What inspires you more?

[runningeagle]

Pertaining to professional wakeboarders and the impact they have on the sport. Are you more influenced by a rider that is focused on competing and consistently wins or podiums at contest? Or are you more influenced by a freerider who puts together inspiring video parts and pictures in magazines?

[bchesley]

The greatest free rider of all time and my favorite boat of all time..............

[Erik]

I voted freeriders.

That photo of Randy Harris with his black & pink slammed 210 is epic. I forgot about that - he prefers his boats pink and when you're Mr Harris - you can pull it off.

But more to the point about freeriders - I love seeing stuff that I can't figure out. A roll to blind that involves some grab or position that defies everything I know about physics and gravity. Things like that video which made the rounds recently where someone pulled off a roll to rewind 3. I swear that sort of thing makes me want to don a drysuit today and get out there.

I respect contest riders God bless them - any sport like ours has to have them - but 3 different variants of w2w 9's and mobe, mobe, mobe, cookie-cutter rail action etc just plain doesn't have the same effect as some of the bizzare, un-nameable stuff that freeriders tend to do. And maximum respect to the folks that can do double duty. Shaun Murray - I'm looking at you big guy.

[BKinSoCal]

I much prefer free riding. I watch Pull & the FirstHands that have to do with wakeboarding in FuelTV, but I never watch any of the King of Wake stuff. Contest riding just doesn't interest me.

[sperbet]

contest riding is pretty blah IMO. Randall is the man. Too bad he rides for Malibu now. The Vandall and the original 210 were synonymous for about 10 years...

[MyWakeIsBigger]

I like to watch contest riding becuase mostly all freeriders ride contest and they bring there latest tricks to throw down.

[gride300]

free riding rules. that's where the real stuff comes out. 10's, 1260's, w2w back bigs, huge tail grab blind 1's, backside pete's, crow 7's, etc etc. i still like watching contests, but it gets old seeing the same run in each heat

[Gasman87]

FREE

i respect contest riders , but i love to watch freeriders !!!! i have been fortunate to have been in a nautique with some of the best !! its pretty cool to watch shaun murray rip a 9 , but to me it is more impressive to see him do the basic stuff that the mortal man can do with that kind of style ( 180 w/grab )!!!!!

[gride300]

RE: FREE

i've had the pleasure to watch people like JD, ross gardner, jeff house, jimmy trask, bryan hutton, adam wensinck, and a handful of others many a time and it's awesome to see them just go out and flow back and forth doing whatever comes to mind.

[wakeboard1]

RE: FREE

Who has that boat now? I remember that from back in the day in WBM.

[INVNO1]

RE: FREE

+1 for freeriders. Contest riders certainly have skills , I'd just rather watch someone throw big ,grabbed, backside 180's into the flats all day.

[gride300]

RE: FREE

look at randall w/o ink

[Erik]

Gride300, the necklace is ink. He also had a tattoo of the state of California early on - i think it was one of his first. But he doesn't have a lot when this photo was taken. Old timers - remember Byerly's Native American-inspired totem pole design sort of thing from 1997 or so on the lower part of his upper arm? That's still one of the coolest tattoos I've ever seen, and if I didn't so wholeheartedly believe in having unique tattoos, I'd copy it straight up. Its surprising to me that that style of tattoo never caught on in a big way. Byerly still has it, it's kind of buried, and that's a shame because it is awesome.

[runningeagle]

So far, in several conversations i've had about this topic the response is always the same. While people seem to recall every detail about a riders video sections, photos in magazines, and their various coverage in online media, most couldn't tell you who finished in the top three on the PWT.

Given this information, why do you think a lot of companies (especially boat companies in the big three) seem to strongly support their contest based riders and make freeriders a second thought or support them less? Examples being, rumored salaries, use in ads...etc.

[bchesley]

I think that the comps bring new people in to watch the sport and that is why its a big focus for sponsors. You have to go where the money is and a big grandstand event makes money. As much as I hate to admit it we would not have either with out both playing off each other.