Screen Shot 2016-06-27 at 1.04.02 PM

Lite reading, heavy flow… Getting shit done at Area Fifty Deuce…

Hopefully you don’t need help figuring out what this infamous phrase means. It’s not rocket science here, it’s poop. If you say you’re going to do something or be something, then do it. If not, it’s time to give up the throne to somebody else with some more serious s#@$.

Being a pro rider is about way more than putting stickers on your board and collecting a check, especially in this day and age with more talented, diverse riders than ever before (but seemingly less sponsor dollars). More than anything that means right now is a time for action. A time for doing big things, pushing the limits, and growing our sport. It’s not a time for “I can do that later”, “it can wait”, or “I shouldn’t have to do that kind of stuff anymore” excuses. As a pro this time is much more than just “your time.” It’s your career, your legacy, and your impact on the sports you love. So what are you going to do with that time? Are you going to shit, or is it time to get off the pot?

Need an extreme example of putting in the time, energy, and passion to be a pro? Look no further than the man sitting on the throne of Area 52 above. A few years ago Kevin Henshaw could have said “F it” and started phoning in his career. He’d won awards, had covers, made rad video sections, and for a period was one of the best all-around riders in the game. But the crazy-ass Canadian didn’t feel like slowing down. He guzzled a whole year’s worth of crazy juice, bought a piece of property in the swamp, and proceeded to build the most progressive private park on the planet. Look at all that’s been done at Area 52 in the last couple of years and think about the legacy it’s going to leave behind.

Of course, not everybody is going to drink as much crazy juice as Henshaw (nor should they), but that doesn’t mean your impact as a pro can be any less profound. What we’re trying to say is be proactive, and look at the present as an opportunity to impact the future. The world of being a pro rider has changed, so we all have to change with it. Utilize social media to your advantage: interact with fans, post video clips and photos regularly, offer tips. Get out to more demos and clinics: get more people stoked on the lifestyle that makes wakeboarding so fun. Work with your sponsors and filmer to create a longer web edit that’s going to drop jaws when it hits. Work with the magazines and websites to not only get content of yourself out there, but to help create the kind of content that is unique and impactful – the kind that will help your legacy while also helping the sport.

If you’re still not motivated – or more likely, not getting it – then see if any of the following apply to you.

  • You only ride during photo shoots
  • Your contest pass hasn’t changed in three-plus years
  • Your Instagram feed shows more pictures of you wakesurfing than wakeboarding
  • Your boat gets used by your crew more than yourself
  • You go to contests to party because you know you’re not getting out of the first round
  • Your lake house has turned into an AirBNB

Any of those sound familiar? Then we’re sad to say it might be time to stop the shit you’re doing and get off the pot. Change is inevitable and wakeboarding is a perfect example of that. We’ve been changing regularly for the last 30-some-odd years. While adaptation to that change can be debated, there’s no doubt some more adaptation is needed. Help us help you help wakeboarding. Help us help wakeboarding be the shit. Not that shit, but the shit. The future smells a lot better when laziness gets off the pot and progression starts shitting in its place.