Although she's gone from one famous watersports name (Benzel) to another (Mikacich), Tarah Mikacich has been quietly making a name for herself. Once you've been introduced to her bubbly personality and experienced her drive to progress in all she does, it's no surpise that she's successful in just about any undertaking. Even in the off-season we had to catch the busy Tarah between projects so you could find out more about her.
WW: Would it be impolite to start out by asking your age?
TM: Hahaha, I just turned 29, but the good news is that I still have to show my ID to sit in the exit row of an airplane!
WW: Did you marry Cobe Mikacich so that you will be forever young, relatively speaking?
TM: Wow, going right after the age gap! Well, Cobe is definitely a big kid. He always has fun ideas! And since I’ll never catch up with him birthday-wise, I just try to keep up with his fast pace and learn from some of his experiences.
WW: You currently reside in Orlando, Florida, but is that where you’re from originally?
TM: Basically. I grew up in Groveland (which is about 40 minutes from Orlando), but no one really knows where that is.WW: How did you end up in wakeboarding?
TM: I had been water skiing at a high level for most of my life, but I got to a point where I needed to change things up. I just felt that it didn’t suit me anymore. I asked Cobe to take me wakeboarding because I’d never done it before and I thought it would be a fun change of pace. It was! Fortunately, I got great industry support from the beginning.
WW: How long have you been wakeboarding professionally?
TM: Well, I did my first pro contests in 2007. I blew out my knee at the end of that summer and had a very hard time coming back for a few years. I think I finally rode a full season in 2010 or 2011.
WW: You seem like you’re a super busy person. What occupies all your time?
TM: Cobe! Hahaha, but for real, Cobe has A LOT of projects!
WW: I hear that your wakeboard school is going to be expanding and moving to a new location. Can you tell me about that?TM: Yes! We are opening Freedom Wake Park in the heart of Orlando! If you’re familiar with Orlando, our new location is about a mile from Performance Ski & Surf. It’s very exciting to have a private lake (with boat & rails) and be close to everything else that people want to do in Orlando!
WW: What’s your favorite part of teaching people how to wakeboard?
TM: It’s really fun for me when I can explain to someone the way that I understand a trick to work, and then all of a sudden they “get it” – they make a really good change and I can tell they’re feeling exactly what I described.
WW: How important is wakeboarding on the Pro Tour to you?
TM: It’s a great part of the sport for sure. But for me, it’s not where I feel I make the biggest impact. It’s a good way to be in the scene though.
WW: What’s the most important part about being a pro wakeboarder?
TM: I think that loving what you do has got to be the most important thing. Sometimes people get too caught up with little things and they forget to be grateful that they get to wakeboard and spend their days on the water.
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