Dear Wakeboarding fans! These interviews are of remarkable people of Wake that we think you’ll find interesting! These individuals in some cases will be inducted into the Wakeboarding Hall of Fame! Most of these interviews are for the purpose of historic perspective and the individuals are not officially inducted into the WHF! All of these riders give us an inside look at how they came into our sport and how they caught our attention. We confer with several of these people we interviewed for their input on our direction and have a wide group of other interviews in the works. We are inclusive here at WHF and always welcome your input and direction. Thanks for stopping by!
WHF Interviews
Darin Shapiro - 2014 Pic: Pavlis
The Donald Shelbrick Interview
I grew up in Deerfield Beach Florida right down the street from the well-known Ski Rixen cable park. I never knew it existed until a friend of mine invited me to go try it out in the spring of 1994. His parents got him a wakeboard and thought it would be a great way to keep him out of trouble for the summer. It was a one directional Hyperlite board with foot straps and 3 big fins on the…
Eric Perez Story
I was working at night driving tour boats on the Lagoon at a resort. My friend John Bohling who was also a captain had an inboard ski boat. The first time I met him to ski I never did. The reason is that he had a plastic surfboard with straps called a Skurfer. Being a surfer and a skater from an early age, I naturally got on the Skurfer. From that minute on…
Cobe Mikacich Story
“I DEFINITELY FELT LIKE AN OUTSIDER COMING TO A POSSIBLE NEW SPORT. EVERYONE ELSE WAS RIDING A SHORT LINE, AND I WAS RIDING A FULL LENGTH SLALOM ROPE AT 75’. EVERYONE ELSE WAS GOING ABOUT 18 MPH…”
Andrea Gaytan Story
Wakeboarding came to me as a huge blessing from the universe. I was one of those things when all the stars align at the perfect moment. I had been waterskiing my whole life in Mexico and I moved to Florida to train with the best coach ever, Jack Travers. Only two months after I turned pro as a water-skier, I blew out my left knee landing a jump.
Darin Shapiro Story
Well, there was no such thing as a wakeboard or even a skiboard back then. I was around 13 years old and I would have my mom drop me off there. Those guys pretty much tortured me as a little kid. I was surrounded by world class athletes and I was just a local kid who had spent a couple of years
Dana Preble Story
I started waterskiing on Klinger Lake in Michigan when I was 3 years old. From that time on, I spent just about all day every day of the summer playing on the water. With family and friends, we did everything from slalom, trick, tubing, kneeboarding, and the “disc” to new and inventive activities.
Mike Ennen Story
“Nick and I have work extremely hard to stay true to our wakeboarding roots in the Northwest. While being able to influence the snowboarding culture with living and riding at the most legendary snowboard area in the world. Mt. Baker. This is the way we grew up, at the mountain in the winter…”