Barefoot Water Skiing with a Senior Citizen

Karen Putz (@DeafMom) tweeted Malibu Boats (@MalibuBoats) with this great barefooting article she wrote for the Chicago Tribune. It is as an extremely inspiring read!

Twenty six years ago, I went from hard of hearing to deaf in an instant. I was water skiing on my bare feet and crossing over the wake when I caught a toe and hit the water sideways. When I climbed into the boat, I thought I simply had water-stuffed ears; it wasn't until weeks later that I realized that being deaf was here to stay.

Last fall, my husband sent me a link to the Today Show featuring Judy Myers, a 66-year-old woman who took up barefooting at the age of 53. Judy competes in tournaments and she can barefoot backwards and on one foot. Judy inspired me to get on the water again. In the spring of this year, I flew down to the World Barefoot Center and I went back to barefoot water skiing at the age of 44. I've been having a blast ever since.

To read the entire article visit the Chicago Tribune online.

Thanks for sharing Karen and congrats on getting back on the water! Keep footin'!

Great Wakes Lenoir City, TN Tops All

Malibu Boats (@MalibuBoats) received a Facebook
message from Malibu boat owners Neil and Faith Rupp. Neil wanted us to know about his amazing experience with Malibu boats dealer Great Wakes Boating, Inc. located in Lenoir City, TN. Neil is part owner and President of a grain and feed company in Ohio and knows how important customer service is. While on a final fling family vacation to Laurel Lake, KY, they found themselves in need of a little engine service. They called Indmar Marine Engines and found a dealer 125 miles away and yes, you guessed it Great Wakes came to their rescue!!

Neil tells us “Brett Houghton the owner, Ray the mechanic and the entire staff made us feel at home and did way above and beyond to get our family back on the water so we could enjoy what was left of our vacation. We of course weren’t a regular customer but we sure felt like it.!!! With our situation they could have taken us to the cleaners on repair costs but they treated us far more than fair. I challenge anyone to find a dealer more honest and customer service oriented. Thank you Neil Rupp Archbold Ohio”

Great Wakes is an excellent family oriented, owned and operated Malibu dealer located in Lenoir City, TN. They offer the ultimate in service, sales, and hospitality.

Thanks again Neil, for telling us about your great experience!

Girls Ride the Wake Recap from WakeWorld.com

Malibu Boats (@MalibuBoats) pulled the Girls Ride the Wake (@GirlsRideWake) event in Northern California earlier this month. It was a big success! WakeWorld.com (@WakeWorld) just posted this recap. Great article! Check out the full Girls Ride the Wake article and images too.

For two years now all the girl riders in Northern California get together at a lake just outside of Sacramento called Camp Far West for an annual weekend event called Girls Ride the Wake. Even though I'm not a girl, I got the chance to sneak in for a day to check out all the festivities and I must say that Becky Carter did an amazing job putting all of it together. It was a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be.

Shelby KantarJust over 50 girls from all over the west coast had a blast and got the chance to ride and learn from some of the best female wakeboarders in the game today. Names like Shelby Kantar, Raequel and Shawna Hoffman, Jenacee Jackson, Danni Petraitis, Evelyn Nelson and Andrea Tomcik Ensminger were the stars and coaches of the weekend. These female pros switched in and out of four different Malibu and Axis boats the whole weekend spreading their knowledge and even getting to show all the girls how it's done themselves.

In addition to the four boats that Malibu forked out, Pulldozer winches provided a winch for pulling the girls over some rails and random objects next to shore, which most of the time was pure entertainment as there were some serious crashes going down. Up on shore The Liquid Playground and Hyperlite wakeboards had a booth demoing boards and even selling boards to anyone who felt like having a new board in their life.

Girls Ride The Wake After day one came to an end and the sun was on its way down to China, everyone gathered around the BBQ for some good ol’ fashioned burger eating. The crew then gathered around a giant production screen to watch the new Body Glove video, Slick City, which, of course, featured the one and only Shelby Kantar. When the video was finished, it didn’t take long for everyone to scatter to their tents and get some shut eye since it had been an extremely long day in the sun and they all had to do it again the next day.

Shawna Hoffman Day two started off bright and early with all the girls ready and raring to go along the shoreline. I had the chance to hop in the boat with Shawna Hoffman and her crew for the morning session. I got to watch Shawna coach the girls and even show them how it was really done by taking her own set. However, I must say that Shawna did a great job helping out all the ladies with, not only their riding, but showing them a good time.

When it was time to head in it was pretty much time to head out as well since most of the boats were already back in and everyone was gone. Again, Becky did an awesome job and did a lot of hard work to keep the stoke going for the grass roots of women's wakeboarding by putting on this event and getting all the sponsors which included Malibu Boats, Larson Marine, Hyperlite Wakeboards, WakeWorld.com, Screen Designs, The Liquid Playground, Fifty1Fifty, Wake Fitness Bootcamps, Belter Insurance and Fast Forward Cylinder Heads. So keep your eyes and ears open around this time next year because I'm sure you will be hearing about year three of Girls Ride The Wake.

Tags: Malibu Boats | Girls Ride Wake | Wake World | Northern California | girls wakeboarding | wakeboarding | wakeboard boats | wakeboard boat | Larson Marine | Belter
Insurance

Video of June Fladborg Setting Pending World Jump Record

Malibu Boats (@MalibuBoats) Pro Team member, June Fladborg (@JuneFladborg) just set a pending Women's World Jump Record yesterday behind a Malibu Response LXi ski boat. June hurled herself to the pending world record at the 2010 Cray Valley ProAm at Hazelwood Ski school in England. Her jump was 57.4 meters (188.3 feet). This is nearly 3 feet farther than the previous world record set by Elena Milakova (56.6 meters/185.7 feet) at the 2002 Malibu Open.

Way to go June! You are an amazingly dedicated athlete and this record illustrates just how talented you are. You're the World's best!

Tags: Malibu Boats | June Fladborg | Response LXi | ski boat | Hazelwoods | England | world record | Women's World Jump Record | jumping | water ski jumping | water skiing

Win A Piece of Wakeboarding History from Dallas Friday

Malibu Boats (@MalibuBoats) is honoring the most successful female wakeboarder in history with an autographed Dallas Friday jersey give-a-way. Worn by Dallas during the 2008 Malibu Open, we thought this unique prize could help a lucky winner wave bye to the 2010 pro wakeboard season and begin looking forward to Dallas's return. Sing-up for the Malibu Boats Enews to enter to win. If you win and you follow Malibu Boats on Twitter or are a Malibu Boats fan on Facebook you'll receive a bonus Malibu Gear gift card.

Dallas's season was cut short by injury this year, but she is already well on her way back to World Champion condition. The doctors say she is making as many game changing moves in her recovery as she has in competitive wakeboarding. In 2008 she took home gold at the Malibu Open Wakeboard and Water Ski Championships in Michigan. That victory and the 2008 season was huge for Dallas as it was an amazing comeback from another much more serious injury. Dallas wore this rash guard jersey during all of her Malibu Open heats including the final round, where she shut the door on the competition.

Perfect for a game room, man cave or kid's room, this is a one-of-a-kind piece of sports memorabilia that will add to any pro wakeboarding enthusiast's collection. Do you have a wakeboarder on your gift list who is impossible to buy for? Enter them to win!

We're giving this signed Dallas Friday 2008 Malibu Open pro athlete jersey away on the last day of Summer: Tuesday, September 21, 2010. The winner will be chosen randomly from Malibu Boats email list sign-ups between now and September 20th. Malibu Boats will ship the signed Dallas Friday 2008 Malibu Open jersey to the randomly chosen winner no matter where they are in the world. If you win and you follow Malibu Boats on Twitter or are a fan on Facebook you'll receive a bonus $100 Malibu Gear gift card.

To enter, sign-up for the Malibu Boats Monthly Enewsletter. Each month you will receive an email featuring the latest news from Malibu Boats including new product information, fun photos and videos, as well as articles on Malibu Boats athletes, boat owners and events. You will even learn about boat promotions and Malibu Gear specials before anyone else. So sign-up for Malibu Enews and you will automatically be entered to win the autographed Dallas Friday 2008 Malibu Open jersey. Your piece of pro wakeboarding history could only be a "Send" button click away.

Email blog@malibuboats.com for more information.

Tags: Malibu Boats | Dallas Friday | give-a-way | contest | sports memorabilia | pro wakeboarding | wakeboarding jersey | Malibu Open | Summer | wakeboarding | female wakeboarder | world champion | Malibu Boats Enews | Enewsletter | autographed

Soven Crowned King of Wake Again

Team Malibu Boats (@MalibuBoats) Pro Rider Phillip Soven (@PhillipSoven) captured his 3rd WWA (@TheWWA) King of Wake (@KingofWake09) Title this past weekend in Orlando, FL.

Reposted from WakeboardingMag.com (@WakeboardingMag):
Phillip Soven’s second-place finish earned him his third King of Wake title in four years. “I wanted to finish off the season with a win, but I’m not going home empty handed, I still won King of Wake,” said Soven.

Phillip has had a pretty good August! He just captured the 2010 Pro Tour Championship. He took delivery of his new 2011 Wakesetter VLX and stomped his first 1080 on the maiden voyage, then a day later he did it again. Now he gets to wear the King of Wake crown for another year. He is also in the running to dominate the World Cup and win the Wakeboard World Series. Can you say Wakeboarding Grand Slam?

Malibu Boats is pulling for you all the way, man! Way to go and good luck!

Tags: Malibu Boats | Phillip Soven | King of Wake | The WWA | wakeboarding | Wakesetter VLX | wakeboard boat | wakeboard boats | Wakeboard World Series | Wakeboard World Cup | Pro Wakeboard Tour

SBC Reports Raph Derome as the Best on Rails

Canadian Malibu boat (@MalibuBoats) owner Raphael Derome joins his brother Olivier as one of the most promising wakeboarders moving up through the ranks right now. Specifically, Raph is being pointed out for his rail-shreddin expertise. SBC Wakeboard (@SBCWakeboard) made this bold statement yesterday and backed it up with a telling video. "Raph Derome: The Best Rail Rider In The World?"

Read the title, then watch the video and make up your own mind. Also remember that Raph has won the two biggest rails contests in the world this summer: the Nokia Fise and Red Bull Wake the line. We already know where we stand on this one and if Raph doesn't win Rail Rider of the Year at the Wake Awards, we're filling an official protest. A big thanks to Jonathan Ferguson and the Still Not Famous crew for the video. - Reposted from sbcwakeboard.com.

We'll keep you posted on the results for Rail Rider of the Year at the Wake Awards. It's hard not to agree with SBC, after seeing the video. Amazing! Malibu Boats is pulling for you Raph!

Tags: Malibu Boats | Raphael Derome | Olivier Derome | Team Malibu | rails | sliders | Canadian | SBC+Wakeboard | video | wakeboarding | Wake Awards