Just a few weeks ago we made our annual pilgrimage to Orlando to check out Surf Expo. Despite its name, Surf Expo is made up of more than just surfing. The exposition of new products also covers wakeboarding, skateboarding and all kinds of "surf" clothing and lifestyle products. Obviously, we were there for the latest and greatest in wake gear.

We went out a few days early to do some photo shoots and work on some content for WakeWorld. We were stoked to get out on the boat with the likes of Andrew Adkison, Trevor Hansen, Scott Stewart, Nick Jones and Danny Thollander. We also did some shooting with Amber Wing, Nicola Butler, Hayley Smith and Anna Hajek. who landed a backside 5. Look for pics of all of the above to appear here on WakeWorld over the next few months.

Leading up to Expo, there are always plenty of riders working on moves for the annual Transworld Wake Awards. This year was no exception and we were honored to be invited out to Rusty Malinoski's house to watch Parks Bonifay, Steel Lafferty, Randall Harris and Rusty Malinoski work on possible "Tricks of the Year." I think it's safe to say that I've never been on a dock with that much wake talent and wake legend on it before. In fact, I'm not sure I ever will again.

Right after we arrived, Steel Lafferty blew minds for the second time in as many days by landing a toeside backside 900. Apparently Steel had just landed a backside 1080 the day before, so he had a couple of moves in the running. Rusty was working on a 1260 and Parks was working on a double back mobe. Neither of them made it, but they both came awfully close. Unfortunately, we had to leave for another photo shoot before we got a chance to watch Randall ride.

Between the early photo shoot wake-ups and the late night parties, we were pretty beat by the time the weekend, and Surf Expo, rolled around. However, we're professionals, so we put our game faces on and headed to the Orlando Convention Center to snap pics of all the 2011 goodies that will soon be hitting your local or online shop. Enjoy...

.