DCIM101GOPRO

Synthetic Swell Movement

With so much growth in the last couple years in wakesurfing each new year seems to start sooner and with more of a bang. A lot of it has to do with the boat manufactures creating more technology to tweak the waves themselves. Thus, anticipation is high but not all this has to do with the boat manufactures themselves. We also have event promoters thinking up new ways to market the brands, boats, boards, and everything detailed to wakesurfing that hooks us. It’s not always about who won the last event, or who did the best trick. Not that we dont mind that? Yet, no new enthusiast, means no boat sale, and you get the picture (no marketing budget/events). So it’s really important for new promoters to get creative and manufactures to support out of the box ideas. Especially in these economic times. Our industry needs new ways to gain new sales, stoke the new or old enthusiast to place them into a new boat. That’s where Marco Thompson steps in. Marco is a wakesurfing enthusiast/business man. He loves to wakesurf. I think Marco’s biggest fear is someome not getting a chance to try the sport. If you ever heard of his surf lessons or school surf 30? He is commited to getting you up in 3o minutes wakesurfing or its free or something like that. So for his brainchild and event. Marco came up with the Syn Swell outline. A demo/ride share day or days in this case, where everything is free or some kind of donation is excepted for the opportunity to try the sport of wakesurfing. I liked it, was curious, and realized this might be what our sport is in need of. We could always use more people getting involved and buying. So, I stepped up for my first assignment as editor, and asked to cover the event. I believed he had nailed it on the head. Not that this might be the first of its kind or maybe it is? I liked the idea of a low pressure inviroment for others to come try the wakesurfing activity. Its a rad sport. Its healthy. And when the older crowed can do something together with it’s  younger generation. It’s called a family activity. 🙂 A fun one at that, and to think this could happen in todays day and age. Families hanging out together? Having fun. Ha ha ha, Yup, its called wakesurfing!

Screen shot 2014-02-28 at 1.54.17 PM

Day One

The Synthetic Swell event was held in beautiful Southern Califonia’s Lake Elsinore at La Laguna Resort & Boat Launch. A location with brand new amenities, boat launch, docks, and BBQ area. In the morning when I first pulled in I was really impressed. You got a sense of a well produced and thought out event. Up top in the BBQ area was where all the vendors displayed all the coolest products and registration took place. A spot I could see was wrestless with surfers moving about and meeting and greeting eachother ready to wakesurf. It just set the mood, you could tell, the wakesurf session and event is finally happening. After a while Marco took the stage and talked for a bit letting us all know how the day would progress. It was go time and you could sense a stiring in the air. It’s also important to take note he got all the top brands involved like Byrely, HyperLight, SoulCraft, Ronix, Body Glove, Liquid Force, Walker Project, EverCarve,Jet Pilot. Which was awesome as each had a tent out for every one to find shade. Febuary hot!? Only in Southern California. As we lucked out this weekend was set with sun filled high temps and good weather. Those attending got the red carpet of dealers on hand as well. As on location was Pacific Coast Marine, M2O Marine, Paradise Watersports,Sun Country Marine,Tilly’s Marine. Meaning you had all the top Southern California dealers with their boats for us all to demo. Pretty sure if you had any question at all, it was not that hard to get a straight answer. Then the next step was immediately be amazed as these guys dealers would take you out on the boat of choice, back up the question with proof the boats could do that. 🙂 Talk about your royal treatment!  But that is exactly what this demo was about. Getting educated and riding. Did I mention open to the public. Yes, an event I think most would not mind attending. Lots of wakesurfing, lots of products, lots of imformation, and pros on hand like Chris Wolter, Emily Agate to show us how its done. I could go on and on but most importantly was the riding and lots of educational tools to swamp your brain out on wakesurfing.

Screen shot 2014-02-28 at 10.35.37 AM

Day Two

Day two was a simular experience of the event. So now I jammed out to the coast from Lake Elsinore to the sights and sounds of beatiful down town San Diego. The location was Pepper Park on the south end of San Diego Bay. A location if you did not know or had no direction’s was tucked away tight. A hidden gem waiting to be found & amazed I was. You drove through down town San Diego with sights of the Navy ships on the bay with tall skyscraper cresting the waters edge. Its really beautiful. To think our troops go to war from this port and city also was a real interesting insight. Its the last thing they see, maybe ever! The boys and lady’s of our country leave from this port to go to war or deployment. They go fight for us! It made me very thankful to know we live in a country who has a strong Navy foundation and fights for the freedom of things like us wakesurfing. Yet, I was feeling so out of place. You just felt like I’m going wakesurfing here? You looked around and drove and its a port and a big city. You had all these semi trucks parked on the streets as you made way to the location to. Then as I felt more lost I spotted the sign Pepper Park in relief. Tucked away nestled at the very end of this long road and its stop signs. Put away deep in the industrial part of the bay and port. Just made you wonder how far out or much of a local is the promoter to find this little gem tucked away. Yet enough on that. I was here to wakesurf and demo more goods. That is exactly what we all did all day and thanks to Marco Thompson the businessman, the wakesurfer.  He brought all this together for all to enjoy. Even the wierd location. It was a blast, I thank him. You just made wakesurfing for a lot of people the coolest thing they never had tried before. And that is super rad – JS

Screen shot 2014-02-28 at 10.34.10 AM