what does it take to become pro

I was wondering how many contest you have to win ?

all you need to technically be pro is to make it past qualifying rounds in 1 pro tour stop. either that or have a contrast where you are beeing paid just to wakeboard and advertise for a company

a Pro wakeboarder is a really vague term actually. You can be a local pro and have never ridden on the pro tour. A lot of guys are regional riders for board companies and they can technically call themselves pros. There are also a lot of guys that get the magazine shots or quick segments in videos too. It really depends on who you ask. A lot of people use that term really loosely and they call themselves pros just because they have good hookups and get a free board or something when there are a lot better riders out there that just don't promote themselves to the public.

attitude, style, and pure inborn talent.

and a really good haircut.

or go sleep at a holiday inn express. just thought I would add that.

(Message edited by garret_s on October 28, 2007)

You have to survive a 5 minute wrestling match with Rusty Malinoski.

even though im no where near pro, the answer to your question is zero. but the real question would be what do you need to aquire paying sponsors, that and who can last an entire 5 minutes!?!?!

when you get sponsored, there is always a part in your agreement or contract about getting photos in mags and how much you get paid for them. I rode for double up for two years until they went under and i think it was $500 for a full page picture, $250 for a half and so on. i do not consider myself anywhere near a pro AT ALL but i got sponsored because i rode in a lot of local comps, ran wakeboarding camps and did private lessons.

people need to know your name

i considered myself to be a semi-professional wakeboarder. I was all about getting double ups name out there through contests and lessons and such and let my riding speak for me. I wasn't throwing crazy mobes, i had a pete rose and a crow mobe consistent. All the glides, spins up to 5s, and was very good on rails. With that, i got free boards and bindings

definetely dont need all the crazy mobes to be conisidered pro.not by my standards anyways

Definition (noun)
n
1. somebody whose occupation requires extensive education or specialized training
2. somebody who is engaged in an occupation as a paid job rather than as a hobby
3. somebody who shows a high degree of skill or competence
4. an expert player of a sport who is employed by a golf or other sports club to teach its members

Encarta® World English Dictionary © 1999 Microsoft Corporation

I would call the top 40 in the King of Wake standings pros. Also the guys who work camps or training full time as well as those who earn their coin from videos and and photos.

Winning money at a comp or being sponsored does not automatically make one a pro.

if you can live off wakeboarding i would say that counts as being pro.

My professional status has very little to do with my riding and much more about the girl I am talking to. If she is hot, I am a professional race car driver. Being a wakeboarder will get you nowhere.

shut up

Andy, I like the way you put that...

"attitude, style, and pure inborn talent."
God has given them all three, it's interesting to watch what they do with it.

Andy, a little bit of luck also doesen't hurt ether, like when your drawing heats on the tour

how much to people get paid for doing a video? i dont mean low level productions, stuff like transgression or updog or bent felix?

It is my understanding that company sponsors the video and the rider from their company is paid his normal contract. His contract will include videos, photos...With big pros, they have decently sized contracts, last i remember is Ruck signing with Hyperlite for $100k a year..Im sure that includes video parts.

Wow, I though the riders would get a percentage of the video sales.

I guess that is how the lower level production videos can get the top name riders in their videos, because the pro's don't make a profit from individual videos.

Being paid to wakeboard is about selling product. I would imagine Parks is one of the highest paid wakeboarders because his name on something sells it out.

Being Pro is a different matter.

yup if youve got a contract with a company to be paid x-amount of dollars a year then 99% of the time that includes video parts and photo incentive

on that sort of contract, what happens if the pro is injured and unable to freeride, compete or be in photos or videos? do they still get paid?

pro is very vague...i am a ski and snowboard instructor, so am i a pro skier and snowboarder? i mean technically i guess, but i dont consider it like that at all. i think with wakeboarding it is even a more closed arena, and becoming a pro wakeboarder is probably a hell of a lot of work. most pro's are on tour nearly year round, because people have to know who you are for you to be able to market yourself to companies as a leader in the sport. the best wakeboarder in the world could just ride local comps and never really get noticed nationally, but a less talented wakeboarder that travels to other comps at other places and makes a name for himself will be viewed as the pro before the local prodigy.

Randy,

I couldnt agree more about luck, in fact there is so much talent out there a lot if the contest does come to to drawing heats. You can have all the heavy hitters in one heat, where half of them get knock out of the next round, while you have other heats where you can litterally just coast.

Robyn,

I put attitude first because I have seen some insanely talented wakeboards with pissy attitude never make it anywhere. On the other hand I had with I have seen wakeboarder with really good attitude not a have the pure talent to make it. Its a fine balance.

1. Fat trust fund.
2. Wealthy supporting parents.
3. Give up all hope on making any real money.

That and what everyone else said.....

To an extent I agree with Hahn. But then I see the Valdez brothers and what they have is:

1)Hard earned sponsors
2)Most supportive parents ever
3)A drive to make it to the top

They don't have the other 3. What they have is access to daily riding with people that are better than they are. Thats what it takes, people pushing you as well as pushing yourself. The stuff Hahn mentioned surely helps but isn't essential.

The stuff Hahn mentions is atleast somewhat essential. If you want to be a pro then you need to start young and to start young takes $$$.

Boards, Bindings, and Traveling would add up pretty quickly. Then you figure a boat, upkeep and the amount of gas you are going to use to put in the time and you need money.

"Hard Earned Sponsers" You had to work hard but also spend some money to get the skills and get in front of the sponsers.

"Most supportive parents ever" Part of the support that parents have to provide to a young rider is $$$ and quite a bit of it.

"The drive to make it to the top" If you have all the drive in the world but no money to put gas in the boat you are not going to make it"

Jon,

I agree that you need money to get started. But I've noticed with good wakeboarders people want to have them out on their boat. I remember my dad saying a couple times "Why do we even have a boat"
In reference to my younger brother who was constantly out riding with other people. And that was with an X star in the garage.

I've also noticed with good wakeboarders they EXPECT to go out on/ be welcome on other peoples boats. This feeling of entitlement and going to the next best boat will backfire in the end.

There are always exceptions to the rule, but from my experience, most pros come from affluent families, grew up on a lake, had a boat etc. Case in point, how many pro's have siblings associated with the sport?

The Bonifays
The Necrassons
The Heanies
The Fridays
The Harfs

I know there are a ton more, but those are the ones off the top of my head. Kids that grew up on the lake and had parents that supported them. Now I don't feel it's a necessity to have money to become a pro wakeboarder but it definitely helps. Come on guys we participate in a very yuppy sport! A sport that doesn't have a lot of money. 90% of the pros on tour have real jobs or industry related 9-5's.

Just my $.02

Agreed Hahn. There's alot more guys that ride the tour, do mags and vids that work 9-5s than people realize.

"There are always exceptions to the rule, but from my experience, most pros come from affluent families, grew up on a lake, had a boat etc. Case in point, how many pro's have siblings associated with the sport?"

We could be talking golf, tennis, lacrosse, diving, ice skating horseback riding, etc. With the exception of sports that are school sports this is usually the case. Even then kids with money have access to trainers, camps in FL, new gear, et al. This is not a bad thing. Parents work hard to provide opportunities for their kids. It is a driving motivator for many a successful parent. The kid still has to have loads of talent, huge desire and a little luck.

And any wakaeboarder who cries about this not "being fair" should remember that most people in the world don't think it's fair for anyone to be able to ride behind a private boat and consume large quantities of fuel to have some fun. So be careful about throwing stones when living in a glass house.

Hahn you forgot your home boys the Ennen's

"being fair" where is this stated other than two posts above, did I miss it?

A big pecker

What the hell does pet bird size have to do with anything? Oh I get it....

Alice, in that case, they set an amount of days, like, if athlete will be unable to proform duties for over sixty days..., then they set an amount that they can lower consideration[how much they pay you] by, ...(company) will reduce consideration by no more than 50%. if you are perminately disabled they will most likely terminate the contract.

thanks for that Trevor... I've always wondered. I figure it'd be smart to have a good income insurance policy also!

To me pro means a nationally recognizable name and more than likely a pro model board.

Nowadays to become pro you need to have an incredible natural ability, signature style, lots of boat time (which also means lots of money), and the overall most important ability: is move manufacturers’ product.


Ken Land
Bullet Lines
www.bulletlines.com
www.wakeboarding-winch.com