I don't know why I appreciate guys like Kyle Rattray so much. It goes beyond the fact that they're easy to work with, which makes my job easier. Maybe it's because they represent our sport so well and make us proud to be associated with wakeboarding. Let's face it, there are a lot of ways for wakeboarders to get stereotyped as spoiled, arrogant, loud, etc. Kyle Rattray is the antithesis of that stereotype.
 
Although you may not know his face or even his name, you've probably seen Kyle in a photo or at an event. He's one of the hardest working riders in wake and can be found at just about every major event either driving or riding. Not only is it not lost on him that being a professional wakeboarder for a living is a pretty great way to make a buck, but he doesn't take it for granted and each day works harder than the last to keep the dream alive. He's a true professional that continues to give back to the sport, so we figured you should get to know him better.
 
WW: I know you live in Florida now, but where are you from originally?
KR: I was born and raised in Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
 
WW: How did you end up in Florida?
KR: I always planned on taking a year off school after high school. My original plan was to move out west to snowboard, work at a ski hill and be a ski bum. Throughout high school, though, was when I started to wakeboard a lot more and I started coming down to Florida to ride with Gerry Nunn every few weeks. Then by the end of high school my plan had changed to come down to Florida for a year and wakeboard instead of going out west to snowboard. 
 
During that year living in Florida I rode at O’Town Watersports a lot and I was lucky enough to talk them into letting me come back down the following January and live, ride and coach at their camp.  About two years into coming down to Florida for six months then going home for six months, Travis and Shaun offered me a full-time gig at their camp. I was going to be able to stay in Florida year round and be making some money, so I took them up on their offer.  I was really lucky to have a lot of people help me along the way and give me opportunities to work towards living in Florida and wakeboarding full time.
 
WW: How were you introduced to wakeboarding?
KR: Growing up my family had a cottage in Haliburton, Ontario and I would spend as much of my summers as I could up there.  When I was a kid I used to tube, kneeboard, water-ski, all that stuff.  One summer my parents took me to a ski show where I saw wakeboarding for the first time.  I learned later on that the wakeboarder I saw in that show was Mark Kenney. I remember thinking how cool it was and couldn’t believe how high he could go.  The next time we were at our cottage my dad rented me a wakeboard from a local shop.  I remember it came with a “how to” video.  As soon as I got home I put it in the VCR, watched how to get up, then went out to the lake to try.  Since that day I was hooked.
 
WW: What’s the best part about the community of pro riders in your area?
KR: There is always someone to ride with.  There is a pretty big crew of guys that live out in Clermont, so if our lake is too windy or we can’t ride here or want a change of scenery, there is always someone around that wants to go for a set.  You don’t have to travel too far to find someone to ride with.
 
WW: Who do you usually ride with?
KR: Almost every day I hang out and ride with Rusty. We live on the same lake, so a lot of riding goes down here. His wake is huge and he helps me out a lot with all kinds of stuff.  Trevor Hansen also lives close and he usually comes over and rides almost every day.
 
If I’m not riding at home, I’m usually down at The Boarding School with Travis or Murray. I really like hanging out and riding with those guys.  But when I get a free day I also like going over to Hiawassee to ride with Chad and Watson. I try to get over there as much as I can.
 
WW: What’s better than a warm day on a lake of butter?
KR: A really stormy rainy Saturday where it’s impossible to ride and I get to spend the day inside hanging out with my fiancée Katie.  Or a day back home in Canada hanging out with my family.
 
WW: I first met you many years ago while you were coaching for The Boarding School. Are you still doing that?
KR: Definitely! I’m going to work there forever! Being a part of The Boarding School is one of the best things to ever happen to me.  Travis and Shaun have become two of my best friends and they have given me countless opportunities to help my personal career, as well as allow me to be part of their business.  The Boarding School is an awesome camp.  We have great lakes to ride on, some of the best coaches and every day is so much fun.  I enjoy meeting new people each week and helping them with their riding. I love getting to hang out in a boat all day. It’s a great job and I feel really lucky to be able to be a part of what The Boarding School has going on.
 
WW: What’s the best part about working with Shaun Murray and Travis Moye?
KR: Getting to work with two of my good friends every day we’re down at the camp.  It never feels like work when at the camp.  I enjoy every day out in the boat.  They are both really funny and awesome people to be around.  They help me with my riding a lot, and outside of the camp I’ve become really good friends with those guys.
 
WW: What’s the worst part?
KR: Watching people learn Raleys. A lot of people want to try them, especially after Murray rides. He does huge ones!
 
WW: Why is The Boarding School so popular?
KR: I think it’s so popular because it honestly is a great camp.  We have really nice accommodations, it’s an actual house.  Real beds, full kitchen, TV room. It’s a great place for everyone to chill when they are taking a break from riding.  You don’t feel like you’re at a “camp.”  We also have some of the best lakes in Florida that we ride on.  We are on a chain, so no matter what the wind is doing there is always a calm shoreline somewhere.
 
On top of all that Shaun and Travis are both awesome coaches and great people.  They treat everyone that comes to the camp really well.  Everyone always learns a ton of stuff and they really focus on making sure people are having fun, as well as progressing their riding. They are both really good at getting people to try things they have never thought of, or showing them lots of other things they could be doing while riding.  I would recommend The Boarding School to anyone. There is no way you would be disappointed!
 
WW: What else do you do to make a buck?
KR: This list seems to keep getting longer lately, which is ok with me! On top of riding, I also drive the boat at events.  I drive the Pro Women and Jr. Men on the tour, and at the Nationals and Worlds I drive for every age division.  I’m the team manager for Gator Boards, I’m the media coordinator for Roswell Wake Air and I coach at The Boarding School.
 
WW: What events will we see you at this year?
KR: I’m planning on being at every event.  I’m going to be at all the King of Wake stops. I missed Dubai but I’ll be at the rest of the WWA World Series events. I’ll be at Canadian Nationals and I hope to be invited to the IWSF events this year. I’d like to do those as well.
 
WW: What are your professional riding goals?
KR: This year my goal is to finish in the top 10 on the tour.  It’s getting hard these days because everyone is riding so well and every heat is a tough battle.  I’ve been working hard this winter and am excited to start the season.  I also really like to shoot for the mags. I’ve been trying to shoot a fair bit and keep giving the mags photos I’m proud of, and keep getting photos run. 
 
WW: You’ve got one of the best looking pro models out there. Who came up with the graphic?
KR: Thanks! I have really liked all the graphics I’ve had.  2010 Is the third year my board has been in the line and the third graphic I’ve had.  Jeremy Jones has done all of my graphics since I’ve been with Gator.  I’m into the new trends of bright colors, busy graphics and this year I got exactly what I asked for. I wanted a board that would stand out, but not from being too busy.  I wanted the graphic to look high end and clean, but still trendy.  My newest board is my favorite graphic yet.  Being able to have a lot of input into graphics is one of my favorite parts of having my own board. Check out Jeremy’s site at JeremyJonesDesign.com.
 
WW: Can you tell us about the board shape and why you like it so much?
KR: I feel like my board is very easy to ride.  Any rider can jump on it and within a few jumps feel comfortable.  From working at the camp I’ve seen a lot of people ride on all kinds of different boards and I feel like I have a pretty good idea of what types of board shapes work for certain levels of riders. I tried to keep all types of riders in mind when I built my board and what I wanted was something that was going to be consistent. I wanted a shape that would edge and pop off the wake the same every time, something that would hold a solid edge through the top of the wake and something that was on the wider side to help the board feel really stable in the water and on landings. 
 
When people are learning to ride, having things consistent can really help them progress faster and stay consistent with their tricks.  When people come to the camp on a board that is above their ability level or on a board that has features that are catered more to advanced riders, they often have a much harder time looking comfortable on their board and staying consistent with their tricks. My board is perfect for me. It is exactly the shape I love. I feel anyone that jumped on it would be able to ride it and feel comfortable on it very fast.
 
WW: What other gear do you use (boat, rope/handle, vest, bindings, etc.)?
KR: I’m lucky enough to ride for O’Neill, so I get to rock all the sick Guru vests. Their Hyperfreak 2.0’s and regular Hyperfreak board shorts are so sick. They are all-way stretch and that’s all I run now, and lately since it’s been so cold here I’ve been using the Guru spring suit. All the O’Neill gear is so tight! 
 
My Board is the Gator Boards 141 Prospect with the Fate bindings and I use the Gator Boards team handle. I also ride for Centurion, but I’m currently without a boat right now. When I’m not on the water I always have the Anarchy Status shades with me and Reef always keeps me stocked with plenty of every sandal as well.
 
WW: What’s your rope length and speed?
KR: I like 25 mph on every boat and always ride at 82 ½ feet.
 
WW: What is your experience with wakeboarding injuries?
KR: I’ve been lucky to not have too many major injuries. The only major thing I’ve done is my knee.  I had to have reconstructive surgery on my left just over two years ago.  It sucked a lot to have to sit out for a while and the rehab takes a lot of work, but I think it has made me a lot smarter about taking care of myself. The summer I hurt it I was so busy, going a million different directions, not really eating good or working out. I wasn’t in the best shape and that’s when I got hurt. 
 
I try very hard now to stay in better shape, take care of myself better and make sure I’m rested.  I believe that I was run down and riding when I shouldn’t have been and that’s when I got hurt.  Wakeboarding is such a social sport, meaning that you can go from chillin’ with your friends in the boat or on the dock, then in two minutes have your board on and on the water demanding a lot of your body without much stretching or warming up before.  I think it’s important to remember to give your body a pass or two of easy riding to warm everything up a bit.  From being hurt I guess I’ve mostly learned how to prevent being hurt again as much as I can.
 
WW: What’s the key to staying healthy?
KR: I’m still working on figuring that out exactly. I’m sure for everyone it is a bit different, but I’ve learned about myself that I need to be well-rested to be able to perform like I want to on the water.  I’ve tried to make sure I get 7-8 hours of sleep a night and eat right.  I used to not eat very much. I’d go almost all day on some Pop Tarts and Coke.  I could never figure out why I had no steam from about 1:00 PM on.  So now I make sure to eat three times a day with good meals, eat the right snacks through the day.  Eating the right food really makes a huge difference for me. I get a sudden burst of energy and feel ready to go. 
 
I also feel going to the gym fairly regularly is important.  Keeping your body strong helps it be able to take the beating wakeboarding puts on it.  I also think knowing when you’re tired and should rest is key.  It’s hard for me to do that. For example, on a nice day at home Rusty and me will ride 3-4 times some days and be done with that by 2 or 3 in the afternoon.  If it’s still nice and glassy later on it’s hard to say no to an after dinner set, but sometimes my body can’t take it.  It’s hard to say no to riding when your mind wants to, but your body can’t. I think knowing that about yourself will help you stay healthy. Knowing when to say I’m too tired.
 
WW: What do you do for fun besides wakeboarding?
KR: I like to work on my house.  I’ve been in my first house for almost two years, so we’ve been slowly updating things, painting, doing yard work. I like doing stuff to my house.  I like riding my road bike, but more in the winter because it’s so hot in the summer in Florida.  I really like riding moto, but I don’t get to do it enough and my bike blew up, so I’m bikeless right now.
 
WW: Where is your favorite place to ride locally? Globally?
KR: Lake Sawmill is the lake I live on and it’s pretty hard to beat a glassy summer day on the home lake.  Besides my lake, Hiawassee is always fun to ride at, and the camp’s chain of lakes.  I like riding at the camp because there is never any other boats, so I’m not going to say the name of it to keep it that way! Ha. I’ve been to lots of crazy places all over the world to ride, but one of my favorite places is defiantly CWC in the Philippines. There needs to be more places like that!
 
WW: You took a trip to CWC this off-season. How was that?
KR: It was one of the funniest trips I’ve ever been on.  Jack, Rathy, Big Spence and myself went over there for almost two weeks.  We just went to ride, shoot and enjoy the place; sort of a wakeboard vacation. That place is like no other.  All the rails are so good, the system lake is so fun and the boat lake is perfect.  I love going there.  It’s pretty far away, but it’s totally worth the journey. 
 
Anna and the Gov totally hooked us up and let us have the run of the place. They took us around the island a bit.  We got to see the island where Survivor Germany was filmed.  Weird fact, my iPhone had full bars on Survivor Island. You’d think they could figure out how to make better cell service in Clermont, Florida if Survivor Island can have full bars.
 
WW: If I asked your friends about you, how would they describe you?
KR: As a wicked basketball skins player! I’m not really sure. I hope they’d say I’m pretty easy going, fun to ride with. I think they’d say I’m a pretty loyal guy and a hard worker? That’s a tough question.
 
WW: Who are some riders we’ve never heard of that you think we should keep an eye on?
KR: Robbie Hollihan. He's a kid that rides with us at the camp a fair bit. He's a little guy, but he rips. He’s got a few more years of Boys and the Jr. ranks, but he's going to be a ripper.  Same as a kid named Robbie McMillin from Canada.  There are so many little kids these days that ride so good.
 
WW: What kind of tricks do you like to do when you’re just out to have fun or doing video/photo shoots?
KR: When I ride at home and am just going for a ride, I like to try and do all my hardest tricks first and try to do them all in a line without falling.  Usually when we’re shooting I somewhat have in mind a certain trick or shot I’d like to try and get.  I usually spend the set doing four or five tricks over and over again trying to make sure the angle works, to make sure I got the grab the way I wanted and the photo looked that way I had it in my head.  Shooting is one of my favorite things to do. It’s awesome when you have an idea and it ends up working out and looks how you thought it would.
 
WW: What tricks are you working on right now?
KR: I’ve been trying to work on all my spinning tricks this winter.  They were all really hit or miss last year and I wanted for this year to be really confident with them. I’m still trying to add a few more, but it’s definitely gotten a lot better over the winter.  I also tried to spend some more time than normal hitting rails.  It’s been fun trying to keep up. The rail stuff that is going down these days is getting pretty heavy.
 
WW: What riders do you enjoy watching?
KR: I’ve always really liked to watch Chad ride. I think he has a lot of really tight looking stuff.  I also like to watch Watson and JD. They both look sick when they ride. Rusty and Danny I also like watching. They both do some crazy hard stuff and make it look effortless.  And Murray, he always goes huge!
 
WW: Which section in which video most inspires you?
KR: I don’t know if I can just pick one? Chad in Pre-Pop, Danny in Counterfeit This, and Parks in All or Nothing. I could watch all of those every day.
 
WW: What’s your biggest weakness behind the boat?
KR: Switch tricks.  I don’t do anything switch. I’ve never spent literally any time trying to really learn anything switch.
 
WW: What do you hate about your “job?”
KR: Having to compete in really rough water.  Usually it’s a roll of the dice at any site because the water is rough due to the weather, but it’s never that much fun. 
 
WW: Can you make some predictions for what we’re going to see in wakeboarding in 2010 both on and off the water?
KR: I think the level of riding at events this year will be a lot higher than any year before.  So many people are riding so good these days that the ‘average’ run is going to be pretty tech I think.  I think a lot more System 2.0 events are going to take place.  With the System 2.0 there are so many things that are now possible.  Rail events can get a lot better, a lot faster. The set ups can be bigger and more impressive. 
 
Off the water I hope to see more companies doing demo/clinic tours.  The days when every company had a bus and traveled around to different cities during the summer were awesome.  We got to meet and ride with so many people, see tons of cool riding spots.  I hope companies get back into doing stuff like that.  It was really cool getting to see all kinds of different wakeboard scenes around the country.
 
WW: What do you see yourself doing after you retire from riding?
KR: I plan on moving more towards the camp.  I’d like to help it grow bigger.  We have some major plans in the works that are going to be awesome! Everyone will benefit from what out next step is.  There is going to be lots to do and take care of very soon! Stay tuned!
 
WW: Anything else you’d like to share with your fans?
KR: Thanks for taking time to read this.
 
WW: Would you like to thank anyone?
KR: WakeWorld for this interview! The guys at O’Neill, Moody, Pre, and Max. Scott at Anarchy, Rob at Roswell, Bisch and Reef, Brett at CTI, Centurion, Shaun and Travis at The Boarding School, my lady, Kate, and my family!