Pro riders with a ton of Class

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to say how much class some of the pro riders have. I won a trip down to ride with Rusty Malinoski in Feb of 2008 and then i went to Iraq. I got home about 2 months ago and i was home for less then a week when i got a phone call from Rusty saying welcome home. Then it was my birthday a 2 days ago and again same thing a happy birthday from him and even his wife hit me up to wish me a happy birthday. I just find a ton of class in a person who is willing to go out of his way to do that. he could have just given me the free trip and never talked to me again but he still goes out of his way to stay in touch.

I also think this says a ton about our sport (best sport in the world) that no matter what level of rider you are you still don't forget your human.

I'm sure there are many other riders who are the same way.

So lets shout out to the pro's that still have a ton of class.

I met Shaun Murray years ago after winning a instruction day with him at Mission Bay from one of the Wakesports Contests. I was just learning backrolls and he got me dialed in with them. 3 or 4 years later at the Nautique Games at Lake Elsinore i ran into him again and proceeded with the "you probably don't remember me" and instantly he says oh yeah i remember you how are those backrolls....Now Shaun is definitely a Pro Rider with a ton of class

I've met / ridden / worked / hung out with a lot of pro riders. Most of my encounters have been great. The guys that really stand out are Andrew Adkison, Ricky G, Nick Jones, Rusty, Shaun Murray, and Brian Hutton. These are the guys that go out of there way to meet the kids, be friendly, and make themselves approachable and accessible.

I met Scott Byerly about 18 months ago at San V during his Byerly boards demo tour. With 4-5 others, we rode some sets on his custom 210 Nautique with the kids getting to try out his new skates & boards, Byerly driving. He was awesome - giving some tips to my boys, then 12 & 15, getting jacked when they tried or landed a trick. Talked about his summer on the road, what that's like, family, etc. To this day, that was a BIG DEAL for my boys. Whether he knows it or not, he made a great and big impression on them for which I'm thankful.

Its amazing how approachable these guys are. Very down to earth, super cool and will spend all the time they have talking/taking pics or just bs'ing. Hope that never changes about this sport.

Did a demo ride with Keith Lyman in June 2008. Super nice guy and was really enthused about giving people pointers on their riding. (Would post a pic, but it is stuck in my old computer with a crashed hard drive)

+1 on Lyman, and he's a funny guy to ride with too.

I have met many pros, but I have actually talked to Harf, Malinosky, Adkison and Zane at different times. All of them were very approachable, very nice and glad to meet somebody who was stoked about wakeboarding.

On the ladies side of things....Amber Wing is incredibly nice and down to earth. I was fortunate enough to ride with her last year and besides really helping my riding progress she was just great to hang out in a boat with. She even insisted that I borrow her custom wetsuit when I forgot mine at the hotel so that I could ride longer. So nice!

Meeting and chatting with Jimmy Lariche at Wakestock last year was awesome. I'm like a year younger than him and felt like a complete idiot asking him to sign my shirt but he was really cool about and then stuck around to talk about this, that and everything else under the sun, and even called over a few other guys to sign my shirt for me. Maybe it helps that they arent making millions of dollars a year, but my general impression is that action sports athletes are all super down to earth, relaxed guys. They remember what it was like to be a star struck fan, so they make themselves as accessable as possible. And I appreciate that.

There are a few guys who really stand out to me. Andrew Adkison has been such an awesome guy and always finds time to chat even when he has other pro guys around. He is a super nice guy and the time that he takes to recognize others is awesome. Shaun Murray is another guy who is always easy to talk to and is great with kids. You can tell that he is stoked just to see riders who love the sport like he does. One more is Keith Lyman. I don't know the guy too well but I saw him on the beach randomly and he chilled with me and some friends for a while talking wakeboarding. He was great with some of the younger guys and really made me happy to see that he was such a nice guy. No kid wants to dream of being like a certain pro and when he finally meets him or her they just blow them off. Thanks to all of the pros who take the time to notice everyone else.

I was at the 09 PWT stop in reno last year and i was standing around with a couple of my buddies in the c-dub tent and adkison was standing across from me and just introduced himself to me without saying anything to him or askin for his autograph or anything. I was incredibly shocked when here i am just standing there and andrew just puts his hand out and.."Hi im andrew...nice to meet you". Pretty sick dude too. Also, i was privilaged to win a day on the lake with bryan hutton last summer in may and he was teachin me a ton of stuff and just thought the guy wouldnt think anything of it, then at the same reno trip (09 PWT), he, a couple buddies of mine, and i all hung out all weekend long. B-Hut took the time at reno to give me some pointers on throwin 3's too and just couldnt believe how helpful and rad the guy is. Its just funny cause we see them in vids, photos, magazines, online, etc. and we meet them in person and they are super friendly! So theres a +1 for andrew adkison and bryan hutton!!!!

ran into scott byerly, clay fletcher, parks, darin shapiro, and wattson, harris, at utah boat show and each were very approachable. and justin stevens too. not a pro rider, but still an industry pro

I've met many but JD Webb and Bryan Hutton stand out to me. Both are great guys. One day we were out with Bryan while he was giving my daughter a lesson. She got hurt so we just watched Bryan ride. He rode for what seemed like an hour. As he was getting back in the boat another boat pulled up to us and said " oh man did we miss the show?". Bryan had to be beat, but he just laced em back up and dropped in to ride for another 15 minutes!

Last year at the Wake Games after my daughter got her trophy I was taking a picture of her when JD walked up and said "Hey Delanie, do you mind if I get a picture with you?". Talk about making a kids day!

Mike that would blow my mind! If a pro came up to me and asked me for anything Id be all like "I think you're confusing me with someone else" haha.

I was at OWC around new years last year and saw Josh Palma riding around. I was next to him on the dock and he said "you got that trick." is said "thanks man, you're Josh Palma!" We chit chatted for a bit and he invited me to hang out afterwards. Unfortunately I couldn't but i saw him 7 months later at the PWT stop in Wisconsin and he came up to me and said hey how's it going and called be by my name and everything! I felt super cool!

Another story. I did a clinic day with Dean Smith and Parks a few days before the same PWT event and Dean was super funny and cool and when I was walking around the PWT event he fully stopped me and said wassup and chatted.

Im really happy these guys fully realize how lucky they are and think its awesome how they can live so positively.

THANKS PROS!!!!!!!

Another +1 for Lyman. Rode with him for three sets over the summer, even got to ride doubles with him. Super rad dude, tons of fun, real personable.

Give a +1 to Webb and Lyman, stand up guys.

I'll also throw Ben Greenwood into the mix. It's been a few years since I've seen him but I jumped on the boat one day while he coached two of my friends. We chatted like we were buds for years, watching him ride was jaw dropping, and he was a great coach all at the same time. Real stand up guy. I know Stokemeter.com ran a Greenwood and Lyman clinic thing last year (I went to the NJ one, thanks Dave). Anyone interested in doing either should definitely checked it out. I learned a ton from Keith and it was a really good time for all involved.

I never understood why people say pros are "very down to earth" or "approachable"? What makes people think they arent?

Anyway my vote goes out to Shaun Murray.

+1 on Lyman. i did a school project on him sophomore year, and a few people through wakeworld got me in cotact with him, and he actually answered a ton of questions for me. All the info on my project came directly from him. Awesome guy no doubt.

98% of the pros I have met through the years have been super nice.

(I won't mention that 2% cause that would be rude & probably start some flaming on here)

A few that definitly top my list (because they seem to remember me even though I usually only get to see them once a year or so):
Ricky G
Byerly
Harris
Mark Weikel
Adam Wensink
Thomas Horrell
Brett Eisenhauer
Lauren Loe
(I know I am forgetting a few..sorry)

+1 for Amber Wing. The airline lost my gear on the way to World's and she offered to let me use her set up. I was astounded to have such a generous offer from a Pro that I had barely had any previous interaction with!

Agreed.... most all I've been around are great, some that stand out as above and beyond what I would expect after meeting:

Shaun Murray
Parks
Jeff House
Jimmy Trask (he seems like maybe the nicest guy ever)
Derek Grasman
Zane

... but the single nicest of them all Will Christien. She put up a random kid from Wisco for a few months at her place in Florida (the first few weeks she wasn't even there), let me use her boat, car.... and how often is it that if you're out somewhere with an attractive lady she PAYS for the beer, VERY VERY rare.

Kat, especially nice of Amber since you don't ride LF. That is way cool!

Brian Grubb, Mike Ennen, Chad Sharpe are all super cool guys...

Originally Posted by roughrivermike

Kat, especially nice of Amber since you don't ride LF. That is way cool!

Yeah Mike - I didn't even think about that! Could have been a great opportunity to get me buying LF gear though! ACTUALLY, I did go out and buy a pair of Amber bindings shortly after that!

My gear did show up very late into the night & I didn't have to take her up on such an awesome offer!

Originally Posted by sidekicknicholas

... but the single nicest of them all Will Christien. She put up a random kid from Wisco for a few months at her place in Florida (the first few weeks she wasn't even there), let me use her boat, car.... and how often is it that if you're out somewhere with an attractive lady she PAYS for the beer, VERY VERY rare.

Why can't this happen to me!!

andrew adkinson, tom fooshee, brett little, danny harf, I have met all of these guys personally and they are super nice and have no problem taking the time to speak with anyone whos got a question, that is the best thing about this sport cool ass people.

Im fortunate enough to work with many pros and I have to say here is my list of amazing pro's with class...


Randall Harris
Jeff Weatherall
Brian Grubb
Chad Sharpe
Andrea Fountain
Ricky G (I only met him once at hooters, but he was great)

I'd have to say those were some of the most humble people ive met... awesome bunch! I have worked with many more, but these are just the greatest people!

I met Randall Harris at the Sacramento boat show last year. He was really friendly and was happy to sit and talk with my friend and me for a while. I was super impressed by his genuine interest in what we were saying and talking about our lives outside of wakeboarding. He's a really stand-up guy and I'll remember that day for the rest of my life.

Forgot to mention Byerly, I talked to him for over an hour at a boat show about you-name-it, great great guy. Also, gotta throw a +1 to Jeff House, but we went to high school together so I'm bias. haha

A few years ago at a Mastercraft demo in Culver, In., I walked up Shane Bonifay and joked "The Toe Back 7 you just landed was pretty awesome. Its way better than any 1080" as Rusty was standing right next to him. He looked at Rusty and said "I told you so!" After that, Shane invited me to sit with them and we just bs'ed for about 20 minutes. I then asked him if he would come and mess with one of my buddies with me and he did. It was pretty awesome of him to give me about a half hour of his time, and he was pretty easy going and down to earth the entire time.

OH CRAP, I left Ryan Wolfe off my list by mistake.... He's been way cool to me!

I think I've posted this story on WW before... but it fits perfectly with this topic...

About 10 or 11 years ago now, back when Boardstock was still at Shasta, I had a great experience meeting Murray.
I was on shore behind a row of houseboats and saw a friend cruising by in his MasterCraft. In order to catch his attention (and a ride), I ran onto one of the houseboats... along the outside walkway to the back deck and yelled at him. As he pulled the boat over, I apologized to the two guys sitting on that back deck, playing guitar and enjoying the morning. That's when I realized one of them was Shaun Murray himself. I expected him to be mad and really, he had every right to be, but he wasn't. He was as cool as ever... allowing me and all my friends to use his houseboat as a dock while boarding my friends MC... and then even playing a little song on his guitar while we videotaped as a birthday gift to my friend's son who wasn't there.

Murray is a real class act.

About 8 years ago I met Shane Bonifay when I was working at the movie theater. He was just killing sometime waiting to catch a flight back to Florida. Got a picture with him and got him to sign a Wakeboarding Mag that I had in my car. Super cool and down to earth guy.

I met and rode with the Ennen's and Bret V, also chatted with Bret V a few times at the boat show before.