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Old     (h2oslider)      Join Date: Sep 2016       12-20-2018, 2:21 PM Reply   
Is it in decline? Is it still going strong? I focused a bit on that in this Vlog as here on Lake Austin there are rarely any boats full of wakeboarders riding all day anymore. Hope you guys enjoy!


Old     (scottb7)      Join Date: Oct 2012       12-25-2018, 6:55 AM Reply   
Nice video. Good length, good riding, good background music.

Other then my crew of intermediate riders my little lake has some beginner wake boarders pretty consistently. While skiing used to be big, mostly people use the lake for fishing, tubing, and jet skis these days. Anyone that wakeboards consistently knows that progressing is tough and you gotta have a little bit of extreme sport blood in you. If you don't the first time you catch an edge is the end of your desire to go out.

Unfortunately for those trying to share the water surfing can get a full boat of people out to hang out. The low speed and lower noise allows for easier conversations for those in the boat.

As far as decent water all we really have is beginning and end of season before the water warms up. I am pretty fearful that the new surf-able pontoons might show up on my lake.
Old     (durty_curt)      Join Date: Apr 2008       12-25-2018, 2:49 PM Reply   
Wakeboarding is still the small click in az that I still enjoying watching and doing. It's not sad seeing the rapid increase in wake surfing, but how bad wakesurfing ruins the water for everyone in the area wanting to take a set :'(
Old     (gnarslayer)      Join Date: Sep 2008       12-26-2018, 12:14 AM Reply   
you wont hardly catch me on lake austin anymore lol.... wakesurf capital of the world....
Old     (andy_nintzel)      Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Minnesnowda       12-26-2018, 6:08 AM Reply   
Some times I feel like the last pirates left on our lake. Wakeboarding is basically history on the lake I live on, all wakesurfing all the time.
Old     (stevo8290)      Join Date: Sep 2008       12-26-2018, 6:27 AM Reply   
The only boats i see wakeboarding in the red river are mine or my friends boats. I pretty much blast a group text every time i ride to the entire wakeboard scene in shreveport LA. All 5 of us.
Old     (hal2814)      Join Date: Feb 2006       12-26-2018, 8:23 AM Reply   
I’ve been wakeboarding since 1998. I don’t ever recall a time there were a lot of boats wakeboarding on the lake. I recall a time where a lot of wakeboats with their sick (at the time) tribal graphics were loaded to the gills with wakeboards and people. They mostly didn’t wakeboard though. They just kind of hung out. Is wakebording on the decline? If by “decline” you mean the people who hang out in coves or on islands have surf boards strapped to their boats instead of wakeboards, then yes. Wakeboarding is in very serious decline. But going by the actual number of people wakeboarding the sport looks the same as it did in the early 2000s. There are still 2 or 3 boats at most out there killing it and everyone else just kind of watching.
Old     (scottb7)      Join Date: Oct 2012       12-26-2018, 8:51 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by andy_nintzel View Post
Some times I feel like the last pirates left on our lake. Wakeboarding is basically history on the lake I live on, all wakesurfing all the time.
Aren't you the suck gate company owner? What % of time you wakeboard and what % of time are you surfing?
Old     (downfortheride)      Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: SLC, UT 5600'       12-26-2018, 10:45 AM Reply   
I still see some brave soles out dealing with the wake surf rollers. Wakesurfing is so huge it's not funny. Every manufacturer advertises to surfing in one way or another. I came from strictly wakeboarding to learning the in's and out's of wakesurfing. I help market boats and everybody wants it to surf. I did have a family that would only buy a boat that skis, wakes, and surfs. Ended up selling them a 2016 Moomba Craz after the first demo.
This is what towers used to look like at the local lakes...
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Old     (downfortheride)      Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: SLC, UT 5600'       12-26-2018, 10:48 AM Reply   
This is what they look like now...
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Old     (gnarslayer)      Join Date: Sep 2008       12-26-2018, 5:37 PM Reply   
good news is that you wont really find any wakesurfers at the cable
Old     (scottb7)      Join Date: Oct 2012       12-26-2018, 6:46 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by gnarslayer View Post
good news is that you wont really find any wakesurfers at the cable
ha ha. so true. wish i had a cable park near me...
Old     (lfadam)      Join Date: Nov 2008       12-27-2018, 6:12 AM Reply   
Man I was just feeling super nostalgic today about "the good old days" of wakeboarding and came to WW for the first time in too long. I have been living away from "my lake" for 5 years now, but when I go home to visit, it's definitely a different world. Lots of wakesurfers and a few beginner wakeboarders. The good wakeboarders are all getting old and are rarely out anymore...busy with other priorities in their life...and nobody seems to be progressing anymore. It definitely feels like a dying breed and a lifestyle that has come and gone.

Man what I would give to have the 2003-2005 wakeboard scene back. Wakeboarding was this new, exciting thing that anyone could do. Crappy boat? Throw a few fat sacs in it and see what happens. You could become "good" even with an old ski boat and a beat setup. People rode with style, but it wasn't about strapping a traffic cone to a forklift and handplanting off of it. Local contests were THE place to be on a weekend in the summer...and everyone was constantly progressing and talking about riding at the local shops. It was so raw and so fun.

Maybe that's just me getting old...I don't know what's stopping us all from buying a 90s or early 2000s boat and starting a local scene up again. Even if we're never going to be Harley Clifford or have a wake big enough for doubles, an old boat still has plenty of wake for progression for your average rider. It just seems like the lake culture has changed.
Old     (tripsw)      Join Date: May 2006       12-27-2018, 2:00 PM Reply   
Amen.

That's just what I did; start a wakeboard school with an '85 Nautique 2001, now a '97 Super Sport Nautique. Happy to say that I/we/my clients still manage to wakeboard 90% of the time. 9% wakesurfing, 1% skiing. Everybody who tries wakeboarding absolutely loves it. So cool if people think they won't be able to do it, or do a trick, and then they can... Awesome! People landing their first invert.. Priceless!
Hoping we can avoid the surf-epidemic here for another while.
Old     (bandit628)      Join Date: Feb 2016       12-27-2018, 2:18 PM Reply   
I just got into wakeboarding in 2014. I love it. Landed my first 2 inverts last season. I'm about the only wakeboard boat that primarily boards. They're are 4 or 5 others but they mostly surf.

I can surf. We do surf. But most of the time it's after the water is too rough from tubers to do anything else.

Just my opinion...I think surfing is sooo boring. I hate driving for it, even with nss. Takes so long to turn around. ...now there are some great wakesurfers out there, but I don't have any in my crew. They would probably be fun to watch.

To me no risk no reward. If I'm not boarding I'd rather try to get better at slalom, which I'm a very beginner level at. Or attempting to learn how to barefoot.


....that being said I hate how lakes are starting to ban surfing and ballast. It still takes more skill than tubing, and your on the water. Instead of just banning it all together, they're has to be some middle ground.
Old     (bcrider)      Join Date: Apr 2006       12-27-2018, 3:26 PM Reply   
Pretty dead on my lake nowadays with most turning to surfing myself included. I've been wakeboarding since the early 90's when it first came on scene with my families outboard. Loved it then and love it now. It's my 39 year old body that's been wakeboarding and snowboarding for all these years that no longer likes it. I now know what it's like to live with daily back pain.

I was the most hardcore out of my friends with wakeboarding. They all liked it but never really progressed beyond wake jumps, 180's, 360's, possibly trying an invert. They all got tired of getting broke off as well. I've seen all the crashes and performed a fair amount myself including a concussion.

Surfing is easy yes. As we all know that's what makes it appealing hence why it's so popular. That being said I'm one of those that is always trying to progress so surfing is still exciting for me as I'm always working on my airs, 360's, and other tricks. If it wasn't for still wanting to get out behind the boat and surf or my boys I would've sold my tourney boat long ago as I'd be better off with a river boat where I live.

I'll still be teaching my boys how to wakeboard though. That feeling of flying through the air is a hell of a drug!.lol.
Old     (paulharenberg)      Join Date: Jul 2007       12-28-2018, 9:04 AM Reply   
I would say wakeboarding is in a decline on my lakes/rivers.

I'd claim three areas as my local spot, at least places I've frequented for more than 14 years, so i have a decent sample size. At all three spots I'd say the period of 2003-2005 was indeed the most popular. I don't know if it was the X Games in Philadelphia which helped the local market or what, but the boats were loaded with wakeboards at that point. It's been a steady decline since then. Wakeboard Boat dealers have went under. The board shop closed up. On the bigger lake I go to, surfing has taken over. Luckily my closest spot for wakeboarding is pretty secluded and not well suited for surfing, so surfing has not taken over there.

I don't see wakeboarding coming back to where it was with the decline of the contest/exposure. I remember taping contests off ESPN with my VCR. I started riding in 1995 on a Wake Tech BFA directional board.... Oh the good ol days.
Old     (GoBeavs85)      Join Date: Jul 2015       12-29-2018, 8:44 PM Reply   
We actually see more slalom skiers than wakeboarders now. Just an open water river scene where I’m at and if someone is longlining behind the boat not in a tube they either are skiing or kneeboarding. Wake boarding seems gone here. Say what you will about surfing but it has cut the number tubers down significantly. At least where I’m at it’s easier to share the river with surfers than tubers.
Old     (mattp)      Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: Las Cruces, NM       12-30-2018, 8:39 AM Reply   
My family and a friends family are about the only ones we see wakeboarding regularly out here on our main lake. None of us are what I would consider "good", we just do it for fun in between surf sessions to switch things up a bit. There was only one guy this past summer I saw a few times out here who was doing airs, spins, flips, etc. other than that surfing, tubing and even more foiling is what we see here.
Old     (granddaddy53)      Join Date: Dec 2013       12-31-2018, 8:16 AM Reply   
Long wakeboard story, sorry but it’s on topic at end

Behind my outboard slalom and barefoot , trick or j skis since ‘81, and wakeboard at 42 years old in 2002 behind the outboard it till April ‘14 for our ordered Axis, learned to snowboard at 2004 Jackson hole after snow skiing since 2000. The Axis was “so I could have a decent wake and a swim platform to put on bindings”. Careful what you ask for! I was actually a little intimidated on my toe side air. Bought the surf boat and started surfing more than I skated or rode. Kept riding though it was obvious I was having some toe side issues not getting across but I was going for it and having a blast .

Butterfly shatter my femur on a flo rider 2015 July 1 st. Went to Park City in August on crutches to watch wife at surfest, I sense her losing her fun hooked to a work trip out west

Was allowed to surf 9 months after break no plyo as rehab waiting fir butterfly portion to re-attach .

November 2016 released to ride. First ride out, tendinitis in a knee reconstructed in ‘85 same leg broken, from repeated tug boat and barge small wakes I crossed in industrial canal, used as excuse that I’d rather surf, truth was I was shocked on a G23 wake on a one wake air for the size of my hop ( bigger than I had ever done w2w ) and was intimidated landing on the sore knee from so high

Next spring ‘17 kept skating more than riding and was using excuse to surf instead . Wife on other hand started riding more and progressing and she’s 2 years older than I Am ( she blew out retina in first month of riding 2010 and stayed on skate till 2016 started riding again . Fall 2017 I’m finally doing one wake hops embarrassed by my wife that finally started doing same

Spring 2018 same excuses but I had told her in December and that I wanted to overcome my fears and go w2w. . So my wife at 59 starts riding first after my skating runs/excuses ! Starts really edging in and doing bigger one wake hops. Climbs in boat and sais “ your turn”.

So I started slow with one wake hop 180’s With stock and wedge then finally w2w, started really filling it up with the sacs and 700 lbs of lead. Had some really good falls like I did on my first snowboard trip back in 2017 spring , came up with smiles on my face just like the mountain. Actually needed a prop upgrade cause couldn’t get full sacs up , just installed last week

Wakeboardibg tests your will and when you didn’t learn young, it’s a real mental struggle to push it, glad my wife made me do it and countered all of my daily excuses why I wasn’t already back there instead of wiping down this or that , procrastinating like Ed Norton addressing a golf ball (I guess to old if a reference , but my wife was like Jackie Gleason trying to get me to do more than address the golf ball.

Real story my wife at 59 is a real rider and I even got her to take a comp run with the talented little groms in amateur women’s , podium 3rd of 3, . She slalomed since ‘79, didn’t take to barefoot on boom , but definetly my riding hero! I’m actually scared she might go w2w not sure she’s ready for her first real slam since the retina on that front edge catch. I got a black eye the same day she blew our retina

Last edited by granddaddy53; 12-31-2018 at 8:22 AM.
Old     (granddaddy53)      Join Date: Dec 2013       12-31-2018, 8:29 AM Reply   
What are the 20 and 30 somethings doing , surfing almost exclusively , met one group recently that does one quick ride and done on their busy river , but the group only had one surfboat and they mostly cove and drink

Crying shame and these youngsters are often great body athletic looking girls and guys and they never ride, it’s the family types with kids who are trying to set more of an example to their kids , so they long line some

The ones with surfboats just surf and cove and only some /few of their teens ride

Last edited by granddaddy53; 12-31-2018 at 8:35 AM.
Old     (fly135)      Join Date: Jun 2004       12-31-2018, 9:27 AM Reply   
I've taken two hard falls that sent me to the eye doctor to have my retina checked. Fortunately not torn either time. Wake surf is the main thing going on in my lake. I pretty much just ride the cable now and take advantage of the $35 discount pulls on the G23 on Weds afternoons. Hope you get that TS W2W down. And congrats on having a wife that goes for it!
Old     (thejean)      Join Date: Aug 2018       12-31-2018, 3:26 PM Reply   
Very little wakeboarding on my lake. A bit but not much. I just started myself last year after surfing for two seasons and I am hooked. It’s sooo much more fun than surfing. BUT, I’m 43 now and don’t suspect I’ll get too far before I take an injury. I’m just hoping it’s an easy recovery when it eventually happens. In the meantime, I bought a new Murray board and plan to go hard next summer. My daughter also likes it. I’ll still surf, but when the water is good, I’ll be wakeboarding for sure.
Old     (skiboarder)      Join Date: Oct 2006       01-02-2019, 8:35 AM Reply   
I'm 38 and I am the type of guy that will always wakeboard. I've been doing it for 25+ years so my riding has already gone through several evolutions, but life and injury hasn't kept me from wakeboarding. I see myself as an old man strapping-in long after I can no longer flip, spin or even get my board off the water at all. I'm a lifer. Wakesurfing is fun, but it doesn't suit my personality as well as wakeboarding does.

I really don't mind that wakeboarding is shedding some of its mass appeal. I'm nostalgic for the old days when wakeboarding still had a sharp edge. The sport gave up a lot to make it to the big-time. I see it as an opportunity to re-find its soul.

That said, wakeboarding is not on the decline it is just mature. There are a lot of reasons that wakeboarding is the best its ever been.
-Most major cities have a cable park
-Wakes are bigger than ever (boat speeds and line lengths have gone down)
-There is more video content posted online on an average Tuesday than there would be all year in the 90s.
-The sport is now truly international (Go look at the top 10 rankings)
Old     (rdlangston13)      Join Date: Feb 2011       01-02-2019, 11:45 AM Reply   
Wakeboarding still happens around Houston but the surf scene is also very strong, usually among people who are getting older who came up wakeboarding. I much rather wakeboard than surf personally, (even though im not any good). On my home lake its like 90% pontoon boats so wakeboarding never was too popular. I will say that I have gotten so spoiled with wakeboarding on a river that I very rarely do it on the open lake anymore. The conditions have to be near perfect , thus why we surf a lot. Open lake get rough and we dont always have the time to make it to the river. As my son gets older I am going to try to get him on the wakeboard as much as possible.
Old     (scotthons)      Join Date: Mar 2010       01-02-2019, 1:50 PM Reply   
Most days I don't see anyone other than myself and family wakeboarding. Most people on our lake either surf or tube. To each their own and I don't get upset at people surfing or tubing or doing whatever as long as they are respectful. I personally do not own a surf board and do not have any desire to get one anytime soon. I tried it once and it just wasn't for me.
Old     (eubanks01)      Join Date: Jun 2001       01-03-2019, 10:07 AM Reply   
Absolutely it's on the decline.

I've been wakeboarding in DFW for the past 25 years. There used to be boats all over the place with nothing but wakeboarders, groups of local riders taking trips together, and a strong contest scene. Most all of that is gone now. We are often the only people on our lakes wakeboarding anymore. Everybody is surfing. We've had tons of cable parks pop up but it's mostly just kids from the local schools using it as an after school activity. You don't see many people over the age of 16. We've also had long standing board shops go out of business, and our boat deal which is one of the best in country, hardly ever stocks much wakeboard gear. It bums me out what has happen to the sport.

But for me, just off of torn pec surgery, I will be back at there at 75 foot hucking it around in the spring!
Old     (gene3x)      Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Dallas , TX       01-07-2019, 4:10 AM Reply   
Hell yeah Jarret! We need to ride brother! I wanna see that new boat! There seems to be rarely anyone riding on Hubbard. When I do see someone actually wakeboarding I usually go introduce myself!
Old     (sppeders)      Join Date: Jul 2011       01-07-2019, 1:31 PM Reply   
Pretty much non-existent on the lakes i frequent. All/Most my riding buddies just ski now. cheap $5k-15K boats, dump it in, no ballast, get a great workout... and done.
Old     (tripsw)      Join Date: May 2006       01-08-2019, 4:07 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by sppeders View Post
Pretty much non-existent on the lakes i frequent. All/Most my riding buddies just ski now. cheap $5k-15K boats, dump it in, no ballast, get a great workout... and done.
You can get great wake-boats for that money, will want to fill some ballast though. Just somehow people seem to THINK you need to spend $150K on a boat...
Old     (razorjaw)      Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Australia       01-08-2019, 9:03 PM Reply   
We started 2003, not many of the old crew out still due to family, work etc. We've taught hundreds how to board over the years but very few went on to get their own setup despite loving it. Local cable park closed down last year (hoping new owners will take it over - tempted to do it myself!), harder and harder to get a crew together...

BUT

Our kids are riding now, and getting better as they age, I've got a couple of newer riders, one learning backrolls atm and we've come in contact with a few other families who have gear and now travel to our place to ride. Either someone will take over the cable park or I'll eventually build my own.

It really depends on how you look at it. There's definitely fewer who eat, live and breathe it, but I think that's across most sports now. Board & Boat prices are ridiculous now, but they're still selling them, so it can't be too bad...
Old     (bandit628)      Join Date: Feb 2016       01-09-2019, 7:19 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by tripsw View Post
You can get great wake-boats for that money, will want to fill some ballast though. Just somehow people seem to THINK you need to spend $150K on a boat...
For 5 to 15 really? Even at 15 your hard pressed to find a good kept direct drive that you can ballast up for a good wake.

Now 20 to 30, yes you can find a great wake boat. It doesn't cost 150k to get all the wake most people can use.
Old     (tripsw)      Join Date: May 2006       01-10-2019, 4:45 PM Reply   
You can find a decent Nautique 2001 (model, not year) for around 5K. I've seen Super Sport Nautiques in good condition for 12K. I've got one, a '97, for less than 15K.
Both are phenomenal wakeboats, period.
Old     (TimesNewRoman)      Join Date: Feb 2018       01-12-2019, 1:29 PM Reply   
I see a mix of wakeboard boats, some wakersporting, others not. The last bunch of wakeboarders i saw had average skill, mediocre style. But they please the local recreational booze cruisers. They always yell at the wakeboarders and request them to "do a flip" or "superman". So, the wakeboarders oblige and throw massive ungrabbed layback tantrum all the way to the trough. Locals love it and the chicks dig it. Not enough boats to go around honestly. Its a surplus of women who are willing and ready to drink beer on any wakeboarder boat. bonus points if they have 2 inverts.
Old     (ryan_shima1)      Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Layton, Utah       01-13-2019, 8:29 PM Reply   
Definitely not as popular as it use to be, but still going strong enough that if you want good water during peak summer months, you better get out on the water EARLY. Saw more slalom skiers on the water than in years past & have heard that both wakeboarding & slalom had growth this past year.
Old     (Kwclark)      Join Date: Oct 2013       01-18-2019, 9:33 PM Reply   
still see plenty of boats wakeboarding on my home river. I did notice my local dealer still has over 6 unsold new 2017 and many 2018 models on his lot still and the boat show was not that busy either. With cheep gas I’m looking forward to this summer
Old     (fizzz)      Join Date: Nov 2010       01-21-2019, 6:06 PM Reply   
in the atlanta area its still a good scene, maybe not the best its ever been but definately no shortage of riders or boats to ride behind. the georgia wake series pulls 45-65 riders at the events usually. surfing has taken over for tubing and a large portion of "wakeboarders" that got tired of getting broken off but my crew is pretty solid on only wakeboarding. usually after the 2nd or 3rd person surfs half the people in the boat look like they're ready to die from boredom so we switch back over to wakeboarding pretty quick lol
Old     (dvsone79)      Join Date: Dec 2012       01-27-2019, 5:26 PM Reply   
I’m a snowboarder turned wakeboarder. Still love snowboarding but living in the south with two kids, I can only afford 1 snow trip per year so wakeboarding it is. I’m not even good at it, but nothing else comes close to that feeling of carving through smooth water at high speeds. And getting a little air off the wake. Surfing is ok, but just isn’t the same. We surf when the water is rough, but otherwise wakeboarding takes precedence. The key now is to get the kiddos hooked on it. So far both nephews love to wakeboard, and as my two boys (4 and 6 years old) get older I think they’ll get into it, too.

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