Surf Expo 2002
 By: Dave Barousse
As most of you already know, I also work on the popular wakeboarding website known as Wakeboarder.com. So this year we decided to gather the Wakeboarder.com team and take a trip to Orlando, FL for the 2002 Surf Expo. Surf Expo is an annual trade show where companies from the Surf, Skate and Wakeboarding Industry show off their product line for the next season and give their dealers that chance to get a first hand look at the new products.
Seth Martin and I were to meet up with Wakeboarder.com Editor and founder, Pat McCarthy, and Wakeboarder.com marketing director, Ed Harmon, in the Orlando International Airport around 12:30 a.m. on September 20, 2002. Because of some bad weather our flight was delayed about 2 to 3 hours and we didn't arrive in Orlando until about 3:00 a.m. It was a tiring night, but we made it and were up bright and early getting ready to ride at OWC before we made our way to the Convention Center for the Expo.
OWC had a few new obstacles in the water for us to play on. They had the same Dragon Slider and PVC ramp, but have now added a Slaughter Box and a flipped over John boat. All of the obstacles were a lot of fun, but I think I did more swimming than I did riding. None of the obstacles were what I like to call, "Wakeskating Friendly."
After a few hours of riding the cable, we made our way over to Expo to check out the new products for 2003 and to make some sales of our own. I attended the Expo in 2001, but it was nothing like the experience I had in 2002. The 2001 expo was about a week after the horrible 9/11 terrorist attack, so a lot of people did not make it down to FL for the show. But, this year everyone made it down.
Because we were with Wakeboarder.com, we were able to get Press Passes for the show. This was great because it allowed us to bring our cameras in which was otherwise prohibited and we were also treated very well. The Press Room was always stocked with refreshments that were free of charge. Pat and Seth couldn't pass by the room without getting a cookie or two for their walk down "Bikini Row". I guess there must be something about cookies and bikinis?
While walking around the show, we got to see a lot of great products that will soon be hitting the market. We also got to talk with a few of the pro wakeboarders that were in attendance. Actually, most of the pro's were there, we just didn't talk to them all. After a long conversation with Collin Wright, I would have to say that he is by far the coolest pro I have ever held a conversation with. He was very nice and had no problem answering our questions. Also while speaking with Collin, Parks Bonifay walked over to join in. Parks didn't have much to say, but it was still cool that he was listening in and hanging out with us. I also got a chance to meet Shaun Murray. I've met Shaun before, but I never had the chance to sit a talk with him for a minute. He was definitely a cool guy to chat with and even hooked us up with some stickers from his new video game coming out.
Speaking of Murray's new video game, we all got to sit down and play the game for a while. We joined Robert Southworth who was in the middle of a session and he was kind enough to let us all take a turn playing the game. Video game lovers that like to wakeboard will really like this game, especially if you like to play Tony Hawk Pro Skater. The game should be released by Activision some time after Christmas 2002.
The star of the 2002 Surf Expo had to be the 2003 X-Star from MasterCraft. This has to be the nicest wakeboarding boat I have ever laid my eyes on. Pictures of this boat does not do it justice and once seeing it in person, you will understand. The boat is huge and has enough room to bring your whole crew and their grandmothers out on the water. The ballast system is built inside of the hull to give even more room and to get the weight distributed better so the boat gets up on plane quicker. That also shouldn't be a problem because they have loaded this thing with horsepower. The pickle fork nose takes a minute to get used to, but I can see where it will be much more useful than the standard bow. The new bow design has a small deck across the font which will eliminate the balancing act that is currently required to use that area of the boat, especially when you have to go and you don't want to get in the water (guys that is). The new X-Star is definitely a beautiful boat, but until I get to hit the wake myself, I can't say that it is the best wakeboarding boat made.
After two days of walking around the expo, we headed over to XS Orlando for the Wakelist dinner. The wakelist dinner consisted of members from the Wakelist that have been talking to each other via email and finally get a chance to meet in person as a group. Most of the people already knew each other from meeting at other events, but a few new faces were in the crowd. It was a great dinner and Billy Glenn decided he was going to pick up the tab for everyone again this year. I still can't get over that!
After dinner, everyone went upstairs to the XS Orlando game room that was filled with virtual reality games and other fun games like rock climbing and fishing. Pat challenged me to a dance off on one of the many popular dancing video games, but I didn't want to embarrass him in front of all of the wakelist members. My slick and graceful dance moves would have been too much for him to handle. He was still trying to get over the fact that Florida didn't have mountains. The video games were great and hanging out with the wakelist crew was once again a very fun time. It is always fun to hang out with people that enjoy the same passion as you do about a hobby or a sport. I hope to see everyone again soon.
Krookedminds East Coast chapter, Mark and Cathy Kyle as well as our West Coast Chapter, Billy Glenn, all attended the wakelist dinner and invited us out to their lake for some riding before we headed back to LA. We drove out to The Wakeboard Camp to meet up with the crew for an afternoon of great riding and a lot of fun. Mark and Cathy always treat us to a great day on the water, but unfortunately the water didn't cooperate with us. It was pretty rough, but we still had a good time. I finally got to ride with Pat, I got to ride with Mark and Cathy again as well as Billy and Lee and I broke another wakeskate. We also got to see Aaron Reed skating by us a few times with some of the guys from The Wakeboard Camp. That was surely a treat.
Our weekend pretty much ended after our afternoon session with the Kyles. We headed back to the house, packed up our gear and went to the airport to catch a ride home. But, Pat and I did have enough time to have a skate session in the street before we took off. We were going to try to make it back to OWC before we had to go to the airport, but we ran out of time. Maybe one day we will make that final stop by OWC. I haven't made it yet in 3 years.
Rumors and Gossip....
I thought I would share a few things that we heard going around expo.
1. Randy Harris is no longer riding for O'Brien. They will keep his board shape, but it will be given the new name "The Absence". Kind of ironic.
2. Ricky Gonzales was dropped from the Hyperlite team. We didn't get any further information about this, but all I can imagine is that he was the only person on the Hyperlite team that didn't live in Central Florida.
3. Andrew Atkinson signed a deal with MasterCraft. He will be taking delivery on a 2003 X-Star at his new roommate's house. By the way, that roommate happens to be Shaun Murray.
4. Pat McCarthy ate more doughnuts than I did on the trip, but Seth Martin ate more than Pat and I combined.
5. The Wake Designs model did not like posing for the camera, especially with Ed Harmon. I promise!
6. While talking with Microsoft developers, the Scott Byerly wakeboarding video game has been in development for over 3 years now. The game is also going to include wakeskating. No projected release date was given to us.
7. Core Wakeboards picked up formerly unknown ripper Sean O'Brien and his whole riding crew. Say what, his whole crew?
8. There is a new wakeboarding magazine hitting the market entitled "Ride". The magazine is also organizing an entirely new and separate pro tour for 2003. Supposedly, the tour will be put on by the riders.
9. I promise nobody took pictures with the Wake Designs model!
10. Pat finally got to meet his lifelong idol, Darin "The Scud" Shapiro. I think they met when we walked by "The Scud" and Pat thought he was a lost boy looking for his mom. Apparently Pat didn't realize how small "The Scud" really is.
Surf Expo 2002 was a great time and I hope to do it again next year. Hopefully next year Wakeboarder.com will foot the bill. HA! Yeah right!
Related Article:
Surf Expo 2002 Photo Gallery
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