Dallas Friday (Pic: Richmond Gibbs)
|
WW: Back to wakeboarding. How's the double front roll coming along?
DF: The double? I haven't been practicing it a whole lot. I have been trying to get some other stuff done, plus the fall really hurts your butt. But when the season gets closer I will start trying them again.
WW: Have you landed one?
DF: No, I haven't landed it yet.
WW: What made you choose to try a double front roll rather than something like a double tantrum, double front flip or something else that has been done before?
DF: Well, in gymnastics we would try double fronts and that's just like a double front in the water, so I knew if I tried it where my awareness was. It's water and I can still hurt myself, but I felt comfortable when I was about to try it. It was just that I already knew the rotation through my head so I just started trying them. I haven't ever hurt myself on them. My butt gets sore, but I don't think I'd ever get injured or knock my teeth out doing them.
WW: So it looked like the easiest one for you?
DF: Yeah, I'm thinking of trying some other ones out too, but that one looked like the easiest one for now to get the double rotation.
WW: What do your family and friends think of all your new found fame and success?
DF: Well my family thinks it's really cool that I am a professional athlete. They have supported me the whole way. I think my brother is jealous, though (laughs)! My friends think it is awesome even though a lot of them aren't even sure what wakeboarding is. But they don't treat me different or anything like that, so it's all good.
Dallas Friday & Parks Bonifay (Pic: Lloyd Murray)
|
WW: What's your favorite thing about traveling on the Pro Tour?
DF: My favorite thing is just getting to be with all my friends and wakeboarding at the tournaments and having the fans go wild.
WW: What's the worst thing?
DF: The worst thing is flying. I hate it. I always get sick.
WW: How do you handle eighth grade with all the training and traveling you do?
DF: Wakeboarding and school all works out pretty good. My school knows I am a professional athlete, so all my absences are excused. I just have to get my work done before going on a trip and keep up my grades. It gets a little hectic sometimes.
WW: Are you going to be home schooling when the season starts, or are you still going to go to regular school?
DF: I did that last year and I was going to do it this year but I've had second thoughts because, right now, my whole schedule is fitting in perfect and everything is going well.
WW: How do you think you've been received by the other women on the tour?
DF: The women and me all get along really well. We all are really good friends and they thought it was cool to see someone else come into the sport.
WW: You've sort of given women's wakeboarding a kick in the butt this year. Do you get any bad vibes from any of the girls because your making them work harder?
Dallas Friday (Pic: O'Brien)
|
DF: No, not at all really. They think it's actually pretty cool because I think they know they needed it. They need somebody coming up because women's wakeboarding was at a stage where it wasn't moving at all. I think once I came onto the scene it got a lot of girls trying new tricks. I remember when I wasn't that good, going on the boat with them or just seeing them at tournaments and a lot of them were doing the same thing, not even really trying anything new. But once I started learning new tricks, it was cool to see all the other girls actually trying new tricks and realizing how easy it is and that girls can do it too.
WW: How have you been received by the men?
DF: The men? Hmmm. They all are really nice to me and think I'm a great rider and they think I'm gonna take women's wakeboarding to a new level. They think I'm just what the women's side needed.
WW: You obviously get a lot of attention because you're so young. How do you feel about that?
DF: Yes, I do get a lot more attention because I am the youngest. It's cool being the youngest. It's made me a lot more mature being with all older people. I feel like the girls are like my older sisters, some my mom. The press really likes to target the young, new, up and coming riders, so it gives me a lot of publicity, which is awesome.
WW: I heard you are going to be in Sports Illustrated for kids. Is that true?
DF: Yes. I think it comes out in a week. My friend has it because you get it earlier if you subscribe to it.
|
