WakeWorld - Interview with Keith lyman

Hey guys. for those of you that dont already know, im doing a school project on keith lyman, and i got in touch with him thanks to several of you guys and i asked him a serious of questions and here they are! enojy, feel free to comment if you wish. by the way. this was coppied and pasted word for word Me: What got you into the sport? Keith: i had grown up around water my whole life but never really got into anything to seriously until i saw wakeboarding on tv and then i started seeing it on my lake that i lived on. Me: Who did you first start riding with? Keith: steve slocum a kid i met thru riding back in my home state of mass. he quickly became my best friend and i then met my other best friend ben greenwood thru steve as well. but for the most part i only had my dad around to pull me. i only got to ride with steve during the summer months and then when school was in it was back to me and my dad. Me: What was the first boat that you rode behind? Keith: a hydrodine, an outboard waterski boat that was primarily used for my parents trick skiing, slalom and jump.' Me:• I know that you went pro in less than 3 years, how much time on the water did that take? Is there anything in particular that you practiced? Keith: basically april to septmber of 98 then april to september 99 then i moved to florida march of 2000 and i then turned pro in 2002. so 2 summers and 2 full years. Me: • What was your first board? Keith: a obrien shredder for about a month, then an obrien "evil twin" then a liquid force super squirt. Me:• What was the first trick that you accomplished? (excluding a wake jump) Keith: (not talking about grabs) im pretty sure it was 180s then a wrapped 360. Me:• I have seen a lot of videos of you riding, what do you do that causes you to go so huge? Is there a certain technique that you use? Keith: nope i just have a lot of adrenaline and i like to cut really really hard. Me: • Who is someone that you look up to and why? Keith: hmmmm..... shaun murray, he is just a great human being! he is an amazing rider and athlete but is also extremely smart, and he has the personality to be able to get along with absolutely anyone. Me: • You're an incredible rider, why do you think it is that you don't have a boat sponsor? Keith: ? i have my own personal thoughts but this industry is so small that everyone knows everyone and if you arent buddy buddy with the people from a boat company than you can kiss your chances of being sponsored goodbye. i dont like to "BS" people and blow smoke up anyones butt. with that being said i am very outspoken and apparently people cant take negative criticism. i dish out plenty of positive criticism but they always focus on the bad. Me:• I know you a big fan of the armed forces. If you where not a pro rider, do you think you would have joined? If so, what field what you have wanted to be in? Keith:yes, i would be in the military right now if it wasnt for wakeboarding. there isnt a doubt in my mind about that. to be honest i really feel like i have missed out on the war. i always wanted to be in the marines growing up, so i most likely would have been one. but now knowing some of the things that i do i would most likely be in the special operations community. Me:• How long from the day you got up to the day of your first contest? Keith: hmmm probably 6 to 8 months. Me: • Is there anything that you do to get ready to ride? Keith:um its weird, i sort of just let my adrenaline take over. it used to be that i had to hold back my adrenaline whenever i wasnt riding because i would be an absolute nut and would be jumping off the walls 24-7..... i have adhd and i believe that that plays a big roll in it! ha! but seriously i just let my love and passion for riding go wild and thats when i want to cut hard and go big. the excitement of either landing it clean or getting absolutely annihilated is what keeps my adrenaline going while im riding. Me: • I know that all 3 sizes of your pro model have a different song written on them. I know that you ride the 139, does the song "through these eyes" have a special or more powerful meaning then the other 2 songs? Keith :? yes, i specifically put lyrics on the 135 board because it reminded me of a girl i met, the 143 has lyrics that also mean alot to me, but the 139 is pretty much the story of my life so far. the song talks about how the specific artist (who wrote the song) has grown up and become educated in life through first hand experiences and living. not from books or anything else. the opening lyrics say "through these eyes ive seen love and ive seen hate. ive seen the violence and the tears. through these eyes ive got my schooling on the streets, ive seen the things in life you dont wanna see." its sort of morbid but i relate very very well with just about everything that he sings about in that song. the 3 songs from smallest board to biggest board are social distortions' faithless. social distortions' "through these eyes". rise againsts, tip the scales. Me: • How supportive where your parents with your riding? I've read that they let you move to Florida when you where 16. Is that true or just a myth? Keith :? yes, they were extremely supportive! they realized that i had a dream, natural talent and was extremely passionate towards it and that i was willing to do whatever it took to be able to ride as much as i could. so my dad looked into me moving to florida, but wouldnt let me just live anywhere. he drove all the way down to florida just to look at some wakeboard camps to make sure that i would be living with decent people that he could trust his sons well being with. Me: • What's your favorite trick to do and why? Keith: hmm thats a good question, i get asked this a lot but its very hard to narrow it down to just one trick. i guess i just love going big. if you can say that that is a trick than thats my favorite, but other than that i think ole spins and a pete rose or an ole 7 are my favorite tricks. Me:• Have you ever fallen so hard while doing a trick that you are scared or nervous to try or do it again? Keith: yup, it happens quite often. i blew out my right knee doing a huge frontise 540 out into the flats and ive only done a handful of them since then. i blew out my left knee hitting a double up and doing a big indy backside shifty. im not really scared to do the trick again but i am a little intimidated to hit a double up again. ME : • What accomplishment are you most proud of? Keith :to be honest i dont ever think about that. i dont think that there is anything ive done that really been all that cool. i mean i have done some pretty rad stuff but nothing really satisfies me. im always expecting WAY more from myself. Me : • I know a lot of people have a list of things to do before they die. Do you have a list somewhat like that? Is there anything that you want to accomplish that you have not already? Keith: ya, i would love to be in the special operations community. Me: • Finally, Maurice Matsumori got in touch with me through Wakeworld.com, about asking you some questions for my project, (very helpful btw), but would you mind if I posted this in the wakeworld.com forum? Several people have asked me to. Keith: sure. go for it. maurice is seriously the man! if there was one person in this entire world that i could put into power as the spokes person for wakeboarding maurice would be it! and ANYONE who has met the man would say the exact thing. and if they didnt then they are kooks! maurice is an extremely close friend of mine and he is extremely passionate about this sport. he actually might be a good guy to interview about me as well. i dont like to talk to much about myself but maurice could pretty much nail me on the head when it comes to my personality and thought process. }