What Person or Mfg. has done the most for Wkboardn

What I mean is who has done the best job at promoting the sport of wakeboarding? Where it is now, and where its going to be in the future. Person and/or Company.

(Message edited by woreout on October 17, 2006)

I would vote for Cobe Mikker, Shaun Murray, Paul O'brien and, Zane, and Charlie Patterson.

I like your list, would also include Jeff Barton, and Shannon Starling

Maybe just maybe Scott Byerly.

Did Byerly promote wakeboarding, or did wakeboarding promote Byerly...

I'd say wakeboarding promoted Scott. I also would say, he has been great for the sport, but not enough to be included in this list.

OWC does a good job being next to the airport at one of the largest vacttion towns in the world...

The Meloons!

I guess it depends on you interpret the word "promote". I see the point against including him, but at the same time, I know how much he pushed and influenced other guys at the time which helped grow the sport so much.

Shapiro???????? The guy gets no respect.

(Message edited by psudy on October 17, 2006)

If it wasn't Byerly, it would have been someone else (Randall, Watson, etc.). The sport just latched on to him, right person at the right time. You could say the same thing about Shapiro or even Perez, but they don't belong on this list either.

I would say the famous boat bun thread.

Tony Finn???
I also agree with everyone on Buffalow's list. great group of guys right there.

(Message edited by ttrigo on October 17, 2006)

What about Rich Goforth? Necrason, Weddington, Best, Lavelle, Bisch, and can't forget Nelson!
For women, Andrea, Tina, and Dana

I would say Shaun and Zane. There from day one fighting to get it exposure and learning raley's behind ski boats with no tower.....or weight. Now both are still in it taking it to the masses and promoting it in a way that is good, not being kicked out of events, drunk at premiers, and giving interviews that sound like a five year old with downs syndrome.

^^^^ Have you hung around Zane??? I think Murray is AWESOME, and Zane has done a TON, but he definintly drinks. Nationals is all i have to say!

ok, i guess i read that wrong.....i dont know about drunk at premiers, but he was def. drunk at the Double-up del noche afterparty!!!

magellan is right. Both of those guys are top notch. They also can talk to a punk with purple hair and horns, or a guy in a business suit.

Chris - Maybe Nelson & Bisch. Conrad Necrason did help found the WWA, Gregg mostly just rode.

Who wasnt cweb?

Let me toss this one out...Kyle Schmidt? Yes or No?

Billy-Good question....i think everyone was. Good times....were you there?

I think so? LOL

What about Joe Umail? Hell name someone else who has over 10,000 post to the Wakeworld!

^^^^^
well, pm me next time you make it up this way, i live really close to there, well ride.

Zane and Shaun get my vote. Others helped, but IMO they were the Original Ambassadors(OA)

''Gater'' and Byerly they rode the first twin tip

No way on Gator. The candidate must be able to form complete sentences in some form of human language...

(Message edited by socalwakepunk on October 17, 2006)

"Kyle Schmidt? Yes or No?"

Kyle is the most underappriciated person in this sport.

^^^^ he does do a TON for this sport

I agree with Kyle being way underappriciated. He made the book which I think I have memorized. And he writes a lot in wakeboard mag. He doesn't seem to get much recognition. Murray does a ton for the sport. I think that he helps a lot because he is so approachable.

Ya I would have to say Murray and Zane as well.

IF YOU HAD TO GIVE OUT AWARDS, WHO WOULD BE 1ST AND 2ND? INDIVIDUAL AND COMPANY.

MY VOTE: 1st, ZANE.
2nd: MURRAY
COMPANY: 1st: MasterCraft {1st boat 03 Xstar, to be specifically built for wakeboarding}

2nd: Correct Craft

I know this is going to get ugly now, but thats just my opinion.

1st - Murray (for obvious reasons)

2nd - Jeff Barton. He was insturmental getting the sport rolling on the west coast, was running or helping out at almost every grassroot event in SoCal for years. He started Launch Wakeboard magazine (which eventually became Alliance), he was editor of Wakeboard Magazine, and he now announces/commentates for the PWT.

Company
1st - Hyperlite
2nd - Correct Craft

Herb.

Jimmy Redmond. He designed the first performance oriented board, the Redline which was superior to the Skurfer. Then he and Finn started Wake Tech where Jimmy designed the first twin tip board. Then he & Finn started LF. He created the short/wide movement in board shaping. Introduced a single/double concave base shape. Designed the first multi fin board. Created the first bat tail board. Incorporated rail profiles first. I'm sure there is more I'm forgetting.

Just thinking about Del Noche gives me a hang over.

paul o'brien...

in the aussie scene it would have to be daniel watkins and josh sanders.. both very approachable and not full of themselves!!!!

TackleBerry's list is a good one. I would also add Mastercraft, Cobe, Bischoff...actually, now that I think about it, there are quite a few people you could include.

No offense, but zane is not an "original" ambassador. When he used to three event and wakeboarding was a side show on the tour, he used to make fun of it. However, when I started to ride, I did appreciate his attitude towards having fun (c. 1996).

Anyway, I'd agree with jimmy redmon, the wake tech guys for doing demos way back when, ERIC PEREZ for traveling around and promoting wakeboarding when it was puny (he also made the first full-length wakeboarding film)...darin shapiro, shaun murray...there's too many to list. A fair number of people have put in their time to make wakeboarding great.

Billy-

MasterCraft 1st boat 03 Xstar, to be specifically built for wakeboarding

Well, Correct Craft had the Total Wake Control hull on the 1999 Pro Air Nautique... this was the first hull designed to produce a larger wake, not a smaller one.}

The Picklefork Xstar hull never existed before 03. You had better check your facts about CC hull. I think it was used prior to the one you are referring to with a different name. MCs 205 is an example, they made it a vdrive so it would have a bigger wake, same boat.

(Message edited by woreout on October 17, 2006)

I understand the Picklefork never existed prior to '03. I'm simply saying that it is NOT the first hull designed specifically for wakeboarding. The Total Surface Control (TSC) hull was introduced in 1997 for skiing, but the TWC hull designed in 98 and available on the 99 model was brand new. This TWC hull won an IMTEC Innovation award in 1998, and was new...not a recycled design.

I agree that the X-Star from '03 to current is a fairly important product, but it wasn't the first boat to be built specifically for wakeboarding, as you claimed.

Paul & Herb
Murray
Shapiro
Byrely
Bisch
Charlie Patterson

EDDIE aka JIMMY REDMOND

Who is Eddie???

What abaout Dallas? Dallas does a ton for not only women's wakeboarding but wakeboarding in general. Friday and Murray get my vote. Murray is prolly the best ambassador any sport could ever hope to have, he is the man!

How about Dave and the members of this forum. I live in the midwest and if it were not for this forum I would not know Parks from the unibombomber. I think the knowledge spread over the web and everyday people out on the lake are the best ambassodors for the sport. I can not think of anyone who wakeboarded because they saw Murray ride (at least where I am from) but about everyone that I know rides because some friend asked if they would like to give it a try.

I am sure that in Cali, Florida, and Texas wakeboarding and wakeboarders get a lot more publicity but here in the midwest wakeboarding is pretty hidden.

Jon, that's a good point, its the same up here in Maine. I'm adding Dave Wiliams and wakeworld community to my list.

does documenting count as promoting? bill doster maybe

The intro of the Skurfer made the biggest impression on my crew and what we did behind the boat back when it first came out so I'd have to say...Tony Finn? Then it was the compression molded uni-directional HO, then Wake Tech's twin tip.

I thought there was some controversy from some Aussie who was riding some form of a skurfer around the same time as the Skurfer was introduced, but I don't recall the details.

There was a surfboard with straps behind a boat years prior to the Skurfer.

I might be wrong, but I am pretty sure that Butch shaped Scott's bat tail back in 97-98ish for wake tech? I think that was the 1st bat tail board.

I am seeing a lot of names here that are more "rider/person promoted by wakeboarding" than "wakeboarding promoted by rider/person". To each his/her own.

(Message edited by socalwakepunk on October 18, 2006)

Chris, Byerly's Bat Tail designed by Scott Bouchard and Necrason's Trip designed by Redmond were both 1999 model year boards. The Trip was an early release though. Pretty close though I agree.

yea i was having a hard time remembering the exact year, I do remember the first time Gregg showed off the trip was in the xgames that year. I will have to admit though in MY opinion, both of those shapes really advanced wakeboards and thats when other mfg's took more chances with shapes.

isler I guess you are about CC here is a pic of a Correct Craft with I think the 1st ever ballast system.

Actually Isler is correct about the Natique. I was that hull on a boat on the showroom in Stockton, CA store around '99. It had notches in the hull. It reminded me of one offshore boat hulls.

paul and herb by far, they keep takin it to the next level. Mastercraft for boats no question

the C.I.E. crew, shaun murray, not watson, mike schwenne, Josh Smith, and all the west coast guys.U guys rock!!!

sorry i forgot about Derek Cook, by the way thanks for the new rope Derek!

Bill Doyle has done alot for the sport lately!!

Dallas, IF she is able to make a comeback.

deltahoosier you are right about that boat, those notches are vents for the hull. That boat still was not built or sold only... as a wakeboard boat.

I think that it is different for each person. It has to be the person that introduce the sport to you. I remember a friend of a friend taking me riding in 99 for the first time at Lake Mead. That had the biggest impact on me. I found the greatest sport in the world that day!

jim, thats F'ed up.

Billy, the Pro Air was touted as the first hull designed for wakeboarding. The vents were supposed to drop the hull and shape the wake. Yeah you could have skied behind it but it was designed for wakeboarding and marketed accordingly. It was a wakeboard upgrade to the Air Nautique.

I AGREE, JIM YOUR A JACKASS!!!!!!!

I didn't even notice the Doyle comment. That is pretty messed up. But like most messed up comments on here funny.

The O'brien name is sure coming up a lot. I wonder how many times the name would have shown up a year ago.

But while on ronix, does anyone have the specs. on the boards--Width, rocker, etc.

(Message edited by skiboarder on October 19, 2006)

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://media.popularmechanics.com/images/xtrex-sm.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.popularmechanics.com/outdoors/boating/1277126.html&h=195&w=250&sz=18&hl=en&start=30&tbni d=o6uxEQ4COgMluM:&tbnh=87&tbnw=111&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dconcept%2B%2Bboat%26start%3D20%26ndsp %3D20%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN

(isler) Heres a article by Popular Mechanics in 2002. Why would they say this is the first attempt at a wakeboat from scratch in 2002 if CC already had one in 98? Just asking.

Because that's what MasterCraft's press release said =)

Seriously, everything is very debatable about the first true wakeboard boat. How would you define from scratch? It still has a hull, propeller, engine, and steering wheel, like other boats. Everyone likes to claim that they were the first to do something. There are likely people out there who will tell me that there was a boat before the Pro Air Nautique that was the first true wakeboard boat, and depending on how you define "true wakeboard boat", they may be right. It was more like an industry-wide evolution, where manufacturers started adding factory towers, ballast, 4-blade props, high end sound systems, etc. Tough to put my finger on the first. However, the 99 Pro Air was the first HULL where the hull designers set out to optimize its shape for wakeboarding. I'd argue that the rest of the boat was designed solely for wakeboarding, but that is debatable.

In the press release, err I mean article, I quote "Until now, wakeboard boats have essentially been modified ski boats, with add-on towers and bladders." Well, the Pro Air had a new hull, factory bladders, and factory tower. So, that's inaccurate right there.

Also worth noting, "Instead of a conventional seat layout with the driver on one outboard edge and the passenger on the other, the seating is moved in closer to the boat's centerline to put weight down the keel for a straighter track. The seating arrangement also dictated the center-console design." Well, note the difference between the concept drawing's seating and the 03 X-Star. Small resemblance, but not much. Also interesting is the steering wheel on the left in the concept drawing...very uncommon on boats.

Also, the boat really doesn't bear a resemblance to any current production wakeboard boat, in terms of the seating or tower. The concept drawing is not a picklefork nose, and is even a closed bow. Tower is very different, as is the entire stern of the boat. It was pretty much either a boat that wasn't ever produced, or simply a testbed for a bunch of ideas that were tossed out...with the exception of the look of the captain's chair, and other small body lines...as well as the gauges.

I guess what I'm reaching at, is Popular Mechanics isn't very objective. They are not going to say anything bad about a company. Here's a quote from another Popular Mechanics article that pretty much directly contradicts the other: "Then, in 1995, Correct Craft introduced the Super Sport, which had the first hull intentionally configured to create a large wake for boarders. " That page is here: http://www.popularmechanics.com/outdoors/boating/2278766.html?page=5&c=y .

Not that he is my favorite rider or the best spokes person for wakeboarding but I am surprised no one has mentioned Parks in this whole thread. I know he has influenced the way I think about riding.

Mike, give up, you can't convince Billy of anything different to what MC's marketing dept has told him

I definately think that Shapiro, Parks, and Byerly have done ALOT with this sport. They set the bar and were also big influences on all the boarders promoting the sport now. Just them going big promoted the sport and showed people what could be done on a board...

Dishman!

it was just a question, thanks for answering.
there is a lot of ideas from that article that have been implemented in current wakeboats center drive for weight for example KGB ballast. I know its a concept but all things start on paper. thanks isler. timmy your still a TOOL

The Meloons, hands down! Do any of you know who the Meloons are?

Yes they are the people at CC who fire their own family members. LOL

(Message edited by woreout on October 26, 2006)

David Williams!!! Without him and Wakeworld (space), I would have no clue about any of the rest of the people mentioned