Review - Good Ratio

image from Remote Wakeskates

I am about to watch Good Ratio, the latest offering from the Remote wakeskates team. I am very excited about this.

As the video downloads to iTunes I decided to do something a little different and talk about my mindset going in to the video, prior to viewing and my subsequent review.

Life's weird. It constantly throws you curveballs and just when you think you're getting things figured out, a new change takes place. After a couple crazy weeks at work and some unexpected turns,  my future career path is now somewhat of a mystery to me. My house is a disaster area with clean laundry piled-up waiting to be put away and supplies for a halloween costume strewn about my office. I'm feeling stressed, annoyed, a little worried.

So why am I still procrastinating? Why, when I could spend the time cleaning or planning my future, am I writing and downloading a new video to watch? Well, I'm not entirely sure. My best guess is that wakeskating (and wakeboarding) are such a staple in my life. That taking just a little time to sit and indulge will help keep me sane when life can get so crazy.

I may not be able to ride near as much as I'd like to and have been a little out of touch in the last year or so, but it's something I can always come back to.

The words following this sentence will be my first after watching Good Ratio for the first time.



Holy. Shit. 

I know more than enough good things have been said about this video already but there is no possible way someone could walk away from this being disappointed. Unbelievable riding, boundaries being broken, great tunes, and an awesome overall feel. This is officially going to be my new go-to when introducing someone to wakeskating.

It's hard to break the video down in to specifics because it was all so amazing, so I won't even try. Whether it's Yan Lecomte's opening section with aggressive riding and big gaps, or Leo Labaden's great flow backed by some killer French rap or the rest of the team (Josh Zentmeyer, Tyler Mangus, Matt Hooker, Ryan Leary) just dropping hammers; the whole video fuses style and tech in to a beautiful ooze of... "stech". (Terrible sounding word for something so awesome, but hopefully you get it.)

The montages and smaller clips really help tie the video all together and give a great feel of travel and a wandering spirit. Not to mention a fireworks battle that brought me back to the dozens and dozens of times I've watched Sfumato from back in the day.

Nick Taylor and Ben Horan's parts close-out the video with an amazing 1-2 punch of some of the craziest waterdancing you've ever seen.

Not only is the riding incredible, but you can tell the team has had time to perfect the art of winching itself. I'm not going to ruin the surprises for you if you have yet to see the video, but some of the new winch methods these guys have come up with will definitely open up doors in the future for what is possible with the ultra-mobile towing device.

If you've got $10 and 30 minutes, this is an absolute must-have for your collection. If you don't have $10, I recommend skipping meals for a day so you can put the cash to better use and buy this film.


Be sure to check out the official Remote site here and buy a download directly:
http://www.remotewakeskates.com/good-ratio/ 

Or through iTunes: 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/remote-wakeskates-good-ratio/id720964731

System 2.0 Can Change the Sport (If we Use it Right)

Image: wakeboardingmag.com

Everyone who talks wake with me knows that I'm a huge fan of the System 2.0. One of my life goals is to own a backyard setup someday for anytime shredding. The advantages are obvious; no fuel (just plug and play!), easy setup, simple operation, and cheaper than a high-end wake boat. Your own personal cable park almost anywhere you want to put it.

But I want to talk about a different aspect. Something that can change the face of wakeboarding and wakeskating and make them skyrocket in popularity. We just need to make sure that things are done right. This is how I think 2.0's can help make the world of wakeskating and wakeboarding become a great spectator sport.

How it Should be Done
Contests are good. I think we can all agree. Nothing like the spirit of competition to help progress the sport. One thing we need to remember though is that not only are the riders are responsible to up their game, but also contest organizers are as well. They need to make sure they do it right. I'm a firm believer that using the System 2.0 correctly will help the masses understand the sport. For so long wakeboarding has been a long-distance spectator sport. You pick a spot on shore and hopefully someone does a trick in front of you as the boat drives by. Even as a huge fan, being a spectator at a boat competition sucks unless you thought to bring your binoculars.

Now, with two-tower technology, we have the ability to minimize that distance between the riders and the crowds, and that's great. They need to be close, think "have a section that's a splash zone" close. To the uninitiated viewing wakeboarding and wakeskating for the first time, they'll finally be able to tell one trick from another. A hard thing to do long-distance, where everything looks like the same trick to the untrained eye. That nose-press will mean more, a grabbed spin will show more style, and that heelflip won't look like a kickflip.

This is something that wakeskating does correctly now with winch contests. Everyone can get up-close to the stair/rail set and really see what goes down. If we can carry this feel over to bigger contests for both wakeboarding and wakeskating, then there's no reason it couldn't turn in to a solid spectator sport.

What's Happening Now
With all of that said, I do have to say that these kinds of contests are popping up more often, but sometimes they're done right, but other times they leave a lot to be desired. The right way to do it is exactly like this:

     Image: system2wakeparks.us

A swimming pool with bleachers on either side, a variety of obstacles, and the close-up action required to get people's attention.

Here's an example of what not to do. The (somewhat) recent Wake Open in Tampa. I was excited to see all of the marketing hype around the event and it was definitely a Red Bull-level experience, but the execution was abysmal. I even had access to the media dock that most people didn't get and had a hard time seeing what was going on. The setup looked something like this:

                                Image: Red Bull USA

WHAT IS THAT? This should have been held along one shore with people lined all the way down, and boats along the other side. Not way out in the middle of a body of water. It was a Red Bull event so plenty of people showed, but I have to wonder how many people actually went home excited for wakeboarding; digging for more information on the web when they got home, signing up for forums and learning more about the sport. This is not a knock on Red Bull overall, they've done excellent 2.0 comps (and arguably are the ones who kicked the whole thing off) and continue to support the movement. I can also see where they may have had some challenges with the venue, blocking waterways, and the number of people that were expected to show up; but we need to make sure that high-profile events like this are done correctly. Lets get them closer, lets get pro rider's faces recognized so people new to the sport have someone to cheer for. Lets blow wakeboarding and wakeskating up to a level they've never been by using this new technology in the best possible way.

Countdown - 5 Reasons Why Wake Sports Will be Huge this Year

I started this blog over a year ago, and by started I mean that I created the name and address on my blogger profile and let it sit completely untouched until now. But this year I'm excited. Over 10 years in to the sport and I'm more stoked than ever. Why? This is going to be wakeboarding's biggest year yet. A lot of people say that every year, mainly the wakeboard company marketing departments hyping up their current line of gear, but I think it's true this season. These are my top 5 reasons why:

5. Board and Binding Tech - While we've seen a steady progression in our gear since the early days of the sport (directional boards anyone?), we've finally hit a place where everyone can find a board/boot that fits their exact need and riding preference. Whether you prefer cable, boat, a combination of both, or even urban winching that requires decks that can take a crazy beating like cement slides; you'll be able to find a board and binding combo that's exactly right for you. New advancements like Hyperlite's "System" bindings (handy for the cable or winching), or Slingshot's big introduction of flex boards in to the market are innovations that are constantly pushing the industry as a whole to think differently, and that's good for all of us.

            Rider: Matt Manzari

4. Wakeskating - This is a case of "Make enough noise and people will hear you". Hammers are being dropped left and right all the time, and the sport is finally getting some notice outside of the wake community.  Even the extremely popular website The Berrics (theberrics.com) has given the sport some love recently. Granted, they call it "wake boarding", but hey, can't blame them for trying. In addition, the vast majority of people who want to get out on the water can't afford an expensive wakeboard boat. This leaves the door wide open for them to pick up a wakeskate and have at it behind something as small as a jet-ski or even a small skiff (check out some sweet custom machines at this Wakeskating.com thread).

3. Down with corporations! - This is one that could have me eating my words later, but I think this is the year that we'll see a couple of rider-owned companies start to give some challenge to the big guys. For a while wakeboarding was stagnant. Boards were the same, technology was similar, nobody was making waves in the marketplace. With the introduction of more rider-owned companies like Remote, Ronix (sort of) and Slingshot, we've seen massive leaps and bounds in the industry when it comes to technology and availability of wake gear. As I mentioned before, Slingshot led the charge when it came to making flex boards popular, and Ronix has turned the binding market upside-down and continues to innovate and create some of the best boots in the world. At the same time, Remote and Integrity wakeskates have spent their entire existence making high-end wakeskates that meet the performance needs of today's riders.  Thanks to these companies, the landscape of wakeboarding and wakeskating are completely different than they could have been if just the big guys were in the game.

2. More Events Than Ever - With support from companies like Red Bull and their traveling System 2.0 competitions, wakeboarding and wakeskating will receive a ton of exposure this year. In addition to these big sponsor and tours, grassroots tours are popping up everywhere. The most awesome example of one of these tours is the Wakeskate Tour. An absolutely amazing event travelling the country and putting the best riders in the best spots to really push the sport in the right direction.

1. You Don't Need a Boat - This is number one on the list for a reason. Boats are insanely expensive not only to buy to to also run and maintain, and not everyone has a large body of water nearby. Modern wakeboarding and wakeskating are quickly turning to boat-free sports. Cable parks are popping up all over the US and new ones continue to be announced and developed. In addition to cables, winches allow riders to access literally anywhere that has water and can give you a full day of fun for about $2 in gas (and only about $2,000 in an initial investment if you don't build it yourself). If you haven't ridden boat-free, make it a goal this year to go out and support a nearby park. Grab some buddies and take a roadtrip to your nearest cable park or hit the forums and find someone to give you a winch pull (or better yet, build one yourself!). I guarantee it'll be a blast.