How to form a new/reliable crew?
 

I'm looking to find some new people to ride with this summer and seeking some advice for the best way to do it. My current crew consists of about two people. One reliable and one unreliable (for purposes of this thread I'm going to disregard non-boarders who come out randomly). Unfortunately the one reliable guy works 8am-8pm Monday-Friday so Saturday and Sunday are our only options. I'm a 21 year old college junior and I'm lucky enough to have great parents who have been letting me use the boat like its my own for the best few years. My question is how can I find more people to ride with? I'm willing to take people out on the boat whenever but I'm looking for people who want to progress and push their riding. The problem isn't really getting people on the boat; its getting people on the boat that want to focus on wakeboarding all day instead of getting drunk and partying all day. Don't get me wrong, I love to party as much as every other 21 year old college male (hell, lets party at the lake house after riding!!).

How can I find some new people to ride with? We don't have a club or team at my Uni and I don't want to go through the trouble of starting one because I won't be around college much longer. Our boat is kept on a lift about an hour away which is also the closest lake. Any ideas?

Cheers,
Parker

Look here. Find people on WakeWorld who are serious about the sport and invite them to ride with you. Alternately, make an advertisement/flier and put it up at your local board shop. That's how my crew found me. Don't be afraid to tell people exactly what type of rider you are looking for.

Thanks, I tried looking on WW last season with no luck but I'll give it another try this year. The closest board shop is two hours from the lake I ride at but if I happen to visit there I'll take a flier. Might also put up some type of advertisement around campus.

get your parents to ride! My dad and I wakeboard all the time together and its definitely the best, most relaxed atmosphere. Definitely where most of my progression has come from

I'm in the same boat as you. And in the northeast where riders are in short supply. I know only one other kid who rides at school and his boats in FL. It sucks
Good luck finding a crew!

Props to having your pops wakeboard! In my 4 years of riding I think my dads only come out 3 times.

on a side note: I never "looked" for my crew, it just.. Happened I guess. I'm feeling if you try too
Hard to form a crew with such high expectations, you may be letting yourself down. Hopefully things just fall into place for ya. Don't you ever see other boats/wakeboarders on your lake?

Good luck finding a crew. I am in the opposite boat. I am free to ride every afternoon and weekends but the only guy with a boat this season can only go on weekends. Hoping to find some others to ride with also this year but it is tough. Good luck!

I wish I lived near you. I'd be out there every day.

radiate wakeboarding amigo, and eventually you'll find friends who want to progress with you. The way it worked for me was just always being about wakeboarding, which led me to talk to many different people. The more people you meet, the more opportunities arise.

Wakeworld. I found most of my crew and now most of my best friends here.

go onto Craigslist and look up riders in the "Men seeking Men" section.

I want the same thing as you man! I live in surgoinsville TN which is about an hour and a half from your town. I normally ride on Cherokee lake sometimes Norris. Maybe we can meet up sometime I'm always looking for somebody to ride with to push each other! I also understand how gas is and always try to pitch in.

Adam's right about the Craigslist thing. My wife made alot of fun of me for posting but I don't have a boat at the moment and live in Florida where I know there are riders. I didn't get any responses but I did find another guy named Scott who was looking for the exact same thing you are, wake only on the boat and then we'll see. Now I have a second crew who I can ride with who are way better than me so I can learn some things and watch some awesome riding instead of the awful spills my other group of novice/intermediate riders throw. I was way nervous showing up to ride with them for the first time (Austin Haire is one of them but was out of town) but everyone in this sport is pretty much awesome so it was cool, except for the chicks killed it so hard I felt a little stupid.

Oh, if your going the craigslist route don't be supper creapy, post in both men for men & men for women. If Scott hadn't done that I would have never contacted him. Plus you never know, you may find that perfect chick who wants to ride as much as you do. Good Luck.

Worste Feeling In The World: When you have to stare at you board and your boat because you can't find someone just to drive damn the thing.

Look for a meetup.com group in ur area. Thats how I found new boarding buddies last summer then the crew just kept growing.

I would specify WAKEBOARD riders!!!! If you search riders in men seeking men you might not the "riders" your looking for. lol :eek:

wakeworld seems to be the new e harmony

Totally forgot about meetup.com We have a good group that meets up all the time here in the chicagoland area.

jim... your on meetup? whats the groups name?

Like most have already said, Wakeworld is your friend. Some of the best people I have to ride with I've met through this site. Try the 'Find a third be a third' section.

That place is a bit of a joke honestly. Not very helpful or active.

You could "like" the pages of some of the wake boat dealers in your area on facebook then post up that you're looking for some new people to ride with. I've never tried this but it 's an idea I just thought of.

In this era... it is totally mainstrem to network and form these relationships via sites like this and other social networks.

EVERY person I ride with pretty well happend through this site, some complete stangers that started as a mass e mail saying, hey i'm going out riding, meet me at the launch. Some of my best friends now.

I have a couple friends who are reliable but some work weekends, another is gone for 2-3 weeks at a time for work, which leaves me and the other dude looking for a third every other time out. The reliable guy is someone I met on here, we ride regularly through the summer.

Same problem really... Most of my other friends would rather get drunk then don't want to get up for decent water because they're hung over. Not worth going in 10+ MPH winds by the time they wake up. Even if it's calm, they wake up at the same time all the drunk jet skiers wake up, so not worth the aggravation at that point.

I've met a few others on here and other sites that I ride with occasionally, and have met up with people in other states too. It's just the way it is if you're a younger guy in an area without a big wake scene. Most people your age would rather be drunk and stay out past midnight. Sure they'll come out with you now and again, but it's a novelty for them and they'll never be serious about it.

What bothers me most though is when I have a crew lined up, go to bed early, wake up at 5:00, get the boat and gear ready, drive to the ramp, and wait... and wait... Just to find out one of my idiot friends decided to get wasted the night before and I was dumb enough to believe he'd actually do what he said and be at the ramp in the morning. Worst thing is when your second drove well over an hour to meet you at the ramp at 7:00 and you sit and wait for 2-3 hours, feeling like an ass.

Best you can do is periodically advertise that you're looking for regulars, and send out a text or email a couple days before you're going out. If you make it a regular pattern when you ride you'll get a couple people who get in that pattern with you. Maybe some other people with a boat as well and can alternate or complement which boat/day for more riding.

^^^exact reason why I parted with my vride...too much PiTA to always work to get riding partners together. I gave up after it became a headache. They were reliable but our schedules just didnt mesh and girls around here were lame and scare of gators in our lakes.

I've never owned my own boat, but I can totally empathize with this. There's nothing worse than getting canceled on when you're stoked to ride. It all comes down to attitude. Some people see wakeboarding as a fun pastime or maybe a casual hobby. Other people live it every day. If you're the latter, make sure you aren't surrounded by the former, or you will be consistently disappointed.

Before I found my current crew(s), I used to operate on a one strike rule. If something came up last minute and someone had to cancel, I'd let it slide. If it ever happened again, I'd tell them to lose my number.

Im so glad I dont have to wake up at 5am and sit around for people at the launch..

My lake has a weird wind until about 9am then its perfectly calm til about noon when all the tubers come out. This way everyone can sleep in and go out on the lake at a decent time. Also helps my boats on a moaring.. now only if it were 80 degrees year round

also try the themalibucrew.com
or try nautiques website, even if you have to pull a skier it would be cool to wakeboard

Well the people I ride with now... just kinda happened.. I wasn't exactly liking for a crew but was on a lake close to home one day and saw this beautiful centurion air warrior elite.. I went over to compliment the boat, there was two guys in the boat and a friendship started then...that was about 4 years ago We all have boats but it is great to have people with similiar interests as you to ride with....From that group, it was grown...Made a lot of new friends from that and know most of the wakeboarders in my area now...

So my advice would be to look for ppl at the lake you ride at and socialize.....you never know you might have similiar interest... worked for me...

Use the Find a third! I have found people there that are life long friends. Go to a contest or boat shows, lots of like minded folks.

Oh and go to the events page and check out the Wake the World and see if you can get involved.

I met the best people when I used to ride at the INT tournaments.

Granbury Riders?
 

I have been looking for legit people to ride with in Granbury, I'm new to this lake and need some pointers on where the best spots are to hit the glass and not the stumps! LoL

Heres your answer. Buy a light bar and ride at night. My old crew would go weekday nights or full moon weekends and ride till midnight sometimes. It truley is the shiz-niz. No wally's, no tubers and no surfers riding beside you. I then added a 5-light light bar on mine is was so great. You end up using those lights for docing and other stuff to. You do have to use the force when landing sometimes but it makes you a better rider and it make you rely on your skills not your I dont care landings because I can see the water. You really can see the water and your landings. Its dreamy Its so nice believe me. Yes, Its against the law in some places, yes you need to ride where you know the lake, and yes a BIG A** moccasin (yes Its true) might want to climb up on the platform, while your girfriend is sitting there, just dont tell the girls they are out there. lol. Jet

I had tons of trouble finding a crew. At the end of last year I found a skier who doesn't mind geting up early and chipping in gas. It is kind of a pain with weighting the boat but he kind of got me into skiing last year and he just barely got into wakeboarding. Hopefully this year we can ski a day put some weight in the boat and ride wake the next time. I am more excited about this summer than I have been for a long time.

there's a decent line to ride for almost every direction if you're willing to drive a bit. Where are you planning to launch at? Send me a pm I'll let you know about some real good spots that people like to keep kind of secret.

Out of the nine years ive been riding on my lake you MIGHT see five other wakeboard boats the whole summer. It's kinda lonely ha but all the neighbors love wakeboarding and sit on the docks in the afternoon while we ride. It's an awesome atmosphere but just no riders.

hahahahaha. i've also found this website to be helpful: http://www.blackpeoplemeet.com/

.....just sayin