Do the pros still live off of wakeboarding?
 

I havent followed PWT in years, but I saw a "day in the life" short of Harley Clifford this week and it got me thinking about wakeboarding as a career path in the past and present. Can the guys live well off of riding anymore since the decline in popularity? Did they ever live well even during the 2000's? I always figured since the pros shared houses that wakeboarding was more for the life experiences while you're young and able, but seeing Harley's crib and considering he's not at the top of the game anymore got me thinking about how well these guys were able to do financially then and now.

I think it varies wildly. The top guys on tour probably do pretty well still with boat sponsorships etc.

I remember when Twelker joined Hyerlite he mentioned he was also driving for Uber.

Harley has been in the game for a long time so no suprise there.

I think some do well, a lot just get by. Seeing all these youtubers and influencers making good money, I think thats where the money is. Get eyes on you, and the revenue will follow. The problem has been that there aren't enough eyes on our niche water activity, hopefully cable/winching/small wake riding is changing that.

Stevo is 100% correct. I was talking to a 2 time, early on x-games champion who stated that he should have made the move into video promotion. Some caught the wave and some missed the boat.

On another line, I used to enjoy paging though wakeboarding magazines but I canceled years ago as the entire magazine was about creating an image, maintaining you status as a legend and then selling products. The magazines seemed to try and support the product endorsers legendary status so they could sell ad space.

I check in every now and then on boats, equipment and whats new but mostly now I just ride...a wakeboard, kneeboard, ski or barefoot. I just cannot seem to find the same level of love for surfing which seems to drive the industry.