Related Items:
Jimmy Wolf Photo/Video Gallery
Jimmy Wolf 'One Session' Video (Quicktime, 16.3 mb)

Jimmy Wolf

A year ago, I didn't know Jimmy Wolf from a hole in the ground. I was introduced to him through a fellow wakeboarder during a weekend of riding out on the Colorado River. I was impressed with both Jimmy's riding and his attitude. At the end of that weekend I had learned two things about Jimmy Wolf; fun and fun.

The first "fun" refers to Jimmy's attitude. Jimmy is all about having a good time both on the water and off. He wakeboards because it's fun and when he steps out of the bindings, he usually segues right into some kind of shenanigans in order to continue his self-entertainment. It's as if he's afraid the smile will fall off his face, never to return, if he doesn't constantly give it a reason for being.

The second "fun" refers to what it's like to watch Jimmy ride. Watching someone else having fun on the water is always great for those in the boat, but Jimmy's style makes it even more enjoyable. Smooth as silk, Jimmy grabs, and sometimes double grabs, whenever he gets the chance. Tweaked out nose and tail grabs seem to be his favorites. It's tough to describe the treat that the boat crew experiences when Jimmy's on the water, so be sure to check out Jimmy's 'One Session' video (Quicktime, 16.3 mb) to get the full gist of what I'm trying to descibe.

Between innertube starts (Quicktime, 1.0 mb) and wakeskating behind a golf cart (Quicktime, 791 kb), we were able to sit Jimmy down and learn a little more about one of Arizona's most promising products...

WW: How old are you and where do you live?
JW: I'm 17 years old and live in Scottsdale, Arizona.

WW: How did you get into wakeboarding and how long have you been doing it?
JW: A friend of mine brought a wakeboard up to the lake, so I tried it. I got hooked and have been wakeboarding for about four years now.

WW: Why do you ride?
JW: I ride because it is fun. I like learning new tricks and going as big as I possibly can. I also like hitting double ups so I can go really big.

WW: Where do you ride and with whom do you ride?
JW: I ride at Saguaro, Bartlet and Pleasant, but I mainly ride at Firebird Lake, which is a private salt water lake. I ride with Mike Fulton and Brett Brinkerhoff.

WW: Who do you like to watch ride?
JW: I like watching Randy Harris and Keith Lyman because they take everything as big as they can and they do different grabs than everyone else.

WW: What is your favorite thing about wakeboarding?
JW: My favorite thing about wakeboarding is learning new tricks and going really big. Normally I try a trick until I land it, and then switch to a different trick. It keeps wakeboarding fun for me, but it also makes me a lot less consistent on some of my tricks.

WW: What would you like to see more of in wakeboarding?
JW: I would like to see more people riding longer ropes at faster speeds. Riding longer ropes gives you so much time to do your tricks and it allows you to take every one of your tricks a little bit bigger. I would also like to see more people trying to do a variety of different tricks with different grabs. I believe this would make wakeboarding much more fun to watch.

WW: How would you describe your style?
JW: I try to ride as smooth as I possibly can while trying to go as big as I can and grab everything I can. I also do a lot of spinning and a lot of switch tricks when I ride.

WW: Which pro's style do you most identify with?
JW: I don't know. I try to ride in my own way. I don't want to copy anyone's style. I try to be original with everything I do.

WW: How do you decide which tricks you want to learn next and how do you go about learning them?
JW: I watch a lot of wakeboard videos and if I see something that looks cool, then I go to the lake and try it. As far as learning new tricks, I just go out and try them. Sometimes I will have my friend's film, so I can see exactly what I am doing right or wrong. I also go to Florida every once in a while and train with Mike Ferraro.

WW: What is your favorite trick to do?
JW: It changes every day, but right now I'd have to say a melan grab 180. I also like doing a bunch of switch spins.

WW: What is your most difficult trick to do?
JW: The most difficult trick I can do is a toeside flat spin 900. I am also working on double grab heelside 7's. I've landed one but the second grab wasn't real solid.

WW: What do you do in a tournament run?
JW: Every tournament my run changes, but I think in the next comp I will probably do a double grab heelside 5, switch melan 3, crowmobe, slob backroll, batwing, hit all the sliders and maybe do a stalefish roll to blind if I need to.

WW: What trick are you working on, but just can't get figured out?
JW: I would like to learn heelside frontflips, but I do two-handed tantrums.

WW: You live and ride in Arizona and decided against moving to Florida. Why were you considering the move and why did you decide not to do it?
JW: I never wanted to move to Florida. I like it in Arizona. The weather is hot and not humid. I don't really like humidity and Florida is really humid. Plus, the winters are pretty warm here. I think the coldest the water got here last year was probably in the 60's, so I can ride year round. Plus, all my friends and family are here in Arizona.

WW: Do you enjoy competing on the Junior X tour?
JW: Yes, I think competitions are cool. I have become friends with a bunch of the other riders and I got to see a lot of different riding styles.

WW: What is your strategy for competitions?
JW: I just try to have fun. Sometimes I get nervous right before I ride, but after my first trick I forget I'm riding in a contest and I'm not nervous anymore.

WW: What tips would you give to those just starting to get into competitions?
JW: Don't get mad if you do bad. Just have fun.

WW: Do you think you ride to your potential in the comps?
JW: No, normally when I ride in comps I always do a bunch of wake to wake tricks and I don't go very big. Plus, I never get solid grabs when I ride in comps and I fall on easy tricks.

WW: What are your goals as far as competitions? Do you want to turn pro some day?
JW: My goals for competitions are to have fun and ride well. Eventually I would like to go pro, but I need to get more consistent with the tricks I have before I can do that.

WW: What local comps do you ride at?
JW: I ride in the Arizona Wakeboard Association (AWA) and occasionally I ride in some local California tournaments.

WW: Do you get a chance to hit sliders and other obstacles where you ride?
JW: No. At the public lakes the water level changes so much that a slider would only last about a week. The private lake I ride at won't let me put sliders on the lake. One of the only ways that I can hit rails is wait till it rains, which is rare, and put little skateboard rails in puddles and get pulled by a truck.

WW: What's the wakeboarding scene like in Arizona?
JW: It's real laid back. Everyone has fun.

WW: Your family is a huge supporter of your wakeboarding ambitions. Tell me about them.
JW: Yes, all my family supports my wakeboarding. My sisters always cheer for me when I ride in contests and my parents make it possible for me to wakeboard every day. My parents also get me to all the junior men stops and give me advice on some things in wakeboarding.

WW: I hear you're teaching wakeboarding now. Tell me about that.
JW: Yes, I have given a couple lessons, but I'm mainly just focusing on my riding. Eventually I plan on setting up a wakeboard school, but right now I'm just riding.

WW: Do you have a "day job?"
JW: No, I just wakeboard every day and help my parents fix up their new house that they just bought.

WW: You're in school, correct? When do you find time to ride? Does riding distract from your education or vice versa?
JW: Yes, I go to the lake right after I get out of school. Sometimes riding can distract me from my school work because I try to ride everyday, even if I have a bunch of homework due the next day, but I still manage to keep a B average.

WW: How often do you get to ride throughout the year?
JW: I ride probably about 6 days a week and I get to ride year round because it is really hot in Arizona.

WW: What other hobbies do you indulge in?
JW: I skateboard a little bit and I try to snowboard when I get the chance in the winter. I also hang out with my friends and do a lot of video editing.

WW: How does it feel to be gaining recognition in not only the tournament standings, but from Wake TV, WakeWorld and others?
JW: I'm glad WakeWorld and Wake TV are recognizing me. I've been trying to ride with my own style and trying to do different tricks than everyone else. Gaining the recognition is nice.

WW: For those that don't know you, describe what kind of person you are.
JW: I am real laid back. I don't take anything real serious. I like to joke around a lot.

WW: Would you like to thank anyone?
JW: I would like to thank Greg Dick with Hyperlite, Jack and Susan with Ski Pro, Jerry with Fluid Concepts, John with Wakeboard and Ski Marine, Dave and Bill with Wakeworld, Jocko with Wake TV, my family, all my friends and everyone else who has helped me along the way.

WW: Do you have anything else to say?
JW: I would like to say R.I.P. to my friend Joel McClure. He was an innocent by stander that got shot in a drive-by shooting.

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