Parks Bonifay might have been down for a while, but he was never out. For a good 18 months of his life, Parks went through what he calls his “quarter-life crisis.” His MCL surgery and subsequent recovery had gone terribly awry, and nearly did knock him out of the sport for good, he was making the transition from Orlando and the infamous Lake Hiawassee to the more mellow Clermont, as well as the much more drastic board company change from team rider at Hyperlite to rider/co-owner at Ronix.

The one thing on Parks’ mind throughout this entire “crisis” though, was wakeboarding. Parks was constantly talking and working with Ronix shape Jason Standley on what would become his 2008 pro model. As his recovery progressed, so did the ability to ride prototype boards and have more technical input on changes and adjustments. Fast forward to the present day, and while Parks still isn’t 100% where he wants to be in terms of his riding, his board is ready for the market. The Ibex has been a long time in the making, but Parks couldn’t be any happier with the results. Here is some of what he has to say about his new pro model from Ronix:

“I have ridden a lot of different (style) boards over the years as my riding changed and as the sport changed. I think way back in the day boards were the way they were because of how small the wake was and how the low pull of the rope was, which is why my first boards back in the day were so skinny with thinned out rails. As wakes got bigger, so did the width of my boards. My riding changed and I wanted a board with more pop, but I still wanted to hang on to my traditional style of hard edging. This is where I’ve been for the last five or so years – until now. After watching the sport change, as well as my riding, too, I really wanted a board with as much explosive pop as I’ve ever had, but one that also keeps a fluid turn on edge, which I’ve never had in my shapes. My board is quite a bit wider than our other high-end 3-stage board (Danny Harf’s One) so that there is a recipe for the most pop. I think with as much side cut as this board has, having a lower soft rail blending to a harder sharp rail in the tail was needed for a board this wide to turn this well and maintain this much natural speed for the extra lift off the wake. We didn’t jump into knocking out a board (just to get one made), this board had more time in the testing stages than any of my other signature decks. Everyone says it, but I definitely mean it when I say this is the best board out there for my style of riding. Oh yeah, and the graphics will get ya’ some action, too!”

The Ibex will be available in sizes 134, 139, and 144.
MSRP: $430

http://www.ronixwake.com for more info.