In the 7th installment of Shop Talk the boys start off by doing the Mount Rushmore of “Rewatchable Wakeboard Parts”. After that, we dive into what makes a part good, wake “influencers”, IG clips vs. edits, Noah off Hyperlite, bluntslides, Wake The City, Double or Nothing, WWA vs. IWWF, Brostock ’25, and judging contests. Hear all this and much more in Episode 7 of Shop Talk!
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Follow John Dreiling: https://www.instagram.com/johnxdreiling/
Follow Gavin Stuckey: https://www.instagram.com/gavinstuckey/
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Chapters:
00:00 – 15:00 Mt. Rushmore of “Rewatchable Parts”
15:30 What makes a part rewatchable?
17:20 IG clips vs. Edits
30:30 Noah off Hyperlite
35:00 “Influencers” in wakeboarding
41:45 LF’n Wheel of Questions
58:44 Trivia
1:05:50 Motorized wakeboard…?
1:08:00 Can you blunt on a wakeboard?
1:14:20 Ulf on Hyperlite
1:22:00 Wake The City
1:35:50 WWA vs. Worlds
1:43:00 Patreon Questions
2:02:00 BROstock is back
2:14:00 Double Ups/Judging
Links:
8 Comments
LOL the awkward blunt discussion .
Why do y'all compare to skateboarding when there are blunts and nose slides and tail slides in snowboarding which is a more similar sport. The blunt needs to be tipped up and outside of the boot. The definitive point that Hunter is talking about on a skateboard is the truck. The definitive point on a wakeboard that makes it a nose or tailslide or a blunt is the outside of the boot. There is a definitive point in both sports and if its not outside the boot, its not a blunt.
We should (in a perfect world) have a street league style series where bilevel parks are built in each city (similar to how street league built public skateparks) with metal and concrete and gaps and then the parks are left open to the public after the contest. Definitely harder in wakeboarding but would be easier with subsidized money from the Govt.
Leave behind the gnarly setup and a flat 2.0 that the city pays for and operates as a public park and substantially grow the number of 2.0 parks across the country.
I firmly believe more 2.0s scattered across the country is the best way to increase the reach of cable wakeboarding while lowering the barriers to entry.
Connelly for sure😂😂😂
100% agree more marketing older wakeboard boats! I feel like pros have little to no influence on the people wealthy enough to buy a new one… showcasing how capable and fun an old 210, x star, or wakesetter is will have far more positive impacts on the sport
No way that is John's shirt. Have y'all seen him line dance?
Great episode guys, loved the candid discussion & debate on the topics. Here's some of my opinions on some.
1. Age vs. Skill divisions for boat: I've actually had a PM discussion with John about this a few years ago because here in the Utah/Idaho area, we always use to follow the old HyperTour format for our grassroots events which was skill based. But we could never get around the sandbagging issue, AND many of the adult riders didn't feel comfortable standing on the "podium" for a picture with a 10 year-old just because they were beginners. They felt embarrassed. So several years ago, we switched to the Age based divisions since that's what the WWA does and we've had a resurgence in entries and positive feedback. We lost a few riders with the switch but we gained a lot more because of it.
2. Boat prices: I think a major issue with the high prices for a modern wake boat is the unreliability of the boats in ALL the brands. If a customer paid $200k + for an automobile and had the same issues that wake boats have straight from the factory, there would be a strong lemon law argument. Again, all boat brands have had serious issues on a brand new boat after delivery and while they may be covered under warranty, if you live in a seasonal state, you're losing valuable water time while still making your payments. If you're very lucky, your dealer will loan you a boat during the repairs but that's not normal. At least in our area, that's the major discussion point amongst boat owners with regards to high prices. I don't blame manufacturer's for increasing prices because if customers are paying it, why would they not continue to raise them every year? Blame the consumers, haha!
3. WWA vs IWWF: As John stated, the IWWF is the International Federation for the sport and falls under the umbrella of Olympic sports. Decades ago, I mentioned to Shannon Starling that if wakeboarding ever got into the Olympics, it would NOT be the WWA that oversaw it's participation but in fact, USA Waterski (for the US Team as the official NGB in the US) & IWWF. It was something that he never even considered. It was just assumed that since the WWA started the Worlds, had the culture and riders, etc that they would oversee the sport at its highest level, but that's not the case. IMO, I still consider the WWA World's to be THE World's. But the one huge benefit that IWWF has over the WWA is from the Olympic/Pan-American connection. And like John also stated, many foreign riders get funding from their government and/or National Federation for the placements in IWWF comps because in their governments eye's, the IWWF is THE International Federation of the Sport.
On the age vs. skill division debate. There is no all encompassing answer as to what the divisions should be for amateur events. The answer is what structure will bring the most participation, which ultimately leads to the over all goal which IS Growth Of Sport. This structure will vary from one region to another, one community to another, one culture to another. For these reasons it is crucial that anyone trying to organize a grass roots event understands the community their event is aimed at and the potential reach it could have. Also for these reasons many amateur events/series evolve and adapt the divisions as the clientele of the event changes.