Rhett Whatley ripping behind the boat from issue 2007.8

Age: 19

Hometown:  Stone Mountain, GA

John Clark: How much do you bench?

Rhett Whatley: Good question, I haven’t hit the gym since 8th grade so I couldn’t tell you.

JC: Where are you in school and what are you studying?

RW: I’m currently a student at Kennesaw State University up here in Atlanta. I haven’t declared a major yet, but I’m thinking of a Communications or Journalism major because I’m not the biggest math-a-lete.

JC: How long have you been wakeboarding and how did you get into it?

RW: I’ve been riding since the 6th grade, so eight years. I got into it when my neighbors won a wakeboard through a catalog. I asked to try it, so they took me out and I got up first try.

JC: Favorite trick you can do?

RW: Pete Rose, I like the feeling of that trick.

JC: Can’t do?

RW: Blind Pete.

JC: Do you have a favorite rider?

RW: Brett Lee.

JC: Least favorite?

RW: My least favorite rider … probably the guy who can do every basic invert in the book but cannot land a toeside wake jump or a backside 180.

JC: How’d you get so good?

RW: I’m good? Thanks man. Drive, I guess. I was always wanting to progress and was never afraid to try things. The Hansens helped a lot, too. I used to attend their camps back in the day.

JC: What’s it like working at Ambush, and what do you do there?

RW: Whatever Lee tells me to do! It’s good, I get to meet a lot of interesting characters and drink all the Crunk Juice I can handle. I even held down employee of the month in February.

JC: So, who do you typically ride with? Do you have a crew or do you mix it up?

RW: Yeah there’s a crew. Usually it’s Brett Lee, Brandon Lee and I. We live together now so it’s easy to get out. Chuck (Morrow) made the mistake of giving us free reign of the Ambush boat so we get to ride as much as we want. Thanks, Chuck.

JC: Give me the first answer that pops into your head. Flippy thing or spinny thing?

RW: Spinny thing.

JC: Young Elvis or Vegas Elvis?

RW: Young Elvis. He rocked harder.

JC: Spinner bait or top-water plug?

RW: Spinner’s more fun.

JC: Ferris Wheel or Ferris Bueller’s Day Off?

RW: Ferris Bueller. That guy’s nuts. I wish I lived in the 80’s. 

JC: Frontside or backside?

RW: Backside, any day.

JC: Boat fluff or boat ballast?

RW: Even mix of both.

JC: Contest or free riding?

RW: Free riding.

JC: How would you describe your riding?

RW: Wide and sexy.

JC: When is the last time you cried and why?
RW: I cried when Paul Lizon moved out of my apartment complex and when Paris got arrested, so unfair…

JC: Alright, time to wrap this up. Tell us who gives you free stuff?
RW: CWB, Ambush/Buywake.com, Crunk Energy Drink, Oakley, Mastercraft, ATLwake.com and Bern Helmets.

By: John Clark