Top 10 Epic Wins of 2010

1. Internationals.

Its something that happens every 2 years. I mean we can't say this next year... Internationals 2010 was by far the best one yet and it was a defining moment in our sport with the inclusion of the Australians. Giving us 3 competing countries which is the first truly International competition. I could probably write a book about the memories and great times with many old friends and some new ones. I could show you more pictures than your mind has room for.... best kneeboarders in the world, 3 countries(USA, UK, Australia), one place (by the way Callaway Gardens is epic too).

Men's Highlights from AllState Productions on Vimeo.

2. Rogue Fly In 2010. Not having been, I couldn't give you any details. But judging from the video that I spam this site with over and over... its definitely worth one more post before the new year.



3. The Moomba Classic 2010. It may have been a demo this year, but with thousands of spectators watching... and the word of a kneeboard division with a cash prize next year... thats nothing short of an epic win.

4. Leigh Ward and Marc Gray and others killing it for a magazine photo shoot. Nothing like a team effort, fun, and publicity for kneeboarding. The comradery puts a smile on my face.

5. H.O. signs Frankie Panno. Its about time a company signed a kneeboarder and gave them a pro model. And the Into The Flats teaser is SO SICK!!! Its a huge year for Frankie and H.O. Congrats bro.



6. Ted Bevelaqua earning an award of Merit at USA Waterski Hall of Fame. Can't stress how amazing that is. Thats truly making history for kneeboarding seeing as there are no other kneeboarders with this award.

7. Remember this video? Lets just say that there is a lot of sweet footage. What I have actually seen that is going into this video is epic, but I can't show anyone anything until its ready... for fear of having my throat slit multiple times by Alisa and Jared.

Passion Teaser from AllState Productions on Vimeo.

Nothing like horseshoes and hand grenades making the top 10 :)

8. The announcement of an all kneeboard cable video. Definitely made my year.



9. Leigh Ward's wardout

10. Kent Hartshorn's air 7 back

Top 10 Fails of 2010

Here at Kneeboard Magazine, we're doing Top 10's until 2010. Right now I've been working minutes upon minutes of top 10 kneeboarding fails, and I think I found them.

1. This had epic win written all over it, till the very end

2. John Lane's arm through handle.

3. Spencer Leggett doing open eye surgery on himself

4. Shawn Roy's shaved eyebrows. Skip to 3:20...wait what am I saying? Watch the whole thing again.



5. Spencer Leggett and John Haile's black eyes- not a good shot of it, but they were both epic black eyes


6. Randy Gibbs has the sickest layout ever, you wouldn't think it was possible, but there is video of one that goes wrong... at the end

Randy and Colton Gibbs from AllState Productions on Vimeo.

7. John Haile's S-bend attempts. Both the lack of extension and falls were epic fails.

S-Bend Attempts from AllState Productions on Vimeo.

8. My brother Jay at the end of this video. Love ya bro, we both know you kill it barefooting and I eat more crap than both of us when I try to.

Easter and Shattered from AllState Productions on Vimeo.

9. Men I National's slalom. Not one full pass (until the tie breaker) out of 4 guys that are more than capable of going more than a billion passes each. And backrolls in the course. Tisk tisk.

10. Blogs that claim to be magazines PSH!!!

Stay wih us fot the Top 10 wins of 2010.

2 Christmas Presents that everyone gets

1. Jesus Christ
2. This Louisiana Fly In video that Stefan Ewing edited.


This thing is truly a piece of art and everyone seems to have improved a ton since last year. BRING ON THE NEW YEAR!!!

Alisa Piper Interview

I have had the pleasure of being best friends with the best female kneeboarder in the world, Alisa Piper. Kneeboarding is a small sport in general and, like most board sports, the population in the sport is male dominated. But that doesn't mean anything to Alisa, who has been riding like she has to top the group of guys she rides with. While I'm at work, I will occasionally get voicemails that contain a bunch of people yelling about what Alisa just landed. She apparently wants to make the male athletes in our sport look bad, while showing the world that girls can shred too. So with that, I think its fair to say that an Alisa Piper interview is long overdue...

First off, have you had your rabies shots? and who let you out of your cage?

DANG IT JOHN!

Why do you yell so much?

Haha … oh man… if only half the people reading knew about the “ my name is _____ and I like to yell” oh and the “can I ask you a personal question” their lives would be so much more eventful. I did think it was awesome the first day I met the Aussies (Marc, Dogga and Wardy) the first thing they said to me was CAN I ASK YOU A PERSONAL QUESTION ! our stupid video made it all the way around the world =]

Tell us how you got into kneeboarding?

The first time I was on a kneeboard I am told I was 2 years old. Kneeboarding has been a huge sport in my family. Considering some of my family started one of the first kneeboard clubs ( M.A.P ). My whole life it’s been the same every weekend we go out on the lake. I always kneeboarded but never got serious about it untill George and Doris Rohner started the Skionee Kneeboard Club in 2001 and since then I have been 100 percent hooked on it.

What are your biggest accomplishments?

To be honest I have a lot of them because I am always pushing myself to do better, I would say my top 3 are American Kneeboard Association Female Athlete of the Year awards, Being a member of Team USA, and Being the first lady to land an Invert Front.

Have you noticed that Marc chose Team John over Team Alisa, how does this make you feel?... Loser :)

Marc knows who the Bad Ass is anyway…

Tell us about the first time you tried the mcdouble.

OH MY GOSH. I just learned my first back roll behind a tiny Moomba Outback wake and you took me out on your boat you had like 17 people + Stock ballast + 2 side sacks. I was so used to throwing it so hard I did the same thing ... all I know is I should have held on and I would be the first lady to land a mcdouble... as a side note my ribs still hurt thinking about that day =]

How did you get into art?

My Mom and Dad did Metal Art on the side when I was growing up and I guess I just picked up. Everyone that knows me pretty much knows that if there is a blank piece of paper around I am going to draw on it. I just recently got into painting I am no Picasso but it’s fun.

I know you have big plans on moving to Bora Bora. How do you plan on making the money to move there.

Mona Vie, getting into the boxed water industry, dentistry? Seriously people… ANY picture I have seen of Bora Bora there is flat calm water.

Give us the lowdown on the day you became the first lady to hit the invert front.

My good friend Brooke Grassman and I were riding together and we both decided we weren’t going to come in until we both landed a new flip. My brother coached me over the phone (and Brooke is a wakeboarder she had no idea what I was doing) the first three I crashed I had no idea what was wrong Brooke told me it’s awesome how you land backwards .. Realizing what I was doing wrong was almost landing Road Kills instead of inverts ... I fixed my mistake gave it 3 more shots and landed it on my sixth try, awesome feeling and successful day.

What did you throw in your International flip out run.

I did 4 back rolls and I was so excited I got that far I did and Invert Front and everyone was stoked =] End result was 5 flips in 21 seconds. It was the first time a lot of people had got to see me land my invert in person so everyone was excited.

Why is that the ladies got 2 rounds of International freestyle, but the guys only got one?

What can we do next year to insure we get as many runs as possible? Wellll … to try and sum it up as short as possible the ladies got talked out of ballast because there was already going to be about 9 to 10 people in the boat so we all said it was fine.. all the girls crashed .. NO wake what so ever all the weight was towards the front of the boat so much that the platform was completely out of the water.. I noticed it, protested and the other girl agreed so they granted us re-rides... Next thing I know Marc Gray is running past me with cinder blocks saying “Don’t worry ill fix the wake” haha

What kind of music do you listen to?

I am the biggest Country music fan ... but my ipod seriously has everything from Hank Williams to Eminem. I am not too picky.

Who is your favorite Nascar driver.

I am always an Earnhardt jr. fan...But I have jumped on the Denny Hamlin band wagon..dude does work.

You don't like Danica Patrick?..

Remember when we were at Daytona last year and she wrecked a guy his car was completely on fire and all they were worried about was her.. psh... come on now.

Can you confirm with me, that the next time Justin Bieber is in Orlando, that we won't miss his concert?

OH MY GOSH.. all We tried to do was come to Orlando to visit you and the Interstate was at a complete stop for hours with nothing but mini vans that had “Bieber Fever” written all over them ????

Ninjas or Pirates?

Pirates, they know how to have a good time

What new moves are you working on?

To be honest I don’t like to talk about what I am working on un till I successfully land it stay tuned for that... I am working on getting my 540’s and air 540’s more consistent for some reason spin tricks are hard for me and I constantly loose the handle. I am also always working on getting to that next buoy in slalom, right now my score is 39 (that is 3 Buoys and 28 off 22mph) . P.S Layouts are on the bucket list.

Look into your crystal ball and tell us what you see in both ladies kneeboarding future, aswell as kneeboarding's future.

Kneeboardings future, we need more people to come out to events. This year at nationals there was thousands of people in the park and countless people came up to me and said “we had no idea people still kneeboard” A lot of people don’t like events but at least there is a small group of people still keeping a spark alive. Even the Fly Ins are an awesome way to have people get together just to kneeboard. As For ladies kneeboarding I would love to see other girls getting into kneeboarding and pushing it as much as I try to. I guess I feel like I am always trying to go bigger and do better cause I always ride with the guys. We need girls that are not afraid to step away for 16mph up their speed and clearing the wake. .. Getting to ride with Ragen Mchan and Rachel Clark this year at Internationals was awesome, I was so excited to be around other girls flipping Rachel was killing it she landed her back roll and tried a front roll and an invert in her runs, Ragen was landing her back roll. To bad we can’t ride together all the time and live so far from eachother we would probably be taking ladies kneeboarding to the next level together.

Who are you sponsored by?

H.O Sports, Accurate Lines.

Anyone you would like to thank?
Parents, and George and Doris Rohner without them I would not love kneeboarding as much as I do. We all have them to thank for all the awesome events they put on and keeping kneeboarding alive.

Any last words?

……Can I ask you a personal question ? (ahaha) -Seriously the kneeboarding community is awesome I have met the greatest people because of this sport!

Thank you for your time Alisa Piper.

No prob John get back in your cage.

"Disinterred" is disinterred

A while ago you may have heard of a brand new kneeboarding film in the works called Disinterred that would be produced by Shannon Griffin. There was an awesomely overwhelming hype!!! Then as time passed on, there was little talk about it. I met Shannon earlier in 2010. When I asked him about it, he decided to trash the idea of Disinterred and work on a completely separate kneeboard demo video, which was still cool. Then more time passed on. NOW, fortunately for us, Shannon has decided to bring Disinterred back to life. After all that, the name truly couldn't be a better fit for the film. More info to come. Keep your eyes peeled.

Romuald Grenados C-rail

So if you're a long term follower, you may have remembered a french guy by the name of Romuald Grenados and his double backflip of a ramp at a cable park. So REPOST!!!

What we didn't show you was this picture of Romuald shredding on a C-rail from last year. Better late than never

Ted Bevelacqua

"Ted Bevelacqua - Congrats on being a recepient of the Award of Merit and placed in the USA Water Ski Hall of Fame. The American Kneeboard Association is proud to have representation in the Hall of Fame."

All I can say is, its about time!!! I could very well be mistaken but, the last time I was at the USA Waterski Hall of Fame, there wasn't ANY kneeboarders recognized with an Award of Merit. But now that they finally wisened up and took notice to our discipline... they seriously couldn't have picked a better athlete or better person.

I had the pleasure of meeting Ted, getting lessons, riding with, and watching him ride many many years ago. Lets just say that him, myself and Nick Sauls all were closing in on making 100 laps around lake Red Water... and after Nick and myself had to stop because we were so sore. Ted finished off his couple laps by throwing the biggest frontflips you've ever seen in your life. You might be thinking, "I don't know I've seen some pretty big frontflips"... No, trust me you haven't. Did I mention the wake was small too? And when you watch him ride, you know that there isn't a soul in the world that is more happy and stoked than he is in that moment.

Some people break records, others make history, but true legends break history. Congrats man you deserve it.

Spencer Leggett's 2010 video

The year is winding down, winter is here. While most people in North Carolina were roasting chestnuts on an open fire Spencer Leggett was out shredding. He just released his latest video for 2010. His first 3 was LATE!!!... fashionably.

5 Reasons to ride this winter

It's that time of the year again. Break out the gloves, the wetsuits, the hot chocolate, the blankets and jump in the water. Stop complaining the water isn't THAT cold. Everyone and their mother rides in the summer, but the guys and girls that will tow you or you meet in the cold weather... TRULY have a passion for what they are doing, just as much as you. Anytime I hit the lake this time of year, I meet people and grow tighter bonds and have a deeper respect for those that love what they're doing that aren't going to make excuses. With that here are 5 reasons you should MAN(or woman) UP!!! and go out on the lake.

5. You can consider yourself a real athlete and not just a weekend wake warrior
4. You'll get twice the practice than those riding only during the summer
3. You'll get twice the fun than those riding only during the summer
2. The water is practically guaranteed flat, and those idiots on the lake... nowhere to be seen.
1. It builds character.

DoonStock

If you haven't noticed, we here at Kneeboard Magazine take what we can get. We've done it before and now we're doing it again. A full length video with one quick kneeboard clip... but hey Marc's shot doesn't dissapoint. Its a HUGE combo at the 5:40 mark. So now you have the choice of going straight for the goods or being patient.

2011 Monster Energy Tigé Tour - Wakesurfing, RipCurl Tour & Doonstock from ProWake.com.au on Vimeo.

Kneeboard- The Movie Teaser

The first all cable kneeboard movie is dropping in the fall of next year. Good to see there are kneeboarders shredding in Germany!!! It brings a tear to my eye just seeing how fast cable is growing. :')

Water Sports

So I'm now officially entered into a new video contest and all the support I can get is mucho appreciated. Its so easy, its like having an easy button for your easy button.

Step 1. Go to this site

http://contest.quenchgum.com/video.aspx?v=UWXLQE90_aU

Step 2. If you don't have a youtube account. Go get one. They are free and easy to use.

Step 3. Give the video a thumbs up and leave a comment.

Step 4. Tell all of your friends and family and random creepers you may happen to see. This ins't the tell everyone but Susan video contest. Tell everyone.

The Contest will be open until (January 1st at 12:00a.m.)

Step 5. Go get a massage, take a vacation to an exotic location, drink a margarita. Because you deserve it and you're awesome.

Into The Flats Teaser

A few days ago, Frankie sent me this link to a new film he is working on. To tell you the truth, I don't know where to start. ITS EPIC!!! The editing, filming, music, and quality is top notch. There were a few times that I had to pause and replay what I had seen, because I my brain wasn't registering what just happened. The riding was sick and truly lived up to the films name "Into the Flats". Way to represent Frankie. This will definitely be a must have film. In stores in January

Kneeboard Demo

So I went up to Jacksonville last spring. I sold some hydrofoil DVDs aswell as filmed a new one while I was there for the Spring Fling. One thing led to another and some of the organizers foundout I was a kneeboarder. They were stoked to see the teaser from Passion and offered me some demo pulls after the event was over. Special thanks to my cousins and aunt for the place the food and everything. Special thanks the hydrofoilers for putting on the event and supporting what I love to do (filming) and giving me some pulls (Also what I love to do). So what I am doing now is placing the entire film online and selling the passwords away for a rediculously cheap price. (Currently undetermined). Anyways here's the video of my kneeboard demo. Fair warning that theres a few sloppy landings, a very questionable roadkill ( ehh maybe invert front), and more fist pumping than Jersey Shore can handle. But an epic time of epicness none the less

Kneeboard Demo from AllState Productions on Vimeo.

2010 AKA Male and Female Athletes of the Year

Congrats to Kent Harshorn and Alisa Piper. Both have truly earned this award from everthing they have accomplished over the last year.

( http://www.usawaterski.org/default.asp?Display=1088 )

The American Kneeboard Association has announced that Kent Hartshorn (Goose Creek, S.C.) and A'lisa Piper (Lake Placid, Fla.) have been named the organization's 2010 Male Athlete of the Year and Female Athlete of the Year, respectively.

Hartshorn won titles in slalom, tricks, freestyle and overall at the 26th Kneeboard National Championships, Sept. 4-6, in Pine Mountain, Ga. It was his first national overall title since taking a four-year hiatus to work as a regional coordinator with In His wakes Ministries. Hartshorn also won the men's freestyle titles at the 2010 International Kneeboard Rider Cup, Georgia State Kneeboard Championships and Florida State Kneeboard Championships.

Piper swept titles in slalom, tricks and freestyle, as well as women’s flipout at the Kneeboard Nationals. She also swept the women's slalom, tricks, freestyle and overall titles at the 2010 Georgia State Kneeboard Championships and Florida State Kneeboard Championships, in addition to winning flip out, freestyle and slalom titles at the 5th International Kneeboard Rider Cup.

Both athletes will be honored at the USA Water Ski Awards Reception on Jan. 29 in Haines City, Fla.

Kenny Stuart's Cover Shot

So Doris contacted me recently and sent me this (for some reason I couldn't get the picture to showup).

http://65.55.85.247/att/GetInline.aspx?messageid=8d089baf-e553-11df-b0a0-00215ad7b274&attindex=0&cp=-1&attdepth=0&imgsrc=cid%3atie_8CD47775794CEFE_F8C_174FD&hm__login=bighaile88&hm__domain=msn.com&ip=10.13.30.8&d=d6980&mf=0&hm__ts=Thu%2c%2004%20Nov%202010%2005%3a53%3a11%20GMT&st=bighaile88%402&hm__ha=01_d4b77886d10f3cc0dc35c670cc34de9ebafef76ccec3d1e917e3f65bdad05cb5&oneredir=1

I thought she did a great job on it. Let me just say that this was done for fun so I'll clearup anything that may have thrown you off.

False- That is not my quote, only because I couldn't have said it better myself :). Kneeboard Magazine is not a printed magazine. I'm not the President of Kneeboard Magazine. I wasn't technically voted on so I like to think of myself as more of the dictator of Kneeboard Magazine.

Truth- This is an online magazine. We are devoted to bringing the best information and resources to kneeboard entusiasts. Likewise as the "only" kneeboard magazine... we are also devoted to bringing you the worst lol. The articles are original, but they're definitely not fun. Only because I suck the fun out of kneeboarding and generally everything. Just kidding, but seriously.

Anyways, thanks to Doris for sending me that cover, and thanks to Kenny for making the cover look good. If you have any covers (serious or nonserious) that you would like to send. Feel free.

-John Haile

International Randomness

The plague of random International videos is still among us. Rumor has it the plague will last a little longer, then Kneeboard Magazine can go back to serious business. Because thats what we're about here. Serious Business. Just kidding... but SERIOUSLY

International Randomness from AllState Productions on Vimeo.

Time Wasters

Dave's Jacket from AllState Productions on Vimeo.

Ripstick Royale from AllState Productions on Vimeo.

I still have a ton of footage from Internationals. No more riding shots but some random time wasters. More to come

CHEAYEAH!!!

http://www.amer-kneeboard.org/Preview%20DVD.html

Checkout this video Doris threwup. Copies are being sold at http://www.amer-kneeboard.org/How%20to.html

OWC Shreddage!!!

A video of me and my friends shredding at the Orlando Watersports Complex. They got a shot of a sloppy frontroll back before I had to go into work... but thanks to the Worrall's for the video :)

Rail Sesh at OWC, Eric Aj and Davis from WorrallWakeFilms on Vimeo.

The flyins have been going on for quite a few years now. Shawn Roy hosted this last I have yet to actually meet Shawn yet. He went to Nationals last year when I wasn't there, and I went this year when he wasn't there.But just talking to him over facebook (stalkerbook) chats...he had me LOLing and ROFLing... and I'm not just saying that. I mean those abbreviations "literally". And a special congratulations, he is now an uncle. I thought that this would be an epic time to give Shawn his own interview, findout a little more about him, aswell as cover the lowdown of what went on this last weekend.

How did you get into kneeboaring?

I used to try to kneeboard when I was really young, but wasn't very good at it at all. I couldn't even get up. I wasn't on the water much because I played football and baseball from when I was 7 years old until I graduated high school in 2005, so that took up most of my time. After high school I started to go out in the boat on the weekends and my good friend, Jody Richard, would kneeboard. We would ride behind an X5 that belonged to another friend and he would just do wake jumps but go HUGE. I decided I wanted to learn to do that and bought me a board then slowly progressed.

Who do you ride with?

I ride with my best friend, Mike Fenton, he has a 2007 Super Air Nautique 220. It's usually me, him, his wife Toni, Kolby Lorio, and whoever else we can find to ride. We are all neighbors so that makes it easy. Mike is a wakeboarder, but he's nice enough to let me, Mike Marchand, and Kolby kneeboard lol.

Who is your favorite rider to watch?

Definitely Mike Marchand, although he makes you want to quit and become a professional tuber when he rides.

Where do you work at?

I do commercial landscaping and lawn care.

Give us the lowdown on the flyin. With us much detail as possible. Who, what, when, why, and how?



















Well this was the 3rd fly-in in La, and the second consecutive at Mike Marchand's house. It was myself, Mike Marchand, Stefan Ewing, Mark and Chris from Michigan, Eric Aymond, Mike Fenton, Kolby Lorio, Spencer Gauthreaux, Brian Bartaszewicz, Ryan Kyle, Tony Lucente and a few others popped in from around here. Everyone had a great time and got big air behind the wake of that 220. Mike Marchand's 2 cousins cooked some good food for us Friday and Saturday night, and me and Randy Richard finished up with a big gumbo Sunday. Special thanks to Mike Fenton for letting us use his sweet boat all weekend. also, thanks to my Aunt, Becky Carriere for taking awesome photos, and Randy Richard for doing some pulling and chase boat action in his 86' Correct Craft!

Any one land any new tricks over the weekend?

I don't think anyone did "new" tricks but I landed a big front somersault to air front somersault. Tony Lucente from Ohio, and Ryan Kyle from Texas are pretty new to kneeboarding and they both started jumping that enormous wake from both sides. Before we knew it, they were trying backrolls, neither landed (probably cause the wake was 3' high), but they came close and got something to go home with. Mike Marchand did the biggest sky scraper that I think anyone had ever seen. Seriously, he was higher than unemployment! All of this will be on video soon enough, we got a bunch of great footage and Stefan and I will be working on the video.

Do you think Troy's the best alligator hunter in the swamp?

The only thing alligators fear more than us around here is Troy Landry, hands down.

Do you say "Choot'em Clint" on a daily basis?

Not normally but everyone was saying it this weekend at the fly-in haha. Choot em Clant! Choot dat dam tree chakeah!

Tell us about crawfish.

Crawfish are seasonal and the season is around early February thru mid-June depending on water levels and tempature. Prices drop later in the season, and we eat them more often. We buy the crawfish live, they come in 35-40 lb sacks. We boil them in 80+ qt aluminium crawfish pots with lots of seasonings then peel them and eat them. Or they can be pealed and frozen to use in other dishes.

So I hear you're enjoying the new setup of 70 feet, 24mph, with 2300 pounds of ballast. Does your board enjoy that setup?

I enjoy it a lot. Huge air and for a bigger guy like me its easier on the boat haha. Definitely not good for the boards or my ankles though, I think I broke 3 lowriders and one rush this summer. And on my last ride at the fly-in I did a big back roll and landed way in the flats and my ankle swelled up like 3 times in size. Its feeling better now, and before anyone says anything, I'm not using one of those buoy balls!! That is for old people.

Whats your favorite move?

Layout. Mainly because I watch Mike Marchand do it all the time and no matter how many times I do it, it never looks as good, so I keep trying.













What moves are you working on

Currently I'm trying to dial in a front roll to revert, 360's, and something new that just came about where I do a one handed layout and roll back towards the wake (like a backwards s-bend I guess) and looks kind of like a lay out with an over the head 360. I'm also coming pretty damn close to doing the backwards back somersault.

Ninjas or Pirates

Chuck Norris

Look into your crystal ball and tell us what you see in kneeboarding's future.

That's hard to say but just seeing how the fly-ins are growing, and Frankie Panno coming out with the new board board, it looks like its growing and people are getting more interested. We just need exposure like this site, Kneeboardworld, the Rogue Riders, etc.

Do you have any sponsors?

I don't have any sponsors. But the O'Brien Lowrider is the best board out there!! Hint, hint.

Anyone you would like to thank?

Well, I thanked everyone for the fly-in. But I should thank Mike Fenton for bringing me in his boat every weekend, and Mikey Marchand for giving me tips when I need them... Or a loaner board lol

Any last words?

Chuck Norris

Thanks for your time Shawn.

Shawn Roy's layout

HOLY SNAPDRAGON!!!

New Nick Greve video

(Just a headsup that the music is a little gangster hardcore, but its definitely still worth a watch)

http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=1545686874895

Tom Kohl

Originally when I saw "Sponsor Me" on the title, I thought he was requesting someone to sponsor Tom. After Watching the footage I quickly realized he was demanding sponsors and not asking. Keep up the good work bro.

Sponsor Me Edit from tom kohl on Vimeo.

Working out some kinks

What we have so far...

Newest video of Frankie Panno

You guys are probably going to hate me for this and before I post I have to say "with all due respect" [Now I get to say whatever I want :)]

I was asked to post this video by a good friend of mine and I was actually avoiding posting it. "Why?" you ask...

1. Everyone is calling it something, and I think its something different and
2. I didn't want to feel like I was calling Frankie out on his move

But I don't get many requests and can't deny that this is kneeboard magazine worthy. The shreddage is all there, but I would feel weird posting it without my opinion on it. So here it is.



Let me just say that this is SICK!!! and I question whether a backroll with a handlepass has ever been done... and the fact that it was done so smoothly, so fast and on such a small wake is MIND BOTTLING!!!

But I'm going to say that its not a backroll mobe, but a backroll back with a handlepass. To me he clearly and undeniable lands backwards. But feel free to leave a comment if you disagree/agree.

And hey, Frankie is definitely one of the coolest guys, friend and arguably the hardest shredders that I hope to ride with some day. And I know Frankie has rode bigger wakes and I truly believe he could legitimately get the rotation in on his next set.

-John Haile

2 ways to be a winner

This weekend is going to be epic. If you're not in either of these events, you're a loser. First in Groveland, Florida is the INT Nationals where you can watch Kent Hartshorn shred some gnar.

If you're not going to be there, there is only one other place in the world that you should be if you want to maintain your status as a winner... the LA Fly-In. Everyone is going to be there including Shawn Roy, Mikey Marchand, Eric Aymond, Brian, Mark, Chris, Stefan Ewing, Mike Fenton, Kolby Lorio, Spencer Gauthreaux, Lonnie Marchand, Doug Rogerson and Tony Lucente.

If you're not going to be at either event, I'm sorry but you're a loser and you are forced to join the loser's club with me.

-John Haile

oooooh

This magazine "may/maynot" be going through some changes... I just found this site and looks like a useful tool to give that real magazine feel where you can actually turn pages. The pros- A legitimate, more professional look to the magazine... the cons- the magazine would probably go through times where there would be little to nothing posted, but when it is posted it would be a lot of material all be in one issue. But we'll have to wait and see if I can even get it working before I jump the gun on deciding whether this is something that I'll want to do.

www.onsitecatalog.com

(Like my last post) I want to hear from my readers on whether they think this is a good idea.

Curious

I originally thought this magazine would get a lot of regular readers. Then it seemed like a ghosttown and I was under the impression that noone checked this site. Then I actually heard that people were waiting for the next post. So I'm actually curious as to how many readers Kneeboarding Magazine has. If you're reading this leave a comment. Tell me your listening, give the magazine some criticism, or tell me what it needs more of. Thanks for listening and spread the stoke.

-John Haile

Marc Gray's Interview

Marc Gray is the most aggressive athlete I've ever seen. Calling him crazy would be an understatement. In Georgia, the guy was doing a layout outside of a very fast moving vehicle.He's the first Australian to hit a double backroll, but I think its more impressive that he's the only rider I've seen do one in about 10 years. I had the pleasure to hangout with Marc over the week at Internationals. There were a lot of stories,plenty of craziness, some drinks by the pool and a good amount of riding.

Well, I've already met you and know some of these answers, but for the sake of our readers, I'm going to ask you some questions I already know the answer to. So I think the first and most important question... Can I ask you a personal question?

Hahahahaha I thought I told you what I would do if you asked me a personal question!

How old are you?

28

How long have you been riding?

Well I think I was 7 when I started riding a kneeboard, but did not do anymore then jump the wake until I was 18. Then I learned a 360 and a backroll. I thought I was the best around, but then I saw some guys in Renmark, South Australia when I was 22 and they were going massive and doing flips on the bounce. I set about trying this a couple of times and it hurt! I talked about going over to South Australia for years to have a go but when I turned 25 I decided it was time and some how learned lots of tricks in one season, made the trip to SA and now I'm hooked for life!

Who are your sponsors?

My sponsors are Mac's Waterski World and Master Line (O'Brien importers to Australia)




Who do you ride with?

I ride with anyone and everyone. I use to be a boat slut, getting a ride wherever I could until I got my boat this year.

Ninjas or Pirates?

I would have to be Pirates as they live by water, have guns, and drink lots. Hahahaha

I've heard about the annual Moomba Classic. Tell us what this event is like.

Last year Jeremy Heslop and myself were lucky enough to be invited to the Moomba Masters to put on a kneeboard demo in front of crowds around 30,000 (In the CBD of Melbourne). All I can say is WOW what an experience! At first every one was laughing at us out there on kneeboards until we hit the wake for the first time doing tricks over the top of each other and doing air backrolls and frontrolls. Then people were standing not being able to believe that you could do this on a kneeboard. Things went that well, that I asked to organize a comp for the 2011 Moomba Masters where the city of Melbourne will put up a cash prize.

It was awesome seeing you, Wardy and Dogga at Internationals.
What were some of the highlights of your stay in the United States?

To hard to say as there was so many great times had at the pool, at the bar, out at restaurants with new friends, down at the lake, at Tugg's house, then at Super Daves. Too much to list. But going to KFC and being asked "do you want some hot sauce" Hahaha. Oh yeah and Courtne telling us that a coke a cola gives you a head achne not all the alcohol we were drinking. Way to many great times and we all know that the Aussies did not win the Rider Cup, but we definitely won the drinking contest every night, had the most fun, and best uniforms for the Rider Cup!


What is a cruchy?

In one word, Marisa. Lol otherwise it is a honeycome bar with chocolate all over the outside. And I love to pick on people who have blonde moments. And you can't call a brunette a typical blonce so you call them a crunchie.

So this is a 2 part question, (credit to Alisa for coming up with the question).
Are you team Alisa or team John? and are you team Spencer or team Marissa?

That's easy team John and team Spencer. The girls are good to speak to, but in the end the boys are the ones that sat up late drinking with us. Plus Alisa Piper is a BAD ASS or the Aussies called her B.A. Lol.

Its great to see the double backroll is still alive. What new moves are you working on?

I have lots I am working on and most of it has to do with spins and flips together. That is where kneeboarding is heading.

What is your line length and boat speed?

If I'm out free riding its around the 80-85 foot mark at 25 mph, but in comps I ride at 75 foot 24 mph.

Whats your favorite move and your most difficult move?

I love the layout to air backroll as people just don't expect it. And the double backroll is definitely the most difficult move I have at the moment. Its just one of those tricks that if you muck up just a little bit, you're in a world of pain!

Who is your favorite rider to watch?

I love watching everyone as everyone has their own little style they put in to every trick. I also love watching riders that try new stuff, rather then do the same old all the time. And Dean Smith for his style is always bigger than everyone else.

What kind of music do you like to listen to?

Definitely dance music with a good beat helps pump me up for something stupid that I'll try next.

I've seen some of your acticles and photos. What magazine are those published to and do they always or frequently
feature kneeboarders? (Our US magazines rarely do)

They are all in Australian Waterski Magazine. I write for them and we get all our riders that can make it together once a year for a photo shoot. Normall the best day or 2 us riders have! Just relax, free ride, and try silly stuff as long as it looks good for the camera! And the other good thing is you don't have to land it.

How many boards have you broken? Is it anywhere near a bajillion?

Well it has been lots and lots I have to say I stopped counting. But I am working with O'Brien on a few things at the moment and hopefully the board breaking thing will be over soon!

Lets hear this story about the time you broke your nose kneeboarding.

Well I was up at the Wakeboard Nationals to do demos and went out once and landed all my tricks and was very happy and so was the crowd. Then I decided that I could go back out and do my double backroll for the crowd under the lights at 10 p.m. As we took off from the dock I realized that I would be coming in the wrong way for the crowd to get the best view of the trick. So some crazy idea came in to my head that said, lets try a double front flip for the crowd. All I remember is the crowd all pumped up, then I crashed hard, not sure how far I got around but I was definitely in the second flip when I landed in the water and came up with a sore nose. I grabbed my nose as it was sore and there was blood everywhere. When the boat came back they wanted me to get in the boat, but I didn't. I just told them to tow me out and bring me back in the other way. When I got out in the dark, I thought this nose won't stop bleeding, but I have to finish this show. Came back in to the light and there was blood all over my shorts and jacket, but that didn't stop me from cutting out and going for the double backroll. Unfortunately, I smashed myself again and decided to swim back and get cleaned up. Later that week I went to the doctors and they told me "Yes, you broke your nose".

What do you see in kneeboarding's future?

Well I see no reason that kneeboarding and wakeboarding can't work together and have kneeboarding move in the same way as wakeboarding has over the past few years. I have noticed crowds don't enjoy the 3 sport anymore as much as they used to, and now its all about wakeboarding and freestyle. So its time for kneeboarding to move with the times and follow the money tree to the top.

Congrats to you and Sarah on the arriving baby. When is the due date?

Thanks John, I can't wait to be a Dad at the start of March. Then I'll have a little kneeboarder to bring to the Rider CUp with me. I'm aiming for backrolls by the age of 7. Lol so pumped and just can't wait.

Who would you like to thank?

I would love to thank Troy and Tania McNeill at Mac's Waterski World as without them I never would of got sponsored by Masterline. Also Kim and Mick at Masterline. Without them, I would be broke because of all the boards, ropes, and other skiing equipment I go through. O'Brien for the best boards on Earth and my misses Sarah for putting up with me flying all over the place while she stays home.

Any last words you would like to say?

Thanks for the Interview and to all the kids out there that think there is no way they could ever land stuff we do. All you need to do is believe in yourself, practice, and take some hard falls, but don't ever give up! RIDE LOW FLY HIGH

Thanks for you time Marc, and thank you for answering all of these personal questions. It was awesome meeting you and I'm hoping to see you in Australia before the next Internationals.

Men's Highlights

Men's Highlights from AllState Productions on Vimeo.

I've got good news and bad news. The good news is that I finally found time to edit some of the Internationals and Nationals. The bad news is that I didn't cover as much as I had wanted to. I would have preferred to get more shots from the guys from the uk aswell as the aussies since I don't get the opportunity to film them nearly as often...(I saw Leigh Ward's run from a distance and it was something else). A lot of stuff was happening and only so much battery to cover it, so I slapped myself on the wrist and learned my lesson. More good news, there was a professional film crew there covering what I missed. Copies will be sold when its finished and I'll give out details as I hear them.

Stefan Ewing's Fog Video

I swear Stefan, Red, must be somehow related to Chuck Norris. I really enjoy the vibe of this video. I like how you can't see anything behind the person riding, the music was nice, and the riding was top notch as always.

Brandon Bivens Video

Brandon Bivens Kneeboarding from Shannon Griffin on Vimeo.

Brandon has been practicing up for Nationals and Internationals coming up within the next few weeks. Needless to say he is killing it. I havent seen a 7 front since 1999 (no joke), and he stomped it clean aswell as some sick combos. Thanks for filming Shannon, and thanks for the show Brandon. Enjoy.

Frankie Is On Fire...

This time not literally...but figuratively. All-actionsports also interviewed Frankie Panno. Enjoy.

http://www.all-actionsports.com/team-athlete-affiliate/team-member-frankie-panno/

ODUB

A few minutes ago, I signed my resignation to kneeboarding. But starting tomorrow, is my one month aniversarry of working at the Orlando Watersports Complex which means that I get to ride whenever I want. Timing couldn't have been worse to sign those papers. So I just signed my resignation from my resignation. Can't wait to shred tomorrow. (Not a recent photo, there are now more obstacles now, but I like the vibe it sends off)

MOTHER OF ZEUS!!!

Jared Bohlen was out riding with Alisa Piper and Brooke Grassman. Least to say, they are all rabies infested rabid animals that need to be locked in their cages made of adamantium... and this picture is proof. With that I signed my resignation to kneeboarding today, I hope you're happy Jared.

Just for fun, leave a comment on how many feet in the air you think he is. I estimated a bajillion feet, but my roommate/sister guesstimated 12 feet high. I think I'm closer.

Frankie Panno Interview

Lets's start with the basics. How old are you and where did you grow up?

I’m 44 From Chi town

Who got you into kneeboarding?

A friend Steve and I used to repo boats back in the day. There was a kneeboard on the boat. We decided to take that boat out for the weekend and we decided to try it. I was immediately hooked. Even on that first weekend I tried to go upside down on the board. The thrill was out of control and I had to buy a board the next day.

Who are some of the people you ride with?

I ride with wakeboarders most of the time. There are only a handful of kneeboarders where I ride, but we are changing that. When I’m in Florida I ride with Byerly and his crew. He has been the main reason why I want to push this sport to the next level.

How long have you been riding?

I’ve been riding a board for around 25 years. I guess that makes me 25 not 44☺

What kind of work do you do?

I have two jobs; repping clothing and riding

What kind of music do you listen to?

311, Seether, Nine Inch Nails, Dr. Dre, Kenye West, and Snoop Dog fo shizzle. I’m all over the place with my music, but I bring out the sexy when the ladies are around lol.

Have you ever competed?

I tried for a while back in the day, but it was way to strict and low flying for me. I could never fit the “normal” formats for competitions.

Who is your favorite rider to watch?

That is an easy and hard question at the same time for me. For sure first would be Bylery for style and originality. Then other people; Parks, Danny Harf, Ross Gardner, Brandon Thomas, Daniel Watkins, Erik Ruck; pushing the sport to the next level. One thing about Ross Gardner too, he is so inspirational with his fluidity and determination the way he can go from wakeskating to wakeboarding.

What is your favorite move and what is your hardest move?

This is a loaded question haha….Probably a front flip mobe is my fav and a whirly bird is the hardest

What moves are you working on now?

I’m going for a couple double variations for film. We will see what we get.

A few months ago, I was looking through a wakeboarding
magazines with some friends. First off we were stoked and
baffled to finally see a kneeboarder in a wakeboard magazine.
We saw the sequence of your friend breathing fire, while you
ran through it while doing a running drop start onto your board.
Let me just say that that was sick!!! Were either of you nervous?
and who's idea was it?

Yeah, thanks on that. I was baffled myself. I was riding huge about 15 ft out of the water and I knew I had to take it to the next step. People didn’t start taking a look until I made it a board sport aspect on camera and film. Things like jumping through the fire, wake to wake, kick flips, shuvits, cable parks, ramps, and even taking it out to the snow did the interest start to rise. For example, I texted the fire sequence to Scott and he happened to be on the boat with Kevco “Editor WBM” and I got texted instantly that I would be in the mag. My friend John Brankin had the idea for me to jump with a guy spitting fire at me. We took it to the next level with me jumping through a 40 foot wall of fire while my friend Matt Larrian spit fire at me. I never thought about it twice I just went for it. I can tell you I am still growing hair back today from it lol.

Who are your sponsors?

HO Sports, Accurate Ski Lines, Billabong, Monster, Team Munson Marine, Malibu Boats, Byerly Boards, Von Zipper and Performance

How long have you been riding for H.O.?

HO and I just got together last year to put a new board together.

You have a pro model coming out. Can you give us any details; such as the name of the board,
the shape, how it rides, or when it will be out?

Yeah, the new board is going to be sick. HO really let me play with the design and a lot of wakeboard technology and materials that have never been used in kneeboarding before. It’s called, “The Agent,” and should be out for the Surf Expo in September 2010. Some of the technical aspects of the board are utilizing a 2-stage rocker, 3.5” nose height and 1.125” tail height, that helps the Agent maximize pop off all wake sizes. We combined a pin tail design with fully exciting curved flow channels for a deep edge hold that holds speed into the wake. Our soft landing spine is new to the kneeboarding design, breaking the water’s surface upon touching down. The Agent is equipped with all new kneeboot for optimized control and rider comfort and our double locking knee strap will keep you locked in.

Ninjas or Pirates?

This is a tough question. I say both. Pirates cause they find gold all the time and get to be in the water 24/7. Ninjas because Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles totally rule. They get to eat pizza and chill in the water. I advise everyone to not do that at the same time. Soggy pizza is not righteous dude.

What do you think we'll see in kneeboarding's future? Do you think we'll ever see snow kneeboarding winch competitions?

The future looks bright if a company like HO is willing to get behind me, like they have, and see the big picture. I want to make a name for kneeboarding and hope kids will want to follow if I keep going big with strapless tricks like running finger flip dock starts, wake to wake kick flips and shovits. People will start to look at kneebarding in a new light and help keep growing the sport for the future.

Who would you like to thank?

I would like to thank my parents, my Kiki, All my friends at the companies believing in my vision, Greg Nelson and Dave Wingerter at HO Sports, Kevco and Jason Bingham at WBM, Scott Byerly, Matt Munson and the Munson family, my photographers John Brankin and Alicia Rodarte and Matt Maloy, Jimmy Aldana and all my friends on the Fox that I ride with. I Hope I’m not missing anyone, but every person has had a big influence in my life and what I do. Thank you

Any last words you would like to say?

Thanks John for taking the time to hit me up. I hope everyone enjoys the video and pictures I sent. I look forward to doing clinics next summer and can’t wait to meet with everyone that has the same stoke for the sport as me.

Thanks for your time Frankie.

Thanks,

Frankie P

The Dizzy Roadkill

Went to Lake Placid last week to see my long lost friend Jared. (He cut his hair and his new nickname is short haired Jesus. He also got one of our old highschool friends hooked on kneeboarding which is awesome.) But back to what I was getting at. He told me that last month during the week of Daddy Ski Camp, Kent Hartshorn hit a new signature move he calls the Dizzy Roadkill. Don't let the name fool you, its not any variation of the current roadkill move we know and love. This is just the second kneeboard trick name to have the name "Roadkill"(Kent's nickname). And with the way he is riding... we may just have to start calling every move a roadkill and change the name of kneeboarding to roadkilling. I digressed. Anyways, its a freaking AIR 7 BACK!!! the Rohner's have it on film and it should be viewable by the next winter board meeting if not sooner.

P.S. Alisa also hit a new move that I have on film (yes this one is a secret aswell, but I can say that I'm pretty sure that its never been done in women's kneeboarding ever!!!). Brandon Biven's also hit a clean full wrapped 720 front last weekend. I've been informed it was so clean that we may see even more rotations from this guy.

Spencer Leggett's new video

Spencer, is back at it with a new video and new moves. That was his first frontflip on his first try aswell as the biggest 540 back I've ever seen.

Air Assault

Its crazy what you can find on youtube nowadays. Air Assault came out in 1999. It was by far the best kneeboarding film to ever come out. If you disagree. I will punch you in the MOUTH!!! Anyways, this footage from the film of Michael Bradshaw has just been released. Below that you can watch Peter Parillo shred, aswell as my favorite kneeboarder to watch Dave Jennings RIP.

Dan Lewis

It seems like we never get to any footage from the UK, but once something comes out of the woodworks. ITS LIKE CHRISTMAS!!! Enjoy this video of Dan Lewis



And Merry Christmas in July :)

DO THE GABE!!!

Thats what everyone wished they could do. Unfortunaly, for you, you can only do the "insert your name here". The Gabe as defined in webster's dictionary is the ability to grab everything, throw everything and ride as effortlessly and smoothly as Gabe Grissom. To get a better understanding of the Gabe you can watch this video of Gabe riding two years ago followed by Alisa Piper's explanation of the Gabe... The Boop Boops with the hand motion is probably a better definition.



...then you can watch this more recent video. Enjoy

Australian Team Uniforms

These are a first of their kind. The first ever Australian Kneeboarding Uniforms. I think they look pretty nice. To the Aussies, We're stoked to see new shwag and stoked to be competing with your team. Cheers :)

Internationals Update

Just over 8 weeks till Internationals is here. I'm stoked that I just received my video invitation from John Lane. http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1230070918#!/video/video.php?v=1332957523906

Mike Paff videos

We're going crazy with posting these videos lately, but rest assured... They are ALL worth watching. Like these videos of Mike Paff. Tick tock to air roll combo and tripple frontflip combo are the gnar shredding moves that looks so good... it'll make you want to SLAP YO MOMMA!!! BUT DON'T!!! Afterall she is your mother.

Frankie Panno videos

Kneeboard Magazine will be having an interview with Frankie sometime soon, but in the meantime I figured I would post some videos of Frankie starting with my favorite. Notice the grabbed frontroll back, backwards backroll, backroll combo from both sides, frontroll tripple combo, off axis wake 5 front, wake back air invert front aswell as many other insane moves throughout these videos.

Team Carolina video

Shannon has just released some footage from the Team Carolina event featuring Brandon Bivens, myself, and Randy Gibbs. Enjoy

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=461323308065&ref=mf#!/video/video.php?v=461323308065&ref=mf

-John Haile

Shannon Griffin's new trick pass

Kneeboarding from Shannon Griffin on Vimeo.

Its currently "well" over a 6,000 points trick run, but I'm even more baffled by how smooth and controlled every move was and a backwards back to cap it off. DO WORK!!!

Lifestyle or Sport?

Kneeboarding is something different for everyone. For a few its a lifestyle, for a few its a sport, and unfortunately for many its a hobby or a toy. Lifestyle is defined as a manner of living that reflects the person's values and attitudes. It's that simple.

If you spend your spare time watching kneeboarding videos, thinking about kneeboarding, looking at the weather channel to see if the weather will be good for kneeboarding, cleaning the family's or friend's boat so that they will take you kneeboarding or anything else in your life that reflects kneeboarding. Then kneeboarding is a lifestyle and a passion for you. Now is kneeboarding a sport? Yes, factually it meets all the requirements of being a sport. But I personally like to look at it as a A LOT more of a lifestyle or an art form. A passion. (Had to throw in a name drop).

I think the creators of push process hit the nail on the head when they mentioned the wakeboarding lifestyle. And those words can be said the same for kneeboarding...

Oakley's Push Process Trailer from Shawn Golubski on Vimeo.

"Kneeboarding is a pure form absent from all the politics, when you get back into riding. Its about you and the water."

I'm a kneeboard politician and I couldn't agree more.

-John Haile

Instructional- Frontflip to Front Roll Combo

Frontflip to Front Roll Combo

So you have mastered your front flips and want to do something a little harder like a combo trick, a combo trick is where you link two tricks together and they become one. The best thing about a combo is that it will get everyone on the banks to there feet, one because they won't be expecting it and two because they want to see it again.

For this trick you will need to be very confident and consistent with landing your front flips well out in to the flats where the water is unbroken. If you're not landing out in the flats you're wasting your time attempting this trick, save yourself the hard crashes for no reason and go back to practicing your frontflips for a little longer.

Once you're landing out in the flats consistently, you're ready. Start by practicing your front flips then its time to go for it. Cut out really wide, you're going to want all the speed you can get at the wake, then cut in hard in hard at the wake and do your frontflip like normal with only one difference. You want to land a little on the front heavy side, this will make your air front roll a lot easier.

As the board comes in contact with the water you want to pull the handle in hard to your inside hip push as much weight down as possible on your outside knee. At the same time you want to lean forward a little and look back over your inside shoulder, trying to create a flicking motion. All this should be done quicker then your regular front roll. Timing is everything on this trick and you will be back on your board before you realize it.

Tips
If you're having trouble landing nose heavy off your front flip, try do a regular wake jump out in to the flats and try your air roll, same idea but easier to learn because you're not coming out of a front flip. Once you have master this bring the front flip back in to the picture and you will be a master in no time.

If you're not getting enough air to get around on the air front roll you need to land a little more on the nose of the board.

If you're getting enough air but keep landing on your side or back, you need to remember to pull hard on the rope and flick it fast.

The bigger and more controlled the front flip, the easier it will be to spot your landing and place the board where you want it to be.

Hope you enjoy this trick as much as I do and hope to see you out there on the rivers and lakes showing this new trick you have learned. If you have any questions on this trick or any other or maybe you want to see us do an instructional on a specific trick... drop us an email to kneeboardvic@hotmail.com and I'll do my best to help you out.

Happy boarding.

-Marc Gray (O'Brien Team Rider)