Hello wakeskate world. To those of you who don’t know me, my name is Adam (if you didn’t read the title) and I am a wake photographer here in Orlando. This is my first of many posts this summer, and I hope to bring you the greatest and latest of what is going on in these parts.

At the moment I am looking outside at what is a gorgeous day for riding, yet here I am, sitting on my couch, blogging my little heart out. My fellow Alliancewakeskate cohorts are out at the Wakeboard camp, shooting a little freedom air contest, and I'm finding myself to be quite jealous.  No worries though, now I have time to blab about the excitement im feeling about this upcoming season.

The first stop of Toe Jam has just concluded, and it was epic as always. I was stoked to see young guns like Matt Hooker and Andrew Pastura show everyone what was up. It was also great to see that a veteran like Clint Tompkins, one of the most prominent rail shredders anyone has ever seen, is still a force to be reckoned with.

Progression was everywhere this weekend from Reed Hansen’s wake to wake finger flip, to a rider from out of the woodwork (whose name eludes me at the moment), landing the first varial heel flip in a contest.  Now while some may be feeling sad that this amazing weekend is over, I find myself feeling very optimistic about this season and our sport in general.  I think people are going to be amazed at just how far wakeskating has come, and how consistent these kids are getting at these tech tricks. It seems like not that long ago when landing a kickflip earned you a free pass into the elite riders club. To think that someone could land these technical tricks, just as consistently as a shuv-it seemed almost unthinkable. Yet, here we are, in an age where some riders are so good, I can’t tell if they’re left or right foot forward. It’s a time where lip tricks are a thing of the past, and wake-to-wake shuv and flip tricks are no longer just a rarity. Winchin is even starting to come into its own, with people kickflipping off 8ft. plus gaps, and discovering crazy new spots like a natural concrete A-frame. This is all just the beginning though, and I can’t wait to see what this season has in store for us. Good luck to all, it’s truly going to be an amazing year for our sport.

And in case you were wondering, this photo was taken while Ryan Doyle and friends were in awe at the site of actually getting to see Brian Grubb ride.  

 

 – Adam Aslanian