As the weather changes back and forth from semi warm to cold and back to semi warm, I start to get the itch to get out on the water.  I realized today as I was on my morning commute that I needed to put on my sunglasses, it then occured to me; Sunglasses in the morning?  It’s almost time to hit the water!  Then I drove by Utah Lake, I saw that most of it still covered in a thick sheet of ice and if Utah Lake still has ice on it the rest of the lakes are surely iced over.  The slight glimmer of light was that the west shorline looks like it has begun to thaw.  Only a few weeks ago I saw that Dewey and Down For the Ride rode their bikes out to the lake to check the status, check out the results here.

With gas prices lower this year, I’m expecting a stellar year on the water.  The WakeUtah.com crew is working on some big things this year, James already spilled the beans about the new site design, which is looking pretty sweet.  Its getting closer and I’m very excited for what is to come.  More sun, more heat, get your gear ready, let’s ride!!

Featured Rider For September is D.F.T.R. Josh

I had the opportunity to go riding with Josh on one of his Monday sessions, watching him ride and landing his moves, it was like watching someone ride who is just barely learning a new trick.  He got a big old grin after each trick, you can tell this guy just loves to ride!  If you have been around the sport for a while you have seen him, you might not have known but you have.  He’s the one at the boat show helping set up, helping tear down, hanging out and having a good time with the people he’s around.  Josh spends much of his time hanging out at the wakeworld.com forums, meeting people in the area and arranging rides behind different boats, with different crews.  He’s also got some mad awesome video editing skills.  Josh is an asset to the wake boarding community, if you get the chance to go on one of his Monday sessions, or any session, it’s going to be good times!
Josh has been helping WakeUtah.com in many ways, providing Trex for the Seven Peaks Rail Jam, we used his Jet Skis for the Delta Rail Jam.  If you see him out on the water, tell him thanks for all that he has done for the community in Utah.
Check out his site www.downfortheride.com

Name – D.F.T.R. Josh
Age – 29 yrs young
Sponsors – Hyperlite Wakeboards, Liquid Force Bindings, Jet Pilot, Straight Line, Pro Tech Helments, Billabong, Bullet Lines, Oneal, Wakeutah.com, Wakeworld.com, Natural light.. Not really, these are the company’s that I support from buying and using their products to posting on their forums!
Board Set Up – 2006 Hyperlite Parks/2007 Roam while 2008 CT Shanes sit on top.
Hobbies other than wake sports – Video, Film, Internet, Basketball, Harley’s, My kids!
Biggest Accomplishments – My first pull behind an Inboard! I learned my first 2 inverts beind a 24′ Cuddy with no tower. It was a whole new program behind an Inboard with Ballast
Goals this Season – W2W HS Indy BS 180. Huge thanks to Ryan Shima for the pull and patience up at Willard till I finally stuck the landing.
Favorite Pro and Local Riders – Pro – Mark Kenny (RIP) The kid is the greatest. 2nd Randall Harris, this guy makes a Stailfish to BS 180 into the flats an art form. Local – Everybody I ride with, I got friends that can barely clear the wake to others going huge. I will shout a huge thanks to David H, Ryan D, Ryan S, E.J., Jim, Dewey (god I’m sounding like a boat whore), Mike, Shane, Wayne and anybody I missed with a boat that has gave not only myself but my family time on the water.
Favorite Trick to watch and perform – Any new trick landed for the first time. For some reason nothing else matters when you land that fist trick and your still on your board. Fist time I landed the BS 180 W2W I threw the handle and put my arms in the air like it was my fist trick ever landed.
About wakeboarding? There is nothing like pulling up to the lake and not a ripple in the water. It’s a sport that not only you can hang out with your friends but your family also can join in. My dad was on the boat for my first invert and I think he was happier than I was. It’s a sport that takes you to your limits till you succeed and push the limits even farther. Then somebody with a tube comes in and F’s up you line! LOL, Welcome to Utah!
What do you like about the local scene? For most of the people that I know they are more than willing to meet and ride with new people and discover new places to ride. We have some of the best spots to ride depending on the day and then you break out the winch and it is endless. My wife calls me last night that somebody was in the flooded park with a 4 wheeler and railing on a picnic table, I was to late with the camera. If this was you, let’s get this on film!
Who do you ride with? David H., this guy is obsessed with getting to the lake. It seems like anybody with free time he can make time to get to the lake no matter the day. We head out for a morning session to get him back to work early, as I’m walking in the house and my phone is ringing with David saying he got his work stuff done and wants to go back to the lake. Also I try to bum a ride with the Wakeworld Northern Crew sometimes! I want to throw a huge thanks for everybody that made the Monday Crew happen this year!

 

For some it started with a four drive from Vegas, while others made the 2 hour drive from Salt Lake, but once you got to Delta everyone had the same goal, to conquer the sixty foot rail that stood perched outside of the Webster’s house. Those who decided to come up the night before were rewarded with a night session that went till around 2 am. After starting a fire on the beach and throwing a couple of spotlights on the rail, it just seemed too good of a setting to pass up. It was one of the best rail sessions I have been at. After a quick nights sleep under the stars it was time to start the competition. After talking with the riders we decided to run head to head brackets with each rider getting three hits at the rail. After everyone got a chance to hit the rail and try all the different flavors of Zotes Sunflower Seeds, it came down to a show down between Ethan Roberts, Marc Glover, & Ryan Webster. Despite some really impressive attempts by Ethan & Marc it was Webster’s consistency that got him first place.  Altogether the event made for some perfect footage for everyone who is getting stuff put together for the ‘Get into X-Dance Contest.’

Results:

1. Ryan Webster

2. Ethan Roberts

3. Marc Glover

Thanks to the Webster’s for letting everyone come down and crash their back yard and to all the sponsors: Zotes Sunflower Seeds, Fred’s Marine, Utah Water Sports, D.F.T.R.

Next Rail Jam Sept 5th Seven Peaks Wave Pool, stay tuned this one is going to be hot.

 

Grom

1. Dexton Wallace
2. Nate Stover
3. Darian Bateman

Beginner

1. Zac Kane
2. Morgan Winchester
3. Travis Terry

Intermediate

1. Daniel Barger
2. Dylon S
3. Taylor Benson

Women

1. Jenacee Jackson
2. Brooke Bagley
3. Nikki Willhoite

Advanced

1. Travis Sprenger
2. Chance Bird
3. Jenacee Jackson

Outlaw

1. Dave Bagley
2. Braxton Tomlinson
3. Andrew Wallace

Double Up contest pictures:

Main Event Pictures:

Photo Gallery

Last spring WakeUtah.com went through an overhaul, things were said, agreements were made, and people got involved! You have all seen the changes we have been making, improving the site, finding deals for us poor wakeboarders, and being the best source of information about what is happening in the wakeboarding world in Utah. Those are the things you have seen so far, we have some things in the works that will bring our community of wakeboarders together.

Part of the change is the merchandise section provided in part by Zazzle.com, where you can find some sweet wakeutah.com shirts, hats and mugs. We went with Zazzle.com because of the ability given to the customer, that’s you, to customize the shirt to your liking! You can move the wakeutah.com logo around the front, put in on the chest pocket area or delete it all together. Once you have your design, you can change the type of shirt, maybe you want it as a hoodie, or a sweater, it’s all good! You may have seen Dewey and I at the meet up events, practice runs, and IWA competitions in our stylish shirts.

The images on the back were taken from photos I took over the past few years attending events such as the Wake In the Snake of 2007, Deweys Rail Jam of 2007, and the Liquid Force Slider Show of 2006. Recently we released the first local rider edition t-shirt, the Marc Glover Edition. Marc was our featured rider for June, and in honor of his accomplishments I asked for a photo that I could use to put him on the shirt. He provided a picture of him kicking some mad air, railey style. After hours of working my magic, he is now on a shirt.

So I figured, why not offer this to others who have a killer profile shot of them doing a sick move, like Marc’s railey, and put it on a shirt at Zazzle.com! That is the game plan, if you have a picture, you think would look great on a WakeUtah.com shirt, email me, omj@wakeutah.com, and I will work some magic and create your own edition of the WakeUtah.com t-shirt!