Cooper Scarborough | The Walk Back
Tune in as Cooper Scarborough breaks down some of his favorite clips he’s gotten over the years, including a few from his most recent part “Woke Up Dreaming”.
Episode 72: Rodrigo Donoso
Are you ready to hear some of the best stories from the wakeboard and rodeo industry from one of the best story tellers? Rodrigo Donoso has been around wakeboarding since its inception, getting his roots from the iconic west coast style of riding. We run through Rod's relationship with Corey Kraut, and how he influenced Rod's outlook on life. Getting into photography, shooting covers, The Delta, whistling, modern content, what makes someone a champion, Rockstar girls, camera gear, and the west coast influence in wakeboarding.
Episode 71: Tad Mathews
Regarded by many as the “Thrasher” of wakeskating, Tad Mathews has done more for the sport than most realize. We sit down with Tad and guest co-host Jake Ramsdell and go over just how deep Tad’s involvement in wakeskating runs. Meeting Kyle Walton, filming, video premieres, winning VOTY, moving to Orlando, Rip City, More Than Machines, Van Life, Remote, Watermonsters, The Wakeskate Mag, ROTY, WeSubsist, pranks and a plethora of great guest questions, hear all that and much more in Episode 71 of the Grab Matters Podcast! Now streaming wherever you find your podcasts.
Episode 70: Simon Pettai
Simon Pettai just might be every wakeboarders favorite wakeboarder. Hailing from Estonia, Simon has been influenced by some of the best snowboarders in the game, and it shows in his riding. Creativity mixed with a not too serious attitude makes for a truly inspiring rider. We sit down with Simon and talk about how he grew up riding in Estonia, video parts, his first trip to America to ride and work at VWC, Team Perfect Landing, claiming tricks, corrugated pipes, world records, and sleeping in subzero temperatures in a board bag. Hear all this and more in Episode 70 of the Grab Matters Podcast with Simon Pettai!
Shop Talk Ep. 7 | Gavin Giglio, John Dreiling, Gavin Stuckey
In the 7th installment of Shop Talk the boys start off by doing the Mount Rushmore of "Rewatchable Wakeboard Parts". After that, we dive into what makes a part good, wake "influencers", IG clips vs. edits, Noah off Hyperlite, bluntslides, Wake The City, Double or Nothing, WWA vs. IWWF, Brostock '25, and judging contests. Hear all this and much more in Episode 7 of Shop Talk!
Episode 69: Gavin Stuckey
Gavin Stuckey is easily one of the biggest names in cable wakeboarding right now, meaning one of the Stuckey brothers is an odds on favorite to win just about every contest they enter. However, Gavin has separated himself from his brother Trent in both his riding style as well as the videos he puts out. After having an incredible 2023 season, the rumors started swirling whether or not Gavin would leave the brand he has been with his entire career, Ronix. After some back and forth, Gavin ended up moving over to Liquid Force, and we dive into the “why” behind that decision. We’re also talking Gavin’s early influences, Points Chase, the Stuckey custom Unit feature, Status, Grounded, his relationship with his brother, competitive mindset, and how the Stuckey’s afford to travel throughout the year. Hear all that and much more in Episode 69 of the Grab Matters Podcast!
Episode 68: Parks Bonifay
It would be hard to argue that anyone single person has done more for the sport of wakeboarding, both on the water and off, than Parks Bonifay. You can tell he lives, eats, and breathes this lifestyle, and it shows. Parks was the youngest person to ever waterski, invented several tricks, filmed tons of video parts, won even more contests, and has pushed the boundaries of what is possible on a wakeboard. While a lot of riders might step away from the scene as they end their riding career, Parks has embraced the sport, continuing to keep up with the evolution of wakeboarding. You can feel the passion in his voice when he speaks about riding, Parks is truly a gem in the watersports industry. Ski baby, ugly board graphics, Byerly, knee injuries, getting banned from the masters, MTV cribs, Jackass, video parts, barefooting behind an F1 car, Ronix, Wakelab, and the future of the sport. Hear all that and much more in Episode 68 of the Grab Matters Podcast!
Episode 67: T.J. Giesey
Back to back weeks with wakeskaters on the pod? You're damn right. T.J. has been around the wakeskate scene for what feels like forever. Getting started wakeboarding behind a small Boston Whaler, T.J. quickly shifted to wakeskating once he realized he and his friends would need a much bigger boat if they wanted continue to progress on their wakeboards. From there T.J. made the move from Miami up to Orlando to continue to entrench himself in wakeskating. Riding with the likes of Andrew Pastura and Nick Taylor T.J. has had some impressive wakeskating in his own right, including a killer section in Human Rocket. Wakeskating.com, Sfumato, blunts on a wakeboard, winch etiquette, owning spots, The Wakeskate Tour, Suwannee, and kickflipping wakeboards. Hear all that and much more in Episode 67 of the Grab Matters Podcast!
Episode 66: Brandon Thomas
Before Brandon Thomas was ever a sponsored rider he broke his femur while riding at OWC, where he was taken to the hospital where both his parents happened to be that same day. Shortly after arriving he was told that he would likely never be able to wakeskate again, that obviously did not turn out to be the case. BT has racked up some impressive wins, like at The Masters and Byerly’s Toe Jam, to name a couple. We’re talking with BT about hanging out with Dale Earnhardt, boat riding vs winching, riding for some of the industries biggest brands, ghost riding a jetski, winching in Las Vegas, Rockwilder, some Scott Byerly stories, and how he helped mentor Daniel Grant. Hear all that and much more in Episode 66 of the Grab Matters Podcast!
Episode 65: Brooks Wilson
Brooks Wilson was the brand manager of one of the biggest waterski brands in the industry, Radar. We sit down and talk with Brooks about his recent decision to leave that position and venture out on his own to start a business here in Florida. Before Brooks worked for Radar, he was a professional waterskier and has had a tremendous impact on waterskiing, and watersports as a whole. From basically learning to ski with legend Wade Cox to coaching at The Boarding School alongside industry icon Travis Moye, among others. Winching on a waterski, Wilson Bros, contests vs freeskiing, the best selling waterski, being a brand manager, Radar Lake, and skiing in a frozen lake. Hear all that and much more in Episode 65 of the Grab Matters Podcast!
Episode 64: Keith Lidberg
Keith grew up in Minnesota, getting on the water during the short Midwest American summers when he could. But after a move down to Florida in his late teens for college, Keith found the cable and quickly became even more hooked on wakeboarding than he already was. Spending time at the projects, Keith honed both his rail riding and his boat riding, and almost beating Parks Bonifay in one of the biggest rail events of the time, The Carnival. A $3,000 phone bill, skinny stances, partying, the projects, riding for 4 board brands, CTRL, video parts, and the future of boat and cable riding. Hear all that and much more in Episode 64 of the Grab Matters Podcast.
Episode 63: Darin Shapiro
Who has won the most wakeboard contests? Who has invented the most tricks? Who has signed one of the largest contracts in wakeboardings history? The answer to all of those questions is Darin Shapiro. Darin got started in watersports before wakeboarding as we know it was even a thing. Starting at the cable, Darin took countless laps on a trick ski, and barefooting, but it wasn’t until “ski boarding” came around that he really started to find some success. Darin was flown out by Herb O’Brien to a contest in Hawaii in 1991, and from there Darins journey in the sport began and had no signs of slowing down. Winning over 70 pro contests, inventing countless tricks, starring in 2 video games, signing one of wakeboardings largest contracts, the speedball, and retiring twice. Hear all that and much more in Episode 63 of the Grab Matters Podcast!
Shop Talk Ep. 6 |Guenther Oka, Erik Ruck, and Jake Pelot
We start off the 6th installment of Shop Talk with the Mount Rushmore of Best Wakeboard Contests. After that the boys are talking all things wake, including going over events like Munich Mash, Copenwaken, and the most recent PWT stop. We also go over the new edit "Foama" from Felix Georgii and Dom Hernler, which is an absolute must watch. In addition to edits and events, were chatting about how harshly reverts should be punished in a contest run, the differences between boat and cable cultures, if pro's should pay for a pass to the cable, Herbs Cup, contest pay, Olympic wakeboarding, and Streetjam. Hear all this and much more in the 6th Episode of Shop Talk!
Episode 62: Chase Heavener
He was given a 1 stop ban on the pro tour for hitting a pine cone with a wiffle ball bat? Chase Heavener is a former professional wakeboarder from Orlando, Florida, and has been around since the early days of the sport. Seeing it progress from "trick ski" style riding to where the sport is today has been a wild ride, and a ride that Chase had some influence in. When he got into the sport, he didn't feel as though the current contest landscape represented his crews style of riding, or their vision for the sport, and some feathers were ruffled in the pursuit of change. After his riding career, Chase went behind the scenes and helped create some of wakeboarding's most iconic videos. Getting banned from Wakeboarding Mag, the New Crew, running a 5 minute mile, Neptune, sinking a boat 4 times, and the current media landscape. Hear all that and much more in Episode 62 of the Grab Matters Podcast!
Episode 61: Kellan Rudnicki
What does the future of cable riding look like in America? In this episode we sit down with the Director of Operations at Aktion Parks, Kellan Rudnicki. Kellan got into wakeboarding at Ski Rixen, after initially trying to learn how to kiteboard and getting told he needs to hit the cable to learn board control first. Once falling in love with the sport, Kellan restarted the wakeboard club at his college UCF, then took a job out of the industry after graduating. Eventually an opportunity arose to get back into cable park ops, and Kellan worked his way back into the world of wakeboarding. Indian lines, ideal cable speed, industry infighting, decline of extreme sports, wake moms, profitability of cable parks, europe vs america, ski resorts vs cable parks, and grassroots events. Hear all that and much more in Episode 61 of the Grab Matters Podcast!
Episode 60: Bill Porter
How do you navigate running a brick and mortar pro shop in today's time where Amazon seems to run everything eCommerce? Bill Porter is the founder and owner of Performance Ski and Surf, located in Orlando, Florida. Being in the heart of the towed watersports scene, Bill's shop is the "go to" pro-shop for everything wake and watersports. Although his mom initially tried to get people to convince Bill to not open Performance, he did it anyways, and has had a profound influence on both pro riders and beginners alike. Herb O'Brien's influence, wakeboard tech, online operation vs. brick and mortar, customer service, the most important innovation wakeboarding has seen, selling snow gear, Nautique vs. Mastercraft, and the future of wakeboarding and Performance Ski and Surf. Hear all that and much more in Episode 60 of the Grab Matters Podcast!
Shop Talk Ep. 5 | Johnny D, TJ Giesey, Jake Ramsdell
We start off the 5th installment of Shop Talk with the Mount Rushmore of "Worst things that can happen to you on the boat". After that were touching on wakeskating making an appearance at the X Games, who is the best wake photographer, life jacket requirements, optimal cable speed, winch kickers, Wake The City, RGR, a question from Sam De Haan on our thoughts on "grabbing a rail" while riding, Don Pedro, and Violet. We end this episode with all of our gnarliest winching stories, with T.J. having a wild one from winching at a spot in South Florida.
Episode 59: Raph Trinidad
Did you know Raph didn't hit a single feature in his first 6 months of riding? Hailing from the Philippines, Raph Trinidad got his start riding at a cable where the depth ranged from 6 inches to 8 feet deep, depending on the tide. After choosing wakeboarding over soccer, Raph dedicated his life to being one of the best riders, and now has some of the cleanest and most powerful air tricks in the game. Although he was able to ride year round, Raph found it hard to get sponsor support being in a more remote part of the world. Double flips, winching, living in the U.S. vs Asia, getting on Red Bull, Republic Wake Park, Philippine trivia, favorite parks, and the Tabo. Hear all this and much more in Episode 59 of the Grab Matters Podcast!
Episode 58: Quinn Silvernale
Ready for 4 hours and 20 minutes of one of wakeboardings most passionate riders? Quinn Silvernale helps run one of the most unique and progressive wake parks in the world, Valdosta Wake Compound. Getting started wakeboarding behind the boat on a lake in Minnesota, Quinn knew he loved it. After highschool Quinn attended college at Valdosta State University in Georgia, and that’s where he began to winch much more. From ditches to ponds, Quinn and his friends rode just about everything you could. After more inspiration, him and his roommate Luke Tilt drafted up a business plan to open their own cable park, starting with a couple 2 tower systems, eventually turning into what we have today. Playing football, X Games beef, Lucas Magoon inspo, $800,000 in pool liners, flooding a boat show, sketchy rails, winching vs. cable riding, and what it takes to run a wakepark. Hear all this and much more in Episode 58 of the Grab Matters Podcast, the longest one yet.
Episode 57: Freddie Winter
Freddie Winter is one of the best slalom waterskiers in the world, and isn't afraid to stand up for what is right within the sport. Having put his money where his mouth is when it comes to a unified Pro Tour, Freddie is doing a lot for the sport both on the water and behind the scenes. Growing up skiing at Thorpe Lakes in the U.K., Freddie was ecstatic to ski in college in America, and continued to progress his skiing until he became one of slaloms best competitors. Nerdy waterskiers, getting banned from the Masters, the best crasher on tour, Victor Wenbenyama, the Waterski Pro Tour, and what makes TWBC so good. Hear all that and much more in Episode 57 of the Grab Matters Podcast!