WW: What is your name, age and where do you live?
RC: My name is Robbie Culp, I am 16 years old and I live in Temecula, California. My wakeboard friends call me Rrrrrroberto with a heavy roll on the R…and ya gotta yell it loud, so it echoes.
 
WW: How did you get into wakeboarding and how long have you been riding?
RC: Mainly because my dad is really into wakeboarding and taught me how when I was about eight years old. A few years later he entered me in a wakeboard competition at Fiesta Island in San Diego which was put on by Wakesports Unlimited. Those guys rock. It was super fun. Once I started competing, everything changed. All I wanted to do is learn new tricks and get better and ride all the time.
 
WW: What is the setup you are riding and why?
RC: I ride a Liquid Force Trip 138 with Index Bindings. I really love this set up because it’s fast, loose, super poppy, soft landings, probably the lightest board I ever rode and it feels like this board was made for my style. Before the Trip I rode the Lyman with Shane Bindings, which I also love. Also, my bindings are always open toe. You gotta go with the open toe because they’re more flexible and lighter. I learned that from my friend Tim Walters.
 
WW: Who are your top three favorite riders?
RC: Ok, I got a lot of favorites here, but the three riders I like the most are Ben Greenwood because he’s got so much style…he’s so technical and goes big. Mike Ennen…the dude just pokes out everything. Shaun Murray…obviously his style is amazing.
 
WW: So you really love the tournaments?
RC: Oh yeah! I’m all about the tournaments. I love the competition, the rush from sticking my run. I don’t seem to get nervous when I compete. It’s so fun and it’s what I love the most about the sport. I also really like encouraging other riders and meeting new friends. I also do a lot of judging and volunteering. I love helping out.
 
WW: Where do you usually ride, what is your favorite spot and who is your crew?
RC: I usually ride at Vail Lake about three times a week. My crew is mainly my family and friends, Casey McGowen, Nik Hinton, Casey Laatsch, Jake Eller and Blaine Cash. My favorite place to ride is Manna Wake in Clovis with my good friend Kyle Siebert. That place is radical!
 
WW: What kind of boat do you usually ride behind?
RC: I usually ride behind a 2003 Malibu Wakesetter VLX with full stock ballast and the wedge. The wake is amazing and so fun. I call it “the magic wake.”
 
WW: How does wakeboarding make you feel?
RC: Wakeboarding makes me feel awesome. It’s such a good feeling after a great day of riding or competing at a tournament. I love it. It’s the best feeling! I wish I could ride every day.
 
WW: What is a good day for Robbie Culp?
RC: Saturday, early morning sesh at Vail, perfect water, no wind, riding with some good friends, sticking all my tricks, then go to Siggy’s for some grub, then go home and hit the trampoline for a while, then watch some killer wakeboard videos or the video we shot that morning, then back out to Vail for another legit session, ride until sunset. That is what I call an awesome day.
 
WW: What has been the hardest trick for you to learn to date?
RC: Believe it or not, the toeside backroll was the hardest trick for me to learn. That trick worked me for about two months.
 
WW: Do you have any new tricks in mind that you would like to learn?
RC: Yes, I would really like to learn a crow mobe, batwing, toeside 720, tantrum 2 blind and a Moby Dick.
 
WW: Is there anything that you would like to see change in the wakeboarding industry?
RC: I would love it if there were more pro events in California or maybe if they had Nationals out here every once in a while. And they should bring back wakeboarding to the X-Games. That would be sick.
 
WW: Do you have anyone you want to thank?
RC: Yes, I would like to thank Canyon Lake Wakeboard Club, Manna Wake, Kyle Siebert, Casey Laatsch, Glen Burk, Jason Allison, Casey McGowen, Kelly Anderson, Nik Hinton, Jake Eller, Allison Blaha, Tim Walters, Geri Robertson, Brent Baum and So Cal Wakeboard Instruction, Dustin Schmidt, Mike Schwenne and West Coast Camps, Rick Blanchard, the Cash family, the Clarke family, the Gonzalez family, the Hinton family, the Valdez family, the Maur family and all my friends and family for all their support and, most of all, thank you God for blessing me with such an incredible gift.