Monday, April 30, 2012

Meigs County High Visits Malibu HQ


Back Row: Mr. E (teacher), Anthony, Preston, Tyler, Christian, Travis, Justin & Shaun
Middle Row: Austin, Jacob & Crystal
Front Row: Machelle & Crystal
What high-school student wouldn't love to get out of the classroom for a day, no matter what the case may be? Well, if you're in the automotive class at Meigs County High School, there's a good chance you've spent some school hours cruising around the Malibu Boats World Headquarters in Loudon, Tennessee. This specific class is based on automotive systems and job markets in different types of factory settings and "Mr. E" has brought his class twice to tour the factory. His students got to see every part of the boat building process including molding, gel coating, decking, upholstery, electronics and of course, positioning the Indmar Marine Engine into it's intended position.

For more photos of Malibu's state-of-the-art factory CLICK HERE


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Monday, April 16, 2012

Soven, Derome and Grubb Kill It At Wake Games

Phil Soven
Congrats to Malibu team riders, Phil Soven, Olivier Derome and Brian Grubb for their top performances at Wake Games on April 14. Also, Dallas Friday and Amber Wing showed they are back with authority in the quarters and semis, although the windy finals conditions gave them a tough battle.

Soven, the current World Champion was feeling a lot of pressure this season, further impacted by a crew of MTV cameras following his every move. "I thought last year's King Of Wake final was a lot of pressure," Soven said. "But that's nothing compared to this. Sometimes, I feel like the weight of the entire sport is on my shoulders." Some thought this would be a distraction leading into Wake Games. However, Soven proved once again that he can rise to the occasion when it matters most. In a less-than-desirable finals with wind over 15 m.p.h, he put together a flawless run including a nosegrab heelside 720, Moby Dick 540, Whirly 720, switch nosegrab crow 540 and switch toeside 900, as well as solid rail hits on the new UNIT rails. In the judges eyes, this run stood up to killer passes from Harley Clifford and Phil's brother Bob, who is making his riding look very unique and huge with innovative moves not seen before on tour.

Grubb was able to land in second place after Reed Hansen in the Pro Wakeskate division, despite huge threats from Danny Hampson and Brandon Thomas, who scored higher than Grubb in the earlier rounds. There is no doubt that Grubb is on his game more than ever, also proved by his top performance of all the Red Bull wake athletes at their recent Boot Camp.

After the Pro Men finals, a prize of $5,000 was up for grabs to any rider who could land a move that's never been done before in a contest. With strong winds, Harley Clifford still stomped a switch toeside 1080 wake-to-wake (without the use of the double up). Rusty Malinoski had landed this trick off the double up two years prior, however this has never been performed wake-to-wake at a contest. Without missing a beat, Olivier Derome took off next and stomped the same exact move flawlessly, sending his fellow riders and the crowd into an uproar. The two riders both took home checks for $5,000 and celebrated into the night.

Olivier Derome

Derome & Harley Clifford

Phil on top with Harley and Bob

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Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Boeing Engineer Upgrades To The MXZ


Chad Douglas
Age: 28
Residence: Edmonds, Washington
Wakeboard: Ronix One ATR w/ One boots
Favorite trick: Toeside tailgrab backside 180
Home lake: Lake Washington, Stevens, Wapato
Day job: Engineer -- The Boeing Company



Like a lot of kids, Chad Douglas became a water sports enthusiast at a young age. Chad and his three younger brothers spent the short Washington summer months boating, water skiing and tubing. He was introduced to wakeboarding at the age of 14 while on a family houseboat trip on Lake Roosevelt. Chad immediately found a passion for the sport and has been enjoying it with friends and family ever since.


Chad began to compete in the Northwest area and has been a regular attendee at local events including INT, Northwest Sessions, Active Water Sports, Aquafest, and Northwest Riders tournaments over the years. When not wakeboarding, he works as an engineer at the Boeing Company, designing the flight decks of commercial aircraft. Chad is also a commercial pilot, snowboarder and competes in mixed martial arts.

Years ago, a used Wakesetter VLX was Chad's first boat purchase. The quality of the boat and the wake was a huge factor in deciding to stick with Malibu and move up to the all-new Wakesetter MXZ. This summer, Chad will work with Malibu Boats, Seattle BoatCompany and the Washington INT League, where his boat will tow the competitors at this summer’s events.


Chad spends the majority of his free time riding on the north end of Lake Washington and in the Lake Chelan area. If you ever see this boat on the water, feel free to flag him down and check out the 22 MXZ.




Tags: Malibu Boats | Chad Douglas | Washington INT League | Malibu MXZ