Riders who get no exposure

SO I looked at the standings and noticed how some of the top 15 riders are not getting any exposure, especially in the mags. WW does a good job. These guys are riding big time and I don't think I have seen them in any mags. What is up with that? How do they chose whom to cover. Seriously, 2 monthly mags with hundreds of pages and I don't recall seeing anything about these guys.

7. Adam Fields - 189
10. Olivier Derome - 159
13. Austin Hair - 133
15. Bryan Hutton - 125

if you ever pick up an SBC wake mag, Olivier and Raph Derome get a lot of coverage, they kill the projects.

i also was wondering this. particularly about b-hutt. i havent seen him in any mags. and after riding with him i think im safe to say he absolutely shreds

I was thinking the same thing about the Deromes and even others when it comes to SBC.

there's so many guys out there that shred so hard and no ones ever heard of them. its just the way it is. i think a lot of it also has to do with who you know, who you ride with, where you ride and if you're good to the camera.

i know a lot of guys who throw down but aren't necessarily good for shooting stills.

*possible thread jack* but on the "exposure" thing, where has Jonathan Nadolski been?

I think on Alliance wake they've had "the french connection" with Yannik Thibault (totally butchered the spelling there) and the Deromes

Raph had a great shot on the cover of SBC a couple of months ago and thanks to Adam Levitt (thank you Adam!)I have a copy of this months edition and cover shot belongs to Ollie. YAY!!!

Agreed JR. My "ohh face" is horrible. When I got a picture of my face on a trick I thought "Man thats just horrid looking, that's one more thing I would have to focus on if this were a legitimate photo shoot!". Like "okay, get good pop, take it as big as possible, grab it the best you can (dont forget the poke), make a good face, and do it all in the next 30 mins while the light is good. Ooops missed the shot, lets try again!"

Getting coverage is a lot of work if you ask me. Going out on photo shoots, sitting around for good lighting, having to nail your hardest tricks in a given time frame with good grabs etc.

Anytime you want to see a TON of shredders who you have never heard of just cruise on over to OWC and just hang out.

Bryan Hutton has a sick 2 page ad in the july 08 alliance wake.

Despite Nicola's success and her obvious potential the UK mags have never shown any interest in her. She has, despite being the most successful UK rider ever, never appeared in Alliance and the odd couple of times she appeared in the UK Wakeboard mag was when I went to them and did the write up myself. It is always the same people, month in month out.Why don't they promote talented kids? That's the future of the sport.I am specifically talking about the mags in the UK here.I am not familiar enough with the US mags to pass comments.
The incredible thing is that Nicola made the cover of this months British Waterski magazine with a two page inside story. Lol. Go figure.

ya i also so a ad with bryan hutton in wakeboard mag a couple months ago...

bryan hutton is amazing

bhutt's a cool dude for sure and he slays it behind the boat.

Saw the title and first thought... Sean O'brien.

Rode with bryan H. last summer in florida. Guy does kill it. First two tricks he threw were a regular heel 7 and then came back for a switch heel 7. On top of that he even has toeside backside down just as good as guys like Danny. He came out for our royer rumble d-up contest this year and talk about level headed and respectful. To me thats alot of what makes a good pro rider. If you can do 1080's and your stuck up about it I wouldnt wana give you the time of day and thats exactly what Bryan IS NOT.

Chris O'Shea..?

chris o gets a heap of coverage in aust so he has a bit of an advantage there... advantage is probably the wrong word but he has a solid reputation here that he is definitely using to build his profile in the US... a good thing too. amazing rider with a unique twist on a lot of tricks

Paul Bernier, I think the same way about Sean O'Brien... The guy is awesome!!!!

Where do the mag's make their money, industry big boy's. The guys you see in the mag's all ride for industry big boy's, pretty simple really.

I have seen some ads for Austin and Adam and Sean but no write ups on any of these guys. I am sure Nicola will get plenty. Adam is killing it. Probably right. You have to be on the Pro team of Hyperlite or CWB etc, to get any coverage. I think its a shame these guys are out trying to make it happen and they get no breaks.

I heard they only pay the top 6 in pro men. How do you stay in and try to make it in this sport? Guys like SOB, Adam and Austin and Bryan have paid their dues in my opinion.

Austin Hair kills it as well as Alex Brown, hadnt heard anything about either of them untill they came into town for the Ft. Worth PWT and we got to catch a set with them. They were killing it

The thing is Roger if you are in an ad in the magazine it means the company that are sponsoring you are actually paying the mag to put you in it. You are not getting recognition except by the company that is sponsoring/promoting you.
This is such an expensive sport.It costs you an absolute fortune to get your kid to a level where they can be competitive.And the chances, especially in the women, of getting any of that money back is virtually non-existent. I often wonder at the comps how all the guys and girls that are at every comp but living on the 'fringes'of wakeboarding can afford it?

^^^^^ Word

I can't imagine trying to eak out a living in this field. Seems like a lot is going against you. It is very expensive to get the water time, best equipment, and pro-level wakes to get your game up to the level to get sponsors to look at you. It's a relatively small sport. The possibility of injury is fairly high and the level of riding in the last few years has really jumped up a notch. There are a lot of great riders out there who will never get the exposure that they deserve. The magazines are going to put the big names in there because that is where the sponsor money is, but I think they do a fair job at mixing in some new names now and then. They could definitely do more.

Funny you should ask, we'll be doing a feature on Austin Hair very soon!! He's been shooting video for us all season, yet I'm just now noticing that he's at #11 on the King of Wake. He barely missed the cut for The Chase, which is a damn shame!

Not only is Austin a great rider, but also a class act off the water as well, looking forward to the feature on WW. Good call Dave.

Not so Deprived [my spelling is ahtrochus], but in my opinion Chad Sharpe doesn't get very much media attention for how recognizeable he is, if that makes sense. People know who he is, but he doesn't have many vid sections, magazine shoots, ads, etc., and in my OWN opinion he has the sickest riding style out there.

riders like Andrew Adkinson, he is very skilled, and from what I've heard and seen a great guy, but there isn't a significant amount of AA fans out there, [I know why, but that's irrelevant].

sorry for the partial thread high-jack...

Sharpe is in just about every dvd I have. I think he gets an appropriate amount of exposure, and he has probably at least 5-7 pics in WBM each month. I would like to see more SOB and some more of our regular wakeworld contributors. There are some great riders on this site that represent our sport well, it would be nice to see these people get more exposure in the mags.

(Message edited by srh00z on July 02, 2008)

Sean Obrien is a great kid too. He is riding in a contest to benefit a charity coming up and he wanted to meet the profit that the charity was going to make somehow. He came up with auctioning off his and his partners hair at the event. (cutting it that is) it will generate and extra $4000.00 for the charity. He told me the name and for the life of me, I can't remember the name of the charity, but he was super pumped to be involved in the money making part of it.
He is one of the ones that will be fine in the industry. He runs his camp and is off to all corners of the world to teach wakeboarding to those that want to pay for it. There is money out there and the smart ones are finding it.

Adams Fields, I just got the chance to meet in Phoenix but before introducing myself to him I watched as he offered his board to Steele Lafferty cuz Steele broke his board. It was a magnanamous (SP?) thing to do and I so appreciated him helping out a fellow wakeboarder that could possibly beat him.(or not)

(Message edited by teamvaldez on July 02, 2008)

You ride for CWB, you don't get in mags...that is pretty much how it goes

If success on the Protour was the main prequisate for getting shots in the mags you wouldn't be seeing the likes of Randall Harris, Mike Schwenne, Josh Smith, Aaron Aubrey, Derek Cook, the Ennens as well as all the other great west coast riders.

IMHO a great wakeboarding image should be able to stand on it's own and have nothing to do with the name on the guy's back (it could be JoeBlow from Cokomoe for all I care.)

With all the great riders out there across the country I think both the mags do a pretty good job of spreading it around. The guys that I know, that are getting photo in the mags are generally working darn hard at putting themselves in the position to be photographed.

Chris- I can't wait to meet you. I know what you mean. Right Randy? You know, you can't control who gets recognition, exposure, etc. All you can do is your best. I would like to see Austin get some press and exposure like any parent. But I have to tell you that I have no regrets. This has been a great ride and I am so thankful my son has been able to do the things that he has. I have learned not to try to compare what others have, whether it is exposure, sponsorship, whatever,because in the big picture it has been awesome.

I have always tried to teach all my kids that life is not fair. Get over it and appreciate the fact you are in an unbelievable place in life. Not just Austin but all my kids. No one is entitled to what we have and take for granted. I just want them and myself to be thankful. OK, it's time to get off my soap box. I appreciate those who have said the kind things about Austin and those who e-mail me about some of the things he has done or meant to you. If you are reading this post then your life is probably pretty good too. I just encourage you to be grateful and thankful for all that you have.

josh sanders doesnt get hardly enough. should be in way more vids.

Adam has had some pretty good exposure. I've seen him multiple times in different magazines. I still think that he deserves more. It's cool seeing one of your friends getting exposure. Adam is a really down to earth person, a good friend, and an excellent rider.

TeamValdez,

The charity Sean O'Brien is helping out is called "FixAKid Foundation". Here is a link to Seans site, scroll down a bit to find out more about the charity, and maybe make a donation!

http://orlandowakeboard.com/

SOB needs more exposure!

Kyle- Really? If Im not mistaken, CWB had TWO seperate full page ads in the July WBM. Both shots of riders not product.

Brian Hutton had an ad a few issues back. IMO CWB does a great job of promoting all their riders, not just the top finishers.

As far as Nicola, I have NO doubt she will be all over the mags starting this fall. Companies usually finish their ads way in advance for the upcoming year and I'm not sure anyone expected her to blow up the women's scene the way she did. I can bet her sponsors will be all over it in the coming months.

"... riders like Andrew Adkinson, he is very skilled, and from what I've heard and seen a great guy, but there isn't a significant amount of AA fans out there, [I know why, but that's irrelevant]. "

Why not? I'm a pretty big fan of Adkison myself, and have been ever since the first Scrubs of the South trailer came out a few years ago... I don't keep a count of how many ads he's in but I'm pretty sure he's got a lot of fans and is definitely one of the more recognized members that ride for CWB. What makes you say there's not a significant amount of Adkison fans and why?

Kyle Alberts! The dude kills it and is in a few movies! The kids gonna get rookie of the year hopefully so give him so mad props!!

Agreed Rich. I think if you look at the sport of snowboarding the pictures generally stand alone, regardless of who it is. Wakeboarding is slowly moving that way now that more and more people are riding well. I think the general fan base is starting to see this transformation in the mags and media.

In my experience the biggest thing holding people back from getting exposure is getting in front of the right lens's. I just spent a week with Brian Hutton and got some incredible images. I'd never shot him before nor knew who he was. I don't follow the tour standings very closely and if CWB hadn't brought him out I probably would never have shot with him. There are only a handful of senior photogs and we all compete for the same number of pages every month. Of course if you're a big named rider, the chances are higher that any image I take of you will be considered first. As for the up and comers, their chances of getting published increases 10 fold if their shooting with the right photographer.

(Message edited by solo on July 03, 2008)

Rob Mapp up until last months shot in wakeboarding mag is totally under published. I mean the guy has won a couple of cable worlds and came in second in this years cable nationals. He rips!

thats what i was trying to say Hahn.

Kaesen Suyderhoud drops big hammers. That is all.

Yeah, I'm kinda stoked on that too, liquidmx. It's nice to be able to open up a mag and essentially see 10 two page photos that have some company's logo in the corner instead of some blah looking layout or whatever.

And I agree with what Hahn said.

dc, yea, but he sucks at ping pong!

Did anyone catch the cover of the SBC mag recently. Sick, Sick, Sick shot of Derome (I believe) on a rail.

Blatant self-promotion, I know.
Olivier Derome, Backside 180 Switch Nose Press
Pat Panakos photo

that's a pretty neat shot!
me likey!

Stylie, nice shot.

There is also an article about how they achieved that shot that was quite interesting. I love some of the regular columns too, firsts is always interesting and the road trip column is crazy!!

Jakober, thanks for finding that info!!