WakeWorld - Smed Wakesurfing Boards... Thank you.

Hey all. So- I’ve finally been convinced to join this forum. Part from a good friend who convinced me that I should be part of the online community itself (Thanks NS), part as a follow up on a great opportunity I’ve had. As “Bigshow” on here can attest to, I’ve ridden at least two dozen boards in my time surfing. I’ve ridden Inland Surfers, Calibrated, Phase 5, Walker Project, Triple XXX, Walzer, Shred Stixx, a handful of homemade boards, and others. Despite this, none of the boards had really hit me as a perfect board- though a few were definitely solid boards. I now have a definite respect for Walker boards and also an appreciation for Triple XXX boards as being a new entry to the skim board field. During Nationals in Columbus, Ohio, I was talking about how much I needed to find a board that fit me and would help me progress to the next level. I had decided that I needed to purchase a board, though I was still frustrated by a lack of “perfect board” for me. As fate would have it, I ended up winning a Smed “Wombat” board at Nationals… and I went home with a cool-looking surf-style board from a maker I had never even heard of. I wasn’t overly confident this would be any better than any of the previous boards. I was out with Mr. “BigShow” the first time I tried the board… and I can’t explain how excellent this board rides. If anyone out there is looking for an amazing surf-style board, I have to recommend you try this board before you purchase. If you are in the mid-Ohio area, send me an email- I’ll be happy to let you demo the board I have for a weekend. The board is very fast and solid in the water, and the quad-fin setup allows for a lot of customization to meet any riding style. Anyone I ride with knows that I’ve progressed a lot in the past few weeks… and this board is probably the single greatest reason why. In short- the board has a significant and positive impact in my confidence as a rider, and that makes an immense difference. I wanted to write this here for two reasons. First, I am immensely excited about this board and the potential of future boards from Smed Boards, and I wanted to share that with others. Second, this was a prize board and I wanted to publicly thank Matt Smedley of Smed Surfboards for giving me the opportunity to ride a board this awesome. I know the guy works hard on these boards, and giving away free product is always a gamble for any company. The board makers that are supporting these tournament events are putting their capital on the line in a hope that giving us surfers some free product will help grow their business. I hope that anyone getting ready to purchase a new board considers the importance of board manufactures like Smed… Walker Project, Phase 5, Triple XXX, and others… that support these events that are helping grow the sport we all love so much. Thanks again, Matt, for helping me get my surfing to the next level. Thanks to Jeff Walker for securing and effectively distributing these prize boards to events- your involvement is so critical. …and my apologies for all of those that read this after having to listen to me talk up this board all weekend at Worlds. :-) - KK