Lauren Loe

I picked up Alliance the other day and saw that she retired from pro wakeboarding to finish school and other things. I didn't know much about her, so I looked her up and saw that she's only 22, which seems a little young for retirement. Is there any story behind that? I thought she was one of the better girls out there and a favorite among the men on this site...

It's really hard for the ladies to make any $ in this sport. She probably decided that she'd rather get a degree and make some dollas so she can ride as much as she wants without having to worry about it being her job. That or her parents decided they didn't want to keep supporting her (i really have no idea).

She is from Longview Texas right?

I think one day you wake up and realize you can't live you life on free clothes and wakeboard gear. And the reality of it is, you can probably go out, get a degree and make some good money.....still live on a lake and be a good rider and still compete. SO basiclaly the best of both worlds.

I have no idea what the pay is for pro wakeboarders, but I'd have to think that she was getting paid at least $40k a year to ride after contest winnings.

gene, yes. and she was sponsored by nautique a few years ago. was she in the chick flick?

I highly doubt she was making $40K per year. You also have to factor in contest fees and travel costs. I wonder how any of the girls afford to do this as a full-time job except maybe the top few.

(Message edited by eubanks01 on April 09, 2007)

eubanks, i agree. prolly not enough $$ to go around more than the very top. and its prolly cut-throat to stay there.

That is a shame when you work so hard to become the best at something that you can't make a real good living at it.
So who was the chick posing with the Ferrari awhile back? Was that hers or just props? You would have to make some coin to buy those and the house she was in front of I assume.

i don't think she was in the flick, sucks that she left the scene before it was shot

That was Meaghan Major and she probably had a better contract going. She also owns her own pro shop and gets by on more than just her winnings/sponsorship stuff. I also think she is married, maybe to a sugar daddy.

I think that was Maegan Major with the ferrari. I think it was actually her car though. I dont know much about her though.

Not sure if Lauren posed w/ a Ferrari, but I know that Maeghen Major did for a car magazine/show/whatever. Perhaps that is who you're thinking of?

Lauren was still riding during the filming of The Chick Flick, but elected not to participate. In that Alliance blurb about her retirement they mentioned that she's not going to be out of the scene completely, so it sounds like she might just wanna focus (professionally, at least) on other things right now.

she has been riding semipro/pro girls/women since she was 12/13...i saw her ride her first AM comp 9 years ago..so shes been going hard a while and probrably realized she had more priorities in life and needed to make a career decision..

No big deal its part of life

Gene yes shes from East Texas

Plus, its been her entire life since she was like 13. I remember her entering mens outlaw at a local comp when she was like 14 and kicking the crap out of alot of us. Think about all the things you have done from 13 to 22 with no obligation at all, then consider trying to manage a pro wakeboarding career as a woman. While Im sure it was alot of fun, there really isnt much upside to it as far as life goes. And dont forget, not being full-time in the scene doesnt mean not riding.

Meghan and the Ferrari.

She is engaged to marry the owner of Mastercraft of Charlotte. She has her own board shop, he owns the dealership and I think she has been doing some modeling as well. In addition I think she is supposed to graduate from law school soon. I think the Ferrari is Mike's but I bet she gets to drive it.

I don't know how the girls do it. There can't be any money in professional women’s wakeboarding unless you are Dallas, Emily, or Melissa. I bet even those three have supplemental incomes.

I thought she was from shreveport louisiana, but moved to Texas.

Interesting, so how much do the guys make if the girls make so little? The top guys seem to do quite well by most any standards.

I don't know how much the guys make, but I read (I think in WBM, but I'm not sure) that Danny and Parks went in together on one of Trump's new million-dollar condos in Las Vegas. So, obviously they aren't doing too badly. Of course they are two of the top riders. Most others make way less.

Yeah they do pretty well but look at wakeboarding as a career. A traditional career you start out making very little and as you grow up & improve you make a significant amount more in your later years (35-50). Having wakeboarding as a career you make good money for 3-15 years and then its over. Few of the guys are making 6 figures although I'm pretty sure Shaun's video game made him a million bucks. The thing is, what do you do after? Some run schools, others rep, others get into a dealership and others go back to construction. The thing is, its super tough to make it and to make a career successful you have to be the top 10-15 riders. One thing the big money makers have is that they get theirs early and have years to invest/acquire assets.

It appears they are doing well because they aren't doing bad. I mean the whole "wakeboard/boat/clothes/etc" expense is essentially covered. Also consider that a large portion of the riders come from wealthy backgrounds & you can get a pretty nice lake front house in Florida for $300k. I just think guys like Sean O'brien have it figured out, degree, skills and options.

Top skaters make around $500k from their main sponsor, and top surfers can make over a million on sponsors alone, so I think it's safe to say that top wakeboards can pull in six figures from their sponsorships alone, even if wakeboarding isn't as popular as surfing or skating overall. then, add in photo incentives and contest matching, and you've probably got yourself a pretty decent income.

but i agree, a degree is always a good thing to have...

Who's Sean O'brien.

I grew up in Shreveport. And yea I had heard Lauren was from Shreveport too but it turns out (so I hear) that she has relatives in the Port and my sister is friends with her Aunt there. So she says.......

Paul- You're joking, right?

Big Heavy where can you get a nice lakefront house in FL for 300? Any of the good riding lakes near any reasonable employment, go for much more than that.

You hit it on the head though, many, many, many pro riders come from families that can afford fancy houses on the lake. Most "Pro" riders can't really be considered "pro" in the strictest sense, because they can't live on what they make riding. Only the top handful can.

Sorry I did a 20 second search & found one in Clermont. Thats where everyone is moving now right? To be near the big hitters, right?