SteelLafferty TheYoungGun
Stop #1
Volume 2 - Issue 1
June 2007
Sequence: Walker
FL WAKE MAGAZINE put on a rail jam at this years Tampa boat show. We decided to go big with the set up and built 3 pools 25 feet wide and 60 feet long. From the first to second pool we had a flat bar and a box, and from the second to third pools we had an incline and an up rail with a gap to down rail. We had open sessioning for the first couple of days and did a best trick contest on the weekend with both wakeboard and wakeskate divisions. All of the riding was really solid with lots of tricks going down. vinnie knapp won the wakeboard best trick by ollieing the gap from second to third pools and hitting a boardslide down the decline rail. Also during some after hours sessioning he put a full size
trash can on top of the gap rail and did a huge 180 over the whole thing. The wakeskate division was tuff. Kyle Hyams rode really well and landed a backside big spin over the 10 foot gap from the second to third pool. Matt Hooker came really close to sticking a kickflip off of the incline rail, but in the end it was Stuart Shinn who was on top by sticking a boardslide to backside big spin off of the incline. The boat show set up was the best some of the riders had ever ridden, and the biggest set up we have ever made. The event was a lot of fun and the riding was great. Our event was made possible by our sponsors: Bay Area Watersports, Land O’ Lakes Marine, Huston Motors, Fortes Motorsports, Gator Boards, and DNA energy drink. -JW
Check out a video of the event at www.Myspace.com/FLWAKE
For the past three years, April has held the premiere wakeskating event, Scott Byerly’s Toe Jam. This year, however, will be quite different. The toe Jam will be a 4 stop tour across the U.S. with the first three stops being qualifying rounds for the main event in september at the projects. Each round will be open to anyone who wants to take a shot at one of only two qualifying spots. This format will certainly bring out some new names and some fierce competition. The first of the four stops was held April 19-21 at the Projects in Orlando.
foot, and the binding is heated up, you put your foot in and the binding actually molds to your foot, they are so comfortable you won’t ever get tired feet again. We knew the owners from the HO days, Herb Obrien, his son Paul and Eddie Roberts for the Skis. Great group of people that really know what they are doing.
FL Wake: Coastal Surf & Ski is one of the largest Surf/Wake Shops in South Florida. What is the history behind Coastal? Coastal Surf & Ski used to be Tommy's Surf, Slalom & Guitar Shop. Most of you know Tommy Phillips actually opened the very first Wakeboard shop in the country. He passed to us a great shop with all the top brands for Surf and Wake represented. He has moved back to Colorado and is expanding his very large presence in Denver. We're in touch often, he's doing great!
FL Wake: Give us the history behind yourself and your family... My parents, Michael and Michele met in college at Florida Institute of Technology and were married in 1978. They spent the next many years raising my older brother Gerritt and I, working in Electronics, Telecommunications and Programming. My brother and I grew up on the water; my parents would take us out to snorkel in the keys when we were very young, I was a competitive swimmer from age 6 to 17. All of us have always spent our free time swimming, scuba diving, boating, surfing, wakeboarding, water skiing, fishing ... pretty much always on or in the water. Getting out of the corporate world and into this business was a dream for us. We're stoked to have the shop and run it as a family business. All of us contribute, me, my wife Marla, Gerritt my brother, my parents Mike and Michele. I love having my daughters here a part of everything too. Couldn't be better.
Scott
INDUSTRY PROFILE
FL Wake: What is the hottest seller right now?
FL Wake: Your shop has everything anyone who is around water could want. What all do you carry in your shop?
We carry all the top, really pro brands of Surfboards, Wakeboards, Wakeskate, Skim boards, Wetsuits, Ropes, Handles & Bindings. We're really a hard goods shop that also carries clothing, as opposed to the other way around. Our top clothing brands are Billabong, Volcom, Quiksilver, Roxy, O’Neill, RVCA, Mora, Reef, Sanuk and we have more.
Morgan
FL Wake: You and your crew are always about grassroots and supporting the sport. What do you have going on throughout the year and what kind of other things do you contribute?
One of the main things we liked about owning a Surf/Wake/Ski shop is promoting the different sports. We have what we call “Gatherings” were we just get a group of people together and maybe meet at the Beach, ride some waves, or rent out Ski Rixen (Cable Wake Park) bring some food and drinks and just enjoy ourselves. A few times a year we make a trip to Typhoon Lagoon and rent it out for 3 hours just for ourselves, great stuff.
Wake slows down a bit in the winter and Surf moves up; we are selling more Surf boards now that we are finally getting some waves. We also carry a pretty good selection of long board skateboards too, we are getting a following there. We will be putting our 2006 equipment on Ebay soon once the 2007 stuff starts showing up towards the middle to end of November.
FL Wake: Does South Florida need more Wakeboard Tournaments? What are the plans for 2007? I don’t know about more, but better ones for sure. We want to be part of anything that is out there. We had our own last year at McGinnis Water-ski camp. It was a lot of fun, maybe something like that again this year. We are also planning on doing something once a month like Tommy used to do, $10 to enter, one ride up and back, winner takes all, except for gas :)
FL Wake: Your online site coastalsurfandski.com is one of the best looking web sites I have ever seen. From blogs, surf reports and kick ass photo galleries. Do you always have people commenting on it? Who is the web designer? First Thanks, like I said earlier we all come from a technology background, but I can’t take the credit for the site, my mom, Michele is the web designer, she is really gifted with design, she also had a major part in the layout of our shop too, you should stop in and see it sometime.
FL Wake: We just finished up Surf Expo. How was the Expo for you guys? It was cool, we took some friends and rented Typhoon Lagoon for a session, that's always fun. We went to see Flogging Molly at The House of Blues in Downtown Disney they were amazing.. As for Expo, the usual, met with vendors/friends. The newest thing was getting to test, see and feel the new Ronix boards, really great, innovative just like Herb Obrien has always been. It is a lot of work though, meeting all the vendors and going through each presentation. We all did our part, Marla, my wife and her sister Astrid met with some of our Clothing vendors, Scott, Martyn, my dad and I met with all the Wake, Ski vendors along with Skate and some other hard goods we liked. Just seeing all the new innovations is always good too, lots of new exciting things coming out.
FL Wake: I see that you are a new dealer for Ronix. What did you think of their new boards and operations? Actually to more accurate, they are a brand new brand and we are one of the very first of their dealers. We like that distinction; we count them as friends as well as partners. The boards are killer, but one of the really big things are the bindings, wait till you try them on! You put this sock on your
FLW: Lets get the vitals on you. Where are you from, how old are you, family info..., what school you go to, etc. SL: I am from Fort Lauderdale Florida. I am 14 years old. I have two brothers Bob 16 and Daniel 6. I go to Westminster Academy. I am in 9th grade. FLW: You have just finished up a killer year in 2006 in the Boys Division. Can you take us back through your year and tell us what you accomplished? SL: I had a great year and a lot of fun. I started the year with a win at Board-Up Miami. In July I took a big fall by putting by arm through the handle and was out for two weeks. I missed USA Nationals, but recovered for a great trip out to Portland with my sponsor Nike 6.0. I ended the year with First in Boys Division in the Gravel Tour, 2nd at Nationals and 4th at Worlds. During the summer I also competed in the USA Cable Nationals and came in 2nd, and I was also invited to compete in the Liquid Force Rail Jam. FLW: What was the biggest win of the year? SL: Coming in first at Gravel is always big, but winning Board-Up Miami was a great way to start the year.
FLW: How long have you been riding now? SL: I learned how to wakeboard when I was about 8 years old. I rode about once a year. I didn’t get that serious about it until I was about 10 or 11 - so I have
up to Lake Placid, Fl. once a year to hang out. One day my dad showed up with a wakeboard and thought it would be cool to do and I have loved it ever since. FLW: Does your family live on a lake? How often do you get to ride? SL: We don’t live on a lake or even have a boat down here - but we do have a lake house in Lake Placid, Fl. That is where we keep our boat. I normally ride with Dean Lavelle at LTS about 3 to 4 times a week. I get to ride at our lake house for about a total of 2 weeks a year. FLW: Besides riding what else do you do? SL: What else is there? No actually I shoot hoops with my friends, hang out with my family, skateboarding, biking, football and all that stuff. FLW: The Performance Gravel Tour just finished up and you ended it with a tie with Daniel Powers. You two were going back and forth each been riding seriously for about 4 weekend. What was it like battling years now. with him going down to the last FLW: How did you get involved round? in wakeboarding? SL: It was fun - Daniel is a great rider SL: My dad bought a boat off and super consistent- You need good the Internet and we started to go competition like that to push you.
FLW: Do you two get to ride and practice together? SL: No not really - he lives in Orlando and I am in Ft. Lauderdale. FLW: Who is your normal crew that you get to ride with or coached by? SL: In Fort Lauderdale I ride at LTS, the Lavelle Training Station, with Dean Lavelle - Jimmy LaRiche is there a lot, and the up and coming ripper Noah Flegel. When I am in Orlando I try and hook up with my friend John Jeffries. Also in Orlando I have had the chance to ride with coaches like Glenn Fletcher and Mike Ferraro. FLW: Next year is going to be your first year on the road for the Pro Tour riding in the Junior Mens Division. What are your thoughts going into next year? SL: The Junior men are really incredible, I have some big tricks that can compete at that level but I want to get a lot more tricks in my bag - and really work on sliding. I’ll be spending the off season training as much as possible.
FLW: You have a lot of good guys who are moving up but still a lot of competition, who do you think is going to be the guy to beat? SL: There are a lot of incredible riders in Jr. Men, Adam Errington, Jimmy LaRiche, Eddie Valdez, Ryan Anderson, and so many more. If I want to compete in Jr. Men I need to be able to compete on their level. FLW: What tricks are going to have to get down in your runs to make it all happen next year on the tour? SL: First, I’m trying to convince most of those guys to go pro.......but in order to make it I have to get consistent on a few more big tricks. Spins are big, 7’s and 9’s are being thrown down regularly - and of course you gotta have a bunch of mobes.
-cont’d
FLW: You have some great sponsors already behind youu. What is your relationship with your sponsors and who are they? SL: I have really awesome sponsors - they have all really been supportive - Nike 6.0 is one of my main sponsors, Curtis Graham is great, they are really supporting the action sports like wakeboarding, skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, motocross, and BMX. Their shoes and clothes are really tight. Joey Losson and Aaron Grace at Liquid Force have kept me riding on the best gear all year, Paul at Anarchy sunglasses, Jeff at Straight Line, Lonny at DNA energy drinks, Dean Lavelle at the Lavelle training station, Mike at Guru trampboards and Bill at Performance have all kept me going. I am also involved with Beyond the Water for Kids Foundation with Kevin Sutton and I spent some time with Rod, filming for the Kids who Rip DVD. FLW: What are the goals for next year and then 3 years from now? SL: Next year I hope to qualify to compete in Jr. Men on the Pro Tour. Three years from now I hope to be the top rider in Jr. Men and considering becoming Pro. What tricks are you working on? I have been landing Whirly 5’s and trying to get them consistent, along with working on my 7’s, crowmobes, Moby Dicks, and a lot more. FLW: Thanks for the interview Steel and good luck. Anyone you would like to thank? SL: I would like to thank God for blessing me with awesome parents and the ability to wakeboard. I want to thank all my sponsors and coaches for all their great support. Thank you for my first cover and Fuel T.V. for filming me for their show New Pollution. I would also like to thank my school, Westminster Academy, for working with me and allowing me to take the time to do all this great stuff.
FLW: One last thing, fill out this list of Favorites Favorite: Board/Bindings: Watson 130 and the Watson ‘07 bindings Food: Zebra cakes TV Show: Pull, but looking forward to New Pollution Pair of Shoes: Nike 6.0’s - especially the Oncores Drink: DNA Part of the Day: Anytime I am out on the water Rider: I have a lot of favorites, Rusty Malonoski, Keith Lyman, Shawn Watson, Shaun Murray and many more. Sport other than Wakeboarding: Football and basketball Girl: All of them.
-Ronnie Monk
Pro Motorcross/Supercross rider, James “Bubba” Stewart, signed with Correct Craft. Nautiques, like Mastercraft, have made the cross-over into the Motocross world. This bring each of these companies a significant amount of outside publicity. “James is the perfect young man to help us increase our brand awareness even more in the motocross industry. Having James represent our Nautique brand further demonstrates that top athletes prefer Correct Craft,” said Correct Craft President/CEO, Bill Yeargin. “After seeing Correct Craft’s involvement with Loretta Lynn’s (The AMA Air Nautiques Amateur National Motocross Championships), I am extremely honored to become a part of the Correct Craft family and look forward to growing the brand in the motocross industry.” Stewart said. Stewart also rides for Red Bull, Kawasaki, Fox Racing, Boost Mobile, and Oakley. For more info and to see the full line of ‘07 Nautiques check out www.CorrectCraft.com. In other industry news, Gator Boards has signed Kyle Rattray to their team. Rattray is from Ontario, Canada. Gator Boards new team film “Transgression” is due out soon. The film is the latest release from veteran filmmaker Ronn Seidenglanz and his company Sidewayz. For more info check out Sidewayz at www.Sidewayz.com. In contest news, Phillip Soven edged out Rusty Malinoski at the first stop of the Pro Tour to win his second straight Pro contest this year. Emily Copeland-Durham takes the win in the women’s division. For the full story and much more check out WakeWorld at www.WakeWorld.com.
-GB
www.MalibuBoats.com