The Arizona wake scene has always been made up of a conglomeration of eclectic riders. Wakeboarders like Jimmy Wolf and Larry Taylor have garnered attention over the years with appearances at parking lot rail jams, Arizona Wakeboard Association events and more and they can even be traced back to the Phoenix Pro Am tournaments at Firebird Lake for those of you that are old enough to remember back that far. However, Arizona is still one of the few places where you hear more about their main college team, national champion ASU Wake Devils, than their pros.

Although Trever Marquette grew up in Southern California (in my hometown of all places), he's become entrenched in the Arizona scene and may very well be one of its main representatives as of late. Working construction by day, Trever refuses to give up on the sport he loves and manages to squeeze in time behind the boat and burns many hours searching out and winching spots throughout the Phoenix area and beyond.

We recently spent a couple of days joining Trever for both. Despite ironically windy conditions on Lake Pleasant and running out of gas not once, but twice, while looking for winch locations, we learned a lot about the Arizona scene and the subject of this interview.

WW: How old are you and where are you from?
TM: I'm 25 from Thousand Oaks, California.
 
WW: Where did you ride growing up?
TM: I'd ride Piru or the Delta before I moved to Phoenix.
 
WW: When we caught up with you this spring, you were in Phoenix. It seems like the Arizona wake scene has been quiet lately. What’s up with that?
TM: Haha, yeah we get quiet sometimes, but we’re about to start making some noise (haha).
 
WW: Who do you usually ride with?
TM: Nowadays, whoever is down (haha), but Larry Taylor, Bob Gort, Brandon Hesterman, Kevin Green lately. Getting’ older, the crew is diminishing (haha).

WW: Where did the nickname Pootz come from?
TM: Pootz originated from Poodle. When I was younger, one of my riding homies, Scott Nauhalfen, looked at me and called me a poodle. Then he told the announcers at a comp and the rest is history. 

WW: I saw a lot of big checks on your garage wall. Are they still doing parking lot rail jams around Phoenix?
TM: Yeah, we normally do a couple a year. Ski Pro always hosts a good comp.
 
WW: So where are you living these days?
TM: I'm still in Phoenix.
 
WW: What are you doing out there?
TM: Melting (haha). Naa, just trying to build rails and winch as many spots as possible.
 
WW: How much riding have you been getting in lately?
TM: Well, I got into a fight with a table saw and it showed me who was tougher real quick! So for the past six weeks none, but I get the rods out of my finger tomorrow hopefully, so I'll be back at it harder than ever once I can get on a board.

WW: What were you doing in Lake Powell earlier this year? Was that experience cut short by your tangle with a saw (no pun intended)?
TM: Powell was rad! Too much fun. Shout to the Page crew (haha). No, my saw incident happened in Phoenix. The doc told me I wouldn't be doing anything with my hand for at least four months. I started riding after seven weeks. Still weak, but functional now. For the most part, they were actually able to save the fingers. 

WW: I saw you working the Wakeology booth at the Utah Boat Show. Tell me about your new pro model.
TM: Aww man, it's rad! First off, it’s a Wakeology board, but this year we stepped up our game! We wanted to offer a board that not only rode great behind the boat, but also could take the abuse and have a good flex, so we came up with a great basic flat bottom with continuous rocker, but has a perfect flex pattern, grind base, ABS sidewalls. This board can take the abuse and also offers an extra wide stance for the big dogs out there!
 
WW: What is the main thing you look for in a wakeboard?
TM: I like a board that does what it's told and doesn't break (haha).
 
WW: If someone wants to check out your board, what’s the easiest way for them to do that?
TM: Go check out Wakeology.com and check out the Pootz board!
 
WW: What are your future plans for your wakeboarding career?
TM: I just want to film and start putting out mad edits, keep riding contests, try to stay healthy and stay relevant long enough to grow up and hopefully get an industry job one day (haha)!
 
WW: What would you like to accomplish on a wakeboard that you haven’t yet accomplished?
TM: Wrap tail grab front mobe (haha). For real though, there is a winch spot that only has water when it's flooded. Super sketch in every way and way big, but doable. I'm trying to check that one off the bucket list this monsoon season (haha).
 
WW: Do you ever ride cable?
TM: When I can. We don’t have cable parks in Phoenix, so I have to travel quite a ways for a legit cable system.
 
WW: Tell me what you think the future of wakeboarding looks like.
TM: I see cable/winch taking over. I love boat, but not everyone can afford a boat, let alone the gas to use it.
 
WW: Is there anyone you’d like to thank?
TM: Yeah, Wakeology Wakeboards, Weekend Warrior Winches, Titled Apparel, Mom and Pops, Larry Taylor, Brandon Hesterman, Bob Gort, Piru Crew, AZ Riders, WSR and Ed and Jackie Young! I'm sure I left a lot of people out. Thank you all! And, of course, WakeWorld.