progression

So since the discussion board has been kind of blah lately, I'll open up a can of worms. I think Randy Harris is the most progressive rider, but I think Keith Lyman is making a push to surpass the OG West side rider. Could I interest anyone in begging to differ?

Actually I totally agree with you. Lyman is an awesome rider. Huge styled out tricks. Just looks great. On the other hand though Harris... man that guy, i can't even begin to describe him. He's got great style, im almost positive Lyman is on the right track to possibly passing him up.... we will have to stay tuned.

please explain to me why you think harris is the most progressive rider.

When I spoke with several of the big name pros this past summer they all said the same thing. Dany Harf and Shane Bonifay. They say that these guys are pushing the envelope every day, but in different ways.

Harf has certainly turned up a lot. Shaun Murray had a lot of great things to say about him while we were in Camp. Keith's style is nutz. Everything is huge and tweaked and looks effortless.

How about Melissa Marquart or Amber Wing? Two girls with major style.

What about the multitude of underground riders who seem to popup in videos online doing crazy things. The kid doing the 007, Sean O'Brien's Off-Axis Osmosis 5 or KGB Handle-Pass 540. Progressive to me mean's pushing the sport forward, not just going bigger and more tweaked even though these can be an attribute of being progressive. I'm not a big fan of naming anyone 'champion' of anything. Who's the best? Who' the most progressive? Who's the most whatever? I enjoy the fact that each rider is different and is fun to watch in their own styles and bag of tricks. I think collectively we are all progessing the sport. Whether it's you on your lake passing a boat doing a nice stylie grab that excites a little kid in that boat who then begs his dad to buy a wakeboard, or it's a pro throwing down the sickest new trick out there. Anyways, just my 2 cents, didn't mean to preach.

As far a progression, definitely harf. He shows up with new tricks every year.

I don't know if you can still can Harris a progressive rider, but certainly the most stylish and the biggest into the flats rider of his time.

I totally agree on the Lyman thing though. I throw in videos just to watch his sections.

"Shootem up...bang bang."

Agree with Harf, Lyman and Shane but what about Adkinson? Hes killin it.

My only question would be "How does one PROGRESS if one doesn't ride?" JRod's Harf pick for progression would be mine as well.

Hahn - good question. I retract my above statement of saying that Harris IS the most progressive rider, and say that he WAS the most progressive rider.

I watch his sections (NBT, Blacklist, Retrospect) and the amplitude, intensity, and style of his riding is still ahead of most riding done today. I watch Lyman's sections and look at the pictures of him and I think that his riding has reached the level of amplitude, intensity, and style of Harris' riding.

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quote:

"Shootem up...bang bang."

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I know the part.

Although Harf and Bonifay are progressive, learning tricks and having sick video parts, and I enjoy watching their sections, I'm just not as captivated by their riding, as I am Harris' or Lyman's.

I dont know if anyone will ever go as big as Harris on the tricks that Harris did. Not many wakeboarders try to go into the flats on a 720. Also, not many wakeboarders do bs 5's and bs 180s both regular and switch into the flats (not any really). Also, very few riders grab the way Harris did. He was doing double grab bs 720s before he stopped riding in the spotlight. How many guys are doing those. I also think his level of riding in films like Mayday were very progressive. Harris was like 14 or 15 in that film and was doing pete roses into the flats. How many guys do that today. Sure, Lyman goes really big and has amazing style. My oppinion is that Lyman has better style then Harris, but his intensity isnt the same. Lyman takes a raley cut and does a Melan bs 180 30ft into the flats. Randy Harris took raley cuts and did 720s, bs 180s, ts bs 180s, etc. (all grabbed).

(Message edited by malibuboarder75 on June 08, 2006)

not to take anything away from harris, but i'd much rather watch lyman ride than harris. lyman just has way more style imo, than harris.

Joe - lately, me too.

I think the OG's really "seem" more stylish/progressive because when they were pushing it, it was all so new. When Randy did his stuff, I was blown away because it was so fresh. I think Lyman might even be more stylish in some ways, but he's really doing stuff thats already been done, so it doesnt seem as progressive, though his riding is phenominal.

Back in the day you had riders with power, riders with style, and technical riders. Randy bridged the gap between the three. The power guys loved his riding because everything was HUGE. The style guys loved how he put legit grabs on everything, and the techies loved that he was dropping freakin' BS 7's and mobe 5's like it was nothin'.

Is lyman better? Probably.

more progressive? I dont think so.

One thing seems to be true regardless . . . Harris and Lyman are in a style league all their own.

As has been alluded to, why is it (for me) that Harris and Lyman sections in videos inevitably become the only sections I watch after 50+ viewings? I have concluded it is because of amplitude and style which, to me, separates these guys from the others mentioned in this thread.

Last weekend I got a chance to ride with a fella who used to ride on the tour back in the late 90's. Every cut to the wake was raley style and every trick was landed 40' into the flats. Sick. That was how everyone seemed to ride back then, and Harris was the sickest of them all back in the day.

IMO Progression has occured since then in terms of the number of spins and grabbed inverts etc. but at the expense of amplitutde (to use someone else's word). Lyman to me is the only one riding now who comes close to combining the tech with the power. Just look at the leverage he produces on his edge . . . nobody is cutting like him nowadays.

-cue the can of worms-