WAKEBOARDING August 2017

The word adventure might be one of the trendiest — and most overused — in today’s lexicon. Thanks to social media and the sudden popularity of “wanderlusting,” getting outside and doing something (or at least the idea of it) has become all the rage. I say this knowing full well that we have the word adventure splashed across our cover in a big, bold typeface. While we here at Wakeboarding might be guilty of jumping on the bandwagon a bit with an annual Adventure Issue, there is more than just a kernel of truth in the fun of adding some adventure to your wakeboarding. And it’s like they say, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, right? All kidding aside, the Adventure Issue is one that is really fun to…

Shaun Murray has nothing left to prove as a professional wakeboarder. Zero. Zip. Zilch. Yet here he is, with all of his awards, accolades, wins, pro-model boards, video sections, photos and everything else, still pushing himself and the sport. Shaun has become a fan favorite over his storied career for all of the reasons previously listed, but what best defines him as a wakeboarder is his pure love for wakeboarding and his seemingly never-ending quest to get better at it. Now he can add riding a quarter-pipe-like wall of water onto the side of a barge to his list. What’s your best thrift-shop find? Editor-in-Chief Garrett Cortese Outfits for Bryan Soderlind’s early-80s-themed bowling party. Publisher Ben Greenwood My center. Art Director Michael Forrest This stellar combo. Deputy Editor Emily Dale…

S o c i a l l y S p e a k i n g | Fa c e b o o k WINNER! Since this is our Adventure Issue, it made sense to feature the most daring and venturous — and somewhat re b e l l i o u s — d i s c i p l i n e o f our sport: winching. We reached out to our fans, f o l l owers and friends in order to track down photos of their best winching explorations, and we ended up with some of the sickest Inbox images o f a l l t i m e . We hope these inspire you to get out there and start your search for the next…

The recent surge in viral popularity of verticallyfilmedsmartphonevideosof peoplejumpingintoBassProShopsaquariumshasbeenamusingformostfolks, butformeit’sbeensomewhatexasperating. Atleastafewtimeseachweekfor thelasttwomonths, I’vehadtoexplaintodifferentpeoplethatjustbecausethenewsmediawebsites( andLilWayne) areallusingaphotoofmeinthetankeverytimesomebodyjumpsinone, itdoesn’tmeanI’vegonebackformore, andthenIhavetotellthemthewholestory. So, here’sashorttaleaboutmyquickdipintotheBassProShopsaquarium. Aboutfiveyearsago, myselfandsomeoftheboyswereonawinchtripthroughSouthFlorida, jumpingdownspillways, slidingconcreteledges, andenjoyingthefreedomoflifeontheroad. We’dbeenstackingclipsandphotosforaboutaweekwhenweneededtostockuponcampingsupplies. It’simportanttonotethatI’dbeenoutofthewaterforanentiremonthduetoanankleinjuryandhadbeenconfinedtodri vingthewinchorshootingphotosthewholetrip. TosayIwasfullofpent- upenergyisanunderstatement. Pullingintotheparkinglot, someonecrackedajokeaboutdivingintotheaquariumwithaGoPro, andwekeptembellishingthehypotheticalscenariountilit startedtosoundmorelikewewereactuallyplanningdetailstha njoking. BythetimesomeoneaskedifIwasreallygoingtodoit, wewerewalkinginwithacoupleofwell- hiddencamerasandIhadalreadycommittedtolookingthroughtheglassfromtheotherside. Wespreadoutaroundthestore, someheadingtothesecondlevelforabetterview, thenIgavethesignalandscaledtheartificialrockwalluptotheedgeofthewater, pastthestuffeddeerandcoyote. TakingadeepbreathandsmilingintomyGoPro, Islinkedquietlyintothecorneroftheaquarium, fullyclothed, andswamdownintothemiddleoftheassortedfishspecies, wholookedalmostasperplexedandstartledasthefamilyoffourstandingontheothersideoftheglass. Iwasonlyunderforabout10seconds, butinthatgreensilence, IimaginedthatalarmsweregoingoffthroughoutthestoreandBassProShopscommandoswouldbepoppingoutofthetentsect iontoconfrontme. Iemergedfromthewateronlytofindmoresilenceandtowatchmyfriendsscurrybackintotheclothingrackstoremaininco nspicuous.Idrip- driednexttothestuffeddeerfornearlyaminutebeforehoppingbackdownandmakingmyescape. Iwasinterceptedbyanamazinglyragefulmanagerneartheexit, buttherestoftheemployeesseemedmoreconcernedaboutcontaininghimthantheywereaboutme( hewassayingsomeprettyawfulthings), soIwalkedoutthefrontdoor, ditchedtheguythey’dsenttofollowme, andcircledbacktotherendezvouspoint: anearbyItalianrestaurantwheretheboysandIlaughedoverourlittleBassProadventure. I’mbannedforlife, butreallytheworstpartishavingtobetheposterboyforalltheseamateursgettingbrokenoffandhurtingthemselves. Maybeifoneofthemcouldmanagetogetadecentphoto, I’dbeoutofthelimelight. Until then ……

T h a i l a n d n at i ve D a n i e l G rant has been t rave l i n g t h e wo r l d a s a p r o wakeboarder and wakeskate r s i n c e h e wa s j u s t 1 3 . Yes , t h at wa s c razy back t h e n , b u t w h at ’ s e ve n c ra z i e r n ow i s s e e i n g j u s t h ow g o o d D a n i e l i s at b o t h and what h e…

Radar Lake. The name itself implies a lot of things in wakeboarding lore. What it implies most though might be envy, because anybody who knows anything about epic places to ride has dreamed about riding at Radar Lake. Nestled atop a hill overlooking the Carnation Valley region of Washington state, Radar Lake was one of the first private, man-made ski lakes in the world. The land was originally bought and developed by Herb O’Brien in 1972, and since then, the legend (and envy) has only grown exponentially. Because Radar Lake is most often described as indescribable, we figured it would be best to hear about it from the lucky guys who have been able to visit it over the years. Oh, and if you’d like to ride there one day,…