Lake Powell Commercial Shoot

Boarders had the pleasure of being invited to partake in a amazing weekend at #antelopepointmarina with Maverik, Inc. filming a spot for one of their commercials.  Special thank to #switchblade wake system and Brigade Wakesurfing Company for all the support with this project.  Amazing group of individuals we hope to have a long relationship with.  #igetboard Photos by: Trademarek Photography.

Visit our Facebook page album for more pictures:  Lake Powell Commercial Shoot

Austin's Paddle for Humanity

As flatwater stand up paddle continues to grow so do inland movements like the Waterman's Paddle for Humanity in its second year on Town Lake Austin, TX.  Founded in 2009 the Waterman's Paddle for Humanity was created to bring paddlers together and to support a common cause including foundations like Best Day and Navy Seal and organizations like Lungevity and TACA (Talk About Curing Autism).  

Besides raising money towards various humanitarian charities the paddle series has created some of the biggest inland SUP gatherings throughout the nation and Austin's second annual race with nearly a hundred contestants proved to be the biggest one in Texas yet.  Contestants battled it out in either the 5K or 10K and for the second year in a row Joe Cerdas out of Galveston placed first overall while Jubilee Stevens of DFW Surf topped the womens 10K and local athlete Jared Matthews wins the 5K for the second year in a row.  

We will see you next year at the third annual Paddle.  The perfect weekend getaway to paddle paradise and the mecca for inland surfing in Austin, TX.

-Tyler Marshall

2013 World Wake Surfing Championships

The biggest, baddest, largest prize wake surf event in the short history of wake surfing featuring big airs, big names, big Centurion surf wakes and big jumbotron tv screens to watch all the action.  And did we mention the nationally televised live footage and $100,000 in prizes?  

The setting- Lake Las Vegas.  Weather conditions- near perfect following the thirty mile per hour wind gusts that proceeded the event.  The action- surf and skim from over a hundred contestants who worked hard to train and pre-qualify at events throughout the nation.  No points chase system, just an old fashioned final, an any given Sunday, the Super Bowl of wake surfing.  While many of the athletes were just happy to be there by qualifying other noteables like Sean Cummings and Vanessa Gonzalez were a little upset not to make the final day heats.  The party in Vegas had begun.

And then on Saturday the crowds drew in to watch the finals and to be near the athletes and you could feel the energy in the air, goosebumps of passion amidst a laid-back lakeside vibe amidst an endless wave we call wake surfing.  First up in the women's pro surf heat, Ashley Kidd, looking to shake off her previous day's run with a couple tricks up her sleeve- reverse to shuv and then a huge superman set the bar that no one wanted to follow.  But the young former champ Raleigh Hager had some surf of her own and she landed all of her big tricks besides the 720 attempt at the end that would have sealed the deal.  Too close to call.

And then a couple highlights of the day included former champ Keenan Flegel with probably the most amazing run in mens pro surf history;  Bri Chmel with number six in a row in women's skim and Drew Danielo also with his sixth title; Dominic Lagace, a crowd favorite, taking second in skim with his signature Hurricane move and the young Parker Payne taking first in amateur, meanwhile Stacia Banks was the only athlete to place in both skim and surf divisions.  And then what a way to cap off the weekend with a standing ovation at the awards ceremony for the official board sponsor of the event- Mendonesia- and their team rider Chris Wolter as he walked on stage to collect his third place and $5,000 check.  Five thousand for third, eight thousand for second and twelve thousand for first place finishes at the 2013 World Wake Surfing Championships.  See you next year.  

-Tyler Marshall

View more photos in our Facebook album: 2013 World Wake Surfing Championships

Air 180 to Revert with Chris Wolter

A frontside air 180 is one of those tricks that not too many riders have mastered. It takes a lot of speed, power, and style to pull off a clean one and keep riding. Reverses are all about leading with your head and shoulders, and letting the rest of the body follow. Remember, just like the song, “head, shoulders, knees, and toes.”  Practice makes perfect kids. Aloha!

1-2 Approach and wind up- First off you’re going to want to start your approach from the back of the *pocket. Using your toe rail, take one or two good pumps to obtain speed and spot your take off. Notice in shot 1 Chris is already winding up his upper body and by shot 2 he is already turning his head and beginning to open up his shoulders.

3-4-5 Popping- As you near the top quarter of the wave, shift your weight back a bit, using the water pushing up the face, and some toe pressure to boost the tail of your board out of the water. Take note that Chris’s shoulders are now perpendicular to the rails of his board, and the nose of his board naturally follows just under the path of his front hand.

6-7 Rotation and landing- Once airborne, you want to let the tail drift up above the nose of your board as it rotates. This keeps the fins out of the water and disengaged. In a full reverse 360, you would want to follow through with your back shoulder. In this trick , Chris is anticipating the *revert so he keeps his rear arm tucked behind him. Landing tail first, keep more weight on the heels of your front foot and let your fins slide down the face of the wave.

8-9 Revert- Your board has now completed a full 180 degree rotation. (You can really *steaz this trick out by holding it backwards into the *flats.) A little heel pressure on your back foot will re-engage the fins and spin your board back around to regular. Take care that your toe rail doesn’t catch water as it spins back to regular.

10 Recovery-You will burn off a bunch of speed through this trick and it doesn’t count unless you ride away. Get back on your toes, and get that board moving again as soon as possible. Congratulations, you just pulled a frontside air 180 to revert.

*steaz- slang for style or being stylie

*flats- referring to the water at the bottom of the wave.

*pocket- the area of a waves face just in front of the whitewater.  Also  called “the curl”

*revert- the action of a board spinning back the same way as it came.

 

Reverse by Chris Wolter.jpg

Texas Surf Showdown

The Texas Surf Showdown in Fort Worth, TX brought competitors together from around the nation to show off their surf skills behind the endless wave of Tige boats.  Fort Worth Texas has not been host to such an event since the Land Locked Surf Fest in 2007 but now with the growth of wakesurfing the time has come to host such an event again.  Who would have thought that such a sport would reach the popularity it has today deep in the heart of Texas?  Even the events headlining sponsor, Tige boats, is a local Texas boat manufacturer out of San Angelo that makes its tow boats specifically for the sport.  Along with Tige's local dealer Eagle Marine and the co-creators of Wake9 the Texas Surf Showdown was the perfect ending to the first year of the Endless Wave Tour on the weekend of Sept. 14, 2013.

Athletes worked and trained hard not only for podium spots but also for the acclaimed all round championship and bragging rights.  Ashley Kidd and Chris Kinsey doubled up by taking first in both the weekends events and the overall championships with some amazing final day runs.  Meanwhile Aaron Witherell outed Dominic Lagace with some of his best runs of the year, but Dom took first overall for the mens skim division.   

Lets here it for the local Texans taking charge over the weekend.  Chris Kinsey from South Texas and current student at Baylor University along with Raleigh Hager defending world champion and Ashley Kidd out of Austin Texas.  Meanwhile local team DFW Surf dominated with each of its athletes in the top three spots and Perry Morisson out of nearby Southlake taking second in the juniors division at the age of nine.  

We will see you next year at the Texas Surf Showdown round two!

Our visit to DFW surf...

Amazing sunsets, stand up paddles, reggae music, chill vibes, cool people, relaxing hamacs, and a beautiful lake is what we found in our visit to DFW Surf Shop….

Danny Braught and Tyler Marshall  are the gurus behind this cool place. It is also the home of Boarders Magazine, which just launched a month ago. The magazine is dedicated to the surf sports industry and lifestyle, showing a healthy, fun, interesting, lifestyle with Standup paddle, Flowriders, and Wakesurf action…

The Lake Lewisville location is a nice oasis with amazing sunsets and a little island in the middle, which is also is the home of the biggest Marina in Dallas. We found a vacation place… Justin, Danny, Tyler, and all the guys make us feel more than welcom and the fun action starts right away..

Here SUP is so popular, another cool way to enjoy the lake. Everyday we saw people enjoying the sport and at the same time working out (its one of the best work outs you can ever have). It's a very friendly sport, which is perfect for the 103º outside.

These guys have the most fun and chill set up...the surf shop has a little bit of everything: surfboards, SUP boards, wakesurf boards, longboards, sunscreens, hats, shirts, chill area for the members, TV screen with surf videos...everything you could ever need.. and for sure a few surprises each day.

The wakesurf fever keeps the lake busy on the weekends. Everyone wake surfs here in Texas. We couldn't wait to jump in the beautiful Malibu of the local rider Parker Payne and play around with that surf gate. Dom coached Parker to have a very nice surf style, land some new tricks, huge airs, all while having a lot of fun.

The sunsets in Texas are always something spectacular. The conditions of the weather were more than perfect with some clouds in the sky and flat water. During the weekend the guys from DFW organize a party with all the members of the club...everything was super well organized with a local guitar player at sunset call Grant Braudrick, (Google him, he's amazing!)  They brought a Fly board that was a lot of fun and they also had food and drinks there. Later on the DJ arrived making everybody move their bodies. It was nice to see young people involved.

Thank you Danny, Tyler, Justin and everyone for not only one of the most cool places we have ever been, but also for sharing and spreading your love and passion for these kind sports and the lifestyle that comes with them!!! <3

-Marina L.

DFW_SURF-21.jpg
Beautiful Texas sunset at DFW surf! 

Beautiful Texas sunset at DFW surf! 

Dominic Lagace Photo: Courtney Gould

Dominic Lagace Photo: Courtney Gould

Dominic Lagace Photo by Courtney Gould

Dominic Lagace Photo by Courtney Gould

Sunset Paddle

Just a few pictures from our sunset paddle!