Usually we do this feature in the mag with a pro rider, but I thought it would be fun to bring it to the web and get a different perspective on the sport by asking other industry big wigs like world famous tow boat driver Travis Moye about their best and worst experiences within the wakeboarding Realm. His answers had me LOL’ing and ROFL’ing for the better part of the evening.  Now it’s time for Trav to “take the wheel…”

 

Part of working with Shaun Murray every day:
Best:  That no matter how badly any student’s day has gone, when Shaun does a
huge raley to tumble turn combo, all their sadness goes away.
Worst:  This is a 2 part answer:  He can be really farty, and has no problem
crop dusting the boat ALL day long.  AND, he is extremely A.D.D., so there
are many times that he calls me, and forgets he even has a phone in his hand
by the time I pick up.

 

 

Part of The Boarding School moving to the projects:
Best:  The conditions.  I have never seen a place that stays this calm all
the time.  It’s straight butter way more days than not.
Worst:  The constant fear that Pat or Leza is going to burn the entire
place to the ground.  They both light outrageous burn piles during red flag
drought conditions during a wind storm with nothing but a shovel to beat it
out with.

 

Part of being in the boat ALL day at the tour stops:
Best:  Bullshitting with the boys while watching the best riders in the
world.  Luckily no one else can hear, because we would all lose our jobs and
have way less friends.
Worst:  The imminent lower back pain, sunburn, crotch soup, starvation, and
permanent damage to my urinary tract from holding a pee for hours.

 

Boat driving accessory:

Best:  An 8 dollar bead seat from Auto Zone.  It’s like a fan for your man

business.
Worst:  Those stickers with the little guy in the hat peeing on something.

 

Rider to tow at an event:

Best:  Phil…1)he rarely falls 2) for the better part of 10 years he is
last off the dock, so my day is done.
Worst:  Phil…if he even bobbles he immediately looks at the boat like
there is an issue and then continually bitches about it after(even if he
wins).  Not to mention he always has some issue with his rope or bindings.
He’s king of stall tactics.

 

Story a judge has shared with you in the boat:
Best:  Shawn Perry has blown my mind a couple of times, but recently he told
us about a time he went home to one of his friend’s houses in college and
while sleep walking, he peed from the 2nd story balcony down onto all of the
living room furniture.  He was woken up by the kid’s dad throwing him out on
the lawn in his boxers at 2AM.  Unreal!
Worst:  I don’t remember.  Probably some dumbass story from Scorum or
Streetbike Jimmy.  I rarely listen to anything either one of them has to
say, but I’m sure if I did, it would be awful(just kidding boys, but you had
to know I was going to make fun of you at some point).

 

Travis and his pup taking a moment to rest the sea legs…


Person to room with on the road:
Best:  Rattray.  He’s really neat, tidy, and funny as hell.  Best guy ever!
Worst:  Peter Fleck.  I got put with him at the Gravity Games a long time
ago and he would sleep naked.  He would just get up to go to the bathroom,
like, “Hey, here’s my wiener, going to take shower now.”  I remember hiding
under my covers a lot.

 

Jams to play on the boat:
Best:  I have a Red Hot Chili Peppers station on Pandora that I have been
cultivating for over a year.  You can let it play for days on end and never
have to skip a song or give a thumbs down.
Worst:  Country…it just plain sux!

 

Place to be on a day off:
Best:  Eating lobster tacos, drinking a Modelo, in a cabana at the Rosewood
Mayakoba in Mexico.
Worst:  Anywhere that has anything to do with wakeboarding.  I hate “fake”
days off where I’m roped into doing something that requires me to sit in a
boat.

 

Innovation in wake boats over the past 5 years. 
Best:  The 2012 MasterCraft X Star.  It’s going to change the sport.
Worst:  Any cruise control other than Zero Off.  Don’t kid yourself when you
are buying a boat thinking you are going to get off on the cheap.  They all
blow.

 

Location for a wakeboard contest:
Best:  I always loved the X Games at Marine Stadium.  The water looks cool,
it stays pretty calm, and the crowd went off.  And, then when you are done
you’re in LA, not in the middle of nowhere Kentucky.
Worst:  Usually any river they ever put us on is horrible, but this year
Minneapolis took the grand prize.  However I did really like the hotel they
had us in, so maybe it was ok?