Real Wake 2016 driven by MasterCraft – Rider Lineup

By billmccaffray • 8 years ago • Wakeboard, Brown Trout

Real Wake 2016
Meet the Contenders:
Meet the Contenders for Real Wake 2016, the all-video wakeboarding contest presented by the World of X Games, MasterCraft and Alliance Wake. Voting begins Wednesday, July 20.

Chris Abadie
X Games Real Wake 2015 gold medalist, Chris Abadie, is back to defend his crown. Part of the original Shredtown crew, Abadie and his friends have created a name for themselves through doing what they love: wakeboarding and documenting it through film.
“Filming and watching it almost becomes better practice than riding itself,” says Abadie of the wakeboarding film world. “You can study your style and morph it through mental practice, working on tricks to make them look better. A contest like this is a team effort.”

Abadie’s Filmer: Andrew Adams
“Andrew and I have been working and riding together for more than 10 years,” Abadie says of his filmer teammate, Andrew Adams. “There’s no better person to collaborate with than someone you know so well and trust. He has a precise vision and focus for filming that is formulated through many years of practice and studying action sports films. I would not choose to work with anyone else.”

Harley Clifford
Real Wake 2015 contender and X Games MasterCraft Throwndown winner, Harley Clifford, blew his knee on the fourth day of filming for this year’s contest, but still managed to put together a part. The 22 year old from Australia’s Gold Coast splits his time between his native land and Orlando, Florida.

Clifford’s Filmer: Greg Browning
“Greg Browning is the most chilled out guy,” Clifford says of his filmer teammate. “A lot of filmers are super pushy and get frustrated when you aren’t landing something. That’s hard to deal with, especially when you’re getting frustrated as well. You need the push from a filmer to keep you stoked. Greg is always that guy. Plus, he is always coming up with rad ideas for good angles and different ways to shoot wakeboarding.”

Dominik Hernler
When Dominik Hernler ism’t wakeboarding, he is snowboarding or skateboarding. The 24-year-old from Doebriach, Austria, came up as a boat rider but switched to park riding a few years ago. He has been winning competitions since the age of ten.

Hernler’s Filmer: Russell Spencer
“Russell has been shooting wakeboarding forever and has the best attitude you could ever ask for,” Hernler says of his filmer teammate. “He also had the time to go to Austria with me for more than a month. This made our edit what it is — completely unique.”

Brenton Priestley
Brenton Priestley hails from a small town outside of Melbourne, Australia, where the closest wakeboard spot was two hours away. Now relocated to Orlando, Florida, where the water is considerably closer and easier to get to, Priestley is on the up. This is first Real Wake.

Priestley’s Filmer: Spencer Norris
“He is the easiest filmer to work with, hands down,” says Priestley of his filmer teammate, Spencer Norris. “He understands everything from my point of view and is just an all-round legend!”

Steel Lafferty
Steel Lafferty landed the first-ever wake-to-wake 1080 in 2010. He followed that up with a “Rookie of The Year” and “Trick of the Year” award, for a first-ever toeside backside 900, in 2011. He also has a first-ever handle-pass heelside backside 1080 to his credit.
“My style of riding is more focused on style and pushing the limits,” says Lafferty. “I like to go big, hit double-ups and grab tricks differently.”

Lafferty’s filmer: Aaron Rathy
“Aaron Rathy has always been a wakeboarder that I’ve looked up to,” Says Lafferty of his filmer teammate, Aaron Rathy, who just happens to also be the Real Wake 2015 Bronze medalist. “He’s one of my best friends in this sport, a talented human being and someone that can see my vision from a rider’s view cause he’s one of the best. I am honored to work with him.”

Josh Twelker
“Being a West Coast rider is a blessing and a challenge,” says Real Wake rookie, Josh Twelker. “I am blessed to have grown up riding on the California Delta with some of my favorite riders that have influenced me. It has also been challenging because at the same time there are a few riders from here who have been able to make a name for themselves. I was lucky enough to have a photographer Rodrigo Donoso and a filmer Trever Maur living in my hometown. Their documentation of my riding has helped me become known as a strong free rider.”

Twelker’s Filmer: Trever Maur
“Trever is one of my best friends,” says Twelker of his filmer teammate, Trever Maur. “Not only is he a really talented filmer and editor, he is also a professional wakeboarder. Trever’s understanding of how I want my riding to be perceived is a huge reason why we work so well together. Trever is a super energetic guy, and he comes up with some of the most creative concepts for videos. That energy and creativity shines through in his filming and editing.”