Liquid Force, along with Rook Productions, has been hard at work filming their first team video, "Wide Awake," which will release in March, 2000. The film has been shot in California, Mexico, and Florida, and so far, the footage is epic. Clips from the teaser include Matt Staker's helicopter start, Shane Bonifay's tube riding in the surf, Shawn Watson's dizzying 720's, Thomas Horrell's mind blowing wakeskate maneuvers, and Gregg Necrason's usual ripping.

The idea of a team video is not a new idea, but is generally a new one for the wakeboard industry. Liquid Force's Marketing Director, Don Wallace, said that this has been a long term goal of Liquid Force. He states, "We got the idea from paying attention to the other board sports such as Skateboarding and Snowboarding. So many of the best videos in those industries were coming out as team videos. In skateboarding, there's Birdhouse's, "The End", and other's like Osiris's "The storm". In snowboarding, companies like Sessions and Burton are coming out with their own videos. I think that the reason these videos are so good, and so popular is that everybody involved really wanted to make the video as good as possible. This type of video is a way for a company, or brand, to make a statement about who they really are. At Liquid Force, we are a team. I truly believe that we are the only legitimate team in the industry. We travel together, we all ride together, we party together, and we're all really close friends. It just makes sense for us to work together on a project like this."

Liquid Force has joined forces with Rook Production's Pete Santa Maria, on this project. Pete's first attempt at a wakeboard video, Boardumb, which was released last season, brought rave reviews. It had many amazing moments, including the first footage of Thomas Horrell's now famous wakeskate kickflip. While Pete is new to wakeboarding, he is definitely no rookie to the world of film. He has worked in the surf industry for several years with Poor Specimen's, Taylor Steele, and has brought some of the best surf footage ever seen to the public's eye. His work has been in "Goodtimes", "The Show", and the recently released, "Loose Change." "Rook", as his friends call him, has brought much enthusiasm to the table, getting non- wakeboard industry people interested in the film.

"What's great about Rook," Don Wallace states, "is that he brings so much to the plate. He is probably the most energetic guy I've ever met, which says a lot, since I work everyday with Tony Finn. He also is a great filmer with forward thinking ideas, and he has a ton of connections. We've received a tremendous amount of support from people like Aaron Chang and his assistant Brendan Hayes. Additionally, Rick Devoe, Blink 182's manager, is working on release parties with us. People that might not have normally been exposed to wakeboarding are stepping up and getting behind "Wide Awake"."

Riders that will be featured include Tina Bessinger, Shane Bonifay, Emily Copeland, Aaron Grace, Chase Heavener, Thomas Horrell, Brannan Johnson, Melissa Marquardt, Shaun Moore, Gregg Necrason, Kyle Schmidt, Ryan Siebring, Froggy and Tadpole Soven, Matt Staker, Shawn Watson, JD Webb, and the Carlsbad Derelicts. The Riders are all working hard on this project, and happy to be working with Rook. Matt Staker comments, "Rookie's the best. It's always fun working with him because he just lets you ride the way that you want to ride. He never tells us what to do. We just go out and try to do everything that we can, because we know that he will always be right there to get it." In a recent trip down to Mexico, Shane Bonifay was quoted as saying "This is the coolest thing that any wakeboard company has ever done."

With the riders all motivated, look for this video to have the best riding captured on film, ever. "Wide Awake," will retail for significantly less than most videos, at $19.99. It will be in stores by mid March. For sales, information, or to get a glimpse of the teaser, call Liquid Force at 760-754-5585, or email wideawake@liquidforce.com.

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