MarcusBrown

Hey guys, wanted to share this interview I got to do with Wade Cox back in the fall. Its not often, that someone gets to sit-down with one of their childhood Heroes.... The coolest part was getting to walk away from this talk, with more respect and admiration for Wade than I previously had. He's humble, he's kind, he cares about helping people on and off the water, and yet he's still got a little bit of that fire that made him such a legend on the water. Hope you all enjoy this one! Wade Cox was one of the most dominant water skiers in the history of the sport. He was the ProTour Champion in 1995 and 1996, 3-time Masters Champion, earned 47 Professional Slalom Titles, and was inducted into the Water Ski Hall of Fame in 2012. To be honest, Wade inspired countless skiers throughout his years on the Pro Tour and on ESPN. The rivalry between Wade and Andy Mapple was unmatched....and unfortunately for the rest of the slalom skiers at the time, the two of these guys were almost unbeatable. Out of a run of 60 pro events, Andy won 29, Wade won 22, and the rest of the field only won 9. It is our great honor to get to share this full interview with you. We hope you enjoy one of the greatest characters the sport has ever seen!

@RichardDoane that could be in the cards for 2020!! ?

@BraceMaker thank you...I'm going to relay this to the proper authorities and see what she comes up with next!

@Horton :o @Garn glad you got a laugh out of it! Let us know what else you specifically might like to hear about and we'll see what we can make happen! Thanks for checking it out.

@horton was surprisingly subdued for this interview....I was hoping to get him fired up about a few things, but he kept his cool.... Maybe next time I can push a few buttons...

@twhisper was just getting warmed up, but I think I was supposed to interview @Luzz immediately after this, so I kinda had to cut it short. I think in the near future, I'll have another sit down with Terry....so don't be afraid, while its fresh in your mind, to post some questions here, that you'd like to have answered, by either Terry or myself. Thx guys.

Here’s another one, from a couple years ago, of Will Asher. I’ve got lots more, but just haven’t let it seem the light of day. Maybe someday soon... https://www.instagram.com/p/BbzoSdDlpKS/?igshid=elaoyfepdbuf

https://www.instagram.com/p/BoXKz51gem-/?igshid=cw9kqebh692s

@Luzz Thanks for letting me be a part of this!! I think our sport is at a place where ANY content is good content, but when it's well done like you're podcast is, I think it really stands out. Important work, what you're doing. Honored to get to plug in where I can. MB

Thank you all for the feedback and kind comments. Trying something different here, inspired a bit by Joe Rogan, among others, to be more real and conversational than my previous podcasts. Gonna keep this format going for a bit and see how you all end up liking it. Did 7 or 8 other interviews last weekend, so more to come... @jpattigr you can search for FlowPoint podcast on iTunes, and subscribe there. At the moment, that’s the only podcasting platform I’m pushing this to. Maybe I’ll get caught up with the times and offer it in more places besides YouTube and iTunes. Any suggestions would be welcomed. Also, I’ve done this before, but lemme know who else you might wanna see on this type of format, keeping in mind I’m probably going to stick to in person interviews, and scrap the Skype/internet type interviews for a while,... ????

Sorry @Horton , sometimes my sarcasm doesn't come thru.... I think this is actually a very compelling line of thinking, and one that has a lot of grey area. My initial aversion comes from prior history: I don't want people to start dropping there hips away from the boat,....the same trap folks fell into when we created West Coast Slalom. In most cases, this devolves to a butt back position, that increases the attack angle of the ski, and as a result, the load on the line.... and decreases efficiency. However, I definitely believe there is a compelling case for the following: The roll angle of the ski (in concert with the trim [ski tip up or ski tip down]) and the lean angle of the skiers body, can definitely be doing different things, at different times....and in fact, the lean angle of different parts of the skiers body can, and should, be doing different things at different times. I think thats the bit that contains a lot of value...and I think thats what you are getting at here, with this discussion spark.

How do I award Panda Points again?....

The Freeride EVO was a pretty radical ski. If you've seen or skied one, the first thing you notice is the extremely flexible tail section (more flex than any other ski on the market) and the lack of tail taper (keeps beginner skiers much more centered on the ski).....when the D3 came along, it was a tournament ski and in a completely different category. The Freeride EVO was the next evolution of our Freeride line (beginner/entry level category)...hence the EVO designation.

I'm with @Parxxx on this! It shoulda happened decades ago, but that doesn't meant we still can't make the change now. In 2007, during the WaterSki Mag spin-to-win 38'off challenge, Todd Ristorcelli made everyone take a warm up pass, and start the 38 challenge from the far end of Swiss. There was no requirement to make the warmup pass, so I skied it in reverse. Unfortunately, that lake is pretty narrow, and there was a dock right behind what woulda been buoy #3.... When I fell off after trying to beat Beauchesne, I was walking back to the dock....The tech controller approached me,...I could see his blood was almost boiling out of his skin. I didn't know this, but apparently he had all the computers and electronics staged on that dock....I had completely hammered everything with water. He was so pissed. So, I completely understand that to implement a change/addition like this in the sport (and to a course configuration that hasn't really changed in a couple thousand years...) would create new challenges. But think about the added value and excitement it could bring. Parks nailed it. This is a no brainer.

Also, here are a couple turns from a Hovercraft design and testing session. This was 24.9 mph, I think.....which is pushing the envelope on speed for the Hovercraft. At 18 mph +/-, this ski really shines...

Here's a quick vid the guys at Wakehouse and Action Water Sports put together:

The Hovercraft, at anywhere from 15-21 mph, turns incredible.

The team at HO HQ is second to none. Stoked to hear success stories like this, so you guys can maximize your fun on the water!

@ski4xtc so stoked you found yourself in a ProStar! The whole team put their heart and soul into the development of that boat, so its nice to hear people out there are enjoying the thought and effort that went into the design process!

I have a 2004 Indmar Predator Engine out of a ProStar for sale. I believe it has under 1000 hrs on it. I took this out of my friend's ProStar and updated it with a newer engine, so he could have ZeroOFF, and now I need more space in my garage....so this thing has to go! $2200 + Shipping

Thx for the well wishes. I think we could be safe for now, even though the fire is still going and only 30% contained. However, this is the most insane thing I've ever witnessed. Saw the plume from my kitchen window around 7:10 am....and by 11:10 am, it had already traveled 10+ miles (consuming over 1 acre a second) and burned through the town of Paradise (26,000 people). Many didn't have time to grab anything but their car keys. Some didn't make it. That evening, around 7:30, it was within 1/2 mile from our lake...I sat and watched it from the highway, from 8pm till 1:30 am...hoping it didn't jump the highway and make a run for our place. 20+ trucks, 2 dozers and a lot of firefighters battled and the wind shifted around 10:30 pm,...we got really lucky. @MS thx for the kind words man. I know being from Minnesota, you're probably well aware of pretty much the worst fire disaster in US History, exactly 100 years ago, the Cloquet fire. 1000 people dead. 250,000 acres burned. Drought was the cause. We here in NorCal have the same conditions. Less than 0.5" of rain in the last 212 days. Thats not normal. Again, thanks for understanding.

@Jetsetr I got that track for S4E4 from an unorthodox source. I'll try to get you track info when I can pull that hard drive out and look at the music file!

I've known Greg for years. Incredibly nice guy. Phenomenal skier, especially back on the ProTour. Greg didn't put this video up....all he did was ski.

@disland I have to respectfully disagree.... CrossFit is not run by one man (Castro). Democracy should be a good thing...politics and bureaucracy a bad thing.... I think you and I would agree the latter 2 are the problem... Another problem we have is that we don't have $$ to do the things folks are proposing in this thread. One example is the trailer above, for this years CrossFit Games Documentary that @Rpc29 shared. Just the thumbnail image itself includes artwork that probably cost them $20,000+. My buddies Marston and Heber (who helped me film the first FlowPoint Episode at Lake Powell) directed/edited/filmed that trailer and documentary (along with many other camera operators) and have been working on it since last August. $500,000 would be my super lowball estimation on how much this years production cost just to put together. Not saying its not possible, but trying to be realistic. But, 11 years ago there were no CrossFit games. There were 70 athletes, at some dusty ranch, competing all day and toasting to good times that evening.....sounds pretty much like a water ski event. Only difference is Water Skiing has been like that since day 1....and CrossFit has exploded into a community-based lifestyle that tends to attract more people than it purges. Finding a way to apply some of their magic to our lifestyle wouldn't hurt. A "CrossFit Open" style movement could definitely be a jumping off point. Maybe age-divisions could be shelved in place of ability-based divisions? I know its been beaten to death, but in the spirit of making things competitive and fun, maybe its something to keep in mind when going down this road of trying to create a compelling world-wide water ski movement?