Melissa Marquardt likes to have fun wakeboarding just like everyone else. She just so happens to be really good at it… Must have been all those sets with Randall that gave her so much style.

BoardCo’s team rider Melissa Marquardt likes to have fun wakeboarding just like everyone else. She just so happens to be really good at it… Must have been all those sets with Randall that gave her so much style.

Yep, that's a zebra Hummer limo... in the 'hood... it was a good party

Although he hasn’t worked in the wake industry since he left Alliance in 2007, Tony Smith has remained close with everybody in the sports and his impact as an editor/photographer/friend can still be seen and felt today. What originally started out as a staff writing job for a fishing/boating publication that shared offices with WakeBoarding Magazine back in 1995 eventually became a career and lifestyle that would help shape wakeboarding and wakeskating for years to come. For the last few years Tony has been working at Fiction Creative, a firm he started with former pro rider and Alliance co-founder Chase Heavener. When Tony announced he would be leaving and moving down to Miami to start a new chapter of his life, Chase and the rest of the crew knew they had to throw Tony a kickass surprise going away party, because Orlando without Tony wasn’t going to be the same Orlando ever again. So on a Friday afternoon around 2:00 a Zebra striped Hummer limousine pulled up to the Fiction offices and we proceeded to P-A-R-T-Y.

To put it simply, you know you’re gonna have a good afternoon/evening/late night/early morning when you’re rolling around town in a zebra limo. The bars would have to wait though; one, because it was only 2:00 PM and two, because a good-bye party for Tony Smith wouldn’t be complete without some wakeboarding. First we stopped at Clear Lake to pick up Parks and Shane Bonifay and Erik Ruck, then made our way to OWC to shred some cable and met up with Chad Sharpe. Everybody hit the water, including Chase, Staker, and the man of the hour(s). We even witnessed Chad landing his first ever switch mute double half cab roll off the kicker. Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? He of course celebrated with us afterward. OWC was a great way to kick off the festivities for Tony, but once again Parks stole the show without even touching the water. While standing in line to ride Staker overheard a kid say to his friend, “Did you see Parks pull up in that limo?!?!” After years of hanging out with PB we’re pretty sure Tony is used to that kind of thing by now.

Tony, always shredding

Kinda old schoolers: Ruck, Parks, and Chase

After the OWC festivities we headed back into Winter Park to hit up some of Tony’s favorite dive bars and were also greeted by some of Tony’s best buds like Josh Letchworth, Gregg Necrason, and Cobe Mikacich. We did everything Tony loves to do at dive bars: play pool, throw darts, drink cheep Not Beer, and eat wings. Plus, nothing makes a statement like pulling up to dive bars in a zebra limo. Eventually we headed into downtown Orlando (because when you have a limo for a night you’ve got to take advantage, right?) and met up with even more wake friends. Things started to get a little hazy though and the night ended in probably the most appropriate way: we lost track of Tony, Letchworth and Necrason and had to take the limo home without them…

The last we saw of Tony, Gregg, and Josh that night. They were in good hands and even better spirits...

It goes without saying that Tony leaving Orlando is the end of an era of sorts. The impact Tony has had on both riders and readers alike can’t really be summed up in a short web article, but believe me when I say a lot of us in the industry today owe a ton to Tony (myself very much included). Tony first moved to Orlando in December 1995 and after meeting some of the guys who worked at WakeBoarding Magazine rode a wakeboard for the first time. He was instantly hooked and was eventually brought on as managing editor for WBM in 1997. In 1998 he became editor and hired Bill Doster to be the staff photographer and Kevin Michael to be the new managing editor. Kevin (better known as Kevco) was with WBM until last year and still works in the industry, while Bill is still the staff photographer today.

In 2000 Tony left WBM to join Bill McCaffray and a few others at the startup Bluetorch Wake magazine. That project was short-lived, but out of the ashes came Alliance Wakeboard Magazine, where he worked as editor through 2007. In 2005 he and Bill McCaffray brought me on as a managing editor and staff photographer, and after he left Alliance I had the unenviable task of taking over his role. During those ten years as an editor in some way, shape or form Tony wrote hundreds of articles, scoured over countless photos, and worked some crazy hours to represent wakeboarding and wakeskating in a way he saw fit for both the industry and its fans. He also made lifelong friends who are sad to see him go, but excited for what the future holds for him. Thanks for everything, Tony, cheers and Godspeed!

The first year of the Collegiate Cable Tour was a success. Mostly this was in part to all the support from the wake industry. It seemed like everyone came together to make this new level start strong. The 3 most prominant parks, Texas Ski Ranch, Orlando Watersports Complex and Hydrous, also stepped up to bring in the 10 teams that participated.

University of Central Florida lead by Nick Kamper and Tyler Trent became the first team to be ranked number 1 in the nation for College Cable. UCF destroyed the competition at a very strong Orlando Watersports Complex. A very close second sits Texas State University who showed well at both Texas Ski Ranch and Hydrous. The Bobcats were loaded with Sam Scoggins, Ryan Sanders, Donald Konomos and Cory Miller.

San Diego-based eyewear brand SPY® released an extremely unusual TV commercial spot that airs this week during the Tour of California (ToC) bike race. The unique 30-second spot running on NBC Sports’ coverage of the ToC, features huge airs and a high flying backflip on a road bike—maneuvers usually only attempted on much beefier equipment like motocross, BMX and freestyle mountain bikes

“We intended this spot to be a playful expression of SPY’s youthful, irreverent point of view by bringing an action sports approach to road cycling, as well as sending a ‘Youth Against the Old Guard’ message,” explains Michael Marckx, SPY President and creative mind behind the concept. “The idea appeared simple on paper, but required the right team to pull it off—from the athletes to our director Jason Baffa, and his incredible people behind the lens and in the editing bay.”

Based on SPY athlete and 2011 USA Pro Cycling Road Race Champion Matthew Busche (Team Radio Shack-Nissan-Trek), the commercial kicks off with what he does daily—training. To be the best in pro road racing requires tremendous focus and hard work—which equates to pain. To get through it, Busche says, “Sometimes I go into what I call the ‘Pain Cave.’ There, my mind drifts in and out of daydreams—and I try to think about anything else to get my mind off the burn.”

Told through the prism of Busche’s daydream, viewers journey with him as he imagines hitting the alluring trails of California’s coastal mountain ranges and doing some crazy stuff on a bike strictly built for pavement. SPY asked its mountain bike freestyle rider Mike Montgomery (Team Specialized, SPY and Monster Energy) to stunt double for Busche’s wildest fantasies of doing things on his road bike that no one ever does

“The idea seemed pretty crazy at first,” explains Montgomery, who is a pro at doing similar tricks on freestyle mountain bikes built to take abuse from hard landings.”Right up until moments before cameras began rolling, we weren’t sure if I was going to break the frame or taco the tire. The bike Specialized made for me held up perfectly on flips, super flips and spins. It was fun making this commercial with SPY, and I think people are going to really trip out when they see it.”

The SPY “Flip” commercial will air several times daily through the remainder of the TOC event, where Busche will play an important role for Team Radio Shack-Nissan-Trek.

Look for SPY on-site at the Tour of California: Friday, May 18 in Big Bear Lake; Saturday, May 19 in Mt. Baldy; Sunday, May 20 in Los Angeles.

How would you like to ride with a wakeboard and wakeskate Legend? How about a chance to ride the all new 2012 Byerly line including wakeskates, wakeboards and surfs? Now is your chance! Join us on May 17th at Lake Anderson in Morgan Hill for the opportunity of a lifetime.

Scott Byerly is one of the true Godfathers of our sport. Over a decade of progressive tricks, board designs, artist board graphics and contest formats, Scott has always embodied the unconventional aspects of the sport. His unique style and vision helped create the sport’s recognition worldwide. Scott continues to break boundaries with the birth of his new company Byerly Boards.

We will be down at Lake Anderson from 10-5pm and then back at the shop from 7-9pm to kick off our “Thursday Night Live” event. We will be featuring a Byerly Boards movie, small gallery exhibit, free pizza, and an autograph session with Scott Byerly himeself.

Don’t miss out. RSVP as soon as possible for the Demo Day as spaces will fill up by calling the shop at 408 435-8088. We are going to have a 9:30am, 11:15am, 1:30pm, and a 3:15pm timeslots available.

This is going to be the best summer yet!

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