles. It started to change around 96/97, and style became cool again. Then ESPN came up with this thing called the X-games, exposing skateboarding to the non-understanding masses.

Now we are in the present, and while skateboarding has progressed in leaps and bounds, the industry is once again starting to collapse in on itself. Companies going out of buisness, certain companies moving production to China, hit-and-miss corporate sponsors, loss of profit in the industry (mainstream interest going down), Transworld Skateboarding Magazine's staff walking out on their AOL/Time Warner whip crackers, and teams becoming too big again. Skateboarding has once again tied its own noose, now will history repeat itself?

[electricsnow]

Nice post el And nice skate clip in that other thread...

I agree with russian. I DEFINITELY think that wakeboarding will recess to a certain extent because of a lack of water, and the fact that you can only do so much when you depend on a boat, rope, and your feet are strapped down. I guess in a sense, there's a limit to how large you can go, which could potentially hold it back (you know, credibility wise). Anyway, it won't last forever...and whatever, maybe it will root out the kids training for money vs. the kids that just want to ride, regardless of the outcome. blah....

[...andoutcomethewolves]

Alot of people I talk to seem to think that people wakeskate beacuse they got hurt too bad on wakeboards and don't like the hash bails and faceplants. We of course know that is not the case.

[el]

Yes! Those chumps can keep telling themselves that wakeskating is for sissies who can't handle the pain.